Welcome to AMQUA

The American Quaternary Association (AMQUA) is a professional organization of North American scientists devoted to studying all aspects of the Quaternary Period, about the last 2 million years of Earth history.

Studying the Quaternary is critically important because it has been a time of frequent and dramatic environmental changes, exemplified by growing and decaying continental ice sheets and mountain glaciers.

Beyond understanding the forces that shaped our modern environment, studying the Quaternary Period is significant because the Ice Age environmental changes were the backdrop for global changes in floral and faunal communities, including extinction of a diverse megafauna, and for the evolution of modern humans and their dispersal throughout the world.

Latest News

  • The 22nd biennial meeting of the American Quaternary Association will be held in the Duluth Entertainment and Convention Center (DECC), University of Minnesota Duluth, June 21-24, 2012. Details…

  • 2012 Summer Short Course Quaternary Science of the Great Lakes Area, Concepts and Tools
    will be held from June 3-9, 2012

    Examination of environment and environmental variability in the Great Lakes region during the Late Pleistocene-Holocene transition and the geophysical, geochemical and biological methods employed to advance this understanding (e.g. fauna and flora, pollen, tree rings, stable isotopes, geochronology, archaeometry, etc.). The paleoclimate and paleohydrology of this period further influence ecosystems including iconic mega-fauna and the expansion, activities and adaptation of the earliest humans in the region. Details …



  • The Spring 2012 newsletter is now available. Details …

  • AMQUA 2011 Distinguished Career Award

    Kenneth L. Pierce (USGS Montana State University) has been selected to receive the 2011 Distinguished Career Award for his significant contributions to Quaternary science. This award recognizes Dr. Pierce’s career of interdisciplinary work in the greater Yellowstone –Teton area and the glacial history of the Rocky Mountains. The award will be formally presented during AMQUA's biennial conference in Duluth this June. Please join the AMQUA Council in extending congratulations to Dr. Pierce.

  • AMQUA 2012 Distinguished Career Award

    William F. Ruddiman (University of Virginia) has been selected to receive the 2012 Distinguished Career Award for his significant contributions to Quaternary science. This award recognizes Dr. Ruddiman’s career of research in paleoceanography, glacial and climatic history of the North Atlantic region, interactions between plate tectonics and climate, and anthropogenic influences on climate. The award will be formally presented during AMQUA's biennial conference in Duluth this June. Please join the AMQUA Council in extending congratulations to Dr. Ruddiman.