The Geologic Time Scale and Geologic Time

Draw the GTS Major Divisions Only

14 Billion

Average age of the Universe

Hadean

Formation of the Earth

Acasta Gneiss, NW Canada

Oldest rock on Earth

Paleoarchean

This era represents the earliest period of Geology after the solidification of the earth's crust.

Paleoarchean

The first appearance of bacteria?

Cyanobacteria (blue-green algae)

What is the first bacteria on earth?

Precambrian

Age of Early Life

Australia

This continent holds the oldest continental crust on Earth.

Huronian
Cryogenian
Andean-Saharan
Karoo
Quaternary: Late Cenozoic Ice Age

What are the 5 major glaciations

Pleistocene Epoch

Quaternary : Late Cenozoic Ice Age

When was the most recent ice age?

Way of living during the Proterozoic Eon : Endosymbiosis

Chicxulub Crater
Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico

It is one of the largest impact craters on Earth, the only one with an unequivocal peak ring, and the only one linked to a mass extinction.

Cambrian

Age of invertibrates

Taconic Orogeny

An ordovician Orogeny

Gondwana

The Ordovician-Silurian Extinction happened because of the southward movement of this continent resulting to extensive glaciation and Sea level Fall.

Permian-Triassic Mass Extinction

"The Great Dying"

Mesozoic

This era involves the diversification of ammonites

Early Paleocene

First appearance of primates

Archaeopteryx

First birds with reptilian features found in Solnhofen Limestone, Germany.

Holocene

Age of humans

Homo Sapiens

A human lineage with 1350cc brain

Unconformities

Are gaps in a geologic record that indicates crustal deformation, erosion, etc.

Permian

Complete assembly of pangea

Cynodants

Refers to mammal-like reptiles

Relative Dating

The science of determining the relative order of past events without necessarily determining their absolute age.

Relative Dating

Is the process of comparing and correlating rock layers to determine the relative age of rocks.

Absolute Dating

Any method of measuring the exact age of a rock, fossils or an event

Absolute Dating

A dating technique that provides numerical age or range

Radioactive Isotopes

Absolute dating uses what type of isotopes to determine the exact age of a material?

Geologic Time Scale (GTS)

Is the "calendar" for events in Earth history.

International Chronostratigraphic Chart

One of the most widely used standard charts showing the relationships between the various intervals of geologic time.

Precambrian

A unit of Geologic Time that accounts 88% of the earth's history

700 mm

Red Shift

a. 700 mm
b. 500 mm

Moving away
Nearing

Red Shift - ___________
Blue Shift - ____________

Doppler Effect

Red Shift is similar to what effect?

Big Crunch Theory

A theory on the formation of the universe which states that the Universe stopped expanding

Big Bang Theory

A theory on the formation of the universe which states that the Universe is continuously expanding

H 76%
He 24%

H 70%
He 28%

Chemical Composition of the universe THEN

Chemical Composition of the universe NOW

13.7 Ga

Theoretical age of the Universe

13.7 Ga

When did Big Bang occurred?

4.546 Ga

Numerical age of the Earth

4.50 Ga

Numerical Age of the Moon

Maria
Terrae

The moon is composed of what?

Terrae

This is the moon's lunar highland

Basaltic

Composition of Maria

Anorthosite

Composition of Terrae

4.4 Ga

Age of the oldest Mineral on earth

Zircon

Oldest Mineral

Zircon Grains
Age: Archean (4.4 Ga)
Jack Hills, Western Australia
Metasediment: Quartzite

Metasediment : QUARTZITE

What type of rock composed the Zircon Grains when it was discovered?

4.03 Ga

Age of Acasta Gneiss

Tonalitic Granitic Gneiss

What type of rock composed the Acasta Gneiss?

~4 Ga

Age of the oldest continental crust

180 Ma

Age of the oldest oceanic crust

Hadean
4.5-3.8 Ga

Formation of the First Water brought by Carbonaceous Chondrites during the Late Heavy Bombardment

Carbonaceous Chondrites

What brought the First Water during the Late Heavy Bombardment?

Hadean

Heavy Bombardment Stage

Hadean

Formation of Magnetic Field

Eoarchean

Formation of BIF

Algoma Type Deposit

What was the first type of BIF that formed during the Eoarchean Eon

Eoarchean

First formation of Continents

Pacific Ocean

First and oldest ocean

VAALBARA
Eoarchean
3.6 Ga

What is the First Theorized Supercontinent?

Kenorland

First accepted supercontinent?

Eon

Largest/longest portions of geologic time

Epoch

Smallest/shortest unit of Geologic time

Phanerozoic Eon

Where "Visible life" is observed

Granite Gneiss Complex and Greenstone Belts (Komatiite)

The rocks of archean

Paleoproterozoic

At what age did the Great Oxygenation Event happen?

Cyanobacteria

The Great Oxygenation Event was caused by the free release of oxygen of what organisms?

First Glaciation
First Mass Extinction
Deposition of BIF

The Great Oxygenation Event resulted in

Huronian Glaciation
2.4 Ga to 2.1 Ga

The oldest known glacial period

Huronian Glaciation

Oldest and longest ice age that covered almost all lands and oceans up to the equator.

Ice Age

Any period of time during which glaciers covered a large part of the earth's surface

Vredefort Crater
South, Africa

Largest impact crater on earth

Grypania

Oldest known mega fossil in Neguanee iron formation in Michigan.

Sudbury Crater
Ontario, Canada
130 km

3rd largest impact crater on earth

Rodinia
Mesoproterozoic

First CERTAIN supercontinent

Mirovia

A hypothesized superocean which may have been a global ocean surrounding the supercontinent Rodinia in the Neoproterozoic Era.

Global

"Mirovoy" means

Mesoproterozoic Era

First appearance of Sexual Reproduction

Mesoproterozoic Era

Formation of the Ozone Layer in the atmosphere.

Ediacaran Fauna

A collective name for fossil associations similar to those in Ediacara hills [Jelly fish, Sea pens, Segmented worms, and primitive members of phylum arthropod]

Spriggina

Possible ancestor of Trilobites

Burgess Shale Biota

One of the most significant Lagerstatten in 20th Century

Burgess Shale Biota

Best examples of preserved Soft-bodied flora and fauna.

Cambrian

Golden age of Trilobites

Ordovician

First appearance of Fungi

Ordovician-Silurian Extinction

First major mass extinction and is considered the 2nd largest extinction.

Permian-Triassic Extinction

Largest mass extinction

Devonian

Age of fishes

Devonian

Age of Orogeny

Silurian

First appearance of fishes

Agnatha or Jawless Fish

First lineage of fishes

Tiktaalik Roseae

First fish on land

Tiktaalik Roseae

Considered a crucial transition fossil and a link in evolution from swimming fish to four-legged vertebrates. This organisms can be the common ancestors of all vertebrate such as amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals.

Carboniferous

Age of plants

Hylonomus

Oldest known reptile found in Nova Scotia, Canada

Pensylvanian Period : Late Carboniferous

The rocks of this period are the major source of the world's COAL.