[Aqualist] "Quaternary" under attack

[Tim Barrows]

From: "John J. Clague" <jclague at SFU.CA>

Revision of the Geological Time Scale; Implications for the "Quaternary"

The International Commission on Stratigraphy (ICS) intends to extend the 
Neogene System to the present and eliminate Quaternary as a formal 
chronostratigraphic unit in the new Geological Time Scale. Brad Pillans, 
President of the INQUA Commission on Stratigraphy and Chronology, has made 
a proposal to ICS and INQUA to redefine the Quaternary as a Subsystem of 
the new Neogene System. Dr. Pillans' proposal has been circulated to INQUA 
members and the larger community of earth scientists interested in the late 
Cenozoic and is included in next issue of Quaternary Perspectives. An 
alternative position, advocating that we stand our ground and demand that 
the Quatenary be retained as a System separate and distinct from the 
Neogene, is presented in the same issue by Phil Gibbard, Chair of the ICS 
Subcommission on Quaternary Stratigraphy.

The INQUA Executive Committee is concerned that ICS has not consulted 
representatives of the Quaternary community about its changes to the late 
Cenozoic part of the time scale. It would be prudent for ICS to defer any 
changes to the "Quaternary" until the Quaternary community has had time to 
more fully considered options and consequences. Consultation is in progress 
and will continue, with INQUA's support, at IGC in Florence this summer and 
at the next INQUA Congress in Cairns, Australia, in 2007.

The INQUA Executive Committee asks that consider it's formal position on 
this important issue and the similar position of the International 
Association of Geomorphologists (IAG), both of which are given below. 
Please express your views to the ICS Chairman (Felix Gradstein, 
felix.gradstein at nhm.uio.no) and Secretary General (James Ogg, 
jogg at purdue.edu), with a copy to John Clague, President of INQUA 
(jclague at sfu.ca).


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The following is the position of the INQUA Executive Committee on the 
proposed revision of the Geological Time Scale.

INQUA insists that "Quaternary" be retained as a formal unit in the new 
Geological Time Scale. The Quaternary is in some respects the most 
important period in earth history, a time of major climatic, oceanographic, 
and biotic changes, and the appearance and evolution of the human species. 
Its importance is reflected in the fact that it has a strong 
interdisciplinary union (INQUA), that it is appreciated by scientists 
outside of the geological sciences, and that it is a doorway through which 
new approaches and ideas are introduced into geology. "Quaternary" is too 
important a term to be removed simply because it is may make the geological 
time scale tidier (the "Primary" and "Secondary" having been eliminated 
long ago, and the Tertiary shortly to follow). "Quaternary" is the bridge 
between humans and geology, and it provides an umbrella for bringing other 
important and fundable disciplines into the geological sciences.

In the interim, until this important matter is given full consideration by 
the Quaternary community, INQUA recommends that the "Quaternary" be 
retained as a System separate from the Neogene, comprising the Pleistocene 
and Holocene (the status quo). If temporary retention of the status quo is 
not acceptable to IUGS, INQUA recommends that ICS formally adopt Brad 
Pillans' proposal that the Quaternary be a formal Subsystem of the Neogene, 
extending from the beginning of the Gelasian Stage of the Pliocene to the 
present. Through its consultation with the Quaternary community, the INQUA 
Executive Committee has found near-universal support for extending the 
Quaternary from its present lower boundary at 1.8 Ma to 2.6 Ma, the 
beginning of the Gelasian Stage. There is also widespread support for 
maintaining the "Pleistocene"and "Holocene" as formal Series.

The International Association of Geomorphologists shares INQUA's concerns 
and has issued the following official statement, which is consistent with 
INQUA's position:

The International Association of Geomorphologists (IAG) has considered the 
proposed revisions to the Geological Time Scale by the International 
Commission on Stratigraphy. The IAG regrets the proposed elimination of the 
Quaternary as a system. However, if this change does take place then it 
supports the idea that within the Neogene a Quaternary Subsystem is 
established with a long time-scale (i.e. the last 2.6 million years). This 
would remove problems with regard to the placing of the Plio-Pleistocene 
boundary, and would reflect the major changes in the global environment 
which took place at 2.6 Ma (as recorded both in loess sections and in the 
deep sea oxygen isotope record.)."



John J. Clague
Gordon M. Shrum Professor
Canada Research Chair in Natural Hazard Research
Department of Earth Sciences
Simon Fraser University
Burnaby, British Columbia
V5A 1S6

Bus: (604) 291-4924
Fax: (604) 291-4198
E-mail: jclague at sfu.ca
Web: http://www.sfu.ca/~jclague
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