Zasady klasyfikacji stratygraficznej czwartorzędu Polski i jej główne kategorie
Abstract
Principles of the Quaternary stratigraphy in Poland and its main categories.
A b s t r a c t. A reliable stratigraphic subdivision of the Quaternary is extremely important, dependent firstly on primary significance of its deposits in geological investigations and every-day life of human societies. In the Cenozoic, the Quaternary is a period of the same stratigraphic rank as the Palaeogene and the Neogene, but it is much shorter. Traditional stratigraphic schemes of the Quaternary were based mostly on other criteria than of the older periods, because studies of the Quaternary were focused mainly on more easily accessible terrestrial deposits and a decisive role in their formation was played by climate-induced processes. These factors forced a specific approach to define the stratigraphic units and to create the stratigraphic subdivisions of the Quaternary. In the Quaternary investigations in Poland, several categories of stratigraphic classification are used, particularly lithostratigraphy (with pedostratigraphy and cryostratigraphy), morphostratigraphy, biostratigraphy (including palynostratigraphy, malacostratigraphy, teriostratigraphy and anthropostratigraphy), magnetostratigraphy, chronostratigraphy (synchronized with geochronology) and climatostratigraphy (combined with oxygen isotope stratigraphy). The main climatostratigraphic units can be treated as corresponding to the chronostratigraphic ones and it enables correlation in a regional and global scale. A critical overview of the applied stratigraphic categories and the updated stratigraphic subdivision are presented for Poland.
A b s t r a c t. A reliable stratigraphic subdivision of the Quaternary is extremely important, dependent firstly on primary significance of its deposits in geological investigations and every-day life of human societies. In the Cenozoic, the Quaternary is a period of the same stratigraphic rank as the Palaeogene and the Neogene, but it is much shorter. Traditional stratigraphic schemes of the Quaternary were based mostly on other criteria than of the older periods, because studies of the Quaternary were focused mainly on more easily accessible terrestrial deposits and a decisive role in their formation was played by climate-induced processes. These factors forced a specific approach to define the stratigraphic units and to create the stratigraphic subdivisions of the Quaternary. In the Quaternary investigations in Poland, several categories of stratigraphic classification are used, particularly lithostratigraphy (with pedostratigraphy and cryostratigraphy), morphostratigraphy, biostratigraphy (including palynostratigraphy, malacostratigraphy, teriostratigraphy and anthropostratigraphy), magnetostratigraphy, chronostratigraphy (synchronized with geochronology) and climatostratigraphy (combined with oxygen isotope stratigraphy). The main climatostratigraphic units can be treated as corresponding to the chronostratigraphic ones and it enables correlation in a regional and global scale. A critical overview of the applied stratigraphic categories and the updated stratigraphic subdivision are presented for Poland.