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Glossary of Words

Grandpa Kens Geologic Time Glossary Series


A Kenamar Videobook

Glossary of Words

Geologic Time
Written and Produced and Narrated by Kenneth Kunz kenkunz@hotmail.com

Kenamar Corporation

A glossary or vocabulary is an alphabetical list of words or terms in a particular area of knowledge with the definitions relevant to that area.

The words may mean something entirely different when used in other contexts.

Geology In Greek, ge meant the earth and geo meant concerning the earth. The suffix -ology meant a speaking, discourse, treatise, doctrine, theory, or science," is from Gk. logia. Related words are geography (earth drawing) and geometry (earth measurement) and logic.

The study of geologic time is often called geochronology. Have you noticed that people dont want to speak straight out in simple understandable terms? They like to speak in jargon. This word jargon comes to us from Old French where it meant the chattering of birds. But ultimately, it was from Latin gula "throat, gullet. The word glossary is related.
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Eon The largest defined unit of time is the supereon, composed of eons. Eons are divided into eras, which are in turn divided into periods, epochs and ages. Then there are chronozones, but the ICS doesnt recognize them. Im boggled already!
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There were so many descriptions of the ages that there was a committee established to standardize the nomenclature. The International Union of Geological Sciences established a group to do just that. It is called the International Commission on Stratigraphy (ICS), and I will try to follow their recommendation nomenclature.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geologic_time_scale

Here we see the time scale of the earth. The earth was formed way off to the left, and the present is near 0 on the right. The scale is in Millions of Years Ago (Mya.)

Negative 4500 is 4.5 Billion years ago when the earth had cooled enough to have a firm crust and was not just a blob of lava.

Since this is a glossary, lets understand the words. The division of geologic time is somewhat imprecise.

There was no class bell to announce the changing of the periods. However, there were significant changes that made the time periods quite different.

Supereon If youre going to have many eons, then the time period that contains them must be called something short of eternity. It probably didnt take many bottles of beer to come up with Supereon! The Precambrian Supereon was before 4,500 Mya to 400 Mya. After that comes our present supereon, but it hasnt been named yet.
http://www.universetoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/05/early_earth.jpg

http://www.thecrimsoncrow.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/earth.jpg

Precambrian Supereon The pre-cambrian was so called because it came before the Cambrian period. Please wait till we discuss the Cambrian period. Basically it was between the formation of the earth and significant life. Thats about 4 billion years, but it whos counting. The first geologic time scale was proposed in 1913 by the British geologist Arthur Holmes (1890 - 1965). Using the newly discovered radioactivity, Holmes found that the Earth was about 4 billion years old - this was much greater than previously believed.

Eon

There are four eons in geology, Hadrean (the oldest), Archean,

From the Greek aion, meaning a lifetime. So aions is many lifetimes or eternity.

Proterozoic,
and Phanerozoic (now). Each lasted over a half a billion years.

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Hadrean Eon The Hadean eon began with the formation of the Earth about 4.5 Ga (giga annun) to 3.8 Ga. The name "Hadean" comes from Hades, Greek for "Underworld. It referring to the "hellish" conditions on Earth at the time. It used to be called Pre-Archean.
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a4/Volcano_q.jpg

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Archean Eon The Archean eon, -archaic (old), followed the Hadreon, lasted 1.5 billion years. The Earth's crust cooled and continents began to form. The atmosphere was of methane, ammonia, and other gases which would be toxic to most life on our planet today. But, cyanobacteria did form and produced enough oxygen to allow other life to develop. The mounds near the beach are stromatolites made of sediments trapped by mats of cyanobacteria. Stromatolite is from Greek strma, a mattress or bed, and lithos, rock)
http://hoopermuseum.earthsci.carleton.ca/camex/1darchean.html

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The Archean Eon is subdivided into four eras: (from earliest to latest) Eoarchean (eos-dawn) (4 to 3.6 billion years ago). Paleoarchean (paleo-long ago) (3.6 to 3.2 billion years ago), Mesoarchean (meso-middle) (3.2 to 2.8 billion years ago), Neoarchean (neo-new) (2.8 to 2.5 billion years ago),

The bacteria ate the carbon dioxide and methane and through photosynthesis produced free oxygen. So much oxygen was made, that all the dissolved iron rusted, and the rest went into the atmosphere and poisoned all the anaerobic life forms in a great extinction. This is called the Great Oxygenation Event.

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Proterozoic Eon Think of prototype and zoo. Its when the earliest real life developed. It lasted from 2,500 Ma (Million years ago) to 542.0Ma. Thats over 2 Billion years. (How time flies when youre developing life.) It is subdivided into three geologic eras (from oldest to youngest): the Paleoproterozoic, (old) Mesoproterozoic, (middle) and Neoproterozoic. (new)

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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geologic_time_scale

The ten subdivisions of the eras are called periods and Ill name them. They are each a mere 200 million years or so, so its probably not necessary to remember them. But at least you have heard about them now. They are (from the oldest):

Paleoproterozoic Siderian (iron) Rhyacian (lava flow) Orosirian (mountains) Stratherian (stable, firm) Mesoprotosoic Calymmian (cover, layers) Ectasian (extension) Stenian (short, narrow) Neoprotozoic Tonian (stretch) Cryogenian (cold birth) Ediacran (Ediacara Hills of Australia where fossils were found)
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Phanerozoic Eon
Phanero-zoic means manifest life or life emerges. The period of geologic time from about 540 million years ago to the present. Bacterial and other forms of life were present in the Precambrian Eon. In the Phanerozoic era life forms evolved external skeletons, and of course, life as we know it.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_evolutionary_history_of_life

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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phanerozoic

Phanerozoic Eon has three Eras: Paleozioc Era (old life) (542-251 Ma) Mesozoic Era (middle life) (251-65 Ma)

Again an Era is a division of geologic time, longer than a period and shorter than an eon. The Latin word aera means counters, the plural of aes brass, i.e, pieces of brass money. Evidently, the idea is that time is counted out -like coins.

Cenozoic Era (new life) (65Ma to NOW)

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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phanerozoic

Paleozioc Era has six Periods: These periods were related to the features found in various rock layers or strata. The order of such layers is called stratigraphic sequences. The British geographers named the periods according where such layers were significant (and nearby!)

Cambrian Period From Cambria (Old name for Wales, U.K.) Ordovician Period Named after an ancient Welsh tribe. Silurian Period Named after another ancient Welsh tribe. Devonian Period Named after the English county of Devon Carboniferous Period Named after the Carbon or coal found in these layers. Permian Period Named after Perm, Russia, because it was defined using strata in that region
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phanerozoic

Mesozoic Era has three Periods: Triassic Period (250 to 200 Mya) Named for the three distinct layers (Latin trias meaning triad -three) red beds, capped by white chalk, followed by black shales.

Triassic Period began during the PermianTriassic extinction or Great Dying, the mother of all extinctions. Life recovered somewhat and then another mass extinction happened toward the end of the Triassic Period
Most of the sea and land species disappeared due to climate changes, volcanoes, and meteor crashes.
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The Red Beds Layer Red beds are sedimentary rocks, which typically consist of sandstone, siltstone, and shale that are predominantly red due to ferric oxides.

The Red Beds of Palo Duro near Amarillo, Texas.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c5/Palo_Duro_2002.jpg

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The Chalk Layer Chalk is a soft, white, porous sedimentary rock, a form of limestone composed of calcite (calcium carbonate - CaCO3.) It forms under deep marine conditions from the gradual accumulation of minute calcite plates shed from micro-organisms called coccolithophores. (cocco-shell litho-rock phore-carrying)

http://www.soton.ac.uk/~imw/jpg-Lyme/12LYMGallois-Axmouth-Report-TJ.jpg

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The Shale Layer Shale is a fine-grained, clastic (broken to bits) sedimentary rock composed of mud that is a mix of flakes of clay minerals and tiny silt-sized particles of other minerals, especially quartz and calcite. Any organic material trapped in the mud eventually becomes oil or gas. Shale charteristically breaks into thin laminae or sheets. Splitting shale into roof shingles.
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thu mb/2/2f/MesselShaleSplitting.JPG/798pxMesselShaleSplitting.JPG

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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phanerozoic

Cenozoic Era (Latin: kainos "new, zoe "life") It has three Periods: Palogene Period Neogene Period Quaternary Period
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Miocene.jpg

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Jurassic Period 200 -145 Mya It started in the middle of the Triasic-Jurassic extinction, but climate conditions improved and birds, dinosaures flourished in the hot humid climate and the lush vegitation. The Jurassic is named after the Jura Mountains in the Alps, where limestone strata from the period was first identified.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phanerozoic

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Upper/Late Jurassic Tithonian Kimmeridgian Oxfordian Middle Jurassic Callovian Bathonian Bajocian Aalenian Lower/Early Jurassic Toarcian Pliensbachian Sinemurian Hettangian

Im sure they all have fastinating stories. But not as fastinating as the Jurassic Park movie

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/1c/Eur opasaurus_holgeri_Scene_2.jpg/800pxEuropasaurus_holgeri_Scene_2.jpg

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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phanerozoic

Cretaceous Period 145 - 65.5 Mya Latin "creta" (chalk), The sea level rose and many shallow seas were formed where micro animals (coccolithophore algae) left their shells in abundance. Dinosaures, sea creatures, mammals, birds all prospered.
The chalk cliffs of Dover, England
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a e/Douvres_%286%29.JPG

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Cretaceous Period 145 - 65.5 Mya Latin "creta" (chalk), The sea level rose and many shallow seas were formed where micro animals (coccolithophore algae) left their shells in abundance. Dinosaures, sea creatures, mammals, birds, bees and other insects all prospered.

Then BOOM a meteor or comet struck the earth and fouled up the atmosphere and another extinction occured. I say good riddance of the dinosaures!

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/cb/Impact_event.jpg

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Cenozoic Era 65 Mya-Present (Greek kainos "new", and zoe "life") The last extinction got rid of most of the mammals competitors. The Cenozoic Era is the Age of Mammals. Humans are mammals and have developed and prospered, but only for about 0.1 Ma.

Following the last extinction the world was dominated by small fauna, including small mammals, birds, reptiles, and amphibians. But, without large reptile preditators, some of them became quite large. The climate became cooler and dryer and the contenents moved into their present positions.

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The Cenozoic (new-life) Era is divided into three periods: Paleogene (old-born) Period Neogene (new-born) Period (These two used to be called the Tertiary Era) Quartenary Period (now called part of the Cenozoic Era)
http://eonsepochsetc.com/Cenozoic/Images/Cenozoic%20Scene.jpg

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Paleogene Period has three Epochs Paleocene (old-new) Epoch Refers to the older new fauna that emerged after the die-off of the dinisauers Eocene (dawn-new) Epoch The "dawn" of modern ('new') mammalian fauna. Oligocene (few-new) Epoch Few new fauna were added.
http://eonsepochsetc.com/Cenozoic/Neog ene/Neog_Images/Wolly_Mammoth.jpg

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Neogene Period has two Epochs Mioocene (old-new) Epoch Refers to the older new fauna that emerged after the die-off of the dinisauers Pliocene (dawn-new) Epoch The "dawn" of modern ('new') mammalian fauna. Early homonids appeared.
http://www.scientificpsychic.com/etc/time line/timeline.html

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Miocene Epoch has six ages. Aquitanian Age Burdigalian Age Langhian Age Serravallian Age Tortonian Age Messinian Age,

Pliocene Epoch has two ages. Zanclean Age Piacenzian Age They are all named after places where significant finds were made or something significant happened.

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The first attempts to make a geological time scale that could be applied anywhere on Earth were made in the late 18th century. They divided the rocks of the Earth's crust into four types: Primary, Secondary, Tertiary, and Quaternary, corresponding to a specific period in Earth history. Only the Quaternary (present period) name is used now.

Quaternary glaciation, also known as the Pleistocene glaciation, the current ice age or simply the ice age, from 2.58 Ma to present.

Antartic Ice Sheet


http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e /e0/Antarctica_6400px_from_Blue_Marble.jpg/600pxAntarctica_6400px_from_Blue_Marble.jpg

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That brings us up to the present.


The earths story is not over not by a long shot. Every pepple has a story!

But mine is!

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