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Earth Science Final

The geological time scale is divided into four major eons - Hadean, Archean, Proterozoic, and Phanerozoic. Each eon is further divided into eras, which are divided into periods and smaller units of time like epochs and ages. The document provides details on the subdivision of the Phanerozoic eon into periods and epochs to illustrate how the geological time scale is structured hierarchically into progressively finer units of time.

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193 views5 pages

Earth Science Final

The geological time scale is divided into four major eons - Hadean, Archean, Proterozoic, and Phanerozoic. Each eon is further divided into eras, which are divided into periods and smaller units of time like epochs and ages. The document provides details on the subdivision of the Phanerozoic eon into periods and epochs to illustrate how the geological time scale is structured hierarchically into progressively finer units of time.

Uploaded by

dave lucas
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Eons

The eon is the broadest category of geological time. Earth's Eras


history is characterized by four eons; in order from oldest to Eons of geological time are subdivided into eras, which are the
youngest, these are the Hadeon, Archean, Proterozoic, and second-longest units of geological time. The Phanerozoic eon is
Phanerozoic. Collectively, the Hadean, Archean, and divided into three eras: the Paleozoic, Mesozoic, and Cenozoic.
Most of our knowledge of the fossil record comes from the
Proterozoic are sometimes informally referred to as the
three eras of the Phanerozoic eon. The Paleozoic ("old life") era
"Precambrian." (The Cambrian period defines the beginning
is characterized by trilobites, the first four-limbed vertebrates,
of the Phanerozoic eon; so, all rocks older than the and the origin of land plants. The Mesozoic ("middle life") era
Cambrian are Precambrian in age.) represents the "age of dinosaurs," though also is noteworthy for
We live during the Phanerozoic, which means "visible life." the first appearances of mammals and flowering plants. Finally,
This is the interval of geological time characterized by the Cenozoic ("new life") era is sometimes called the "age of
abundant, complex fossilized remains. Being the youngest mammals" and is the era during which we live today.
eon of time, it is also very well represented by rock at As temporal points of reference, it is worth memorizing the
Earth's surface (because of the Principle of Superposition). ages of the boundaries that separate the three eras of the
Because of these two factors, most paleontologists and Phanerozoic eon. Long before geologists knew these absolute
geologists study fossils and rocks from the Phanerozoic age dates, they realized that the boundaries represent important
eon. events in the history of life: mass extinctions.
“FOUR MAJOR DIVISION OF
GEOLOGIC TIME”

EONS EPOCH

ERA

PERIOD
The Geologic Time
How do we know when the dinosaurs died out? How do we know when birds first appeared on Earth or when humans evolved?
What about the beginning of life itself? How was our planet formed and populated by living things over time?
To answer these questions, geologists use a special timeline called the Geologic Time Scale. It's a record of the earth's geologic
history as scientists have come to understand it by studying the layers in rock. The geologic time scale is broken up into larger and
smaller subdivisions, which help us get a better sense of how historical events fit together. So, in this lesson, we're going to learn
how the time scale was created and how its major subdivisions fit together to tell the story of Earth's history.

Geologic time, the extensive interval of time occupied by the geologic history of Earth. Formal geologic time begins at the start of
the Archean Eon (4.0 billion to 2.5 billion years ago) and continues to the present day. Modern geologic time scales additionally
often include the Hadean Eon, which is an informal interval that extends from about 4.6 billion years ago (corresponding to Earth’s
initial formation) to 4.0 billion years ago. Geologic time is, in effect, that segment of Earth history that is represented by and
recorded in the planet’s rock strata.The geologic time scale is the “calendar” for events in Earth history. It subdivides all time into
named units of abstract time called—in descending order of duration—eons, eras, periods, epochs, and ages. The enumeration of
those geologic time units is based on stratigraphy, which is the correlation and classification of rock strata. The fossil forms that
occur in the rocks provide the chief means of establishing a geologic time scale. One of the most widely used standard charts
showing the relationships between the various intervals of geologic time is the International Chronostratigraphic Chart, which is
maintained by the International Commission on Stratigraphy (ICS).

Kerwin DB. Augusto


11-Rizal
Periods Epochs
Just as eons are subdivided into eras, eras are subdivided
Periods of geological time are subdivided into epochs. In turn,
into units of time called periods. The most well known of
epochs are divided into even narrower units of time called ages. For
all geological periods is the Jurassic period of the Mesozoic the sake of simplicity, only the epochs of the Paleogene, Neogene,
era (the movie Jurassic Park, of course, has something to do and Quaternary periods are shown on the time scale at the top of this
with that). page. It is important to note, however, that all of the periods of the
The Paleozoic era is divided into six periods. From oldest to
youngest, these are the Cambrian, Ordovician, Silurian, Phanerozoic era are subdivided into the epochs and ages.
Devonian, Carboniferous, and Permian. Note that in the The Paleogene period is divided into--from oldest to youngest--the
Paleocene, Eocene, and Oligocene epochs. The Neogene is divided
United States, the Carboniferous is divided into two
into the Miocene and Pliocene epochs. Finally, the Quaternary is
separate periods: the Mississippian and the Pennsylvanian. divided into the Pleistocene and Holocene epochs. Some geologists
now think that--since humans are having such a notable impact on
the Earth and its life--a new, youngest epoch should be added to the
The Mesozoic era is divided into the Triassic, Jurassic, and Quaternary: the Anthropocene.
Cretaceous periods. There is still considerable discussion in the geological community
about whether this epoch should be added, as well as debate about
what characteristics should define its beginning.
Finally, the Cenozoic era is divided into three periods: the
Paleogene, Neogene, and Quaternary.
HADEAN ARCHEAN PROTEROZOIC
PHANEROZOIC
Eons

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