Geology and Climate Lecture Notes

Flashcards based on Geology and Climate Lecture Notes

Eon

Largest slice of geologic time, spanning hundreds of millions to billions of years.

Era

Subdivision of an eon in geologic time.

Period

Subdivision of an era in geologic time.

Epoch

Smallest official division of geologic time.

Precambrian Supereon

Geologic supereon from 4.6 billion years ago to 541 million years ago, including the Hadean, Archean, and Proterozoic Eons.

Phanerozoic Eon

Geologic eon from 541 million years ago to the present, characterized by visible life.

Paleozoic Era

Era of ancient life within the Phanerozoic Eon, including the Cambrian Explosion and first land plants.

Mesozoic Era

Era of reptiles within the Phanerozoic Eon, including dinosaurs and the breakup of Pangaea.

Cenozoic Era

Era of mammals within the Phanerozoic Eon,marked by mammal dominance and the appearance of humans.

Cambrian Explosion

Rapid diversification of life at the beginning of the Paleozoic Era.

Pangaea

Supercontinent that existed in the late Paleozoic and early Mesozoic Eras.

Permian-Triassic Extinction (P-Tr)

Largest mass extinction event in Earth's history, occurring approximately 252 million years ago.

Cretaceous-Tertiary Extinction (K-T)

Mass extinction event that occurred approximately 66 million years ago, leading to the demise of dinosaurs.

Rodinia

A Precambrian supercontinent

Theia

A mars-sized planet. Its collision with Earth formed the Moon.

Great Oxidation Event

Rise in oxygen ~2.4 billion years ago

Thermal Energy

Energy of moving molecules

Albedo

Reflectivity of Earth’s surface

Radiative Forcing

Changes to Earth’s energy balance.

Positive Radiative Forcing

Warming effect (adds energy)

Negative Radiative Forcing

Cooling effect (reduces energy)

Shared Socioeconomic Pathways (SSPs)

Future global scenarios for population, economics, and emissions.

Kaya Identity

Equation that explains drivers of CO₂ emissions

Per Capita Affluence

Economic activity per person

Energy Intensity

How much energy we use per unit of economic output

Carbon Intensity

How much CO₂ is emitted per unit of energy used

Independent Variable (IV)

What you change (the cause).

Dependent Variable (DV)

What you measure (the effect).