Helocene Epoch

Holocene Epoch

Extinction

Holocene Epoch

The Holocene Epoch is the second of two epochs in the Quaternary Period, and it is the epoch we are in right now. The word "Holocene" comes from the greek words "holos" (meaning whole or entire) and "kainos" (meaning new or recent). The Holocene Epoch is known as the "entirely recent" epoch.

Most people are familiar with the last mass extinction that closed the Cretaceous Period 65 million years ago and resulted in the extinction of the dinosaurs. Many scientists believe we are in the midst of a sixth mass extinction event caused by ourselves. Based on population numbers required to maintain genetic viability; it is estimated that as many as 30 percent of plant and animal species may become extinct within the next 100 years. Habitat destruction is the leading cause of species extinction today.

Human

Civilization

Relieved of the ice age, humans established civilizations, developed agriculture and lost the need to roam in search of food. Such human activities have had a profound impact on animals and the Earth, since humans have the unique ability to transform and disrupt the Earth's very geology and geophysical processes. Climate change, for instance, means also a shrinking polar bear habitat. Noisy urban environments have led songbirds to change their songs. Hunters' shooting for animal trophies has meant an increase in elephants that develop without tusks. Bighorn sheep are likewise showing a reduction in the size of their horns. Indeed, man's impact is so ubiquitous that some call the Holocene epoch the Anthropogene, which means "Age of Man".

Tectonics

Holocene Epoch

Continental motions due to plate tectonics are less than a kilometre over a span of only 10,000 years. However, ice melt caused world sea levels to rise about 35 m (115 ft) in the early part of the Holocene. In addition, many areas above about 40 degrees north latitude had been depressed by the weight of the Pleistocene glaciers and rose as much as 180 m (590 ft) due to post-glacial rebound over the late Pleistocene and Holocene, and are still rising today.

The beginning of the Holocene Epoch ended the "Ice Age". The reason for this is because when the Holocene Epoch began, the climate got massively larger, melting all ice and glaciers.

Lots of huge animals became extinct such as the Wooly Mammoth, and the Wooly Rhinoceros, making the people of that time who were once using these "mega mammals" as their main diet, had to resort to something smaller. Around 10,000 years ago, the cold climate came back lasting several years, but it was not enough to begin another ice age. All it did was make game and plant materials scare.

Climate

The Holocene's climate has been very stable. Ice core records show that before the Holocene there was global warming after the end of the last ice age and cooling periods, but climate changes became more regional at the start of the Younger Dryas. (the Younger Dryas was a period of cold climatic conditions and drought which occurred between approximately 12,800 and 11,500 years BP) During the transition from last glacial to holocene, the Huelmo/Mascardi Cold Reversal in the Southern Hemisphere began before the Younger Dryas, and the maximum warmth flowed south to north from 11,000 to 7,000 years ago. It appears that this was influenced by the residual glacial ice remaining in the Northern Hemisphere until the later date.