Arthropods and Geological Time Periods

Arthropods

  • Diverse family including organisms such as lobsters, crabs, millipedes, and spiders.
  • Named for their jointed legs.
  • Recognized as the most diverse phylum in the animal kingdom.

Archaeopteryx

  • Recognized as the first birds.
  • They are direct descendants of dinosaurs, illustrating evolutionary progression.

Angiosperm

  • Defined as flowering or seed-enclosed plants originating from the Cretaceous Period.

Crossopterygii

  • Refers to the first fish that ventured onto land.
  • Known as lobe-finned fish, which possess muscular fins.

Chicxulub

  • A geological crater formed by a meteorite that struck the Earth approximately 65 million years ago.
  • The size of the meteorite was comparable to that of Mt. Everest.
  • Takes its name from a Mayan town located near the impact site.

Erectus

  • Refers to Homo Erectus, one of the first species within the Homo genus.
  • Largely acknowledged to have been replaced by Homo Neanderthals.

Ediacara

  • Identified as the last period of the Proterozoic Eon.
  • Notable for the presence of macroscopic fossils that illustrate the evolution of life forms.

Eukaryote

  • Defined as an organism composed of cells that have a distinctly defined nucleus and organelles.

Terminal Moraine

  • In geology, this term describes a pile of debris (till transported by a glacier, which forms at its terminus.

Breaking

  • [Definition needed]

Fracking

  • Also known as hydraulic fracturing.
  • Process involves injecting pressurized fluid into a well, creating tiny fractures in subsurface rock formations to facilitate hydrocarbon removal.

Coal

  • A carbon-rich sedimentary rock formed from the remains of seedless plants originating from the Carboniferous Period.

Radon

  • A noble gas found in groundwater.
  • Can rise in concentrations prior to an earthquake event, acting as a potential seismic indicator.

Silurian

  • A geological period during which vascular plants evolved.
  • Vascular plants characterized by structural support from stems and limbs.

Gymnosperm

  • Defined as a naked-seed plant, including species such as ginkgos and conifers, prevalent during the Devonian Period.

Ordovician

  • Recognized as one of the periods from the Paleozoic Era, significant for its biodiversity and geological events.

Arete

  • A geological term referring to a sharp-crested ridge formed by the meeting of two cirques situated on opposite sides of a mountain.

Temperate

  • Refers to temperate glaciers, which are characterized by ice that remains near its melting point throughout their internal regions.

Triassic

  • Considered the end of the Mesozoic Era in geological time scales.

Helium

  • An element recognized as one of the volatile components that composed early Earth, alongside nitrogen, argon, and hydrogen.

Cambrian

  • Marks the end of the Paleozoic Era in terms of geological periods and is known for explosive biodiversity.

Carbon Dioxide

  • Plays a critical role in plant physiology.
  • High internal concentrations induce the opening of stomata, while low pressures cause closure.

Coprolite

  • Fossilized fecal droppings left by prehistoric animals.
  • Serve as critical clues to understanding their characteristics, habits, and diets.

Lateral Moraine

  • Similar to terminal moraines, these are piles of debris formed along the edges of a glacier.

Magmatic

  • Relates to magmatic deposits.
  • Formed through igneous processes that lead indirectly to mineral deposits.

Subtropical

  • Referring to subtropical deserts, these are areas associated with two belts of low rainfall located around 30°N and 30°S latitudes.

Peat

  • Biogenically formed sediment resulting from the compaction of plant remains found in bogs and swamps.

Placer

  • Refers to placer deposits which are formed by sedimentary processes related to erosion.
  • Composed of minerals that originated elsewhere and were transported by water systems.

Repose

  • Angle of repose is the steepest angle at which loose particles may rest without sliding.

Nuclear

  • Refers to nuclear energy, which is derived from the binding energy present in atomic nuclei.
  • Typically realized through fission, which entails the splitting of atoms.

Esker

  • A geological feature that represents a raised bed of sediment left behind by a retreating glacier.

Cenozoic

  • Denotes the Cenozoic Era, the most recent geological era characterized by the dominance of mammals and flowering plants.

Kettle

  • Depressions left by the melting of glaciers, forming small ponds and lakes.

Punctuated Equilibrium

  • An evolutionary theory proposing that species experience long periods of stability with few changes, interspersed with brief episodes of significant evolutionary change.

Cirque

  • Refers to bowl-shaped glaciers typically found at the heads of glacial valleys.

Oxygen

  • Chemical analysis of oxygen isotopes in glacial ice offers preserved historical weather data.

Deflation

  • A form of wind erosion where loose sand and dust particles are removed by wind, leading to a coarser particle substrate.

Hydrothermal

  • Pertains to hydrothermal deposits formed when minerals precipitate from hot water solutions carrying soluble materials.

Banded Iron

  • Describes a chemical sedimentary rock that is rich in iron minerals and silica, indicative of redox conditions in ancient oceans.

Anthropogenic

  • Refers to the anthropogenic greenhouse effect, which is the aspect of the greenhouse effect resulting from human activities.

Stromatolite

  • Represents entire colonies of bacterial life, believed to have arisen approximately 3.55 billion years ago, serving as indicators of early life.

Paleozoic

  • The last geological era, characterized by significant developments in multicellular life.

Delorian

  • Refers to the Jurassic Period, which is situated in the middle of the Mesozoic Era.

Pavement

  • Describes desert pavement formed after prolonged deflation, where finer particles are removed, leaving a surface of coarse material.

Ice Wedge

  • Geological formations created through freeze-thaw cycles typical of periglacial environments.

Photovoltaic

  • Photovoltaic (PV) cells convert solar energy directly into electricity.

Ablation

  • Refers to the loss and shrinkage of glacier mass.

Periglacial

  • Describes landforms found near or adjacent to glaciers resulting from intense frost action.

Permian

  • Marks the first period of the Paleozoic Era, known for significant geological and ecological transitions.

Prokaryote

  • Defined as single-celled organisms that do not possess a distinct nucleus.

Patterned Ground

  • Refers to surface patterns in the ground that elucidate thawing and freezing processes occurring in the soil.

Paleosol

  • Represents organic material preserved from ancient soils, providing insights into past environmental conditions.

Bajada

  • A landform formed when water loses its capacity to transport sediment, commonly seen in canyon locations with densely spaced openings at their bases.

Oil

  • Liquid petroleum, typically associated with fossil fuels.

Archean

  • Refers to the third eon in geological history.

Water Vapour

  • Comprises the main chemical constituent of volcanic gas, accounting for around 97% by volume.

Ice Core

  • Cores provide continuous records of historical weather conditions through the analysis of isotopes from extracted ice.

Striation

  • Glacial striations are long parallel scratches formed as a result of basal sliding of glaciers.

Paleogene

  • Denotes the last period in the Cenozoic Era, significant for evolutionary changes.

Rainshadow

  • Refers to a rainshadow desert formed as a consequence of mountain ranges acting as barriers to moist air flow, producing low precipitation areas on the leeward side.

Flood

  • An event characterized by a water body overflowing its banks, often leading to significant environmental impacts.

Hydroelectric

  • Refers to hydroelectric energy, which is electrical power generated from the force of running water.

Saltation

  • Describes sediment transport where particles advance in short hops or jumps along arc-shaped trajectories.

Alluvial Fan

  • A geological formation produced when an arroyo's water exits an upland area and loses its ability to carry sediment, depositing it in a fan-like shape.

Till

  • Refers to glacially deposited sediments that include various particle sizes.

Proterozoic

  • The second eon in Earth's history, predating the Phanerozoic Eon.

Trilobite

  • Extinct hard-shelled organisms from the Cambrian Period, disappearing by the end of the Paleozoic Era.

Tundra

  • A treeless biome characterized by long, harsh winters and very short summers.
  • Notable for poorly developed soils and low, scraggly vegetation underlain by a layer of permafrost.

Geothermal

  • Refers to energy derived from the Earth's internal heat sources.

Cretaceous

  • Denotes the first period of the Mesozoic Era, noted for the dominance of dinosaurs and significant geological developments.

Milankovitch

  • Refers to Milankovitch cycles, describing the interplay of astronomical and orbital factors that influence Earth's climatic changes.

Arroyo

  • Steep-sided canyons formed resulting from rapid runoff during rainfall events.

Residual

  • Refers to residual deposits, comprising minerals left behind and concentrated by the chemical weathering of host rocks.

Creep

  • Surface creep is the process of sediment transport where wind causes particles to roll along the ground, or it can refer to the imperceptibly slow downslope movement of granular flow of regolith.

Devonian

  • Identified as the third period of the Paleozoic Era, significant for the evolution of fish and the first land vertebrates.

Ventifact

  • A term describing bedrock surfaces or stones that have been abraded and shaped due to windblown sediment.

Horn

  • Refers to peaks of mountains that have been eroded by cirques from all sides, forming a pointed summit.

Biomass

  • Biomass energy is derived from living or recently living organic materials, primarily plant life.

Hydrogen

  • Known for its potential to power fuel cells, producing only water as a waste product after use.

Australopithecus

  • An ancient hominid genus from which the genus Homo evolved approximately 2 million years ago.

Age table

  • Numerical Age and Major Geological Epochs

  • Eons
      - Hadean: 4560 My
      - Archean: 2500 My
      - Proterozoic: 541 My
      - Phanerozoic: 0 My

  • Eras and Periods
      - Paleozoic: 541 - 252 My
        - Cambrian: 541 My
        - Ordovician: 485 My
        - Silurian: 443 My
        - Devonian: 419 My
        - Carboniferous: 359 My
        - Permian: 299 My
      - Mesozoic: 252 - 66 My
        - Triassic: 252 My
        - Jurassic: 201 My
        - Cretaceous: 145 My
      - Cenozoic: 66 My - present
        - Paleogene: 66 My
        - Neogene: 23 My
        - Quaternary: 2.6 My
        - Epochs:
          - Holocene: 0.0117 My
          - Pleistocene: 2.59 My
          - Pliocene: 5.33 My
          - Miocene: 23.0 My
          - Oligocene: 33.0 My
          - Eocene: 56.0 My
          - Archean: 2500 My