Deciphering the planets history and processes could improve the abil ity to predict. A single eon covers a period of several hundred million years. Just as a his torian can decipher the story of pharaonic egypt by reading the hieroglyphics on the walls of ancient temples, so can scientists read this story of planet. Mineral resources become concentrated in earth s crust as.
The layers of rock at earth s surface contain evidence of the evolutionary processes undergone by these components of the terrestrial environment during the times at which each layer was formed. Period epoch life on earth silurian ordovician cambrian pleistocene pliocene miocene oligocene eocene paleocene late early late middle early late middle early late early late middle early late early late middle early late middle early 24 33. The geologic time scale is the calendar for events in earth history. The geological history of earth follows the major events in earths past based on the geological time scale, a system of chronological measurement based on the study of the planets rock layers stratigraphy.
Nance encyclopedia of life support systems eolss figure 1. Its distinctive features allow researchers to piece together the history of this unique location, one of americas treasures and a unesco world heritage site. Deciphering the planets history and processes could improve the ability to predict catastrophes like earthquakes and volcanoes, to manage earth s resources, and. Origin of the earths crust and its evolution huscap. Origin and evolution of earth division on earth and life. The geologic time scale has been subdivided into a number of time units largely on the basis of 1 fossil evidence 2 rock thickness 3 rock.
Exploring geologic time poster illustrated teachers guide. A geologist must learn to act and think like a detective. Usually based on the lifeforms that lived during certain periods may be based on other criteria such as geologic events. The remains of organisms and rock layers help scientists determine the changes in earth s surface, climate, and organisms. Namibias varied geology encompasses rocks of archaean to phanerozoic age, thus covering more than 2600 million years of earth history. Origin and evolution of earth research questions for a changing planet questions about the origins and nature of earth have long preoccupied human thought and the scientific endeavor. Mapping the chemical composition and internal facies architecture of middle earth helps reveal its geologically diverse history. Beginning with precambrian deformation, middle earth chronologically unfolds as subduction zone, rifting, arc magmatism, erosion and plume related processes shape the diverse landscape. Geologic time scale basics the history of the earth covers a vast expanse of time, so scientists divide it into smaller sections that are associated with particular events that have occurred in the past. Unit 7 geologic history ms lee earth science part 2. The diagram below depicts the age of the earth as a 12 hour clock. Find materials for this course in the pages linked along the left.
Download pdf files physical geology, first university of. Earth s surface and the crust below archive a historical record of earth s past. Introduction, history of the earth and geological time. It is also important to understand the distribution of rocks and minerals for practical applications. Similarly, marques and thompson 1997 and noonan and good 1999. File type icon file name description size revision time user. The beginning of the story starts at the bottom of the. When you have completed this activity, you will recognize the origin and significance of three types of unconformity. The geologic mapper strives to understand the composition and structure of geologic materials at the earth s surface and at depth, and to depict observations and interpretations on maps using symbols and colors fig. Its component gases, however, were most likely very different from those emitted by modern volcanoes. Geology of the isthmus of panama, history of the panama.
They will lightly color the 4 eras, label important events, and tape or paste index fossils from the new york earth science reference tables. Geologic history of the moon, don wilhelms us geological survey professional paper 48 since 1987 the geologic history of the moon d. Origin and evolution of earth the national academies press. Blossoms lesson will help students conceptualize the enormity of geologic time and learn about important events in earth s history. Mauna kea, one of six volcanoes that have formed the island of hawaii, is the tallest mountain on earth at 9,966 meters 32,696 feet, 6. Mineral resources include nonfood, nonfuel materials such as metals e. It also comes from analyses of very large bodies of geochemical data, astronomical studies of planetforming regions around other stars, and decades of serious discussion.
Geological time as a 12 hour clock measuring geological time geologists date events in earth s history. Wilhelms has remained the cornerstone reference for all lunar geologists, and was originally published as united states geological survey professional paper 48. The geologic time scale subdivided into eons, eras, periods and epochs. It subdivides all time into named units of abstract time calledin descending order of durationeons, eras, periods, epochs, and ages.
Geological history of earth pdf free download epdf. What links here related changes upload file special pages permanent link page information wikidata item cite this page. In its earliest stage of formation, it was uninhabitable as it clumped from a cloud of dust. Of all the things weve learned about earths crust in.
How might such signatures change over geologic timescales. Geologic history of earth development of the atmosphere. Earth scientists believe the formation of the isthmus of panama is one of the most important geologic events in the last 60 million years because had an enormous impact on the it evolution of planet earth s climate and environment. Thinking of the geologic record as a book is helpful to understand each page of earth s history. The division of earth s history into time units back to 4. Dust left over from the birth of the sun clumped together. Elementary students also categorized earth s geologic events into two distinct time categories. In the gottesman hall of planet earth, students will use the geologic. The origin of earth and the solar system 1st u of s. Since about 1,000,000,000 years ago, earth had its first signs of life. Geologic history earth s history fossilthe remains or evidence of a living thing only hard parts fossilize found in sedimentary rock official nys fossil. Permission to reproduce an illustration taken from another source must be obtained from the original publisher.
The geological history of earth follows the major events in earths past based on the geological. Theories on the formation of the earth through time earth. Geologic dating and earth history purpose in this exercise you will build on the skills and knowledge gained in the previous lab exercises on minerals, igneous rocks, sedimentary rocks and metamorphic rocks. The grand canyon tells one of the worlds greatest geologic stories. Perhaps you have read some of the sherlock holmes mysteries written by sir arthur conan doyle. Geologists start counting geologic time from earth s surface downward. Entire courses and careers have been based on the wideranging topics covering earth s history. Geologists and earth scientists have used the relationship between layers and types of rocks, presence of plant and animal fossils, and radioactive dating to assemble a sequence of historical events that have occurred over geologic time. Using videos, essays, and interactives, students will learn about the scientific process, and how geologists examine evidence to find out about the early earth. Geologists use the stratigraphic record sequence of rock layers to decipher the geologic history of an area. Earth s secondary atmosphere began to develop at the time of planetary differentiation, probably in connection with volcanic activity.
Emphasis is on how analyses of rock to establish relative ages of major events in earth s history. The history of earth has been divided into three eons. Geol 103 geologic dating and earth history prelab reading lab 6. Geologic dates are in millions of years ma and indicate the beginning of each time division. About half of the countrys surface area is bedrock exposure, while the remainder is covered by cenozoic deposits of the kalahari and namib deserts. It is used by geologists, paleontologists, and other earth scientists to describe the timing and relationships of events that have occurred during earth s history. The evidence for the story of earth s formation and evolution is the result of patient evidencecollecting from meteorites and studies of the geology of the other planets.
A very large intrusive igneous rock mass that has been exposed by erosion and with an exposed surface area of over 100 square kilometers. Examples of earth s major events could range from being very recent such as the last ice age or the earliest fossils of homo. The geologic time spiral is available for download in portable document format pdf. Geologic time on earth, represented circularly, to show the individual time divisions and important events. Earth history timeline this activity has students create a timeline using 6 meters of cash register ticker tape.
Many geologic events have occurred throughout the history of life on earth. Over geologic time, continuing plate movements, together with relentless erosion and redeposition of material, mask or obliterate traces of earlier platetectonic or impact processes, making the older chapters of earths 4,500millionyear history increasingly difficult to read. According to the geologic history of new york state in the earth science reference tables, what isthe estimated age of earth as a planet in millions of years. Geologic history on a basketball the earth is about 4. Historical geology examines the origin and evolution of our planet through. The geologic time scale gts is a system of chronological dating that relates geological strata stratigraphy to time.
Activities in planetary geology for the physical and earth sciences eg199803109hq. Also available for download is the text that accompanies the image. What can we learn from earth s history in this context. Geologic history unraveling mysteries s cientists who study the origin, history, and structure of earth are geologists. Advance and retreat of last continental ice uplift of adirondack region sands and shales underlying long island and staten island deposited on margin of atlantic ocean development of passive continental margin initial opening of atlantic ocean north america and africa separate intrusion of palisades sill pangea begins to break up extensive erosion. The influence of geologic knowledge on subterranean military. An understanding of geologic time is essential to help students comprehend processes that occur over long time scales, such as evolution, mountain building, plate tectonics, and changes in the earth s climate. Lecture notes and slides introduction to geology earth. The story of earth ithough many of us are not aware of it, every day we walk on a history 00k. Geological time with major evolutionary events in the. Geologists count back more than 4 billion years to the oldest earth materials.
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