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How did Jules Desnoyers introduce the term Quaternary?
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Quaternary
Distribution of landmasses, mountainous regions, shallow seas, and deep ocean basins during the Quaternary Period. Included in the paleogeographic reconstruction are the locations of the interval's subduction zones.
French geologist Jules Desnoyers introduced the term "Quaternary" in the early 19th century to describe the youngest geological deposits found in the Paris Basin of France.1
He applied this label by following an antiquated classification system that categorized geologic time into sequential units, including "Primary," "Secondary," and "Tertiary." While this nomenclature originated from earlier stratigraphic frameworksâsuch as the system devised by Giovanni Arduino in 1760, which used "quaternary" to refer specifically to surficial gravelâDesnoyers is credited with formally applying the term to the youngest strata in the Paris Basin.12