About the SQS

The Subcommission on Quaternary Stratigraphy (SQS) is a constituent body of the International Commission on Stratigraphy (ICS), the largest scientific organisation within the International Union of Geological Sciences (IUGS).

The SQS exists to promote and co-ordinate international co-operation and integration by applying the statutary scientific goals of the ICS to the Quaternary – the most recent geological system, the last 2.6 Ma:

  • the establishment and publication of a standard and global geological time-scale for the Quaternary and the preparation and publication of global correlation charts,
  • the unification of regional chronostratigraphical nomenclature by organising and documenting stratigraphical units on a global scale,
  • the promotion of education in stratigraphical methods, and the dissemination of stratigraphical knowledge,
  • the evaluation of new stratigraphical methods and their integration into a multidisciplinary stratigraphy, and
  • the definition of principles of stratigraphical classification, terminology and procedure and their publication in guides and glossaries.

    • Collaborations

    SQS closely collaborates with the International Union for Quaternary Research (INQUA) to address the stratigraphic needs of the global Quaternary community. Partnerships include:

  • SACCOM: ongoing collaboration,
  • SEQS: active collaboration since late 2024.
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Enquiries

Please direct all enquries about the SQS to:

Dr Fabienne Marret-Davies
Quaternary Subcommission Secretary
University of Liverpool
f.marret@liverpool.ac.uk