In the

geologic time scale The geologic time scale or geological time scale (GTS) is a representation of time based on the rock record of Earth. It is a system of chronological dating that uses chronostratigraphy (the process of relating strata to time) and geochro ...

, the Greenlandian is the earliest

age Age or AGE may refer to: Time and its effects * Age, the amount of time someone has been alive or something has existed ** East Asian age reckoning, an Asian system of marking age starting at 1 * Ageing or aging, the process of becoming older ...

or lowest

stage Stage, stages, or staging may refer to: Arts and media Acting * Stage (theatre), a space for the performance of theatrical productions * Theatre, a branch of the performing arts, often referred to as "the stage" * ''The Stage'', a weekly Brit ...

of the

Holocene The Holocene () is the current geologic time scale, geological epoch, beginning approximately 11,700 years ago. It follows the Last Glacial Period, which concluded with the Holocene glacial retreat. The Holocene and the preceding Pleistocene to ...

Epoch In chronology and periodization, an epoch or reference epoch is an instant in time chosen as the origin of a particular calendar era. The "epoch" serves as a reference point from which time is measured. The moment of epoch is usually decided b ...

Series Series may refer to: People with the name * Caroline Series (born 1951), English mathematician, daughter of George Series * George Series (1920–1995), English physicist Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Series, the ordered sets used i ...

, part of the

Quaternary The Quaternary ( ) is the current and most recent of the three periods of the Cenozoic Era in the geologic time scale of the International Commission on Stratigraphy (ICS), as well as the current and most recent of the twelve periods of the ...

. Beginning in 11,650 BP (9701 BCE or 300 HE) and ending with the 8.2-kiloyear event (c. 8200–8300 BP, 6200–6300 BCE, 3600–3700 HE), it is the earliest of three sub-divisions of the Holocene. It was officially ratified by the

International Commission on Stratigraphy The International Commission on Stratigraphy (ICS), sometimes unofficially referred to as the International Stratigraphic Commission, is a daughter or major subcommittee grade scientific organization that concerns itself with stratigraphy, strati ...

in June 2018 with the later

Northgrippian In the geologic time scale, the Northgrippian is the middle one of three age (geology), ages or stage (stratigraphy), stages of the Holocene Epoch (geology), Epoch or series (stratigraphy), Series. It was officially ratified by the International ...

and

Meghalayan The Meghalayan age is the name given in 2018, by the International Commission on Stratigraphy, to the current age or latest geologic age – or uppermost stage of the Quaternary. It is also the upper, or latest, of three subdivisions of the ...

Ages/Stages. The lower boundary of the Greenlandian Age is the

GSSP A Global Boundary Stratotype Section and Point (GSSP), sometimes referred to as a golden spike, is an internationally agreed upon reference point on a stratigraphic section which defines the lower boundary of a stage on the geologic time scale. ...

sample from the

North Greenland Ice Core Project The drilling site of the North Greenland Ice Core Project (NGRIP or NorthGRIP) is near the center of Greenland (75.1 N, 42.32 W, 2917 m, ice thickness 3085). Drilling began in 1999 and was completed at bedrock in 2003. The ice core, cores are ...

in central Greenland (75.1000°N 42.3200°W). The Greenlandian GSSP has been correlated with the end of

Younger Dryas The Younger Dryas (YD, Greenland Stadial GS-1) was a period in Earth's geologic history that occurred circa 12,900 to 11,700 years Before Present (BP). It is primarily known for the sudden or "abrupt" cooling in the Northern Hemisphere, when the ...

(from near-glacial to interglacial) and a "shift in deuterium excess values".

References

{{geochronology-stub 10th millennium BC 2018 neologisms *01 Geological epochs * *03 * Younger Dryas