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Quaternary geology

{{Short description|Branch of geology that studies developments more recent than 2.58 million years ago}}

Quaternary geology is the branch of geology that study developments from 2.58 million years ago to the present.{{cite web |url=http://www.ne.se/uppslagsverk/encyklopedi/l%C3%A5ng/kvart%C3%A4rgeologi |title=kvartärgeologi |last1=Liljegren |first1=Ronnie |date= |website=Nationalencyclopedin |publisher=Cydonia Development |access-date=May 15, 2015 |quote= |language=Swedish}}{{cite web |url=http://www.ngu.no/en/topic/quaternary-geology |title=Quaternary geology |last1= |first1= |date=February 25, 2015 |website=Norwegian Geological Survey |publisher= |access-date=May 15, 2015 |quote= }} In particular, Quaternary geology study the process and deposits that developed during the Quaternary, a period characterized by glacial-interglacial cycles. Quaternary geology has developed over time from being originally a branch of historical geology to becoming a science on its own.

Quaternary geochronology

Quaternary geological investigations that require the dating of rocks or sediments require a complementary array of methods to determine that age. Although radiometric dating has rapidly gained importance for Quaternary dating, there has historically been a reliance on chemical and biological traces, geomorphic, and relative dating (also known as correlative dating). Since Quaternary geology involves studying changes on the Earth's surface up to the present, Quaternary geologists benefit from the preservation of time-dependent chemical or biological processes. These methods include lichenometry,{{Cite journal |last1=Armstrong |first1=R. A. |last2=Bradwell |first2=T. |date=2015-06-01 |title='Growth rings' in crustose lichens: Comparison with directly measured growth rates and implications for lichenometry |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1871101415300042 |journal=Quaternary Geochronology |language=en |volume=28 |pages=88–95 |doi=10.1016/j.quageo.2015.04.003 |issn=1871-1014}} dendrochronology,{{Cite journal |last=Koch |first=Johannes |date=2009-04-01 |title=Improving age estimates for late Holocene glacial landforms using dendrochronology – Some examples from Garibaldi Provincial Park, British Columbia |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1871101408000563 |journal=Quaternary Geochronology |language=en |volume=4 |issue=2 |pages=130–139 |doi=10.1016/j.quageo.2008.11.002 |issn=1871-1014}} and amino-acid racemization.{{Cite journal |last1=Penkman |first1=Kirsty |last2=Kaufman |first2=Darrell |date=2013-04-01 |title=Amino acid geochronology: Recent perspectives |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S187110141200204X |journal=Quaternary Geochronology |series=Amino Acid Racemization |language=en |volume=16 |pages=1–2 |doi=10.1016/j.quageo.2012.12.007 |issn=1871-1014}}{{cite book |chapter-url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/288258487 |doi=10.1029/RF004p0001|chapter=Introduction to Quaternary Geochronology |title=Quaternary Geochronology |series=AGU Reference Shelf |year=2013 |last1=Noller |first1=Jay Stratton |last2=Sowers |first2=Janet M. |last3=Colman |first3=Steven M. |last4=Pierce |first4=Kenneth L. |pages=1–10 |isbn=9781118668481 }}

See also

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References

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