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Holocene Epoch

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Encyclopedia of Coastal Science

Part of the book series: Encyclopedia of Earth Sciences Series ((EESS))

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The Holocene , or “wholly recent,” Epoch is the youngest phase of earth history. It began when the last glaciation ended, and for this reason is sometimes also known as the post-glacial period. In reality, however, the Holocene is one of many interglacials which have punctuated the late Cainozoic Ice Age. The term was introduced by Gervais in 1869 and was accepted as part of valid geological nomenclature by the International Geological Congress in 1885. The International Union for Quaternary Research (INQUA) has a commission devoted to the study of the Holocene, and several International Geological Correlation Programme (IGCP) projects have been based around environmental changes during the Holocene. A technical guide produced by IGCP Subproject 158B (“Palaeohydrological Changes in the Temperate Zone”) represents a comprehensive account of Holocene research methods (Berglund 1986). Since 1991, there has also existed a journal dedicated exclusively to Holocene research (The Holocene...

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Bibliography

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Geography, University of Plymouth, Plymouth, UK

    Neil Roberts

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  1. Neil Roberts
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Correspondence to Neil Roberts .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Coastal Education & Research Foundation, Fletcher, North Carolina, USA

    Charles W. Finkl

  2. Coastal Education & Research Foundation , Coconut Creek, Florida, USA

    Christopher Makowski

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Roberts, N. (2018). Holocene Epoch. In: Finkl, C., Makowski, C. (eds) Encyclopedia of Coastal Science . Encyclopedia of Earth Sciences Series. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-48657-4_172-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-48657-4_172-2

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-48657-4

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-48657-4

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