The Early Jurassic Epoch is the earliest of three epochs of the Jurassic Period. The Early Jurassic starts immediately after the Triassic–Jurassic extinction event, 201.3 Ma, and ends at the start of the Middle Jurassic 174.7 ±0.8 Ma.
The Mindel glaciation is the third youngest glacial stage in the Alps. Its name was coined by Albrecht Penck and Eduard Brückner, who named it after the Swabian river, the Mindel. The Mindel glacial occurred in the Middle Pleistocene; it was preceded by the Haslach-Mindel interglacial and succeeded by the Mindel-Riss interglacial.
The Aalenian is a subdivision of the Middle Jurassic Epoch/Series of the geologic timescale that extends from about 174.7 ±0.8 Ma to about 170.9 ±0.8 Ma. It was preceded by the Toarcian and succeeded by the Bajocian.
The Riss glaciation, Riss Glaciation, Riss ice age, Riss Ice Age, Riss glacial or Riss Glacial is the second youngest glaciation of the Pleistocene epoch in the traditional, quadripartite glacial classification of the Alps. The literature variously dates it to between about 300,000 to 130,000 years ago and 347,000 to 128,000 years ago. It coincides with the Saale glaciation of North Germany. The name goes back to Albrecht Penck and Eduard Brückner who named this cold period after the river Riss in Upper Swabia in their three-volume work Die Alpen im Eiszeitalter published between 1901 and 1909.
The Gelasian is an age in the international geologic timescale or a stage in chronostratigraphy, being the earliest or lowest subdivision of the Quaternary Period/System and Pleistocene Epoch/Series. It spans the time between 2.58 Ma and 1.80 Ma. It follows the Piacenzian Stage and is followed by the Calabrian Stage.
The Pliensbachian is an age of the geologic timescale and stage in the stratigraphic column. It is part of the Early or Lower Jurassic Epoch or Series and spans the time between 192.9 ±0.3 Ma and 184.2 ±0.3 Ma. The Pliensbachian is preceded by the Sinemurian and followed by the Toarcian.
Gunz, Günz or Gunz Complex is a timespan in the glacial history of the Alps. It started approximately one million years ago and ended about 370 000 years ago. Some sources put the end at 480 000 years ago. Deep sea core samples have identified approximately 5 glacial cycles of varying intensity during Gunz.
The Trossingen Formation, formerly the Knollenmergel, is a geological formation in Germany and Switzerland. It dates back to the late Norian-Rhaetian.
The Lias Group or Lias is a lithostratigraphic unit found in a large area of western Europe, including the British Isles, the North Sea, the Low Countries and the north of Germany. It consists of marine limestones, shales, marls and clays.
The Buntsandstein or Bunter sandstone is a lithostratigraphic and allostratigraphic unit in the subsurface of large parts of west and central Europe. The Buntsandstein predominantly consists of sandstone layers of the Lower Triassic series and is one of three characteristic Triassic units, together with the Muschelkalk and Keuper that form the Germanic Trias Supergroup.
The Posidonia Shale geologically known as the Sachrang Formation, is an Early Jurassic geological formation of southwestern and northeast Germany, northern Switzerland, northwestern Austria, southern Luxembourg and the Netherlands, including exceptionally well-preserved complete skeletons of fossil marine fish and reptiles.
The Zagaje Formation is an Early Jurassic Epoch (Hettangian-Sinemurian) geologic formation located mostly in Poland with layers also exposed in north Germany. This unit is known for its diverse Ichnofossil assemblages, with traces of invertebrates along vertebrate footprints. Indeterminate fossil ornithischian tracks, of the Hettangian Stage, have been reported from the formation. The Zagaje Formation correlates with The lower part of the Höganäs Formation in Scania, as well the Munkerup Member and the Gassum Formation in Denmark.
The Haslach glaciation, Haslach Glacial Stage (Haslach-Glazial), Haslach Complex (Haslach-Komplex) and Haslach Ice Age (Haslach-Eiszeit) are historical terms for a cold period of the Pleistocene epoch. Haslach was not included in the traditional glacial schema of the Alps by Albrecht Penck and Eduard Brückner. The glacial stage was first described around 1981 by A. Schreiner and R. Ebel. Its type region is the Haslach Gravels (Haslach-Schotter) in the area of the Riss-Iller-Lech Plateau. The Haslach cold period was thought to be preceded by the Günz-Haslach interglacial and followed by the Haslach-Mindel Interglacial.
Biber or the Biber Complex is a timespan approximately 2.6–1.8 million years ago in the glacial history of the Alps. Biber corresponds to the Gelasian age in the international geochronology, which since 2009 is regarded as the first age of the Quaternary period. Deep sea core samples have identified approximately 20 glacial cycles of varying intensity during Biber.
The Brown Jurassic or Brown Jura in earth history refers to the middle of the three lithostratigraphic units of the South German Jurassic, the latter being understood not as a geographical, but a geological term in the sense of a lithostratigraphic super group. Formerly and even occasionally today in the popular scientific literature, this term is equated to the chronostratigraphic series of the Middle Jurassic. This is however not quite correct, because the Brown Jura does not exactly coincide with the chronostratigraphic boundaries of the Middle Jurassic. In addition, the term Dogger, which was formerly frequently used as a synonym should no longer be used in connexion with the South German Jurassic. Instead the term "Dogger" should be reserved for the roughly equivalent lithostratigraphic unit in the North German Jurassic. The Brown Jurassic was deposited about 175-161 million years ago. The Brown Jurassic follows the lithostratigraphic unit of the Black Jurassic and is superimposed on the lithostratigraphic group of the White Jurassic.
The White Jurassic or White Jura in earth history refers to the upper of the three lithostratigraphic units of the South German Jurassic, the latter being understood not as a geographical, but a geological term in the sense of a lithostratigraphic super group. Formerly and even occasionally today in the popular scientific literature, this term is equated to the chronostratigraphic series of the Upper Jurassic. This is however not quite correct, because the White Jura does not exactly coincide with the chronostratigraphic boundaries of the Upper Jurassic. In addition, the term Malm, which was formerly frequently used as a synonym should no longer be used in connexion with the South German Jurassic. Instead the term "Malm" should be reserved for the roughly equivalent lithostratigraphic unit in the North German Jurassic. The White Jurassic was deposited about 161-150 million years ago. The White Jurassic follows the lithostratigraphic unit of the Brown Jurassic. Its upper boundary is erosive. Locally the White Jurassic is overlain with a large stratigraphic hiatus of the Regensburg Green Sandstone (Cenomanian).
The term South German Jurassic in earth history is used to refer to a lithostratigraphic rock unit at the hierarchical level of a super group. The rocks of the South German Jurassic were mainly deposited during the Jurassic period. The boundaries of the South German Jurassic and those of the chronostratigraphic or international Jurassic are not, however, exactly coincident. The depositions began rather later than the date of the international Triassic/Jurassic boundary and end as a result of erosion of the uppermost strata at various times during the Upper Jurassic, i.e. well before the international Jurassic/Cretaceous boundary. The rock unit of the South German Jurassic is underlain by Keuper; in between is a small stratigraphic hiatus. Above the South German Jurassic the beds follow discordantly and with a large stratigraphic gap; in addition, Regensburg Green Sandstone occurs very locally, which is dated to the Cenomanian stage of the Cretaceous period. In its southern fringes the South German Jurassic dives under the Palaeogene molasse depositions of the basement.
The Gunz-Haslach interglacial and the Gunz-Haslach warm period (Günz-Haslach-Warmzeit) are historical terms for a hypothetical warm period of the Pleistocene in the Alpine region, between the Gunz and Haslach glaciations. The interglacial was defined as the erosion phase which follows the Günz and precedes the Haslach Glacial Stage. It thus corresponds to the stratigraphic gap between the Zeil gravels in Swabia and Haslach gravels northeast of the Rhine Glacier.
The geology of Germany is heavily influenced by several phases of orogeny in the Paleozoic and the Cenozoic, by sedimentation in shelf seas and epicontinental seas and on plains in the Permian and Mesozoic as well as by the Quaternary glaciations.
The Sachrang Formation or "Posidonienschiefer" Formation is a geological formation of southwestern Germany, northern Switzerland, northwestern Austria, southeast Luxembourg and the Netherlands, that spans about 3 million years during the Early Jurassic period. It is known for its detailed fossils, especially sea fauna, listed below. Composed mostly by black shale, the formation is a Lagerstätte, where fossils show exceptional preservation, with a thickness that varies from about 1 m to about 40 m on the Rhine level, being on the main quarry at Holzmaden between 5 and 14 m. Some of the preserved material has been transformed into fossil hydrocarbon Jet, specially wood remains, used for jewelry. The exceptional preservation seen on the Posidonia Shale has been studied since the late 1800s, finding that a cocktail of chemical and environmental factors let to such an impressive conservation of the marine fauna. The most common theory is the changes in the oxygen level, where the different anoxic events of the Toarcian left oxygen-depleted bottom waters, with the biota dying and falling to the bottom without any predator able to eat the dead bodies.
