MAJOR EVENTS IN EARTH’S PAST

●GEOLOGIC TIME SCALE

o the “calendar” for events in Earth history
o it is subdivided into named units of abstract time
called, in descending order of duration:
▪ eons
▪ eras
▪ periods
▪ epochs
▪ ages

o EONS
▪ are the longest portions of geologic time
▪ three eons are recognized:
●Phanerozoic Eon (dating from the present
back to the beginning of the Cambrian
Period)
●Proterozoic Eon
●Archean Eon

o ERAS
▪ the second longest portions of geological time
▪ ten eras are recognized:
●Eoarchean Era (4.0 billion to 3.6 billion years ago)
●Paleoarchean Era (3.6 billion to 3.2 billion years ago)
●Mesoarchean Era (3.2 billion to 2.8 billion years ago)
●Neoarchean Era (2.8 billion to 2.5 billion years ago)
●Paleoproterozoic Era (2.5 billion to 1.6 billion years ago)
●Mesoproterozoic Era (1.6 billion to 1.0 billion years ago)
●Neoproterozoic Era (1.0 billion to 541 million years ago)
●Paleozoic Era (541 million to about 252 million years ago)
●Mesozoic Era (roughly 252 million to 66 million years ago)
●Cenozoic Era (66 million years ago to the present)

o PERIODS
▪ the basic units of the geologic time scale
▪ during these spans of time when specific systems of rocks were formed
▪ originally defined through the use of the superposition of corresponding stratigraphic sequences
and the evidence derived from paleontological studies
▪ with the advent of radiometric dating methods, absolute ages for various periods can be
determined

o EPOCHS
▪ units of geological time during which a rock series is deposited
▪ subdivisions of a geological period

o AGES
 ▪ narrowest units of time
▪ subdivisions of a geological epochs

● How do relative and absolute dating were used to determine the subdivisions of the geologic time?
Relative dating is a method of arranging geological events based on the rock sequence.
Absolute dating is a method that gives an actual date of the rock or period of an event. Geologic
time scale shows the geologic time intervals based on the geologic rock records.
The geologic time scale consists of relative age names and absolute age numbers.
Relative chronology represents physical rock subdivisions, events, and their stratigraphic order.
Absolute chronology completes the relative time by characterizing the age of associated samples
from the rock units.

● Fossils are the preserved remains of plants and animals whose bodies were buried in sediments, such
as sand and mud, under ancient seas, lakes and rivers. It also include any preserved trace of life that is
typically more than 10 000 years old.

● Major types of fossils

o BODY fossils are the remains of the actual
organisms (preserved body parts).
o TRACE fossils are the evidence left by organisms
in sediment such as footprints and burrows.

● Ways by which fossils are formed

o PRESERVED REMAINS is the rarest form of
fossilization, it is the preservation of original skeletons and soft body parts.
Examples include:
▪ insects that have been preserved perfectly in amber, which is ancient tree sap
▪mammoth and a Neanderthal hunter that were frozen in glaciers
▪bones suspended in a tar pit/asphalt pit that is very thick and sticky and does not allow oxygen
to get through
▪mummified dead body through removing all moisture, leaving only a dried form that would not
easily decay
o PETRIFICATION is the most common method of fossilization through permineralization. After a shell,
bone, or tooth is buried in sediment, it may be exposed to mineral-rich fluids moving through the
porous rock material and becomes filled with preserving minerals like calcium carbonate or silica.
Eventually, the mineral entirely replace the organic material and remains are literally turned into
stone or is “petrified”, from Latin word “petra” which means rock.
o CARBONIZATION is a type of compression which occurs when sediment buries a dead organism. As
sediment piles up, the organism's remains are subjected to pressure and heat. These conditions force
gases and liquids from the body. A thin film of carbon residue is left, forming a silhouette of the
original organism called a carbon film.
o MOLDS AND CASTS occur when the original shell or bone is dissolved, leaving behind a space in the
shape of the original material called a mold where sediments may fill the space to form a matching
cast. A cast is a positive impression of the original material formed by contact with the mold.

●INDEX FOSSILS
o is the fossil of plants and animals preserved in the rocks present in the earth which can be studied to
know about the geological time span that has occurred over time
 oit is the fossil of widely distributed organisms that lived only for a short period of time
o are used in the formal architecture of geologic time for defining the ages, epochs, periods, and eras of
the geologic time scale; some of the boundaries of these subdivisions are defined by mass extinction
events, like the Permian-Triassic extinction and the evidence for these events is found in the fossil
record wherever there is a disappearance of major groups of species within a geologically short
amount of time
onot all fossils are index fossils

●Major Events in Each Subdivision

●How is the geologic time scale calibrated?

o raw data composed of strata or layers are reviewed
o the unique succession of events in the layers is recognized based on the laws of relative dating
leading to a chronological order of events
o numerical or absolute age of the events is given using absolute dating or radiometric methods
o absolute dating provides the age for the ash layers while relative dating provides at least six strata
with relative ages – first and last occurrences of the fossils and the volcanic eruption events