The Anthropocene is distinguished by a myriad of imprints on the Earth including the proliferation of plastic particles and a noticeable increase in carbon dioxide levels in sediments. But after millennia of human activity, this epoch is quickly making way for the Anthropocene. Over the last 11,700 years, we have been living in the Holocene epoch, a relatively stable period that enabled human civilization to flourish. These include epochs like the Early Devonian, which saw the dawn of the first early shell organisms 400 million years ago, and the three Jurassic epochs, which saw dinosaurs become the dominant terrestrial vertebrates. The Earth has gone through many epochs leading up to the modern Anthropocene. Earth’s Geological Timeline Leading Up to the Anthropocene Some boundaries are so distinct and so widespread in the geologic record that they are known as “golden spikes.” Golden spikes can be climatic, magnetic, biological, or isotopic (chemical). If we were to cut a mountain in half, we could notice layers representing these changing spans of time, marked by differences in chemical composition and accumulated sediment. Note: Subepochs (between epochs and ages) have also been ratified for use in 2022, but are not yet clearly defined. Hundreds of thousands of years to tens of millions of years Millions of years to tens of millions of years Several hundred million years to two billion years The time span of each varies, since they’re dependent on major events like new species introduction, as well as how they fit into their parent units. The Earth’s geological history is divided into many distinct units, from eons to ages. In this infographic we dig deep into the Earth’s geological timeline to reveal the planet’s shift from one epoch to another, and the specific events that separate them. And scientists have recently defined the next major epoch using this geological time scale-the Anthropocene. Layers of the planet’s crust carry evidence of pivotal moments that changed the face of the Earth, such as the ice age and asteroid hits. Over the course of Earth’s history, there have been dramatic shifts in the landscape, climate, and biodiversity of the planet. The Anthropocene: A New Epoch in the Earth’s History
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |