Earth History

Earth History: Geologic Time

Where did life begin?

• Deep-sea vents are highly likely the exact place of origin of life on Earth because DNA
evidence suggests that early life forms can survive on high-temperature conditions like
those in deep-sea vents.
• Pieces of evidence suggested that if Earth is 4.5 billion years old from radiometric
dating of the oldest rock found on it, life on Earth began most probably 3.5 billion years
ago.
Stromatolites
• “living” rock samples that scientists have discovered and dated to age up to 3.5 billion
years old
• identical to a living mat of microbes
Geologic Time Scale
• a representation of the life forms that have lived and dominated the Earth on a specific
time scale
Divisions of Geologic Time
• 1. Eons- the longest subdivision in the geologic timescale.
• 2. Eras- the next longest subdivision in the geologic timescale.
• 3. Periods-based on the dominant living creature at a specific period.
• 4. Epochs-shortest subdivision of geologic timescale
Precambrian Eon (4.6 billion years ago)
“Age of Bacteria”
• Oldest Eon
• Life: Very little life: only basic forms including bacteria,
• Photosynthesis of the late cyanobacteria added oxygen to the early atmosphere,
paving the way for land life.

Phanerozoic Eon (545 million years ago)

• The eon of “everything” after the Cambrian Explosion

• The current geologic eon in the geologic time scale, and the one during which abundant
animal and plant life has existed.

Cambrian Explosion

CAMBRIAN EXPLOSION is the belief that there was a sudden, apparent explosion of diversity
in life forms about 545 million years ago. The explosion created the complexity of multi-celled
organisms in a relatively short time frame of 5 to 10 million years.
Paleozoic Era (543 mya - 248 mya)

• “Age of the Invertebrates”

• Explosion of life in the sea: trilobites, shellfish, Fish

• Life appears on land: Ferns, Amphibians

• Largest mass extinction ever at the end of the Paleozoic. 90% of species became
extinct.

Paleozoic Organisms

Mesozoic Era (248 mya - 65 mya)

• “Age of the Reptiles”

• Life: Reptiles are the dominant life on land. Dinosaurs exist. Birds appear. Forests of
trees appear

• Dinosaurs become extinct in a mass extinction at the end of the Mesozoic.

Reptiles: Appeared in the Permian and quickly became the dominant life form.

…until Dinosaurs took over.

They ruled the planet throughout the Mesozoic era (the “Age of Dinosaurs”).
Birds

Some of the dinosaurs are thought to have evolved into birds.

Archaeopteryx is the oldest fossil bird found to date.

Cenozoic Era (65 mya- present)

• “Age of the Mammals”

• Life: Large mammals appear, Humans appear

• Ice Ages occur and ice sheets advance (during the Pleistocene epoch)

Mammals

Mammals first appeared in the Mesozoic as small rodents. After the dinosaurs were erased at
the end of the Mesozoic, Mammals quickly evolved to become the dominant life form.

The Cenozoic is the “Age of Mammals”.

Present

We live in the Holocene epoch, of the Quaternary period, of the Cenozoic era.
Dating Fossils

Knowing the age of a fossil can help a scientist establish its position in the geologic time
scale and find its relationship with the other fossils. There are two ways to measure the
age of a fossil:

Relative Dating and Absolute Dating.

Absolute Dating

• Determines the actual age of the fossil

• Through radiometric dating, using radioactive isotopes carbon-14 and potassium-40

• Considers the half-life or the time it takes for half of the atoms of the radioactive element to
decay

• The decay products of radioactive isotopes are stable atoms.

Relative Dating

I. Based upon the study of layer of rocks

II. Does not tell the exact age: only compare fossils as older or younger, depends on their
position in rock layer

III. Fossils in the uppermost rock layer/ strata are younger while those in the lowermost

deposition are oldest

A. LAW OF SUPERPOSITION: Sedimentary layers are deposited in a specific time-

youngest rocks on top, oldest rocks at the bottom