No abstract

It is suggested that the GRIP Greenland ice‐core should constitute the stratotype for the Last Termination. Based on the oxygen isotope signal in that core, a new event stratigraphy spanning the time interval from ca. 22.0 to 11.5 k GRIP yr BP (ca. 19.0–10.0 k 14C yr BP) is proposed for the North Atlantic region. This covers the period from the Last Glacial Maximum, through Termination 1 of the deep‐ocean record, to the Pleistocene–Holocene boundary, and encompasses the Last Glacial Late‐glacial of the traditional northwest European stratigraphy. The isotopic record for this period is divided into two stadial episodes, Greenland Stadials 1 (GS‐1) and 2 (GS‐2), and two interstadial events, Greenland Interstadials 1 (GI‐1) and2 (GI‐2). In addition, GI‐1 and GS‐2 are further subdivided into shorter episodes. The event stratigraphy is equally applicable to ice‐core, marine and terrestrial records and is considered to be a more appropriate classificatory scheme than the terrestrially based radiocarbon‐dated chronostratigraphy that has been used hitherto. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

the Subcommission on Quaternary Stratigraphy. 2010. Formal ratification of the Quaternary System/Period and the Pleistocene Series/Epoch with a base at 2.58 Ma.

The deglaciation of Skye at the close of the Loch Lomond Stadial is assessed on the basis of detailed geomorphological mapping and pollen‐stratigraphic correlations. It is concluded that deglaciation proceeded in two distinct stages. The first was marked by numerous glacier stillstands and readvances, while uninterrupted retreat and local glacier stagnation occurred during the second and final stage. The pollen evidence indicates that the first stage was well advanced before the marked thermal improvement at the start of the Flandrian, and it is inferred that initial glacier retreat occurred in response to a decline in precipitation in the later part of the Loch Lomond Stadial. The first stage of glacier retreat continued into the early Flandrian, during which climatic amelioration was interrupted briefly. Final deglaciation appears to have occurred rapidly in response to sustained temperature increases. The collective evidence also indicates spatial variations in the timing of deglaciation, which appear to reflect differences in glacier morphology.