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The geologic time scale or geological time scale (GTS) is a representation of time based on the rock record of Earth. It is a system of chronological dating that uses chronostratigraphy (the process of relating strata to time) and geochronology (a scientific branch of geology that aims to determine the age of rocks).
Geologic time shown in a diagram called a geological clock, showing the relative lengths of the eons of Earth's history and noting major events The geological history of Earth follows the major geological events in Earth's past based on the geologic time scale , a system of chronological measurement based on the study of the planet's rock ...
Geologic time is the timescale used to calculate dates in the planet's geologic history from its origin (currently estimated to have been some 4,600 million years ago) to the present day. Radiometric dating measures the steady decay of radioactive elements in an object to determine its age. It is used to calculate dates for the older part of ...
The Early Triassic is the first of three epochs of the Triassic Period of the geologic timescale. It spans the time between 251.9 Ma and 246.7 Ma (million years ago). Rocks from this epoch are collectively known as the Lower Triassic Series, which is a unit in chronostratigraphy. The Early Triassic is the oldest epoch of the Mesozoic Era. It is ...
The Miocene Epoch spans from 23.03 to 5.333 million years ago and is a period in which grasses spread further, dominating a large portion of the world, at the expense of forests. Kelp forests evolved, encouraging the evolution of new species, such as sea otters. During this time, Perissodactyla thrived, and evolved into many different varieties.
After the Cretaceous, a new era of geologic time began; the Cenozoic era, which means the era of "recent life". Traditionally, the first period of the Cenozoic was called the Tertiary , [ 131 ] however recent recommendations of the International Commission on Stratigraphy discourage its use, with the correspondent time span divided between the ...
Concepts similar to geologic time were recognized in the 11th century by the Persian geologist and polymath Avicenna, [14] and by the Chinese naturalist and polymath Shen Kuo. [15] The Roman Catholic theologian Thomas Berry explored spiritual implications of the concept of deep time. Berry proposes that a deep understanding of the history and ...
The Mississippian (/ ˌ m ɪ s ɪ ˈ s ɪ p i. ə n / MISS-iss-IP-ee-ən), [5] also known as Lower Carboniferous or Early Carboniferous, is a subperiod in the geologic timescale or a subsystem of the geologic record. It is the earlier of two subperiods of the Carboniferous period lasting from roughly 358.9 to 323.2