![]() If approved, the Anthropocene would be the third epoch of Quaternary Period. “(It’s) a bit like saying the Middle Ages, or the Renaissance.” “When I say ‘Cambrian,’ this conveys not only the time between 539 and 485 million years ago, but an abundance of information on the biota, environments, tectonics, paleogeography and more,” Knoll said. The Jurassic Period is named after fossil-rich rocks in France’s Jura Mountains, while the Cambrian Period got its moniker from the Roman name for Wales.Īndrew Knoll, the Fisher Professor of Natural History at Harvard University, said the scale is “deeply helpful,” for his work as a paleontologist. These geological chapters are often named after the place where they were first studied. This is a global stratotype section - or golden spike - in the Flinders Ranges of South Australia that marks the beginning of the Ediacaran Period, which started 635 million years ago. The Holocene is part of the Quaternary Period, the most recent division of the Cenozoic Era, which in turn is part of Phanerozoic Eon - which spans from 539 million years ago to the present. It’s part of the Holocene Epoch, which began at the end of the last ice age 11,700 years ago, when ice caps and glaciers began retreating. Geologists break down our planet’s history into eons, eras, periods, epochs and ages - with an eon being the largest chunk of time and an age the shortest.įor example, we currently live in the Meghalayan Age. The geologic time scale provides the official framework for our understanding of Earth’s 4.5 billion-year history. ![]() However, not everyone agrees the Anthropocene is a geological reality - or that researchers have enough evidence to formally declare it a new epoch. On Tuesday, the scientists announced the geological site - Crawford Lake in Ontario, Canada - that best captures the geological impact of the Anthropocene, according to their research. Since then, the researchers have considered 12 sites that could provide the key piece of evidence needed to support their proposal, nine of which were put to a vote. The group determined in 2016 that the Anthropocene epoch began around 1950 - the start of the era of nuclear weapons tests, the geochemical traces of which can be found around the world. The AWG, a group currently comprised of 35 geologists, has been working since 2009 to make the Anthropocene part of Earth’s official timeline. “We’ve moved into this new Earth state and that should be defined by a new geological epoch,” Waters added. “When it’s 8 billion people all having an impact on the planet, there’s bound to be a repercussion,” said Colin Waters, an honorary professor at the Geography, Geology and the Environment School at the University of Leicester and chair of the Anthropocene Working Group. The term Anthropocene, first proposed in 2000 to reflect how profoundly human activity has altered the world, has become a commonly used academic buzzword uniting different fields of study. ![]() Scientists have identified the geological site that they say best reflects a proposed new epoch called the Anthropocene - a major step toward changing the official timeline of Earth’s history. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |