The last two million years of the Earth's history were dominated by the Ice Age or Quarternary. Glaciers and huge inland ice fields were formed and disappeared in rapid sequence. The Quarternary was a period of great climatic differences, with fluctuations of as much as 15 °C in average annual temperature. Most of the Earth's surface forms were produced in the Quarternary, Quarternary sediments cover a large area of the Earth's surface. In his book, the well-known Quarternary geologist, Albert Schreiner describes Quarternary climate changes, the various deposits, the comings and goings of the ice masses. The book is for all who are interested in recent Earth history, particularly students of geology, geography and biology. The author therefore describes methods of investigation in great detail which are used in geological field work and are relevant to applied geology. The book is thus intended as a guide for geologists who must focus on Quarternary rocks after extensive activity in cap and primary rocks. Ice Age deposits are of great importance, for instance, in construction site investigations, since surface deposits, soil formations (such as loess deposits), rubble and many other types of rocks as well as numerous lake and river sedimentations were formed during that period. Quarternary research is passing through a phase of dynamic development. Findings relating to climatic fluctuations in our recent past have been greatly refined. The climatic history of the past two million years and the deposits that took place are of fundamental importance for any prognosis about the climate of the centuries to come.
