TUGAS MAKALAH GEOLOGI

SEJARAH

OLEH:
RIZKI LAMBAS
270110140004
KELAS A

FAKULTAS TEKNIK GEOLOGI

UNIVERSITAS PADJADJARAN
JATINANGOR

TABLE OF CONTENS

TABLE OF CONTENS..............................................................................................................1
CHAPTER 1...............................................................................................................................3
PRELIMINARY.........................................................................................................................3
1.1 Time..................................................................................................................................3
1.2 Event Recording Geology................................................................................................4
1.3 Principles of geology........................................................................................................8
1.4 misalignment..................................................................................................................10
CHAPTER 2.............................................................................................................................13
GEOLOGY TIME....................................................................................................................13
2.1 The Age Of The Earth....................................................................................................13
2.2 Radioactive Dating.........................................................................................................14
2.3 Geological Time Scale....................................................................................................15
2.4 Katatrofisma And Uniformitarisma................................................................................15
CHAPTER 3.............................................................................................................................19
PALEONTOLOGY..................................................................................................................19
3.1 Fossil...............................................................................................................................19
3.2 Fossil Invertebrates.........................................................................................................19
3.3 Fossil Preservation..........................................................................................................20
3.4 Fossils And Evolution.....................................................................................................21
3.5 Extinction Of The Dinosaurs..........................................................................................28
3.6 Boundary Kt-..................................................................................................................29
CHAPTER 4.............................................................................................................................33
PLATE TECTONIC AND GEOSYNCLINE...........................................................................33
4.1 Evolution of Geosyncline Theory...................................................................................33
4.2 Evolution Plate Tectonic Theory....................................................................................36
4.3 Plate Boundaries.............................................................................................................38
4.4 Mid Oceanic Ridge.........................................................................................................45
4.5 Earthquake Zone.............................................................................................................51
4.6 Basin Relation To Plate Tectonics..................................................................................52
CHAPTER 5.............................................................................................................................58

THE ORIGIN OF THE EARTH..............................................................................................58

5.1 Origin of the Universe....................................................................................................58
5.2 Solar System...................................................................................................................63
5.3 The Composition of the Earth's Crust............................................................................64
5.4 Geosyncline....................................................................................................................67
5.5 Plate Tectonics................................................................................................................68
5.6 Plume Theory.................................................................................................................72
5.7 The Big Bang Theory.....................................................................................................75
CHAPTER 6.............................................................................................................................78
PRECAMBRIAN.....................................................................................................................78
6.1 Precambrian Information................................................................................................78
6.2 Classification Table Of Precambrian..............................................................................79
6.3 Evidence of Precambrian................................................................................................81
6.4 Cambrian.......................................................................................................................84
6.5 Ordovician......................................................................................................................85
6.6 Silurian...........................................................................................................................88
6.7 Devon.............................................................................................................................91
6.8 Carbon............................................................................................................................94
6.9 Permian...........................................................................................................................98
CHAPTER 7...........................................................................................................................101
MESOZOIC...........................................................................................................................101
7.1 Triassic..........................................................................................................................102
7.2 Jurassic........................................................................................................................103
7.3 Cretaceous....................................................................................................................104
CHAPTER 8...........................................................................................................................107
CENOZOIC............................................................................................................................107
8.1 Definition......................................................................................................................107
8.2 Subdivisions.................................................................................................................107
8.3 Tectonics & Climate.....................................................................................................111
8.4 The Evolution of Biota.................................................................................................112
CHAPTER 9...........................................................................................................................114
THE QUARTENARY PERIOD.............................................................................................114
9.1 The Evolution Of Human Beings.................................................................................114

CHAPTER 1
PRELIMINARY
1.1 Time
Time is part of the basic structure of the universe, a dimension in which events occur in
sequence. Time is a dimension in which events that can be experienced from the past through
the present to the future, and also measure the incidence and duration of the interval. Time
has long been a major subject of research in religion, philosophy, and science .. However, a
variety of fields such as business, industry, sports, science, music, dance, and theater life all
incorporate some notion of time into each system measurement.
Some, simply didefinisika relatively uncontroversial time include "time is something that can
be counted by the clock" and "timing is everything happening at once".
Two viewpoints occurred about the time that One view says that time is part of the basic
structure of the dimensions of the universe which occur independently of an event, in which
events occur in sequence.
Sir Isaac Newton over to the realist view, and is referred to as Newtonian time. The views are
the opposite of that time does not refer to anything by the "container" to an event and objects
"move through", nor to any entity that "flows", but not part of the basic structure of the
intellectual (together with space and number / number) where people can compare the
sequence of events.
The second view, in the tradition of Gottfried Leibniz and Immanuel Kant, explaining that
time is not an event or matter, and thus not measurable by itself and can not move.
Time is one of the seven fundamental physical quantities in the International System of Units.
Time used to determine the number of others - such as speed - thereby defining time in terms
of the amount would result in circularity definition.
The operational definition of time explaining that where a person says that he can observe the
number of repetitions of one or other event in the cycle of standards (such as parts of a
pendulum free-swinging) is one of the standard unit of a second, very useful in the behavior
of

both

sophisticated

experiment

and

affairs

of

everyday

life.

In addition, there is a subjective component of a time, that time itself can be "felt" as a
sensationorexperienceandwasnevercompleted

Temporal measurement has occupied scientists and technology, and is the main motivation in
navigation and astronomy. Periodic events and periodic motion have long served as the
standard for a unit of time. Examples include the apparent motion of the sun across the sky,
the phases of the moon, the pendulum swings, and heart rate. Currently, the international unit
of time, the second, is defined in terms of radiation emitted by cesium atoms. Time is also
important in the social sphere that have economic value ("time is money") as well as personal
value, because awareness of the limited time in each day and in the span of human life.
Geological history is essentially the study of the historical development of the Earth through
the study of the formation of rocks on the earth in the context of space and time. Thus, the
geological history is to describe when a rock is formed (age rocks), where these rocks are
formed (depositional environments), and geological processes what has happened to these
rocks (styles of endogenous and exogenous) and how the condition of the rock current
(processes and geomorphic wheels). In other words, studying the geological history is
nothing but the outlines of the process and development of the basin, tectonic processes and
development, and the development process bentangalamnya.
Geological history are discussed according to the sequence of time from the oldest to the
youngest arranged in narrative and discussion of every age are included; 1) the process of
sedimentation of how, where, and what form; 2) What tectonic processes that followed, when,
and at what cost; 3) what the younger geological processes, how hereinafter, when and what
form.

1.2 Event Recording Geology

Geological processes are all processes that take place on the surface of the earth or under the
earth's surface that involves all materialyang on earth. These processes take place in a system
that is working to build and shape the earth's surface, and moving material from one place to
another or from one system to another. Thus, according to differences in the character of
material involved and the location, geological processes have the character of "site-specific"
(typical
by
location)
despite
the
separation
is
not
strict.
In coastal areas, the geological processes that are typical for coastal areas generally are the
result of geological processes of the interaction of wind, waves, tides and currents. As
geological disasters, geological processes can be expressed as a tsunami, waves as storms,
floods, coastal erosion and sedimentation. In addition, there is a common geological
processes that occur in coastal areas that have nothing to do with the various phenomena
which have been mentioned above, ie subsidence. The latter kinds of disasters related to
geological conditions and the coastal areas of human activity.

Geological processes and change processes Bentangalam

Discussed about the geological processes as a natural process that goes all times and these
processes (endogenous and exogenous) will establish, maintain, and change the shape of
bentangalam. Geological processes in addition to changing the forms bentangalam can also
generate geological resources and can also cause catastrophic for human life. Besides
geological processes can also be used in environmental management, such as dilution,
dispersion, change of ion which is used to manage the waste.
some examples of geological disasters d Indonesia in 2010
Geological natural disasters are events / events / natural phenomena caused by geological
processes and result in environmental damage, loss of property and loss of life.
Geology of Natural Disasters can be caused by various causes, namely: Earthquake
(Earthquake), Tsunami (TSUNAMIS), volcanic eruptions (Volcanic Eruptions), and the Land
Movement (Mass Movement). Indonesia is a country that is potentially experiencing natural
disasters geology.
The geographical position of Indonesia is located between two continents and two oceans,
lies on the equator and is located at the confluence of three major tectonic plates of the world,
a territory that is highly prone to disasters, especially geological disasters.
nahh !!!! Here I will explain the events of geological disasters in each region and the time it
happened and how much damage it in timbulkannya in 2010:
LandslideTenjolaya Occurred on February 23, 2010 in Tenjolaya, Pasirjambu, Bandung. This
avalanche beds 50 houses belonging to hoard labor, landslides also stockpiled a tea
processing factory, a sports hall, a cooperative employees, a clinic, and a mosque. The
number of casualties, due to landslides are 45 people
Types of Landslide
There are 6 types of landslides, namely: translational slides, avalanches rotation, moving
blocks, rubble stone, soil creep, and the flow of material destruction. Translation and rotation
avalanche types most common in Indonesia. While most avalanches claimed the lives of
human beings is the flow of material destruction.
EarthquakeAceh Sumatra earthquake occurred May 9, 2010 at 66 kilometers southwest of
Meulaboh, an earthquake occurred along the Indo-Australian plate and the Sunda plate. This
earthquake occurred in the region of the earthquake that occurred since the 2000s. Besides
felt in Indonesia, the earthquake was also felt in Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, and
Thailand. The Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency could provide the potential

for a tsunami warning to the rise in sea waves as high as 20 centimeters, but about 90 minutes
after the quake. Earthquake felt up to the area of Medan, North Sumatra. The quake was also
felt to Padang, West Sumatra. Minor damage reported in the aerodrome control tower at
Meulaboh. The earthquake also resulted in a number of houses in West Aceh and Nagan
Raya, slightly damaged and cracked.
TYPES OF EARTHQUAKE
Tectonic earthquake, the earthquake that occurred because of the dislocation / shift in the
earth's crust due to tectonic activity in the form of pull force and pressure.
Volcanic earthquake, the earthquake that occurred as a result of volcanic activity.
Earthquake Ruins, an earthquake caused the collapse of the roof of the cave, underground
mines, subsidence, etc.
Indonesia is one of the region / country has the most active seismic intensity in the world, due
to its location at the confluence of three active tectonic plates. Almost 80% of regions in
Indonesia is located in the area of distribution of earthquakes. This region is densely
populated and rapidly growing. Risk or victims of the earthquake is not only the human soul,
but also property, facilities and infrastructure in the area where the earthquake occurred.
Earthquakes have a special character generally occur without warning and occurs rapidly
within minutes or seconds. Other special characters of the earthquake is characterized by
three phases of the initial earthquake (fore shock), a major earthquake (the main shock) and
earthquake aftershocks (after shock).
Adapaun magnitude on the Richter scale for earthquakes is as follows.
<2 Generally vibrations imperceptible but recorded by seismographs
2 to 2.9 Vibration almost felt by a small percentage of people
3-3.9 tremors were felt by a small percentage of people
4-4.9 tremors were felt by almost everyone
5 to 5.9 Vibration started to cause damage to buildings
6 to 6.9 Vibration damage
7-7.9 earthquake large scale, strong vibrations, causing great damage
8-9 devastating earthquake, vibration is very strong and devastated buildings
TSUNAMI
Mentawaitsunami The tsunami in the Mentawai islands have occurred on October 26, 2010.
The tsunami was preceded earthquake measuring 7.2 on the Richter scale Mentawai Islands,
West Sumatra, the tsunami in the Mentawai is an unprecedented disaster and can not be
predicted so many fall victim when events it happens.

tsunami commonly referred to as tidal waves, is a phenomenon of ocean wave height / big
and powerful, which occurs due to a sudden disturbance on the surface of the seabed
vertically affect the volume of the water column.
The mechanism of tsunami:
1. The tectonic earthquake occurred as a result of plate collision events.
2. There was a reduction in the volume of water so that sea water shrinks moment.
3. Formed increasingly powerful ocean waves toward shore.
4. There was a tsunami wave height corresponding elevation difference.
5. Tsunami will split and retained by dikes trees.
Survival of the Tsunami effort:
1. The surface of the sea water in normal circumstances, suddenly felt no shaking the ground.
2. The sea water receded suddenly juts far out to sea. Ran away from the beach looking for a
high place.
3. Take refuge in the hills or high areas.
4. Wait until normal ocean wave back, do the rescue.
DisasterVolcanism

theeruptionofMountMerapi 2010 eruptions of Mount Merapi volcano is a series of events that

occurred at Merapi in Indonesia. Seismic activity began in late September 2010, and led to
the eruption of the volcano on Tuesday, October 26, 2010, killing at least 28 people were
killed, including Mbah Maridjan., The death toll to 240 inhabitants
Volcano are hills or mountains that have a crater hole as a discharge of magma and or gas to
the surface of the earth. In all regions of Indonesia there are 129 active volcanoes (+ 13% of
the active volcanoes of the world). All volcanoes are located on the tectonic lines extending
from the northern part of Sumatra continuous southward through Java, Nusa Tenggara, until
the Banda Sea (according to the infiltration of Indo-Australian plate under the Eurasian
Plate). This row is known as the Mediterranean lanes. There are other groups of volcanoes in
North Sulawesi and Maluku (infiltration Pacific Plate under the Eurasian Plate). This row is
called Pacific Rim lines ("Circum Pacific").
Volcanic eruption is a natural event that occurs as a result of the release of energy
accumulated inside a volcano. If magmanya alkaline (liquid), then the only form of leleran
lava eruptions. But when magmanya acidic (viscous), the eruptions can be bursts of bombs,
lapilli, ash and hot clouds.

1.3 Principles of geology

In geology has several principles, among others:
1.superposisi

The principle of superposition is now where under normal circumstances, layering a rock
positioned at the bottom is a rock first formed and oldest than the layers above it.
2.Horizontalitas

Position initial deposition of a layer is horizontal, except at the edge of the basin has a tilt
angle of the original because the basic Cekungannya which is angled.
3.Original continuity

Spreading of a layer of rock will be continuous throughout the coating rock stance. In other
words, if the spreading a layer of rock along a different stance perlapisannya litologinya it is
said that the layering of a rock facies changes. Thus, the concept of facies changes tterjadi
when a rock layers are nature, physics, chemistry, and biology are different from one another.
4.Intrusive relationship

Results intrusion can penetrate the layers of rock above it and interconnected between the
other two
5.cross- cutting

A rock or faults that cut crosswise other lithologies, ages younger than lithologies or faults
that dip otongnya.
1.4 misalignment
In stratigraphic there is a phenomenon called the unconformity (unconformity).
Sedimentation associated with the unconformity between the layers of rock with another
rock. In the process of sedimentation, if normal then the sediment layering rock groove will
look normal and there was no significant difference in each layer. But sometimes there are

cases where sedimentation lost at one time, causing misalignment (unconformity) between the
upper and lower layers. Here are some of the kinds of inconsistencies in bedding rock
1. Non-conformity

Is the phenomenon of the layers of igneous / metamorphic under layers of sediment.

2. Angular unconformity

Is a phenomenon in which multiple layers of sediment have a difference a sharp angle with
the upper layer (angular misalignment).

3. disconformity

Is the relationship between the sedimentary rock layers that are separated by areas of erosion.
This phenomenon occurs because of sedimentation stopped some time and resulted in the
uppermost layer eroded, causing a rough layer.

4. Paraconformity
Is a relationship between two layers of sediment ketidakselarasannya field parallel to
sedimentary bedding. In this case very difficult to see ketidakselarasannya limit because there
is no limit erosion field. The means used to see the incongruity between the layers is to look
at fossils in each layer. Because each has a different age sediments and fossils were buried in
it would have been different types.

CHAPTER 2
GEOLOGY TIME

2.1 The Age Of The Earth

Consider what the Bible says, that Adam was created on the sixth day of our planet's
existence, we can determine how roughly the age of the earth with the details of the
chronology of the people manusia.Tentunya this assumes that the Genesis account is accurate,
and the six days of creation mentioned the Bible was literally interpreted each 24 hours, and
that there was no vacancy chronology can not dijelaskan.Silsilah genealogies listed in
Genesis chapters 5 and 11 tell how old Adam and his descendants gave birth to future
generations in sequence starting from Adam to Abraham.
By determining where Abraham lived chronologically in history. and by adding the ages
mentioned in Genesis 5 and 11, the Bible states that the age of the earth range from
approximately 6,000 years. How to figure 4.6 billion years accepted by most scientists today
and taught in many academic institutions as the age of the earth ?. This age is primarily based
on two dating techniques: radiometric dating and geological dating. Scientists who support
earth-young age (around 6,000 years) insist that radiometric dating has a weakness because it
is based on a number of faulty assumptions, while the dating of geologically flawed because
it uses a rotating logic.
Moreover, they refer to the evidence incorrectness of his mythical age of the earth as the
wrong understanding of the stratification, the process of the formation of fossils, and gems,
coal, oil, stalactites, stalagmites, etc. take a long time to happen. Proponents of the young age
of the earth-positive showed evidence for the age of the earth-earth young as age-old locker
which they refuted. Scientists who support the age of the earth-young acknowledge that their
existence is still a minority in number, but beryakinan that their number will further increase
as the number of scientists who reanalyzed the evidence there and look at the paradigm of the
age of the earth-old today be accepted. Ultimately, the age of the earth can not be proven.
Whether 6,000 years or 4.6 billion years -both this view (and the views of others) depends on
faith and assumptions.

Those who hold to 4.6 billion years trust that methods such as radiometric dating are reliable,
and there is nothing that happened in the history of the collapse of radioisotopes which can
disrupt normal. Those who hold to 6,000 years trust that the Bible is true. Other factors
supporting in explaining what "looks" as the age of the earth. Such as the global flood, or
understanding of God did create the universe in a state that "looks" old very old. For
example, God created Adam and Eve as adults. When the doctor examined Adam and Eve on
the day of their creation, the doctor would estimate that they are 20 years old (or whatever
their age apparently) - when in fact Adam and Eve were less than one day. Whatever the
reason, there is always a good reason to believe in the Word of God as compared with the
words of atheistic scientists with an agenda of evolution.
(Http://www.gotquestions.org/Indonesia/umur-bumi.html
2.2 Radioactive Dating
Radiometric method is a method of measuring the decline of the radioactive material that
turns naturally into non-radioactive materials. The age radiometric (radioactive dating) is a
technique used to measure the age of the carbon materials and rocks. The trick is to compare
the process of rapid degeneration of radioactive isotopes with materials it produces.
This process was first performed in 1907 by a scientist named Bertram Boltwood and is now
the most reliable way to determine the absolute age of rocks and various forms of geological
even to determine the age of the earth. Among the ways the most reliable, there is no way of
radiocarbon dating (radiocarbon dating - C14), the potassium-argon dating (potassium-argon
dating) and uranium-lead dating (uranium-lead dating). By using a system of belief "geologic
column" the scale of the times determined by the ideology of Darwinism evolution as a basis,
then the radiometric method is used to confirm. The problem is the radiometric pattern is set
according to the geologic column and the geologic column are set according to radiometric
pattern. This is called "vicious circle".
Radiometric calculation method destroys have different speeds between one material with
another material, so often there is a difference results in a material with the other ingredients.
Does it pose a problem of variation results? It turns out there are a lot of problems with
radiometric methods so that the result is often questionable. However, there is cohesiveness
among evolutionary scientists to protect the public from those problems. Because they are so

"believe" their patterns, then they want to protect society from the knowledge that may be
confusing. Therefore, the results of which were announced are always presented as a
foregone conclusion and "evidence", so that people who are not scientists, it is easy to be
convinced of the claims as if all has been proven. Yet this is far from true! In this article, we
will see that the so-called "evidence" assurance processes precisely calculate the age of
proving that the process is much less accurate and can actually be used to support the age of
the earth which is still relatively young, not the age of the earth is very old.
http://www.abbalove.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1967:umuralam-dan-ukuran-radiometrik&catid=121:alkitab-a-ilmu-pengetahuan&Itemid=92
2.3 Geological Time Scale
masa

zaman

Basically the earth is constantly changing and there is no one on earth is permanent. Rock
above the hill may have come from the sea. Therefore, studying 'time' becomes very
important, because by studying 'time' that we can learn the history that occurred on Earth.
When we talk about the history of the earth, the time measurement is calculated by millions
of years even miyaran years. Time is a part that can not be separated from everyday human

life. Time records are usually stored in a calendar that measurement is based on the
circulation of the earth in the universe. Once the earth revolves around the sun is known by
one year. Similarly, the calculation wakru in human life. History of the Earth also uses a type
of calendar called "Geological Time Scale".

Geologic time scale different from the calendar that we know. The time scale can be likened
to a book composed of several pages. If there are one or two pages are missing, but we still
can understand the science of geology books that help us understand the contents of the book.
There are two time scales can be used to determine the age of the earth that timescale relative
and absolute time scale.
2.4 Katatrofisma And Uniformitarisma
Theory Katatrofisma
Throughout the 18th century doctrine of catastrophism very popular. Baron Georges Cuvier
and its adherents believe that the shape of the surface of the earth and all life is formed and
destroyed in an instant due to a disaster (catstroph) is great. Flora and fauna of every age it
runs unchanged and during the revolution then these animals disappear and then reappear
species of flora and fauna that were different than the previous.
Earth history also proves the formation of giant mountains sederatan repeatedly as well as
periods of shrinkage and sea genang (regression and trasgresi) and from parts benua.semua
events that occur suddenly with a very terrible and lasted throughout the earth ,

To explain the irregularities of the earth's surface, such as valleys and high mountains, they
developed a theory - catastrophism - who tries to make the observed facts fit with the stories
of the disaster in the scriptures, such as the story of the Flood. Each catastrophe wiped out
whole species, thus conveniently explaining the existence of fossils which they found buried
deep inside the rocks in coal mines.

According to the theory Katastropisma that selma last 40,000 years on Earth occur four times

a catastrophe events, each of which led to the extinction of fauna and then create a new fauna.
Therefore, human life is short, then those events can hardly be seen by humans. That said, the
events of the last malpetaka happened in the days of Noah.

It is no coincidence that the theory katastropisma gained most ground in France, where the
Great Revolution of 1789-94 had the strongest influence on the psychology of all classes, the
echoes are still rung in all generations one after another. For those inclined to forget, the
revolutions of 1830, 1848 and 1870 are very clear warnings on Marx's penetrating
observation that France is the country where the class struggle is always fought to the finish.
For Georges Cuvier, naturalist and geologist French 19th century well-known, the
development of earth marked by "a series of short periods of intensive containing changes,
and each time marking a turning point in history. In between those times, there were periods
of stability are long and tedious. Like the French Revolution, after upheaval, everything
changed. Likewise, geographical time is divided into separate chapters, each with its own
basic theme. "

If France was the classic country of revolution and counter-revolution, England is the classic
ground for reformism and gradualism. British bourgeois revolution, as happened in France,
also occurs with very bloody, in which the king lost his head, as well as many others. Since
the "respectable classes" in England have tried hard to forget it. They much prefer to
remember what is misnamed as the "Glorious Revolution" of 1688, the coup did not
scintillating in which an adventurer Netherlands acts as a broker of politics in a power
struggle between the rich people of the City and the aristocrats , This has provided the
theoretical basis for the Anglo-Saxon tradition of gradualism and "compromises".

Aversion to revolutionary change in all its forms translated into an obsessive concern to
eliminate all traces of sudden leaps in nature and society. Lyell put forward a diametrically
opposite view to catastrophism. According to him, the boundary line between the different
geological layers do not indicate a sudden change but simply recorded the shifting pattern of
transitions between two neighboring sedentary environments. No need to look for a global
pattern. Geological past is just one method of classification, rather like the divisions of
English history according to the ruling.

Theory uniformitarisma
According to the theory of evolution, the process of life on this earth occurs because of
changes that occur in a long time without knowing the starting point from where.
Uniformitarianism ideology is part of the theory of evolution. This ideology is based on the
physical changes that occur slowly and take a long time. The initial concept of the theory of
evolution is no different with this ideology. LAW of faunal assemblages: "Like indicate
collection of fossil organisms like geologic ages for the rocks that Contain Them (type of
fossil organisms obtained leads to the age of the rocks around him)". The physical state of the
Earth's surface that relied on the theory of evolution is the strata formed in a different layer
structure. Upper and lower sedimentation generated by climate change which takes thousands
and even millions of years.
James Hutton (1726-1797) opposed the concept of catastrophe initiated by Baron Georges
Cuvier. He stated that the incident occurred katasropisma only locally (local). Major changes
in the earth is the result of physical and chemical processes that occur gradually and
continuously and used until now and even today we can still see it.
Then in the 18th century, is regarded as the beginning of modern geology, because at this
time the father of Geology Modern James Hutton, a Scottish physicist in 1795 published his
book entitled Theory of the earth where he sparked the doctrine of uniformitarianism.
The process of the Earth occurs repeatedly, so comes the dictum of the present is the key to
the past. With the sophistication of the technology and the concept of global geology, experts
today have developed further dictum expressed by the J. Hutton. Today has been trying to
predict what will happen in the future based on a series of events happening now. Therefore,
it is now becoming increasingly dictum, the present is the key to the future.
This was later named by Charles Lyell called uniformitarianisma theory.
Uniformitarianisma This is the basic concept of modern geology. This doctrine states that the
laws of physics, chemistry and biology that goes well in the past. That is, the forces and
processes that shape the Earth's surface as we observe today has been going on since the
formation of the earth.
Since then people realized that the earth is always changing. Thus, it is clear that the geology
is very closely related to time.

CHAPTER 3
PALEONTOLOGY

3.1 Fossil
Fossils (Latin: fossa which means "to dig out of the ground") are the remains or traces of
living beings into stone or mineral. To be fossilized, the remains of animals or plants should
be immediately covered with sediment. By experts distinguish several kinds of fossils. There
ordinary stone fossils, fossils formed in amber, fossils ter, as established in the La Brea tar
wells in California. Animal or plant that is thought to have gone extinct, but there are still socalled living fossils. The most common fossil skeleton is left as shells, teeth and bones. Very
rare soft tissue fossils ditemukan.Ilmu who study fossils are paleontology, which is also a
branch of science that enfolded archeology.
https://id.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fosil

3.2 Fossil Invertebrates

Fossil invertebrate animals (animals without backbones) are a wondrously diverse group with
a fossil record spanning over 600 million years. Their abundance, diversity, and wide range of
adaptations make them an ideal resource for scientists to use in understanding how our planet
has changed over time. Paleontologists at the Field Museum and from around the world study
fossils in our collection to learn about these extinct animals and how they are related to
modern animals. By studying these fossils paleontologists are able to learn about the history
of biodiversity, evolution, extinction events, climate changes, and paleobiogeography.

https://www.fieldmuseum.org/science/research/area/focus-fossil-invertebrates

3.3 Fossil Preservation

A fossil is the trace of an organism preserved in rock. Here is one process of preservation out
of the many possible. In this example, a shell living on the seafloor was surrounded and
buried by sediment after the death of the animal. However, the shell was closed, so the
internal cavity of the shell, where the body used to be, remained as a cavity in the sediment
(perfectly representing the inside surface of the shell).
The sediment hardened into rock, still withe the empty shell encased in it. Then ground water
percolating through pores in the rock dissolved away the shell. The cavity in the rock now
came to be the shape of the outside of the shell, rather than its inside.
Next, ground water with a large amount of dissolved material in it (say, lime, or calcium
carbonate) seeped through the rock, and deposited crystals of calcite in the cavity.
When a geologist broke open the rock, she collected a fossil of solid calcite that was exactly
the same shape of the original shell, even though all the original shell had long since
disappeared. There are many variations on this theme, of course, and it is part of the job of
the geologist to recognize the changes that have occurred between the original living
organisms and the eventual fossils.
Most fossils are ordinary: they may be piles of broken shell fragments in a rock, just as one
finds many pieces of broken shell along a beach. They may be fragments of many species, or
a few, or mostly from only one. The shells or bones may be preserved as rather complete
instead of fragments. And if one is lucky, there may be such good preservation that all that is
missing is the soft parts (muscles, tendons, guts, etc.).
Some examples of extraordinary preservation:
Amber: fossilized tree resin, in which insects or plant fragments may be preserved practically
completely, often with soft parts still in position. Obviously amber is rare, and amber with
fossils in it is rarer still. But it occurs, and when we find it we can obtain extraordinary
information about fossils in amber.
Fossils in lake sediments are often very well preserved because in many lakes the floor is
very low in oxygen, and organisms do not oxidise as they decay. Example: a fossil fish from a

lake bed in Wyoming, which died in the act of eating another fish. Every scale and fin was
preserved in both fishes.
Other example: some organisms, such as brittle-stars, which fall apart very easily after death,
can be preserved in one piece.
Sometimes, in sediments from the Ice Age, we find frozen animals: obviously they must have
been preserved frozen since the year they first were buried. The mammoth fossil called Dima
shows us a baby mammoth, still with the fur on its skin and with its stomach contents
undigested.
Then there are trace fossils: where none of the original animal is preserved, but there can still
be an enormous amount of information in the fossil. Footprints, for example, may be difficult
to link to the animal that made them. Yet footprints tell us that dinosaurs ran, whereas study
of dinosaur anatomy only suggests that running was possible.
http://mygeologypage.ucdavis.edu/cowen/~GEL107/preservation.html

3.4 Fossils And Evolution

The principle of fossil succession
The principle of faunal succession, also known as the law of faunal succession, is based on
the observation that sedimentary rock strata contain fossilized flora and fauna, and that these
fossils succeed each other vertically in a specific, reliable order that can be identified over
wide horizontal distances. A fossilized Neanderthal bone will never be found in the same
stratum as a fossilized Megalosaurus, for example, because neanderthals and megalosaurs
lived during different geological periods, separated by many millions of years. This allows
for strata to be identified and dated by the fossils found within.
This principle, which received its name from the English geologist William Smith, is of great
importance in determining the relative age of rocks and strata. The fossil content of rocks
together with the law of superposition helps to determine the time sequence in which
sedimentary rocks were laid down.
Evolution explains the observed faunal and floral succession preserved in rocks. Faunal
succession was documented by Smith in England during the first decade of the 19th century,
and concurrently in France by Cuvier (with the assistance of the mineralogist Alexandre
Brongniart). Archaic biological features and organisms are succeeded in the fossil record by
more modern versions. For instance, paleontologists investigating the evolution of birds

predicted that feathers would first be seen in primitive forms on flightless predecessor
organisms such as feathered dinosaurs. This is precisely what has been discovered in the
fossil record: simple feathers, incapable of supporting flight, are succeeded by increasingly
large and complex feathers.
In practice, the most useful diagnostic species are those with the fastest rate of species
turnover and the widest distribution; their study is termed biostratigraphy, the science of
dating rocks by using the fossils contained within them. In Cenozoic strata, fossilized tests of
foraminifera are often used to determine faunal succession on a refined scale, each
biostratigraphic unit (biozone) being a geological stratum that is defined on the basis of its
characteristic fossil taxa. An outline microfaunal zonal scheme based on both foraminifera
and ostracoda was compiled by M. B. Hart (1972).
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Principle_of_faunal_succession
Natural selection

http://www.education.vic.gov.au/Documents/school/teachers/teachingresources/discipline/sci
ence/continuum/naturalselect2.pdf
Natural variation occurs among the individuals of any population of organisms. Many of
these differences do not affect survival or reproduction, but some differences may improve
the chances of survival and reproduction of a particular individual. A rabbit that runs faster
than others may be more likely to escape from predators, and algae that are more efficient at
extracting energy from sunlight will grow faster. Something that increases an organism's
chances of survival will often also include its reproductive rate; however, sometimes there is
a trade-off between survival and current reproduction. Ultimately, what matters is total
lifetime reproduction of the organism.
The peppered moth exists in both light and dark colours in the United Kingdom, but during
the industrial revolution, many of the trees on which the moths rested became blackened by
soot, giving the dark-coloured moths an advantage in hiding from predators. This gave darkcoloured moths a better chance of surviving to produce dark-coloured offspring, and in just
fifty years from the first dark moth being caught, nearly all of the moths in industrial
Manchester were dark. The balance was reversed by the effect of the Clean Air Act 1956, and
the dark moths became rare again, demonstrating the influence of natural selection on
peppered moth evolution.
If the traits that give these individuals a reproductive advantage are also heritable, that is,
passed from parent to offspring, then there will be a slightly higher proportion of fast rabbits
or efficient algae in the next generation. This is known as differential reproduction. Even if
the reproductive advantage is very slight, over many generations any heritable advantage will
become dominant in the population. In this way the natural environment of an organism
"selects" for traits that confer a reproductive advantage, causing gradual changes or evolution
of life. This effect was first described and named by Charles Darwin.
The concept of natural selection predates the understanding of genetics, the mechanism of
heredity for all known life forms. In modern terms, selection acts on an organism's
phenotype, or observable characteristics, but it is the organism's genetic make-up or genotype
that is inherited. The phenotype is the result of the genotype and the environment in which
the organism lives (see Genotype-phenotype distinction).
This is the link between natural selection and genetics, as described in the modern
evolutionary synthesis. Although a complete theory of evolution also requires an account of
how genetic variation arises in the first place (such as by mutation and sexual reproduction)

and includes other evolutionary mechanisms (such as genetic drift and gene flow), natural
selection appears to be the most important mechanism for creating complex adaptations in
nature.
Evolution
The theory of evolution is one of the great intellectual revolutions of human history,
drastically changing our perception of the world and of our place in it. Charles Darwin put
forth a coherent theory of evolution and amassed a great body of evidence in support of this
theory. In Darwin's time, most scientists fully believed that each organism and each
adaptation was the work of the creator. Linneaus established the system of biological
classification that we use today, and did so in the spirit of cataloguing God's creations.
In other words, all of the similarities and dissimilarities among groups of organisms that are
the result of the branching process creating the great tree of life (see Figure 1), were viewed
by early 19th century philosophers and scientists as a consequence of omnipotent design.

However, by the 19th Century, a number of natural historians were beginning to think of
evolutionary change as an explanation for patterns observed in nature. The following ideas
were part of the intellectual climate of Darwin's time.

No one knew how old the earth was, but geologists were beginning to make estimates that the
earth was considerably older than explained by biblical creation. Geologists were learning
more about strata, or layers formed by successive periods of the deposition of sediments. This
suggested a time sequence, with younger strata overlying older strata.
A concept called uniformitarianism, due largely to the influential geologist Charles Lyell,
undertook to decipher earth history under the working hypothesis that present conditions and
processes are the key to the past, by investigating ongoing, observable processes such as
erosion and the deposition of sediments.
Discoveries of fossils were accumulating during the 18th and 19th centuries. At first
naturalists thought they were finding remains of unknown but still living species. As fossil
finds continued, however, it became apparent that nothing like giant dinosaurs was known
from anywhere on the planet. Furthermore, as early as 1800, Cuvier pointed out that the
deeper the strata, the less similar fossils were to existing species.
Similarities among groups of organisms were considered evidence of relatedness, which in
turn suggested evolutionary change. Darwin's intellectual predecessors accepted the idea of
evolutionary relationships among organisms, but they could not provide a satisfactory
explanation for how evolution occurred.
Lamarck is the most famous of these. In 1801, he proposed organic evolution as the
explanation for the physical similarity among groups of organisms, and proposed a
mechanism for adaptive change based on the inheritance of acquired characteristics. He wrote
of the giraffe:
"We know that this animal, the tallest of mammals, dwells in the interior of Africa, in places
where the soil, almost always arid and without herbage, obliges it to browse on trees and to
strain itself continuously to reach them. This habit sustained for long, has had the result in all
members of its race that the forelegs have grown longer than the hind legs and that its neck
has become so stretched, that the giraffe, without standing on its hind legs, lifts its head to a
height of six meters."
In essence, this says that the necks of Giraffes became long as a result of continually
stretching to reach high foliage. Larmarck was incorrect in the hypothesized mechanism, of
course, but his example makes clear that naturalists were thinking about the possibility of
evolutionary change in the early 1800's.
Darwin was influenced by observations made during his youthful voyage as naturalist on the
survey ship Beagle. On the Galapagos Islands he noticed the slight variations that made
tortoises from different islands recognizably distinct. He also observed a whole array of

unique finches, the famous "Darwin's finches," that exhibited slight differences from island to
island. In addition, they all appeared to resemble, but differ from, the common finch on the
mainland of Ecuador, 600 miles to the east. Patterns in the distribution and similarity of
organisms had an important influence of Darwin's thinking. The picture at the top of this page
is of Darwin's own sketches of finches in his Journal of Researches.
In 1859, Darwin published his famous On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural
Selection, a tome of over 500 pages that marshalled extensive evidence for his theory.
Publication of the book caused a furor - every copy of the book was sold the day that it was
released. Members of the religious community, as well as some scientific peers, were
outraged by Darwin's ideas and protested. Most scientists, however, recognized the power of
Darwin's arguments. Today, school boards still debate the validity and suitability of Darwin's
theory in science curricula, and a whole body of debate has grown up around the controversy
(see the WWW site Talk.Origins for an ongoing dialogue). We do not have time to cover all
of Darwin's evidence and arguments, but we can examine the core ideas.
http://www.globalchange.umich.edu/globalchange1/current/lectures/selection/selection.html
Law Darwin
An unfortunate and ultimately pointless debate rages between those who find the scientific
basis of evolution compelling, and those who choose not to believe on religious grounds.
Science and religion inhabit two very different worlds, demanding neither
reconciliation or supremacy. Science values proof before faith, while religion values faith
before proof. Indeed, God bestows his greatest blessings on those who trust in his existence
without the benefit of miracles or peer pressure. Ironically, creationist attempts to overturn
Darwinism on "technical grounds" undermines the very foundations of religion, and are
ultimately self-defeating. For if God's existence is a necessary precondition for "Intelligent
Design" to make sense, then God's non-existence is a logical consequence of the blatant
failures of creationism to explain anything but the prejudices of its proponents.
Surprisingly, despite all the noise and emotions, both scientists and creationists agree on
almost all aspects of Darwin's great discovery- reducing the debate to one small, but
important point. And that is the subject of this prediction.
Darwin's Law of Evolution by Natural Selection (traditionally referred to as a "theory" to
honor Darwin's original treatise, but now confirmed through observation and experiment)
consists of five main tenets. First, he describes how species can change in shape and

character through selective breeding. No reasonable person, whether creationist or scientist,

doubts selective breeding can morph a wolf into a pony-sized mastiff. Or evolve the same
wild animal into a comically shrunk, rat-sized Chihuahua. Second, he describes how species
are neither completely uniform nor immutable, and how these natural variations are the grist
upon which human selective breeding grinds. Once a new characteristic is established, these
variations persist from generation to generation, and are systematically and predictably
passed from parent to child. Again, all but the most radical creationists accepts these facts,
widely employed since the birth of animal husbandry and agriculture . Third, he recognized
that Nature, through selective pressures like environmental shifts or changes in predation, can
play the role of humans in selective breeding. Whether man selects a long-haired dog for its
appearance, or colder winters favor the survival of thick furred over short-haired canines, the
result is identical. Again, the power of evolution by Natural Selection is confirmed though
field work (such as Darwin's finches), genetic mapping, and the experience of anyone who
chooses to listen openly to nature.
Fourth, everyone agrees that, while changes within a species are indisputable and can
be observed within a lifetime, no one has ever seen (nor is there a recorded observation after
5000 years of written history) one species transmuting to another. Fish never become fowl,
insects never become birds, and monkeys certainly never become humans.
With all this agreement on Darwin's four key tenets, why is there so much fuss about
evolution? Ah, but for one small, annoying small point. Modern scientists, following
Darwin's last great insight, have proven an accumulation of small changes can lead to an
entirely new species, given sufficient time. Creationists deny there is either enough time (i.e.
the Earth is only a few thousand years old according to one biblical interpretation), or small
changes can never accumulate into a species sized change. Thus, the argument is not over the
Evolution of a species by Natural Selection, but the Transmutation between species under any
circumstances, including Natural Selection.
Scientific evidence for species-changing evolution was already quite strong in the
time of Darwin, but indirect. Now, with the advent of DNA mapping, we can clearly read
evolution's history in our genes, and track genetic change and reuse from 4 billion-year-old
strains of bacteria to their expression of proteins in modern humans. Yet we still have never
seen a species transform.
Thus my prediction. Based on our growing understanding of genetic coding, gene switching,
protein unfolding and new observational tools, sometime in the next 25 years one species will
be observed to transform into another. And back again- it will be a simple, single mutation

which triggers the change[4]. If one had to guess, an insect is the perfect candidate- many
already "transmute" from caterpillar to butterfly. Such an observation would solidify Darwin's
Law of Evolution's place among the greatest of all scientific insights. Reproducible species
transmutation will not convince a creationist of Darwin's validity- loose thinking and bad
science provide a convenient escape clause. But most of us can finally concentrate on the
future rather than debating the past. And let science and religion coexist in their own,
compelling dominions.
http://www.genuineideas.com/ArticlesIndex/Darwin.htm

3.5 Extinction Of The Dinosaurs

Perhaps the most notable event of the Cretaceous was its conclusion. About 65 million years
ago the second greatest mass extinction in Earth history occurred, resulting in the loss of the
dinosaurs as well as nearly 50% of all the worlds species. Though not nearly as severe as the
end-Permian mass extinction, the end-Cretaceous extinction is the most famous mass
extinction in Earth history. Other great animals also went extinct at that time, including flying
reptiles (pterosaurs) and the last mosasaurs and plesiosaurs. Many mollusks, including
rudistid and inoceramid clams, ammonites, and belemnites, also became extinct, as did many
species of microscopic marine plankton. Terrestrial plants also suffered a major extinction at
this time; in some regions up to 60% of latest Cretaceous plant species were absent in the
subsequent Paleocene. Terrestrial insects also suffered a high level of extinction, especially
those that were highly specialized to feed on one or a few types of plants. In fact, the level of
insect herbivoryboth generalized and specializeddid not recover to latest Cretaceous
levels until the Paleocene-Eocene boundary, approximately 9 million years later. In spite of
the severity of extinctions at the end of the Cretaceous, many types of animals and plants
survived and gave rise to new groups of organisms in the Paleocene.
The causes of the end-Cretaceous extinction are still being debated by paleontologists.
Researchers agree that a major factor was an asteroid about 10 kilometers in diameter that
struck what is now the Yucatn peninsula in Mexico. The effects of the impact were
catastrophic, probably including global forest fires, possibly a period of cold weather due to
sunlight-blocking dust and smoke, and a subsequent period of hot climate caused by the high
levels of CO2 released into the atmosphere by the impact. Evidence for the devastation of
terrestrial vegetation comes in the form of a thin rock layer deposited just after the impact

that is dominated by fossil plants whose present-day relatives recover well after fires or other
disturbances. Some paleontologists argue that dinosaurs were already in decline before the
asteroid impact, so that its environmental effects merely hastened their extinction.
Alternatively, others point to the high abundance and variety of dinosaur species recorded
even in the sediments deposited just below the asteroid impact layer in the Hell Creek
Formation of western North America.
Regardless of what caused the disappearance of the dinosaurs, the mass extinction at the end
of the Cretaceous led the way for the rapid rise to dominance of new groups of organisms
during the following time period, the Paleocene. In particular, Paleocene mammals would
spread and evolve into the many ecological niches left open by the extinction of the
dinosaurs.
http://paleobiology.si.edu/geotime/main/htmlversion/cretaceous4.html

3.6 Boundary KtThe K/T boundary event marks a monumental change in environmental conditions and in life
forms. The "event" marks the transition from the Mesozoic Era with its final Cretaceous (K)
period and the Cenozoic Era and its initial period, the Tertiary, in the Geological Timescale.
The boundary occurred 65 million (6.5x107) years ago.
One of the largest mass extinction events occurred at this boundary, which indeed makes it a
most important "punctuation" in the history of life on earth and evolution.
The apparent catastrophic extinction of about 75% of all life forms over a relatively short
time interval was a gigantic problem for students of earth history and evolution. The event
marked the abrupt end of the Dinosauria (with the exception of the birds) along with multiple
other species including 90% of oceanic phytoplankton and opened the field for the mammals
and other survivors.
The cause for the event has a long history of study and speculation from volcanism to
"mammals eating dinosaur eggs". In the 1970s Louis and Walter Alvarez while studying the
thin layer of clay that typically marks the stratigraphic boundary between the Cretaceous and
the Tertiary near Gubbio, Italy, noted an anomalous spike in iridium (Ir) content of the clay.
The iridium content was about 30 times higher than that found in typical earth rocks. Iridium
is much more common in asteroides and this observation led to the hypothesis of a large

meteorite impact as the trigger for the extinctions of the K/T boundary. Further study of
outcrops and drill hole intersections of the K/T boundary also contained this thin iridium rich
clay seam. The clay also contained soot particles and strained quartz crystals as indicators of
high temperature and shock pressures.
The hypothesis of a meteorite impact seemed to fit the data, but where was this large impact?
Alvarez calculated that a chondritic asteroid approximately 10km in diameter would contain
sufficient iridium to account for the anomalous worldwide K/T clay layer. Such a large bolide
would create a large crater and should leave some evidence of its footprint.
Geophysical evidence of a large impact structure just off the north coast of the Yucatan in
Mexico was recognized in 1990. This structure, the Chicxulub crater, was dated with the
40Ar/39Ar radiometric dating method as being 65 million years old right at the K/T
boundary. Calculations based on the size of the crater were consistent with a large meteorite
impact as proposed by Alvarez. It appeared the "smoking gun" had been located; however,
more recent investigations on drill cores from the Chicxulub crater have cast new doubts on
the connection between Chicxulub crater and the KT-impact. According to the results of this
investigations, done by G. Keller et al., the Chicxulub crater predates the KT-boundary about
0.3 million years.
The shock of the impact, the tidal waves no doubt produced, the global firestorm possibly
ignited by the high temperatures of the impact ejecta, the dust and smoke that blanketed the
globe for an extended period and the acid and chemical interactions in the atmosphere and the
ocean waters spelled catastrophe for any living thing on earth.
The impact evidence presented by Alvarez and others is well established and has seen
considerable scientific support. However, some critics hold that it is not the whole story. At
the same time period, the Deccan Traps, a gigantic volcano field in India, was being produced
with an area estimated at greater than 2.6 million km2 and as much as 2 km thick. D. M.
McLean has proposed the extinction event was due to a K-T carbon cycle perturbation or
intense "greenhouse effect" caused by the massive volcanism of the Deccan Traps. The
iridium anomaly could also have been produced by a proposed deep mantle plume as the
source of the Deccan volcanism. However, isotopic anomalies - e.g. the Cr-53 anomaly found
in the KT boundary layer - are very difficult to explain by volcanism.
A large impact crater has been recently reported in the sea floor off the west coast of India.
This, the Shiva crater, has also been dated at 65 million years right at the K/T boundary. The
researchers suggest that the impact may have been the triggering event for the Deccan Traps.
Two other craters, the Boltysh crater in the Ukraine and the Silverpit crater in the North Sea,

also appear to have been formed at the K/T boundary. This suggests near simultaneous
multiple impacts from perhaps a fragmented asteroidal object.
Another proposed cause for the K/T extinction event was radiation from a relatively nearby
supernova explosion. The iridium anomaly at the boundary could support this hypothesis.
The cosmic radiation from a supernova explosion should contain the plutonium isotope Pu244, a relatively short lived isotope (half-life 81 myr) that is not found in earth rocks.
However, analysis of the boundary layer revealed the absence of Pu-244 thus essentially
disproving this hypothesis. Others have pointed out that various species and groups were
either in decline or had became extinct before the event. This suggests that the impact event
and the massive volcanism were superimposed on and exacerbated the normal ebb and flow
of evolution.
The concept of an impact as the prime cause of the extinction event is catastrophic and many
geologists of the latter part of the twentieth century may find catastrophism distasteful for a
couple of reasons. First, the principle of uniformitarianism of James Hutton and Charles Lyell
has long been one of the mainstays of geologic education and major catastrophic events
would seem to be at odds with this important concept. Second, creationists and other
pseudoscience types have long used catastrophism to explain away the need for geologic time
and to compress earth history into their picture of reality. Many geologists may be reluctant to
support a concept that creationists may view as supporting their claims.
http://evolutionwiki.org/wiki/KT-Boundary

CHAPTER 4
PLATE TECTONIC AND GEOSYNCLINE

4.1 Evolution of Geosyncline Theory

The concept of geosynclines came into existence in 1859. Based upon his research on the
stratigraphy and structure of the northern Appalachians, James Hall discovered that the folded
Palaeozoic sediments belonging to mountain ranges are shallow-water type of marine origin
having a thickness of 12 km. James Hall also found that the thickness was ten to twenty times
greater in comparison to the unfolded rock strata of corresponding ages found in the interior
lowlands towards the west.
The deposition of massive sequence of shale, sandstone and limestone suggests that the
underlying floor of older rocks subsided by a similar amount. The mountain formation was
preceded by prolonged periods of down-warping during which the process of sediment
accumulation maintained a balance with the subsidence of the crust. Dana (1873) called such
elongated belts of subsidence and sedimentation geosynclines.
H. Stille further categorised geosynclines into miogeosynclines and eugeosynclines.
Eugeosynclines are characterised by intermittent volcanic activity during the process of
sedimentation, whereas miogeosynclines have low volcanic activity.
The two classes are found side by side separated by a geanticline in the middle.
Miogeosynclines are now considered to be former continental margins like those fringing the
Atlantic Ocean and eugeosynclines represent the inverted and deformed equivalents of ocean
basins of smaller magnitude such as the marginal basins of the western part of the Pacific, the
Sea of Japan and the Sea of Okhotsk.
Geosynclinal Orogen Theory of Kober
The German geologist Kober in his book Der Bauder Erde has established a detailed and
systematic relationship between geosynclines and rigid masses of continental plates and the
formation of Fold Mountains. Kobers geosynclinal theory is based on the contraction forces
produced as a result of the cooling of the earth. In Kobers view the forces of contraction of

the earth lead to horizontal movements of forelands which in turn squeeze sediments into
massive mountains.
According to Kober, the mountains of the present occupied the geosynclinal sites of early
periods. The geosynclines or mobile zones of water have been identified as orogen by
Kober. The rigid masses which surround the geosynclines are termed as kratogen. Such
kratogens include the Canadian Shield, the Baltic Shield, the Siberian Shield, Peninsular
India, the Chinese Massif, the Brazilian Mass, the African Shield, and the Australian and
Antarctic rigid blocks.
Kober considers the Pacific Ocean to have been formed when the mid-Pacific geosyncline
separated the north and south Pacific forelands which were later filled with water and sank.
He identified morphometric units based on the surface features of the earth during the
Mesozoic Era, e.g., (i) Africa together with some parts belonging to the Indian and Atlantic
Oceans, (ii) Indian Australian landmass, (iii) Eurasian landmass, (iv) Northern Pacific
continent, (v) Southern Pacific continent, (vi) South America and Antarctica.
Kober has demarcated six major mountain- building periods. Three very little-known
mountain- building periods occurred during the Precambria Period. This was followed by two
major periods during the Palaeozoic Erathe Caledonian orogenesis was over by the end of
the Silurian Period and the Variscan orogeny was finished in the Permo-Carboniferous
Period. The sixth and last orogenesis called Alpine orogeny was completed in the Tertiary
Epoch.
Kober opined that the whole process of mountain-building passes through three stages closely
interlinked with one another.
a. Lithogenesis
This stage is characterised by the creation, sedimentation and subsidence of geosynclines.
Geosynclines are formed due to contraction caused by the cooling process of the earth. The
forelands or kratogens which border geosynclines succumbed to the forces of denudation. As
a result, there was constant wearing a way of rocks and boulders from forelands and
deposition of the eroded material on the beds of geosynclines. This led to the subsidence of

geosynclines. The twin processes of sediment deposition and the resultant subsidence led to
further sediment deposition and increasing thickness of sediments.
b. Orogenesis
In this stage the geosynclinal sediments are squeezed and folded into mountain ranges. There
is a convergence of forelands towards each other due to the force of the contraction of the
earth. The enormous compressive forces produced by these moving forelands produce
contraction, squeezing and folding of sediments deposited on the geosynclinal bed.
The parallel mountain ranges found on both sides of the geosyncline have been termed by
Kober as rand ketten meaning marginal ranges. Kober viewed the folding of geosynclinal
sediments to be dependent upon the intensity of the compressive forces. Compressive forces
of normal and moderate intensity produce marginal ranges on two sides of the geosyncline
leaving the middle part unaffected.
The unfolded middle part is termed as zwischengebirge (between mountains) or median mass.
Kober tried to explain the forms and structures of fold mountains in the context of the median
mass. He viewed the Thethys geosyncline as bordered by the European foreland in the north
and by the African foreland in the south.
The sedimentary deposits of the Tethys geosyncline had undergone massive compression due
to the converging movement of the European landmass (foreland) and the African foreland,
leading to the formation of the Alpine mountain system. For example, the Pyrenees, Betic
Cordillera, the Provence ranges, the Carpathians, the Alps proper, the Balkan mountains and
the Caucasus mountains came into being due to the northward movement of the African
foreland, while the Atlas mountains, the Apennines, the Dinarides, the Hellenides and the
Taurides were formed by the southward movement of the European foreland.
Examples of such median masses are found in the Hungarian median mass located between
the Carpathians and the Dinaric Alps on two sides. The Mediterranean Sea is a median mass
placed between the Pyrenees-Provence Ranges on the north and the Atlas Mountains and
their eastern extension on the south. Examples of median masses are the Anatolian plateau
located between the Pontic and the Taurus, and the Iranian plateau located between the
Zagros and the Elburz.

Kober argued that the Asiatic Alpine fold mountains can be divided into two major categories
based on the orientation of folds: (a) ranges formed by the northward compression such as
Pontic, Taurus, Caucasus, Kunlun, Yannan and Annan ranges, and (b) ranges formed by the
southward compression like the Zagros, the Elburz (Iran), the Oman ranges, the Himalayas,
etc.
The median mass is found in various forms: (i) plateaus like the Tibetan plateau between the
Kunlun and the Himalayas, the Basin Range bordered by the Wasatch ranges and Sierra
Nevada (USA); (ii) plains like the Hungarian plain bordered by the Carpathians and Dinaric
Alps; (iii) seas such as the Caribbean Sea between the mountains of middle America and the
West Indies.
c. Gliptogenesis
This phase of mountain- building is characterised by a gradual ascent of mountain ranges and
the ongoing denudation processes by natural agents.
Kobers geosynclinal theory provided a satisfactory explanation for a few aspects of
mountain building. The theory, however, suffers from shortcomings. First, the force of
contraction produced by the cooling of the earth is not adequate for the formation of massive
mountains like the Himalayas and the Alps. Secondly, Suess argued that only one side of the
geosyncline moves while the other side remains static. Suess termed the moving side as
backland and the stable side as foreland.
He opined that the Himalayas were formed by the southward movement of Angaraland; the
Gondwanaland did not move. This observation is now irrelevant in the light of the Plate
Tectonic Theory. Evidences of paleomagnetism and sea- floor spreading prove that both the
forelands move towards each other. Thirdly, Kobers theory has been successful in explaining
the mountains having an east-west extension, but those having a north- south alignment can
hardly be explained on the basis of his theory.
Kober, however, has been given credit for having postulated the formation of geosynclines
and the role of geosynclines in mountain formation.

4.2 Evolution Plate Tectonic Theory

Close examination of a globe often results in the observation that most of the continents seem
to fit together like a puzzle: the west African coastline seems to snuggle nicely into the east
coast of South America and the Caribbean sea; and a similar fit appears across the Pacific.
The fit is even more striking when the submerged continental shelves are compared rather
than the coastlines. In 1912 Alfred Wegener (1880-1930) noticed the same thing and
proposed that the continents were once compressed into a single protocontinent which he
called Pangaea (meaning "all lands"), and over time they have drifted apart into their current
distribution. He believed that Pangaea was intact until the late Carboniferous period, about
300 million years ago, when it began to break up and drift apart. However, Wegener's
hypothesis lacked a geological mechanism to explain how the continents could drift across
the earths surface as he proposed.

Searching for evidence to further develop his theory of continental drift, Wegener came
across a paleontological paper suggesting that a land bridge had once connected Africa with
Brazil. This proposed land bridge was an attempt to explain the well known paleontological
observation that the same fossilized plants and animals from the same time period were found
in South America and Africa. The same was true for fossils found in Europe and North
America, and Madagascar and India. Many of these organisms could not have traveled
across the vast oceans that currently exist. Wegener's drift theory seemed more plausible than
land bridges connecting all of the continents. But that in itself was not enough to support his
idea. Another observation favoring continental drift was the presence of evidence for
continental glaciation in the Pensylvanian period. Striae left by the scraping of glaciers over
the land surface indicated that Africa and South America had been close together at the time
of this ancient ice age. The same scraping patterns can be found along the coasts of South
America and South Africa.

Wegener's drift hypothesis also provided an alternate explanation for the formation of
mountains (orogenesis). The theory being discussed during his time was the "Contraction
theory" which suggested that the planet was once a molten ball and in the process of cooling
the surface cracked and folded up on itself. The big problem with this idea was that all
mountain ranges should be approximately the same age, and this was known not to be true.
Wegener's explanation was that as the continents moved, the leading edge of the continent
would encounter resistance and thus compress and fold upwards forming mountains near the
leading edges of the drifting continents. The Sierra Nevada mountains on the Pacific coast of
North America and the Andes on the coast of South America were cited. Wegener also
suggested that India drifted northward into the asian continent thus forming the Himalayas.
Wegener eventually proposed a mechanism for continental drift that focused on his assertion
that the rotation of the earth created a centrifugal force towards the equator. He believed that
Pangaea originated near the south pole and that the centrifugal force of the planet caused the
protocontinent to break apart and the resultant continents to drift towards the equator. He
called this the "pole-fleeing force". This idea was quickly rejected by the scientific
community primarily because the actual forces generated by the rotation of the earth were
calculated to be insufficient to move continents. Wegener also tried to explain the westward
drift of the Americas by invoking the gravitational forces of the sun and the moon, this idea
was also quickly rejected. Wegener's inability to provide an adequate explanation of the
forces responsible for continental drift and the prevailing belief that the earth was solid and
immovable resulted in the scientific dismissal of his theories.
In 1929, about the time Wegener's ideas began to be dismissed, Arthur Holmes elaborated on
one of Wegener's many hypotheses; the idea that the mantle undergoes thermal convection.
This idea is based on the fact that as a substance is heated its density decreases and rises to
the surface until it is cooled and sinks again. This repeated heating and cooling results in a
current which may be enough to cause continents to move. Arthur Holmes suggested that this
thermal convection was like a conveyor belt and that the upwelling pressure could break apart
a continent and then force the broken continent in opposite directions carried by the
convection currents. This idea received very little attention at the time.
Not until the 1960's did Holmes' idea receive any attention. Greater understanding of the
ocean floor and the discoveries of features like mid-oceanic ridges, geomagnetic anomalies
parallel to the mid-oceanic ridges, and the association of island arcs and oceanic trenches

occurring together and near the continental margins, suggested convection might indeed be at
work. These discoveries and more led Harry Hess (1962) and R.Deitz (1961) to publish
similar hypotheses based on mantle convection currents, now known as "sea floor
spreading". This idea was basically the same as that proposed by Holmes over 30 years
earlier, but now there was much more evidence to further develop and support the idea.

4.3 Plate Boundaries

Scientists now have a fairly good understanding of how the plates move and how such
movements relate to earthquake activity. Most movement occurs along narrow zones between
plates where the results of plate-tectonic forces are most evident.
There are four types of plate boundaries:

Divergent boundaries -- where new crust is generated as the plates pull away from
each other.

Convergent boundaries -- where crust is destroyed as one plate dives under another.

Transform boundaries -- where crust is neither produced nor destroyed as the plates
slide horizontally past each other.

Plate boundary zones -- broad belts in which boundaries are not well defined and the
effects of plate interaction are unclear.

1. Divergent Boundaries
Divergent boundaries occur along spreading centers where plates are moving apart and new
crust is created by magma pushing up from the mantle. Picture two giant conveyor belts,
facing each other but slowly moving in opposite directions as they transport newly formed
oceanic crust away from the ridge crest.
Perhaps the best known of the divergent boundaries is the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. This
submerged mountain range, which extends from the Arctic Ocean to beyond the southern tip
of Africa, is but one segment of the global mid-ocean ridge system that encircles the Earth.
The rate of spreading along the Mid-Atlantic Ridge averages about 2.5 centimeters per year
(cm/yr), or 25 km in a million years. This rate may seem slow by human standards, but
because this process has been going on for millions of years, it has resulted in plate
movement of thousands of kilometers. Seafloor spreading over the past 100 to 200 million

years has caused the Atlantic Ocean to grow from a tiny inlet of water between the continents
of Europe, Africa, and the Americas into the vast ocean that exists today.

The volcanic country of Iceland, which straddles the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, offers scientists a
natural laboratory for studying on land the processes also occurring along the submerged
parts of a spreading ridge. Iceland is splitting along the spreading center between the North
American and Eurasian Plates, as North America moves westward relative to Eurasia.
The consequences of plate movement are easy to see around Krafla Volcano, in the
northeastern part of Iceland. Here, existing ground cracks have widened and new ones appear
every few months. From 1975 to 1984, numerous episodes of rifting (surface cracking) took
place along the Krafla fissure zone. Some of these rifting events were accompanied by
volcanic activity; the ground would gradually rise 1-2 m before abruptly dropping, signalling
an impending eruption. Between 1975 and 1984, the displacements caused by rifting totalled
about 7 m.
In East Africa, spreading processes have already torn Saudi Arabia away from the rest of the
African continent, forming the Red Sea. The actively splitting African Plate and the Arabian
Plate meet in what geologists call a triple junction, where the Red Sea meets the Gulf of
Aden. A new spreading center may be developing under Africa along the East African Rift
Zone. When the continental crust stretches beyond its limits, tension cracks begin to appear
on the Earth's surface. Magma rises and squeezes through the widening cracks, sometimes to
erupt and form volcanoes. The rising magma, whether or not it erupts, puts more pressure on
the crust to produce additional fractures and, ultimately, the rift zone.
1. Convergent Boundaries
The size of the Earth has not changed significantly during the past 600 million years, and
very likely not since shortly after its formation 4.6 billion years ago. The Earth's unchanging

size implies that the crust must be destroyed at about the same rate as it is being created, as
Harry Hess surmised. Such destruction (recycling) of crust takes place along convergent
boundaries where plates are moving toward each other, and sometimes one plate sinks
(is subducted) under another. The location where sinking of a plate occurs is called
a subduction zone.
The type of convergence -- called by some a very slow "collision" -- that takes place between
plates depends on the kind of lithosphere involved. Convergence can occur between an
oceanic and a largely continental plate, or between two largely oceanic plates, or between two
largely continental plates.
a. Oceanic-Continental Convergence
If by magic we could pull a plug and drain the Pacific Ocean, we would see a most amazing
sight -- a number of long narrow, curving trenches thousands of kilometers long and 8 to 10
km deep cutting into the ocean floor. Trenches are the deepest parts of the ocean floor and are
created by subduction.

Off the coast of South America along the Peru-Chile trench, the oceanic Nazca Plate is
pushing into and being subducted under the continental part of the South American Plate. In
turn, the overriding South American Plate is being lifted up, creating the towering Andes
mountains, the backbone of the continent. Strong, destructive earthquakes and the rapid uplift
of mountain ranges are common in this region. Even though the Nazca Plate as a whole is
sinking smoothly and continuously into the trench, the deepest part of the subducting plate
breaks into smaller pieces that become locked in place for long periods of time before
suddenly moving to generate large earthquakes. Such earthquakes are often accompanied by
uplift of the land by as much as a few meters.

Oceanic-continental convergence also sustains many of the Earth's active volcanoes, such as
those in the Andes and the Cascade Range in the Pacific Northwest. The eruptive activity is
clearly associated with subduction, but scientists vigorously debate the possible sources of
magma: Is magma generated by the partial melting of the subducted oceanic slab, or the
overlying continental lithosphere, or both?
b. Oceanic-Oceanic Convergence
As with oceanic-continental convergence, when two oceanic plates converge, one is usually
subducted under the other, and in the process a trench is formed. The Marianas Trench
(paralleling the Mariana Islands), for example, marks where the fast-moving Pacific Plate
converges against the slower moving Philippine Plate. The Challenger Deep, at the southern
end of the Marianas Trench, plunges deeper into the Earth's interior (nearly 11,000 m) than
Mount Everest, the world's tallest mountain, rises above sea level (about 8,854 m).

Subduction processes in oceanic-oceanic plate convergence also result in the formation of

volcanoes. Over millions of years, the erupted lava and volcanic debris pile up on the ocean
floor until a submarine volcano rises above sea level to form an island volcano. Such
volcanoes are typically strung out in chains called island arcs. As the name implies, volcanic
island arcs, which closely parallel the trenches, are generally curved. The trenches are the key
to understanding how island arcs such as the Marianas and the Aleutian Islands have formed
and why they experience numerous strong earthquakes. Magmas that form island arcs are
produced by the partial melting of the descending plate and/or the overlying oceanic
lithosphere. The descending plate also provides a source of stress as the two plates interact,
leading to frequent moderate to strong earthquakes.
c. Continental-Continental Convergence

The Himalayan mountain range dramatically demonstrates one of the most visible and
spectacular consequences of plate tectonics. When two continents meet head-on, neither is
subducted because the continental rocks are relatively light and, like two colliding icebergs,
resist downward motion. Instead, the crust tends to buckle and be pushed upward or
sideways. The collision of India into Asia 50 million years ago caused the Indian and
Eurasian Plates to crumple up along the collision zone. After the collision, the slow
continuous convergence of these two plates over millions of years pushed up the Himalayas
and the Tibetan Plateau to their present heights. Most of this growth occurred during the past
10 million years. The Himalayas, towering as high as 8,854 m above sea level, form the
highest continental mountains in the world. Moreover, the neighboring Tibetan Plateau, at an
average elevation of about 4,600 m, is higher than all the peaks in the Alps except for Mont
Blanc and Monte Rosa, and is well above the summits of most mountains in the United
States.

2. Transform Boundaries
The zone between two plates sliding horizontally past one another is called a transform-fault
boundary, or simply a transform boundary. The concept of transform faults originated with
Canadian geophysicist J. Tuzo Wilson, who proposed that these large faults or fracture
zones connect two spreading centers (divergent plate boundaries) or, less commonly, trenches
(convergent plate boundaries). Most transform faults are found on the ocean floor. They
commonly offset the active spreading ridges, producing zig-zag plate margins, and are
generally defined by shallow earthquakes. However, a few occur on land, for example the
San Andreas fault zone in California. This transform fault connects the East Pacific Rise, a
divergent boundary to the south, with the South Gorda -- Juan de Fuca -- Explorer Ridge,
another divergent boundary to the north.

The San Andreas fault zone, which is about 1,300 km long and in places tens of kilometers
wide, slices through two thirds of the length of California. Along it, the Pacific Plate has been
grinding horizontally past the North American Plate for 10 million years, at an average rate of
about 5 cm/yr. Land on the west side of the fault zone (on the Pacific Plate) is moving in a
northwesterly direction relative to the land on the east side of the fault zone (on the North
American Plate).
Oceanic fracture zones are ocean-floor valleys that horizontally offset spreading ridges; some
of these zones are hundreds to thousands of kilometers long and as much as 8 km deep.
Examples of these large scars include the Clarion, Molokai, and Pioneer fracture zones in the
Northeast Pacific off the coast of California and Mexico. These zones are presently inactive,
but the offsets of the patterns of magnetic striping provide evidence of their previous
transform-fault activity.
3. Plate-Boundary Zones
Not all plate boundaries are as simple as the main types discussed above. In some regions, the
boundaries are not well defined because the plate-movement deformation occurring there
extends over a broad belt (called a plate-boundary zone). One of these zones marks the
Mediterranean-Alpine region between the Eurasian and African Plates, within which several
smaller fragments of plates (microplates) have been recognized. Because plate-boundary
zones involve at least two large plates and one or more microplates caught up between them,
they tend to have complicated geological structures and earthquake patterns.
4. Rates of Motion

We can measure how fast tectonic plates are moving today, but how do scientists know what
the rates of plate movement have been over geologic time? The oceans hold one of the key
pieces to the puzzle. Because the ocean-floor magnetic striping records the flip-flops in the
Earth's magnetic field, scientists, knowing the approximate duration of the reversal, can
calculate the average rate of plate movement during a given time span. These average rates of
plate separations can range widely. The Arctic Ridge has the slowest rate (less than 2.5
cm/yr), and the East Pacific Rise near Easter Island, in the South Pacific about 3,400 km west
of Chile, has the fastest rate (more than 15 cm/yr).
Evidence of past rates of plate movement also can be obtained from geologic mapping
studies. If a rock formation of known age -- with distinctive composition, structure, or fossils
-- mapped on one side of a plate boundary can be matched with the same formation on the
other side of the boundary, then measuring the distance that the formation has been offset can
give an estimate of the average rate of plate motion. This simple but effective technique has
been used to determine the rates of plate motion at divergent boundaries, for example the
Mid-Atlantic Ridge, and transform boundaries, such as the San Andreas Fault.
Current plate movement can be tracked directly by means of ground-based or spacebased geodetic measurements; geodesy is the science of the size and shape of the Earth.
Ground-based measurements are taken with conventional but very precise ground-surveying
techniques, using laser-electronic instruments. However, because plate motions are global in
scale, they are best measured by satellite-based methods. The late 1970s witnessed the rapid
growth of space geodesy, a term applied to space-based techniques for taking precise,
repeated measurements of carefully chosen points on the Earth's surface separated by
hundreds to thousands of kilometers. The three most commonly used space-geodetic
techniques -- very long baseline interferometry (VLBI), satellite laser ranging (SLR), and the
Global Positioning System (GPS) -- are based on technologies developed for military and
aerospace research, notably radio astronomy and satellite tracking.
Among the three techniques, to date the GPS has been the most useful for studying the
Earth's crustal movements. Twenty-one satellites are currently in orbit 20,000 km above the
Earth as part of the NavStar system of the U.S. Department of Defense. These satellites
continuously transmit radio signals back to Earth. To determine its precise position on Earth
(longitude, latitude, elevation), each GPS ground site must simultaneously receive signals
from at least four satellites, recording the exact time and location of each satellite when its

signal was received. By repeatedly measuring distances between specific points, geologists
can determine if there has been active movement along faults or between plates. The
separations between GPS sites are already being measured regularly around the Pacific basin.
By monitoring the interaction between the Pacific Plate and the surrounding, largely
continental plates, scientists hope to learn more about the events building up to earthquakes
and volcanic eruptions in the circum-Pacific Ring of Fire. Space-geodetic data have already
confirmed that the rates and direction of plate movement, averaged over several years,
compare well with rates and direction of plate movement averaged over millions of years.

4.4 Mid Oceanic Ridge

mid-ocean ridge is a continuous range of undersea volcanic mountains that encircles the
globe almost entirely underwater. It is a central feature of seafloor terrain that is more varied
and more spectacular than almost anything found on dry land, and includes a collection of
volcanic ridges, rifts, fault zones, and other geologic features.
At nearly 60,000 kilometers (37,000 miles) long, the mid-ocean is the longest mountain range
on Earth. It formed and evolves as a result of spreading in Earths lithospherethe crust and
upper mantleat the divergent boundaries between tectonic plates. The vast majority of
volcanic activity on the planet occurs along the mid-ocean ridge, and it is the place where the
crust of the Earth is born. The material that erupts at spreading centers along the mid-ocean
ridge is primarily basalt, the most common rock on Earth.
Because this spreading occurs on a sphere, the rate separation along the mid-ocean ridge
varies around the globe. In places where spreading is fastest (more than 80 millimeters, or 3
inches, per year), the ridge has relatively gentle topography and is roughly dome-shaped in
cross-section as a result of the many layers of lava that build up over time. At slow- and ultraslow spreading centers, the ridge is much more rugged, and spreading is dominated more by
tectonic processes rather than volcanism.
Scientists study the physics, chemistry, and biology of mid-ocean ridges gain insight into how
Earth works in very fundamental and often surprising ways.

1. Principal characteristics

Oceanic ridges are found in every ocean basin and appear to girdleEarth. The ridges rise from
depths near 5 km (3 miles) to an essentially uniform depth of about 2.6 km (1.6 miles) and
are roughly symmetrical in cross section. They can be thousands of kilometres wide. In
places, the crests of the ridges are offset across transform faults within fracture zones, and
these faults can be followed down the flanks of the ridges. (Transform faults are those along
which lateral movement occurs.) The flanks are marked by sets of mountains and hills that
are elongate and parallel to the ridge trend.

New oceanic crust (and part of Earths upper mantle, which, together with the crust, makes up
the lithosphere) is formed at seafloor spreading centres at these crests of the oceanic ridges.
Because of this, certain unique geologic features are found there. Fresh basaltic lavas are
exposed on the seafloor at the ridge crests. These lavas are progressively buried by sediments
as the seafloor spreads away from the site. The flow of heat out of the crust is many times
greater at the crests than elsewhere in the world. Earthquakes are common along the crests
and in the transform faults that join the offset ridge segments. Analysis of earthquakes
occurring at the ridge crests indicates that the oceanic crust is under tension there. A highamplitude magnetic anomaly is centred over the crests because fresh lavas at the crests are
being magnetized in the direction of the present geomagnetic field.
The depths over the oceanic ridges are rather precisely correlated with the age of the ocean
crust; specifically, it has been demonstrated that the ocean depth is proportional to the square
root of crustal age. The theory explaining this relationship holds that the increase in depth
with age is due to the thermal contraction of the oceanic crust and upper mantle as they are
carried away from the seafloor spreading centre in an oceanic plate. Because such a tectonic
plate is ultimately about 100 km (62 miles) thick, contraction of only a few percent predicts
the entire relief of an oceanic ridge. It then follows that the width of a ridge can be defined as
twice the distance from the crest to the point where the plate has cooled to a steady thermal
state. Most of the cooling takes place within 70 million or 80 million years, by which time the
ocean depth is about 5 to 5.5 km (3.1 to 3.5 miles). Because this cooling is a function of age,
slow-spreading ridges, such as the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, are narrower than faster-spreading
ridges, such as the East Pacific Rise. Further, a correlation has been found between global
spreading rates and the transgression and regression of ocean waters onto the continents.

About 100 million years ago, during the early Cretaceous Period when global spreading rates
were uniformly high, oceanic ridges occupied comparatively more of the ocean basins,
causing the ocean waters to transgress (spill over) onto the continents, leaving marine
sediments in areas now well away from coastlines.
Besides ridge width, other features appear to be a function of spreading rate. Global
spreading rates range from 10 mm (0.4 inch) per year or less up to 160 mm (6.3 inches) per
year. Oceanic ridges can be classified as slow (up to 50 mm [about 2 inches] per year,
intermediate (up to 90 mm (about 3.5 inches) per year, and fast (up to 160 mm per year).
Slow-spreading ridges are characterized by a rift valley at the crest. Such a valley is faultcontrolled. It is typically 1.4 km (0.9 mile) deep and 2040 km (about 1225 miles) wide.
Faster-spreading ridges lack rift valleys. At intermediate rates, the crest regions are broad
highs with occasional fault-bounded valleys no deeper than 200 metres (about 660 feet). At
fast rates, an axial high is present at the crest. The slow-spreading rifted ridges have rough
faultedtopography on their flanks, while the faster-spreading ridges have much smoother
flanks.

1. Distribution of major ridges and spreading centres

Oceanic spreading centres are found in all the ocean basins. In the Arctic Ocean a slow-rate
spreading centre is located near the eastern side in the Eurasian basin. It can be followed
south, offset by transform faults, to Iceland. Iceland has been created by a hot spot located
directly below an oceanic spreading centre. The ridge leading south from Iceland is named
the Reykjanes Ridge, and, although it spreads at 20 mm (0.8 inch) per year or less, it lacks a
rift valley. This is thought to be the result of the influence of the hot spot.
a. Atlantic Ocean

The Mid-Atlantic Ridge extends from south of Iceland to the extreme South Atlantic Ocean
near 60 S latitude. It bisects the Atlantic Ocean basin, which led to the earlier designation of
mid-ocean ridge for features of this type. The Mid-Atlantic Ridge became known in a
rudimentary fashion during the 19th century. In 1855 Matthew Fontaine Maury of the U.S.
Navy prepared a chart of the Atlantic in which he identified it as a shallow middle ground.
During the 1950s the American oceanographers Bruce Heezen and Maurice Ewing proposed
that it was a continuous mountain range.
In the North Atlantic the ridge spreads slowly and displays a rift valley and mountainous
flanks. In the South Atlantic spreading rates are between slow and intermediate, and rift
valleys are generally absent, as they occur only near transform faults.

a. Indian Ocean

A very slow oceanic ridge, the Southwest Indian Ridge, bisects the ocean between Africa and
Antarctica. It joins the Mid-Indian and Southeast Indian ridges east of Madagascar.
The Carlsberg Ridge is found at the north end of the Mid-Indian Ridge. It continues north to
join spreading centres in the Gulf of Aden and Red Sea. Spreading is very slow at this point
but approaches intermediate rates on the Carlsberg and Mid-Indian ridges. The Southeast
Indian Ridge spreads at intermediate rates. This ridge continues from the western Indian
Ocean in a southeasterly direction, bisecting the ocean between Australia and Antarctica.
Rifted crests and rugged mountainous flanks are characteristic of the Southwest Indian Ridge.
The Mid-Indian Ridge has fewer features of this kind, and the Southeast Indian Ridge has
generally smoother topography. The latter also displays distinct asymmetric seafloor
spreading south of Australia. Analysis of magnetic anomalies shows that rates on opposite
sides of the spreading centre have been unequal at many times over the past 50 million or 60
million years.

c.. Pacific Ocean

The Pacific-Antarctic Ridge can be followed from a point midway between New Zealand and
Antarctica northeast to where it joins theEast Pacific Rise off the margin of South America.
The former spreads at intermediate to fast rates.
The East Pacific Rise extends from this site northward to the Gulf of California, where it
joins the transform zone of the Pacific-North American plate boundary. Offshore from Chile
and Peru, the East Pacific Rise is currently spreading at fast rates of 159 mm (6.3 inches) per
year or more. Rates decrease to about 60 mm (about 2.4 inches) per year at the mouth of the
Gulf of California. The crest of the ridge displays a low topographic rise along its length
rather than a rift valley. The East Pacific Rise was first detected during the Challenger
Expedition of the 1870s. It was described in its gross form during the 1950s and 60s by
oceanographers, including Heezen, Ewing, and Henry W. Menard. During the 1980s,Kenneth
C. Macdonald, Paul J. Fox, and Peter F. Lonsdale discovered that the main spreading centre
appears to be interrupted and offset a few kilometres to one side at various places along the
crest of the East Pacific Rise. However, the ends of the offset spreading centres overlap each
other by several kilometres. These were identified as a new type of geologic feature of
oceanic spreading centres and were designated overlapping spreading centres. Such centres

are thought to result from interruptions of the magma supply to the crest along its length and
define a fundamental segmentation of the ridge on a scale of tens to hundreds of kilometres.

4.5 Earthquake Zone

A subduction zone is the biggest crash scene on Earth. These boundaries mark the collision
between two of the planet's tectonic plates. The plates are pieces of crust that slowly move
across the planet's surface over millions of years.
Where two tectonic plates meet at a subduction zone, one bends and slides underneath the
other, curving down into the mantle. (The mantle is the hotter layer under the crust.)
Tectonic plates can transport both continental crust and oceanic crust, or they may be made of
only one kind of crust. Oceanic crust is denser than continental crust. At a subduction zone,
the oceanic crust usually sinks into the mantle beneath lighter continental crust. (Sometimes,
oceanic crust may grow so old and that dense that it collapses and spontaneously forms a
subduction zone, scientists think.)

If the same kind of crust collides, such as continent-continent, the plates may crash together
without subducting and crumple together like crashing cars. The massive Himalaya mountain
chain was created this way, when India slammed into Asia.
Scientists first identified subduction zones in the 1960s, by locating earthquakes in the
descending crust. Now, new instruments can precisely track the shifting tectonic plates.

Subduction zones occur all around the edge of the Pacific Ocean, offshore of Washington,
Canada, Alaska, Russia, Japan and Indonesia. Called the "Ring of Fire," these subduction
zones are responsible for the world's biggest earthquakes, the most terrible tsunamis and
some of the worst volcanic eruptions.
1. Earthquakes
Shoving two massive slices of Earth's crust together is like rubbing two pieces of sandpaper
against each other. The crust sticks in some places,storing up energy that is released in
earthquakes. The massive scale of subduction zones means they can cause enormous
earthquakes. The largest earthquakes ever recorded were on subduction zones, such as a
magnitude 9.5 in Chile in 1960 and a magnitude 9.2 in Alaska in 1964.
The reason why subduction zone earthquakes the biggest in the world is size. The size of an
earthquake is related to the size of the fault that causes it, and subduction zone faults are the
longest and widest in the world. The Cascadia subduction zone offshore of Washington is
about 620 miles (1,000 kilometers) long and about 62 miles (100 km) wide.
Smaller earthquakes also strike all along the descending plate, also called a slab. Seismic
waves from these temblors and tremors help scientists "see" inside the Earth, similar to a
medical CT scan. The quakes reveal that the sinking slab tends to bend at an angle between
25 to 45 degrees from Earth's surface, though some are flatter or steeper than this.
Sometimes, the slabs may tear, like a gash in wrinkled paper. Pieces of the sinking plate can
also break off and fall into the mantle, or get stuck and founder.
1. Tsunamis
When subduction zone earthquakes hit, Earth's crust flexes and snaps like a freed spring. For
earthquakes larger than a magnitude 7.5, this can cause a tsunami, a giant sea wave, by
suddenly moving the seafloor. However, not all subduction zone earthquakes will cause
tsunamis. Also, some earthquakes trigger tsunamis by sparking underwater landslides.
Whatever their cause, the tsunami threat from subduction zones is monitored by government
agencies such as NOAA in countries around the Pacific Ocean. Tsunamis may strike in

minutes for coastal areas near an earthquake, or hours later, after the waves travel across the
sea.
2. Volcanoes
As a tectonic plate slides into the mantle, the hotter layer beneath Earth's crust, the heating
releases fluids trapped in the plate. These fluids, such as seawater and carbon dioxide, rise
into the upper plate and can partially melt the overlying crust, forming magma. And magma
(molten rock) often means volcanoes.
Looking at the Pacific Ring of Fire reveals the link between subduction zones and volcanoes.
Inland of each subduction zone is a chain of spouting volcanoes called a volcanic arc, such as
Alaska's Aleutian Islands. The Toba volcanic eruption in Indonesia, the largest volcanic
eruption in the past 25 million years, was from a subduction zone volcano.

4.6 Basin Relation To Plate Tectonics

Different plate tectonic settings produce distinctive basin environments where sedimentary
rocks are deposited.
Tectonic Facies
Rift Valley

Tectonic Setting

Sedimentary Environment
Association of Rocks
Nonmarine (rivers and lakes) Volcanic rocks overlain

(clastic wedge)

Diverging boundary

changing to shallow marine

and

conglomerate)

greywacke).
Passive Margin
(mioclinal, eugeoclinal)

Shallow
None: within plate

marine

to

marine (including submarine shale or limestone offsh

Shallow
None: within plate

(mioclinal)

of erosional area produc

epeiric

sea

greywacke and shale in d

on Delta: arkosic to quartz s

continent includes delta

environments
shallow marine

Foreland basin

Younge

evaporites and limestone

deep Quartz-rich sandstone

fans)

Intracratonic

bordering Shallow

marine:

Alluvial deposits from

limestones, may include

Breccia, conglomerate

either subduction zone

greywacke) and shales

(clastic

wedge, mountains or suture Rivers and deltas

molasse)

source rocks.

zone mountains

Subduction: sedimen

and metamorphic roc

Suture; sediment de
and plutonic rocks
Marine
Forearc

and

sediments

backarc deposited in front of or Shallow

basins

(in

(flysch)

subduction) behind the

volcanic

to

deep

marine Conglomerate, sandsto

ocean-ocean (including submarine fans)

arc

in

from volcanically-derive

Trench

subduction zone
Subduction within Very

(flysch)

the trench itself

deep

marine,

metamorphosed

now Originally

fine-graine

shales and sandstones d

chert; now greenschis

metamorphic rocks
Sedimentary rocks are

Section through ocean

Ophiolite

floor

Very deep marine

pillow basalts. Beneath

dikes, layered gabbro, ul

1. Rift Valley
When a diverging boundary begins to open, it creates a narrow valley bounded by normal
faults. As well as the basalt that is erupted into the valley and injected into the rocks below to
create new ocean floor, sedimentary rocks will also be deposited within the rift valley. At
first the rift valley will be dominated by river systems, including these environments: alluvial
fans, river channels and floodplains. The rift valley may fill with fresh water and become a
lake. As the rift opens, ocean water may invade. The shallow waters of the rift valley can be
ideal environments for limestones to form.
2. Passive margin
When rifting is successful, the new ocean basin gets wider and wider. New ocean floor is
generated at the diverging boundary, and the edges of the now-split continents get farther
apart. The now fully-developed mid ocean ridge is the site of hot new ocean floor, and so it
floats high on the aesthenosphere beneath. But the continents get cooler as they move away

from the mid ocean ridge, and they subside. The ocean rises over the edges of the continent,
creating the passive margins. They are called passive because they are not near a plate
boundary, and there is very little geologic activity there - no volcanoes, no earthquakes.
If a passive margin is near a large river system, the sedimentary rocks deposited there will be
detrital: sandstones and shales from the sediments carried by the river. The sedimentary
environments will include river channels, floodplains, deltas, beaches and the deposition in
the shallow water of the continental shelf.
Because the passive margin is not near active mountain building with a lot of active erosion,
the sedimentary particles in the system have been there for a long time. They have been
thoroughly weathered. The result tends to be lot of quartz and other durable particles.
If the passive margin is far from a major river system, and the water is relatively warm,
limestones can form there.
Passive margin basins include both the shallow water deposition on the continental shelf, and
the deep water deposition on the continental rise below. Deposition in this deep water
environment is usually the result of turbidity currents - fluidized masses of sediment and
water that tumble off the edge of the continental shelf, erode channels into the continental
slope, and then are deposited on the continental rise and abyssal plain as the turbidity current
loses energy.
3. Intracratonic deposits
In the modern world, most of the ocean water is in the ocean basins. There are very few
places where sea water sits on continental material. In the past, virtually the entire North
American continent has been underwater. Sometimes these vast continental seas have been
very shallow, resulting in beach-like deposits over huge areas. When there were extensive
regions of the continent above water, the erosion of these areas shed clastic sediments into the
continental sea, resulting in large sheets of sandstones and shales. When there was less
continent above water to erode, the deposits in these shallow seas were carbonates. In
general, intracratonic deposits are much like those of passive margins - sometimes detrital,
sometimes carbonate - but they don't include the deep water facies of the passive margin.
One of the best examples of an intracratonic basin in the modern world is the Baltic and
North Seas, which are simply ocean water sitting on the European continent.

4. Foreland Basin
Large mountain ranges have depositional basins on both sides. These large mountain ranges
can be created by subduction - volcanic mountain ranges - or by collisions - metamorphic
mountain ranges. Foreland basins can be complex systems. They may include both the river
deposits from the eroding mountain range, and marine deposits if the system includes a
continental sea (called a foredeep). For our purposes in this class, we will just consider the
nonmarine deposits of the foreland basin system.
In the modern world, there are many foreland basin systems, including the interior of South
America, east of the Andes, a subduction boundary; and the depositional basins bordering the
Himalayas and Tibetan Plateau, a continental suture zone. In both cases there are huge
alluvial fans and massive river systems, with river channel deposits, floodplains and deltas.
5. Forearc and Backarc Basins
In subduction boundaries, sediment is shed off the volcanic mountains, and some makes its
way to the ocean to be deposited in shallow and deep water marine environments. This
sediment is poorly weathered, and contains many black minerals and volcanic rock
fragments. In continent-ocean subduction boundaries, this sediment is deposited in the ocean
above the trench itself. In ocean-ocean subduction boundaries, the sediment is deposited in
the forearc - above the trench - and in the backarc - on the opposite side of the volcanic island
chain from the trench.
There are many active subduction zones in the world today with well-developed forearc and
backarc basins. The Cascade Mountains of the US Pacific Northwest sit in a climate zone
with massive amounts of rain and rapid weathering, so the oceanic treanch has been
completely overrun and buried by the forearc basin. Japan is an excellent example of a
volcanic island arc with a forearc and backarc basin.
6. Trench
As an oceanic plate sinks in a subduction zone, the sediment on that plate is scraped off and
the sediment is plastered onto the edge of the overlying plate. As this process continues,
more sediment is scraped off and underplates the previously accreted material. Over time an

accretionary wedge forms. These rocks are subjected to higher pressure as they are drawn
deeper into the subdcution zone. The rocks formed higher in the wedge tend to be
greenschist facies rocks; those formed lower down tend to be blueschist. Because of the
scraping and churning within the accretionary mass, these rocks often contain chunks of
many things: bits of the downgoing oceanic plate, blueschist chunks that have been recycled
upward from deep in the wedge, remnants of volcanic islands that once sat on the downgoing
plate. This characteristic mixture of material is called a melange.
7. Ophiolite
This last category is not really a depositional basin, but a recognizable sequence of rock that
we understand as a slice of ocean floor. An ophiolite consists of this sequence (top to
bottom):

Fine grained, deep sea sediment

Pillow basalts

Diabase sheeted dikes (dikes cut vertically through other dikes)

Layered gabbro, with a concentration of mafic minerals in layers near the base

Ultramafic rocks (sometimes peridotite, sometimes altered to serpentinite).

If we see ophiolites in continental rock, it means something horrible has happened to emplace
a bit of ocean floor on the continent. Typically this is the result of a collision of some kind either two continents colliding, or a smaller chunk - an island arc or continental fragment being subducted and accreting onto a continent. Sometimes fragments of ocean floor are
incorporated into the melange of an accretionary wedge.

CHAPTER 5
THE ORIGIN OF THE EARTH
The history of Earth concerns the development of the planet Earth from its
formation to the present day. Nearly all branches of natural science have contributed to
the understanding of the main events of the Earth's past. The age of Earth is
approximately one-third of the age of the universe. An immense amount of geological
change has occurred in that time span, along then with biological change.
Earth formed around 4.54 billion years ago by accretion from the solar nebula.
Volcanic outgassing probably created the primordial atmosphere then the ocean, but the
atmosphere contained almost no oxygen so would have been toxic to most modern life
including humans. Much of the Earth was molten because of frequent collisions with
other bodies which led to extreme volcanism. One very large collision is thought to have
been responsible for forming the Moon. Over time, the Earth cooled, causing the
formation of a solid crust, and allowing liquid water to exist on the surface.
The first life forms appeared between 3.8 and 3.5 billion years ago. Geological
change has been constantly occurring on Earth since the time of its formation and
biological change since the first appearance of life. Species continuously evolve, taking
on new forms, splitting into daughter species, or going extinct in response to an everchanging planet. The process of plate tectonics has played a major role in the shaping of
Earth's oceans and continents, as well as the life they harbor. The biosphere, in turn, has
had a significant effect on the atmosphere and other abiotic conditions on the Earth, such
as the formation of the ozone layer, the proliferation of oxygen, and the creation of soil.
5.1 Origin of the Universe
Aristotle, the most famous of the Greek philosophers, believed the universe
had existed forever. Something eternal is more perfect than something created. He
suggested the reason we see progress was that floods, or other natural disasters, had
repeatedly set civilization back to the beginning. The motivation for believing in an
eternal universe was the desire to avoid invoking divine intervention to create the
universe and set it going. Conversely, those who believed the universe had a
beginning, used it as an argument for the existence of God as the first cause, or prime
mover, of the universe.

However in 1915, Einstein introduced his revolutionary General Theory of

Relativity. In this, space and time were no longer Absolute, no longer a fixed
background to events. Instead, they were dynamical quantities that were shaped by the
matter and energy in the universe. They were defined only within the universe, so it
made no sense to talk of a time before the universe began. It would be like asking for
a point south of the South Pole. It is not defined. If the universe was essentially
unchanging in time, as was generally assumed before the 1920s, there would be no
reason that time should not be defined arbitrarily far back. Any so-called beginning of
the universe would be artificial, in the sense that one could extend the history back to
earlier times. Thus it might be that the universe was created last year, but with all the
memories and physical evidence, to look like it was much older. This raises deep
philosophical questions about the meaning of existence. I shall deal with these by
adopting what is called, the positivist approach. In this, the idea is that we interpret
the input from our senses in terms of a model we make of the world. One cant ask
whether the model represents reality, only whether it works. A model is a good model
if first it interprets a wide range of observations, in terms of a simple and elegant
model. And second, if the model makes definite predictions that can be tested and
possibly falsified by observation.
Hubble found that stars are not uniformly distributed throughout space, but are
gathered together in vast collections called galaxies. By measuring the light from
galaxies, Hubble could determine their velocities. He was expecting that as many
galaxies would be moving towards us as were moving away. This is what one would
have in a universe that was unchanging with time. But to his surprise, Hubble found
that nearly all the galaxies were moving away from us. Moreover, the further galaxies
were from us, the faster they were moving away. The universe was not unchanging
with time as everyone had thought previously. It was expanding. The distance
between distant galaxies was increasing with time.
In the Steady State theory, as galaxies moved apart, the idea was that new
galaxies would form from matter that was supposed to be continually being created
throughout space. The universe would have existed for ever and would have looked
the same at all times. This last property had the great virtue, from a positivist point of
view, of being a definite prediction that could be tested by observation. The
Cambridge radio astronomy group, under Martin Ryle, did a survey of weak radio
sources in the early 1960s. These were distributed fairly uniformly across the sky,

indicating that most of the sources lay outside our galaxy. The weaker sources would
be further away, on average. The Steady State theory predicted the shape of the graph
of the number of sources against source strength. But the observations showed more
faint sources than predicted, indicating that the density sources were higher in the
past. This was contrary to the basic assumption of the Steady State theory, that
everything was constant in time. For this, and other reasons, the Steady State theory
was abandoned.
When Lifshitz and Khalatnikov published their claim, I was a 21 year old
research student looking for something to complete my PhD thesis. I didn't believe
their so-called proof, and set out with Roger Penrose to develop new mathematical
techniques to study the question. We showed that the universe couldn't bounce. If
Einstein's General Theory of Relativity is correct, there will be a singularity, a point of
infinite density and space time curvature, where time has a beginning. Observational
evidence to confirm the idea that the universe had a very dense beginning came in
October 1965, a few months after my first singularity result, with the discovery of a
faint background of microwaves throughout space. These microwaves are the same as
those in your microwave oven, but very much less powerful. They would heat your
pizza only to minus 271 point 3 degrees centigrade, not much good for defrosting the
pizza, let alone cooking it. You can actually observe these microwaves yourself. Set
your television to an empty channel. A few percent of the snow you see on the screen
will be caused by this background of microwaves. The only reasonable interpretation
of the background is that it is radiation left over from an early very hot and dense
state. As the universe expanded, the radiation would have cooled until it is just the
faint remnant we observe today.
Although the singularity theorems of Penrose and myself, predicted that the
universe had a beginning, they didn't say how it had begun. The equations of General
Relativity would break down at the singularity. Thus Einstein's theory cannot predict
how the universe will begin, but only how it will evolve once it has begun. There are
two attitudes one can take to the results of Penrose and myself. One is to that God
chose how the universe began for reasons we could not understand. This was the view
of Pope John Paul. At a conference on cosmology in the Vatican, the Pope told the
delegates that it was OK to study the universe after it began, but they should not
inquire into the beginning itself, because that was the moment of creation, and the
work of God. I was glad he didn't realize I had presented a paper at the conference

suggesting how the universe began. I didn't fancy the thought of being handed over to
the Inquisition, like Galileo.
The other interpretation of our results, which is favored by most scientists, is
that it indicates that the General Theory of Relativity breaks down in the very strong
gravitational fields in the early universe. It has to be replaced by a more complete
theory. One would expect this anyway, because General Relativity does not take
account of the small scale structure of matter, which is governed by quantum theory.
This does not matter normally, because the scale of the universe is enormous
compared to the microscopic scales of quantum theory. But when the universe is the
Planck size, a billion trillion trillionth of a centimeter, the two scales are the same,
and quantum theory has to be taken into account.
In order to understand the Origin of the universe, we need to combine the
General Theory of Relativity with quantum theory. The best way of doing so seems to
be to use Feynman's idea of a sum over histories. Richard Feynman was a colorful
character, who played the bongo drums in a strip joint in Pasadena, and was a brilliant
physicist at the California Institute of Technology. He proposed that a system got from
a state A, to a state B, by every possible path or history. Each path or history has a
certain amplitude or intensity, and the probability of the system going from A- to B, is
given by adding up the amplitudes for each path. There will be a history in which the
moon is made of blue cheese, but the amplitude is low, which is bad news for mice.
The idea is that the most probable histories of the universe would be like the surfaces
of the bubbles. Many small bubbles would appear, and then disappear again. These
would correspond to mini universes that would expand but would collapse again
while still of microscopic size. They are possible alternative universes but they are not
of much interest since they do not last long enough to develop galaxies and stars, let
alone intelligent life. A few of the little bubbles, however, grow to a certain size at
which they are safe from recollapse. They will continue to expand at an ever
increasing rate, and will form the bubbles we see. They will correspond to universes
that would start off expanding at an ever increasing rate. This is called inflation, like
the way prices go up every year.
The world record for inflation was in Germany after the First World War.
Prices rose by a factor of ten million in a period of 18 months. But that was nothing
compared to inflation in the early universe. The universe expanded by a factor of
million trillion trillion in a tiny fraction of a second. Unlike inflation in prices,
inflation in the early universe was a very good thing. It produced a very large and

uniform universe, just as we observe. However, it would not be completely uniform.

In the sum over histories, histories that are very slightly irregular will have almost as
high probabilities as the completely uniform and regular history. The theory therefore
predicts that the early universe is likely to be slightly non-uniform. These
irregularities would produce small variations in the intensity of the microwave
background from different directions. The microwave background has been observed
by the Map satellite, and was found to have exactly the kind of variations predicted.
So we know we are on the right lines.
The irregularities in the early universe will mean that some regions will have
slightly higher density than others. The gravitational attraction of the extra density
will slow the expansion of the region, and can eventually cause the region to collapse
to form galaxies and stars. So look well at the map of the microwave sky. It is the blue
print for all the structure in the universe.
We have made tremendous progress in cosmology in the last hundred years.
The General Theory of Relativity and the discovery of the expansion of the universe
shattered the old picture of an ever existing and ever lasting universe. Instead, general
relativity predicted that the universe, and time itself, would begin in the big bang. It
also predicted that time would come to an end in black holes. The discovery of the
cosmic microwave background and observations of black holes support these
conclusions. This is a profound change in our picture of the universe and of reality
itself. Although the General Theory of Relativity predicted that the universe must
have come from a period of high curvature in the past, it could not predict how the
universe would emerge from the big bang.
During this so called inflationary period, the marriage of the two theories
predicted that small fluctuations would develop and lead to the formation of galaxies,
stars, and all the other structure in the universe. This is confirmed by observations of
small non uniformities in the cosmic microwave background, with exactly the
predicted properties. So it seems we are on our way to understanding the origin of the
universe, though much more work will be needed. A new window on the very early
universe will be opened when we can detect gravitational waves by accurately
measuring the distances between space craft. Gravitational waves propagate freely to
us from earliest times, unimpeded by any intervening material. By contrast, light is
scattered many times by free electrons. The scattering goes on until the electrons
freeze out, after 300,000 years.

5.2 Solar System

The Solar System comprises the Sun and the planetary system that orbits it, either
directly or indirectly. Of those objects that orbit the Sun directly, the largest eight are
the planets, with the remainder being significantly smaller objects, such as dwarf
planets and small Solar System bodies such as comets and asteroids. Of those that
orbit the Sun indirectly, the moons, two are larger than the smallest planet, Mercury.
The Solar System formed 4.6 billion years ago from the gravitational collapse of a
giant interstellar molecular cloud. The vast majority of the system's mass is in the
Sun, with most of the remaining mass contained in Jupiter. The four smaller inner
planets, Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars, are terrestrial planets, being primarily
composed of rock and metal. The four outer planets are giant planets, being
substantially more massive than the terrestrials. The two largest, Jupiter and Saturn,
are gas giants, being composed mainly of hydrogen and helium; the two outermost
planets, Uranus and Neptune, are ice giants, being composed mostly of substances
with relatively high melting points compared with hydrogen and helium, called ices,
such as water, ammonia and methane. All planets have almost circular orbits that lie
within a nearly flat disc called the ecliptic.
The Solar System also contains smaller objects.The asteroid belt, which lies between
the orbits of Mars and Jupiter, mostly contains objects composed, like the terrestrial
planets, of rock and metal. Beyond Neptune's orbit lie the Kuiper belt and scattered
disc, which are populations of trans-Neptunian objects composed mostly of ices, and
beyond them a newly discovered population of sednoids. Within these populations are
several dozen to possibly tens of thousands of objects large enough to have been
rounded by their own gravity. Such objects are categorized as dwarf planets.
Identified dwarf planets include the asteroid Ceres and the trans-Neptunian objects
Pluto and Eris.In addition to these two regions, various other small-body populations,
including comets, centaurs and interplanetary dust, freely travel between regions. Six
of the planets, at least three of the dwarf planets, and many of the smaller bodies are
orbited by natural satellites, usually termed "moons" after the Moon. Each of the outer
planets is encircled by planetary rings of dust and other small objects.

The solar wind, a stream of charged particles flowing outwards from the Sun, creates
a bubble-like region in the interstellar medium known as the heliosphere. The
heliopause is the point at which pressure from the solar wind is equal to the opposing
pressure of interstellar wind; it extends out to the edge of the scattered disc. The Oort
cloud, which is believed to be the source for long-period comets, may also exist at a
distance roughly a thousand times further than the heliosphere. The Solar System is
located in the Orion Arm, 26,000 light-years from the center of the Milky Way.

5.3 The Composition of the Earth's Crust

In geology, the crust is the outermost solid shell of a rocky planet or natural
satellite, which is chemically distinct from the underlying mantle. The crusts of Earth,
the Moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Io, and other planetary bodies have been generated
largely by igneous processes, and these crusts are richer in incompatible elements than
their respective mantles.
The crust of the Earth is composed of a great variety of igneous, metamorphic,
and sedimentary rocks. The crust is underlain by the mantle. The upper part of the
mantle is composed mostly of peridotite, a rock denser than rocks common in the
overlying crust. The boundary between the crust and mantle is conventionally placed
at the Mohorovii discontinuity, a boundary defined by a contrast in seismic velocity.
The crust occupies less than 1% of Earth's volume.

The oceanic crust of the sheet is different from its continental crust. The
oceanic crust is 5 km to 10 km thick and is composed primarily of basalt, diabase,
and gabbro.
The continental crust is typically from 30 km to 50 km thick and is mostly composed
of slightly less dense rocks than those of the oceanic crust. Some of these less dense
rocks, such as granite, are common in the continental crust but rare to absent in the
oceanic crust.
Both the continental and oceanic crust "float" on the mantle. Because the continental
crust is thicker, it extends both to greater elevations and greater depth than the oceanic
crust. The slightly lower density of felsic continental rock compared to basaltic
oceanic rock contributes to the higher relative elevation of the top of the continental
crust. As the top of the continental crust reaches elevations higher than that of the
oceanic, water runs off the continents and collects above the oceanic crust. Because of
the change in velocity of seismic waves it is believed that beneath continents at a
certain depth continental crust (sial) becomes close in its physical properties to
oceanic crust (sima), and the transition zone is referred to as the Conrad discontinuity.
The temperature of the crust increases with depth, reaching values typically in
the range from about 200 C (392 F) to 400 C (752 F) at the boundary with the
underlying mantle. The crust and underlying relatively rigid uppermost mantle make
up the lithosphere. Because of convection in the underlying plastic (although nonmolten) upper mantle and asthenosphere, the lithosphere is broken into tectonic plates
that move. The temperature increases by as much as 30 C (about 50 F) for every
kilometer locally in the upper part of the crust, but the geothermal gradient is smaller
in deeper crust.
Earth has probably always had some form of basaltic crust, but the age of the
oldest oceanic crust today is only about 200 million years. In contrast, the bulk of the
continental crust is much older. The oldest continental crustal rocks on Earth have
ages in the range from about 3.7 to 4.28 billion years and have been found in the
Narryer Gneiss Terrane in Western Australia, in the Acasta Gneiss in the Northwest
Territories on the Canadian Shield, and on other cratonic regions such as those on the
Fennoscandian Shield. Some zircon with age as great as 4.3 billion years has been
found in the Narryer Gneiss Terrane.
The average age of the current Earth's continental crust has been estimated to
be about 2.0 billion years. Most crustal rocks formed before 2.5 billion years ago are
located in cratons. Such old continental crust and the underlying mantle asthenosphere

are less dense than elsewhere in Earth and so are not readily destroyed by subduction.
Formation of new continental crust is linked to periods of intense orogeny; these
periods coincide with the formation of the supercontinents such as Rodinia, Pangaea
and Gondwana. The crust forms in part by aggregation of island arcs including granite
and metamorphic fold belts, and it is preserved in part by depletion of the underlying
mantle to form buoyant lithospheric mantle.
The continental crust has an average composition similar to that of andesite.
Continental crust is enriched in incompatible elements compared to the basaltic ocean
crust and much enriched compared to the underlying mantle. Although the continental
crust comprises only about 0.6 weight percent of the silicate on Earth, it contains 20%
to 70% of the incompatible elements.

All the other constituents except water occur only in very small quantities and
total less than 1%. Estimates of average density for the upper crust range between
2.69 and 2.74 g/cm3 and for lower crust between 3.0 and 3.25 g/cm3

5.4 Geosyncline
Geosyncline, linear trough of subsidence of the Earths crust within which vast
amounts of sediment accumulate. The filling of a geosyncline with thousands or tens
of thousands of feet of sediment is accompanied in the late stages of deposition by

folding, crumpling, and faulting of the deposits. Intrusion of crystalline igneous rock
and regional uplift along the axis of the trough generally complete the history of a
particular geosyncline, which is thus transformed to a belt of folded mountains. The
concept of the geosyncline was introduced by the American geologist James Hall in
1859. Most modern geologists regard the concept as obsolete and largely explain the
development of linear troughs in terms of plate tectonics; the term geosyncline,
however, remains in use.
Two segments of a geosyncline are recognizable in the rock strata of many of
the worlds mountain systems today. Thick volcanic sequences, together with
graywackes (sandstones rich in rock fragments with a muddy matrix), cherts, and
various sediments reflecting deepwater deposition or processes, were deposited in
eugeosynclines, the outer, deepwater segment of geosynclines. The occurrence of
limestones and well-sorted quartzose sandstones, on the other hand, is considered to
be evidence of shallow-water formation, and such rocks form in the inner segment of
a geosyncline, termed a miogeosyncline.
Aside from the parts or segments of a geosyncline, several types of mobile
zones have been recognized and named. Among the more common of these are the
taphrogeosyncline, a depressed block of the Earths crust that is bounded by one or
more high-angle faults and that serves as a site of sediment accumulation, and the
paraliageosyncline, a deep geosyncline that passes into coastal plains along
continental margins.

5.5 Plate Tectonics

Plate tectonics is a scientific theory that describes the large-scale motion of

Earth's lithosphere. The lithosphere, which is the rigid outermost shell of a planet (the
crust and upper mantle), is broken up into tectonic plates. The Earth's lithosphere is
composed of seven or eight major plates (depending on how they are defined) and
many minor plates. Where the plates meet, their relative motion determines the type
of boundary: convergent, divergent, or transform. Earthquakes, volcanic activity,
mountain-building, and oceanic trench formation occur along these plate boundaries.
The lateral relative movement of the plates typically ranges from zero to 100 mm
annually.
Tectonic plates are composed of oceanic lithosphere and thicker continental
lithosphere, each topped by its own kind of crust. Along convergent boundaries,
subduction carries plates into the mantle; the material lost is roughly balanced by the
formation of new (oceanic) crust along divergent margins by seafloor spreading. In
this way, the total surface of the globe remains the same. This prediction of plate
tectonics is also referred to as the conveyor belt principle.
Tectonic plates are able to move because the Earth's lithosphere has greater
strength than the underlying asthenosphere. Lateral density variations in the mantle
result in convection. Plate movement is thought to be driven by a combination of the
motion of the seafloor away from the spreading ridge (due to variations in topography
and density of the crust, which result in differences in gravitational forces) and drag,
with downward suction, at the subduction zones. Another explanation lies in the
different forces generated by tidal forces of the Sun and Moon. The relative
importance of each of these factors and their relationship to each other is unclear, and
still the subject of much debate.
The outer layers of the Earth are divided into the lithosphere and
asthenosphere. This is based on differences in mechanical properties and in the
method for the transfer of heat. Mechanically, the lithosphere is cooler and more rigid,
while the asthenosphere is hotter and flows more easily. In terms of heat transfer, the
lithosphere loses heat by conduction, whereas the asthenosphere also transfers heat by
convection and has a nearly adiabatic temperature gradient. This division should not
be confused with the chemical subdivision of these same layers into the mantle
(comprising both the asthenosphere and the mantle portion of the lithosphere) and the
crust: a given piece of mantle may be part of the lithosphere or the asthenosphere at
different times depending on its temperature and pressure.

The key principle of plate tectonics is that the lithosphere exists as separate
and distinct tectonic plates, which ride on the fluid-like (visco-elastic solid)
asthenosphere. Plate motions range up to a typical 1040 mm/year (Mid-Atlantic
Ridge; about as fast as fingernails grow), to about 160 mm/year (Nazca Plate; about
as fast as hair grows). The driving mechanism behind this movement is described
below.
Tectonic lithosphere plates consist of lithospheric mantle overlain by either or
both of two types of crustal material: oceanic crust (in older texts called sima from
silicon and magnesium) and continental crust (sial from silicon and aluminium).
Average oceanic lithosphere is typically 100 km (62 mi) thick, its thickness is a
function of its age as time passes, it conductively cools and subjacent cooling mantle
is added to its base. Because it is formed at mid-ocean ridges and spreads outwards,
its thickness is therefore a function of its distance from the mid-ocean ridge where it
was formed. For a typical distance that oceanic lithosphere must travel before being
subducted, the thickness varies from about 6 km thick at mid-ocean ridges to greater
than 100 km at subduction zones; for shorter or longer distances, the subduction zone
(and therefore also the mean) thickness becomes smaller or larger, respectively.
Continental lithosphere is typically ~200 km thick, though this varies considerably
between basins, mountain ranges, and stable cratonic interiors of continents. The two
types of crust also differ in thickness, with continental crust being considerably
thicker than oceanic.
The location where two plates meet is called a plate boundary. Plate
boundaries are commonly associated with geological events such as earthquakes and
the creation of topographic features such as mountains, volcanoes, mid-ocean ridges,
and oceanic trenches. The majority of the world's active volcanoes occur along plate
boundaries, with the Pacific Plate's Ring of Fire being the most active and widely
known today. These boundaries are discussed in further detail below. Some volcanoes
occur in the interiors of plates, and these have been variously attributed to internal
plate deformation and to mantle plumes.
As explained above, tectonic plates may include continental crust or oceanic
crust, and most plates contain both. For example, the African Plate includes the
continent and parts of the floor of the Atlantic and Indian Oceans. The distinction
between oceanic crust and continental crust is based on their modes of formation.
Oceanic crust is formed at sea-floor spreading centers, and continental crust is formed
through arc volcanism and accretion of terranes through tectonic processes, though

some of these terranes may contain ophiolite sequences, which are pieces of oceanic
crust considered to be part of the continent when they exit the standard cycle of
formation and spreading centers and subduction beneath continents. Oceanic crust is
also denser than continental crust owing to their different compositions. Oceanic crust
is denser because it has less silicon and more heavier elements ("mafic") than
continental crust ("felsic"). As a result of this density stratification, oceanic crust
generally lies below sea level (for example most of the Pacific Plate), while
continental crust buoyantly projects above sea level (see the page isostasy for
explanation of this principle).
The tectonic plates are divided into 3 based movement that is
Transform Boundaries
Transform boundaries (Conservative) occur where two lithospheric plates slide, or
perhaps more accurately, grind past each other along transform faults, where
plates are neither created nor destroyed. The relative motion of the two plates is
either sinistral (left side toward the observer) nor dextral (right side toward the
observer). Transform faults occur across a spreading center. Strong earthquakes
can occur along a fault. The San Andreas Fault in California is an example of a
transform boundary exhibiting dextral motion.

Divergent Boundaries
Divergent boundaries (Constructive) occur where two plates slide apart from each
other. At zones of ocean-to-ocean rifting, divergent boundaries form by seafloor
spreading, allowing for the formation of new ocean basin. As the continent splits,
the ridge forms at the spreading center, the ocean basin expands, and finally, the
plate area increases causing many small volcanoes and/or shallow earthquakes. At
zones of continent-to-continent rifting, divergent boundaries may cause new ocean
basin to form as the continent splits, spreads, the central rift collapses, and ocean

fills the basin. Active zones of Mid-ocean ridges (e.g., Mid-Atlantic Ridge and
East Pacific Rise), and continent-to-continent rifting (such as Africa's East African
Rift and Valley, Red Sea) are examples of divergent boundaries.

Convergent Boundaries
Convergent boundaries (Destructive) (or active margins) occur where two plates
slide toward each other to form either a subduction zone (one plate moving
underneath the other) or a continental collision. At zones of ocean-to-continent
subduction (e.g. the Andes mountain range in South America, and the Cascade
Mountains in Western United States), the dense oceanic lithosphere plunges
beneath the less dense continent. Earthquakes then trace the path of the
downward-moving plate as it descends into asthenosphere, a trench forms, and as
the subducted plate partially melts, magma rises to form continental volcanoes. At
zones of ocean-to-ocean subduction (e.g. Aleutian islands, Mariana islands, and
the Japanese island arc), older, cooler, denser crust slips beneath less dense crust.

5.6 Plume Theory

A mantle plume is a mechanism proposed in 1971 to explain volcanic regions
of the earth that were not thought to be explicable by the then-new theory of plate
tectonics.Some such volcanic regions lie far from tectonic plate boundaries, for

example, Hawaii. Others represent unusually large-volume volcanism, whether on

plate boundaries, e.g. Iceland, or basalt floods such as the Deccan or Siberian traps.
A mantle plume is posited to exist where hotrock nucleates at the core-mantle
boundary and rises through the Earth's mantle becoming a diaper in the Earth's crust.
The currently active volcanic centers are known as "hot spots". In particular, the
concept that mantle plumes are fixed relative to one another, and anchored at the coremantle boundary, was thought to provide a natural explanation for the timeprogressive chains of older volcanoes seen extending out from some such hot spots,
such as the HawaiianEmperor seamount chain.
The hypothesis of mantle plumes from depth is not universally accepted as
explaining all such volcanism. It has required progressive hypothesis-elaboration
leading to variant propositions such as mini-plumes and pulsing plumes. Another
hypothesis for unusual volcanic regions is the "Plate model". This proposes shallower,
passive leakage of magma from the mantle onto the Earth's surface where extension
of the lithosphere permits it, attributing most volcanism to plate tectonic processes,
with volcanoes far from plate boundaries resulting from intraplate extension.
In 1971, geophysicist W. Jason Morgan proposed the hypothesis of mantle
plumes. In this hypothesis, convection in the mantle transports heat from the core to
the Earth's surface in thermal diapirs. In this concept, two largely independent
convective processes occur in the mantle: the broad convective flow associated with
plate tectonics, which is driven primarily by the sinking of cold plates of lithosphere
back into the mantle asthenosphere, and mantle plumes, which carry heat upward in
narrow, rising columns, driven by heat exchange across the core-mantle boundary.
The latter type of convection is postulated to be independent of plate motions.
The sizes and occurrence of mushroom mantle plumes can be predicted easily
by transient instability theory developed by Tan and Thorpe. The theory predicts
mushroom mantle plumes of about 2000 km diameter with a critical time[clarification
needed] of about 830 Myr for a core mantle heat flux of 20 mW/m2, while the cycle
time[clarification needed] is about 2 Gyr. The number of mantle plumes is predicted
to be about 17.
The plume hypothesis was studied using laboratory experiments conducted in
small fluid-filled tanks in the early 1970s.Thermal or compositional fluid-dynamical
plumes produced in that way were presented as models for the much larger postulated
mantle plumes. On the basis of these experiments, mantle plumes are now postulated
to comprise two parts: a long thin conduit connecting the top of the plume to its base,

and a bulbous head that expands in size as the plume rises. The entire structure is
considered to resemble a mushroom. The bulbous head of thermal plumes forms
because hot material moves upward through the conduit faster than the plume itself
rises through its surroundings. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, experiments with
thermal models showed that as the bulbous head expands it may entrain some of the
adjacent mantle into the head.
When a plume head encounters the base of the lithosphere, it is expected to
flatten out against this barrier and to undergo widespread decompression melting to
form large volumes of basalt magma. It may then erupt onto the surface. Numerical
modelling predicts that melting and eruption will take place over several million
years. These eruptions have been linked to flood basalts, although many of those erupt
over much shorter time scales (less than 1 million years). Examples include the
Deccan traps in India, the Siberian traps of Asia, the Karoo-Ferrar basalts/dolerites in
South Africa and Antarctica, the Paran and Etendeka traps in South America and
Africa (formerly a single province separated by opening of the South Atlantic Ocean),
and the Columbia River basalts of North America. Flood basalts in the oceans are
known as oceanic plateaus, and include the Ontong Java plateau of the western Pacific
Ocean and the Kerguelen Plateau of the Indian Ocean.
The narrow vertical pipe, or conduit, postulated to connect the plume head to
the core-mantle boundary, is viewed as providing a continuous supply of magma to a
fixed location, often referred to as a "hot spot". As the overlying tectonic plate
(lithosphere) moves over this "hot spot", the eruption of magma from the fixed
conduit onto the surface is expected to form a chain of volcanoes that parallels plate
motion. The Hawaiian Islands chain in the Pacific Ocean is the type example.
Interestingly, it has recently been discovered that the volcanic locus of this chain has
not been fixed over time, and it thus joined the club of the many type examples that
do not exhibit the key characteristic originally proposed.
The eruption of continental flood basalts is often associated with continental
rifting and breakup. This has led to the hypothesis that mantle plumes contribute to
continental rifting and the formation of ocean basins. In the context of the alternative
"Plate model", continental breakup is a process integral to plate tectonics, and massive
volcanism occurs as a natural consequence when it onsets.
The current mantle plume theory is that material and energy from Earth's
interior are exchanged with the surface crust in two distinct modes: the predominant,

steady state plate tectonic regime driven by upper mantle convection, and a
punctuated, intermittently dominant, mantle overturn regime driven by plume
convection. This second regime, while often discontinuous, is periodically significant
in mountain building and continental breakup.

5.7 The Big Bang Theory

The Big Bang theory is the prevailing cosmological model for the universe
from the earliest known periods through its subsequent large-scale evolution. The
model accounts for the fact that the universe expanded from a very high density and
high temperature state and offers a comprehensive explanation for a broad range of
phenomena, including the abundance of light elements, the cosmic microwave
background, large scale structure and Hubble's Law. If the known laws of physics are
extrapolated beyond where they are valid, there is a singularity. Modern
measurements place this moment at approximately 13.8 billion years ago, which is
thus considered the age of the universe. After the initial expansion, the universe
cooled sufficiently to allow the formation of subatomic particles, and later simple
atoms. Giant clouds of these primordial elements later coalesced through gravity to
form stars and galaxies.
The earliest phases of the Big Bang are subject to much speculation. In the
most common models the universe was filled homogeneously and isotropically with a
very high energy density and huge temperatures and pressures and was very rapidly
expanding and cooling. Approximately 1037 seconds into the expansion, a phase
transition caused a cosmic inflation, during which the universe grew exponentially.

After inflation stopped, the universe consisted of a quarkgluon plasma, as well as all
other elementary particles. Temperatures were so high that the random motions of
particles were at relativistic speeds, and particleantiparticle pairs of all kinds were
being continuously created and destroyed in collisions. At some point an unknown
reaction called baryogenesis violated the conservation of baryon number, leading to a
very small excess of quarks and leptons over antiquark and anti leptonsof the order
of one part in 30 million. This resulted in the predominance of matter over antimatter
in the present universe.
The universe continued to decrease in density and fall in temperature, hence
the typical energy of each particle was decreasing. Symmetry breaking phase
transitions put the fundamental forces of physics and the parameters of elementary
particles into their present form. After about 1011 seconds, the picture becomes less
speculative, since particle energies drop to values that can be attained in particle
physics experiments. At about 106 seconds, quarks and gluons combined to form
baryons such as protons and neutrons. The small excess of quarks over antiquarks led
to a small excess of baryons over antibaryons. The temperature was now no longer
high enough to create new protonantiproton pairs (similarly for neutronsanti
neutrons), do a mass annihilation immediately followed, leaving just one in 1010 of
the original protons and neutrons, and none of their antiparticles. A similar process
happened at about 1 second for electrons and positrons. After these annihilations, the
remaining protons, neutrons and electrons were no longer moving relativistically and
the energy density of the universe was dominated by photons (with a minor
contribution from neutrinos).
A few minutes into the expansion, when the temperature was about a billion
(one thousand million; 109; SI prefix giga-) kelvin and the density was about that of
air, neutrons combined with protons to form the universe's deuterium and helium
nuclei in a process called Big Bang nucleosynthesis. Most protons remained
uncombined as hydrogen nuclei. As the universe cooled, the rest mass energy density
of matter came to gravitationally dominate that of the photon radiation. After about
379,000 years the electrons and nuclei combined into atoms (mostly hydrogen); hence
the radiation decoupled from matter and continued through space largely unimpeded.
This relic radiation is known as the cosmic microwave background radiation. The
chemistry of life may have begun shortly after the Big Bang, 13.8 billion years ago,
during a habitable epoch when the universe was only 1017 million years old.

CHAPTER 6
PRECAMBRIAN

6.1 Precambrian Information

Precambrian time covers the vast bulk of the Earth's history, starting with the planet's
creation about 4.5 billion years ago and ending with the emergence of complex, multicelled
life-forms almost four billion years later.
The Precambrian is the earliest of the geologic ages, which are marked by different
layers of sedimentary rock. Laid down over millions of years, these rock layers contain a
permanent record of the Earth's past, including the fossilized remains of plants and animals
buried when the sediments were formed.
The Earth was already more than 600 million years old when life began. The planet
had cooled down from its original molten state, developing a solid crust and oceans created
from water vapor in the atmosphere. Many scientists think these primordial seas gave rise to
life, with hot, mineral-rich volcanic vents acting as catalysts for chemical reactions across the
surface of tiny water bubbles, which led to the first cell membranes. Other bubbles are
thought to have formed self-replicating substances by attracting chemicals from around them.
Over time the two combined to produce energy-using, living cells.
The earliest living organisms were microscopic bacteria, which show up in the fossil
record as early as 3.4 billion years ago. As their numbers multiplied and supplies of their
chemical fuel were eaten up, bacteria sought out an alternative energy source. New varieties
began to harness the power of the sun through a biochemical process known as

photosynthesisa move that would ultimately lead to simple plants and which opened the
planet up to animal life.
Some three billion years ago the Earth's atmosphere was virtually devoid of oxygen.
At about 2.4 billion years ago, oxygen was released from the seas as a byproduct of
photosynthesis by cyanobacteria. Levels of the gas gradually climbed, reaching about one
percent around two billion years ago. About 800 million years ago, oxygen levels reached
about 21 percent and began to breathe life into more complex organisms. The oxygen-rich
ozone layer was also established, shielding the Earth's surface from harmful solar radiation.
Unfamiliar Life-Forms
The first multicelled animals appeared in the fossil record almost 600 million years
ago. Known as the Ediacarans, these bizarre creatures bore little resemblance to modern lifeforms. They grew on the seabed and lacked any obvious heads, mouths, or digestive organs.
Fossils of the largest known among them, Dickinsonia, resemble a ribbed doormat. What
happened to the mysterious Ediacarans isn't clear. They could be the ancestors of later
animals, or they may have been completely erased by extinction.
The earliest multicelled animals that survived the Precambrian fall into three main
categories. The simplest of these soft-bodied creatures were sponges. Lacking organs or a
nervous system, they lived by drawing water through their bodies and filtering out food
particles. The cnidarians, which included sea anemones, corals, and jellyfish, had sac-like
bodies and a simple digestive system with a mouth but no anus. They caught food using
tentacles armed with microscopic stinging cells. The third group, the annelids, or segmented
flatworms, had fluid-filled body cavities and breathed through their skins.
It's thought the final stages of Precambrian time were marked by a prolonged global
ice age. This may have led to widespread extinctions, mirroring the bleak endings to the
geologic periods that followed.

6.2 Classification Table Of Precambrian

Praka
m

Good fossils of multi-celled

Petrozoic

animals. Ediacaran fauna

-brium

(orVendobionta) flourish
worldwide in seas. Trace
fossils of worm like
Trichophycus, etc.
Ediacaran

Firstsponges and trilobitom

orphs. Enigmatic forms
include oval-shaped
Dickinsonia, frondshaped Charniodiscus, and
many soft-jellied creatures.

Neoproterozoic

Possible "snowball Earth"

cryogenian

period. Fossils still

rare. Rodinialandmass
begins to break up.
Rodinia supercontinent
persists.Trace fossils of

tonian

simple multicelled eukaryotes . First

radiation of dinoflagellatelike acritarchs.

Mesoproterozoic

Narrow
highly metamorphic belts
due to orogeny as
stonian

supercontinentRodinia is
formed.

Platform covers continue to

ectasian

expand. Green
algae colonies in

calymmian

Platform covers expand.

First complex single-celled
life:protists with

sthaterian

nuclei. Columbia is the

primordial supercontinent.

The atmosphere becameoxy

genic. Vredefort and Sudbu
orosirian

ry Basinasteroid impacts.
Muchorogeny.

Paleopetrozoic

Bushveld
ryacian

Formation occurs.Huronian
glaciation.
Oxygen
Catastrophe: banded iron

siderian

Archean

Neoarchean

Paleoarchean
Mesoarchean

formations result.

Stabilization of most modern cratons;

possible mantle overturn event.
First stromatolites (probably colonial cya
nobacteria ). Oldest macrofossils
First known oxygen-producing bacteria.

Oldest definitive microfossils.

Simple single-celled
life (probably bacteriaand
Eoarchean

Hadean

perhaps archaea). Oldest

probablemicrofossils.

Created earth about 4.5 billion years ago

6.3 Evidence of Precambrian

Although the Precambrian contains some seven-eighths of Earth's history, its fossil record is
poor, with the majority of fossils being the stromatolites that are often heavily
metamorphosed or deeply buried. However, preserved cells have been discovered at selective
sites, such as the 2.0 billion years old Gunflint Formation. The earliest life forms were
prokaryotes (eubacteria or archaea) that evolved in the seas, possibly as early as 3.8 Ba. The
first were possibly chemotrophs existing in an anoxic world and producing H2S or CO2,
which were followed by photosynthetic cyanobacteria before the end of the Archaean some
2.5 billion years ago. When the Eukaryotes (single-celled organisms with a nucleus) evolved
through Endosymbiosis is disputed, with claims as early as 3.4 billion years ago, but with less
equivocal fossils dating from 1.8 to .8 billion years ago. With the eukaryotes comes sexual
reproduction, enabling genetic diversity and the concomitant ability to adapt to and survive
environmental changes. Multi-celled, soft-bodied marine fossil organisms (the metazoans),
the so-called Ediacara fauna, are found in strata dating between 590 to 700 million years ago.
The first mineralized fossils appear after the Ediacaran, but before Cambrian begins at around
580 - 590 my; they comprise ambiguous parts, possibly denticles and plates and tubes of
unknown affinity and putative calcareous algae. Many of the genes and the proteins they
encode are found to be conserved across geologic time from the Precambrian, especially
those involved in the most basic cellular functions.

Archaea Cells

Banded Iron

Brecciated Banded Iron

The Most Ancient Life on Earth?

Archaean (2.87 bya)

Archaean (2.73 bya)

South Pass, Wyoming

Jackson County, Wisconsin

Stromatolites

Hadrophycus immanus

Putative Multicellular Macrofossils

Archaean (2.58 bya)

Stromatolites

Paleoproterozoic (2.3 bya)

Lower Whalen Group, Wyoming

Archaean (2.58 bya)

Francevillian Series of Gabon

Medicine Bow Range,

Wyoming

Bacteriorhodopsin protein of

Collenia Stromatolites

Gunflint Stromatolites

Halobacteria Archaea

Paleoproterozoic (2.3 bya)

Paleoproterozoic (1.9 bya)

Northern Michigan

Ontario, Canada

Nemaia simplex

Dickinsonia

Hiemalora stellaris

Ediacaran

Phylum Cnidaria

Annelid (?)

White Sea, Russia

Ediacaran

Ediacaran

White Sea, Russia

White Sea, Russia

The Estrogen Receptor Protein

Kimberella quadrata

G protein-coupled receptor

Molecular phylogeny dates its

Protomollusc (?)

A Primordal Protein Highly

origins to well into the Proterozoic

Ediacaran

Conserved Across Eukaryotes

White Sea, Russia

Cloudina
Ediacaran
Omkyk Member, Nama Group, Namibia

6.4 Cambrian
The Cambrian is the first geological period of the Paleozoic Era, lasting from 541 to
485.4 million years ago (mya) and is succeeded by the Ordovician. Its subdivisions, and
indeed its base, are somewhat in flux. The period was established (as Cambrian series)
by Adam

Sedgwick,

who

named

it

after Cambria,

the Latinised form

of Cymru,

the Welshname for Wales, where Britain's Cambrian rocks are best exposed. The Cambrian is
unique in its unusually high proportion oflagersttte sedimentary deposits. These are sites of
exceptional preservation, where "soft" parts of organisms are preserved as well as their more

resistant shells. This means that our understanding of the Cambrian biology surpasses that of
some later periods.
The Cambrian marked a profound change in life on Earth; prior to the Cambrian, the
majority of living organisms on the whole were small, unicellular and simple;
the Precambrian Charnia being exceptional. Complex, multicellular organisms gradually
became more common in the millions of years immediately preceding the Cambrian, but it
was not until this period that mineralized hence readily fossilized organisms became
common. The rapid diversification of lifeforms in the Cambrian, known as the Cambrian
explosion, produced the first representatives of all modern animal phyla. Phylogenetic
analysis has supported the view that during the Cambrian radiation, metazoa (animals)
evolved monophyletically from a single common ancestor: flagellated colonial protistssimilar
to modern choanoflagellates.
While diverse life forms prospered in the oceans, the land was comparatively barren
with nothing more complex than a microbialsoil crust and a few molluscs that emerged to
browse on the microbial biofilm Most of the continents were probably dry and rocky due to a
lack of vegetation. Shallow seas flanked the margins of several continents created during the
breakup of thesupercontinent Pannotia. The seas were relatively warm, and polar ice was
absent for much of the period.

Anoma

Stromatolites of the Pika

locaris was an early

Formation (Middle
Cambrian) near Helen

Trilobites were very

Lake, Banff National

common during this time

Park, Canada

6.5 Ordovician

marine predator, among

the variousarthropods of
the time.

The Ordovician Period lasted almost 45 million years, beginning 488.3 million years
ago and ending 443.7 million years ago.* During this period, the area north of the tropics was
almost entirely ocean, and most of the world's land was collected into the southern
supercontinent Gondwana. Throughout the Ordovician, Gondwana shifted towards the South
Pole and much of it was submerged underwater.
The Ordovician is best known for its diverse marine invertebrates, including
graptolites, trilobites, brachiopods, and the conodonts (early vertebrates). A typical marine
community consisted of these animals, plus red and green algae, primitive fish, cephalopods,
corals, crinoids, and gastropods. More recently, tetrahedral spores that are similar to those of
primitive land plants have been found, suggesting that plants invaded the land at this time.
From the Lower to Middle Ordovician, the Earth experienced a milder climate the
weather was warm and the atmosphere contained a lot of moisture. However, when
Gondwana finally settled on the South Pole during the Upper Ordovician, massive glaciers
formed, causing shallow seas to drain and sea levels to drop. This likely caused the mass
extinctions that characterize the end of the Ordovician in which 60% of all marine
invertebrate genera and 25% of all families went extinct.
Ordovician strata are characterized by numerous and diverse trilobites and conodonts
(phosphatic fossils with a tooth-like appearance) found in sequences of shale, limestone,
dolostone, and sandstone. In addition, blastoids, bryozoans, corals, crinoids, as well as many
kinds of brachiopods, snails, clams, and cephalopods appeared for the first time in the
geologic record in tropical Ordovician environments. Remains of ostracoderms (jawless,
armored fish) from Ordovician rocks comprise some of the oldest vertebrate fossils.
Despite the appearance of coral fossils during this time, reef ecosystems continued to
be dominated by algae and sponges, and in some cases by bryozoans. However, there
apparently were also periods of complete reef collapse due to global disturbances.
The major global patterns of life underwent tremendous change during the
Ordovician. Shallow seas covering much of Gondwana became breeding grounds for new
forms of trilobites. Many species of graptolites went extinct by the close of the period, but the
first planktonic graptolites appeared.
In the late Lower Ordovician, the diversity of conodonts decreased in the North
Atlantic Realm, but new lineages appeared in other regions. Seven major conodont lineages
went extinct, but were replaced by nine new lineages that resulted from a major evolutionary
radiation. These lineages included many new and morphologically different taxa. Sea level

transgression persisted causing the drowning of almost the entire Gondwana craton. By this
time, conodonts had reached their peak development.
Although fragments of vertebrate bone and even some soft-bodied vertebrate relatives
are now known from the Cambrian, the Ordovician is marked by the appearance of the oldest
complete vertebrate fossils. These were jawless, armored fish informally called ostracoderms,
but more correctly placed in the taxon Pteraspidomorphi. Typical Ordovician fish had large
bony shields on the head, small, rod-shaped or platelike scales covering the tail, and a slitlike
mouth at the anterior end of the animal. Such fossils come from nearshore marine strata of
Ordovician age in Australia, South America, and western North America.
Perhaps the most "groundbreaking" occurrence of the Ordovician was the
colonization of the land. Remains of early terrestrial arthropods are known from this time, as
are microfossils of the cells, cuticle, and spores of early land plants.
Stratigraphy
The Ordovician was named by the British geologist Charles Lapworth in 1879. He
took the name from an ancient Celtic tribe, the Ordovices, renowned for its resistance to
Roman domination. For decades, the epochs and series of the Ordovician each had a type
location in Britain, where their characteristic faunas could be found, but in recent years, the
stratigraphy of the Ordovician has been completely reworked. Graptolites, extinct planktonic
organisms, have been and still are used to correlate Ordovician strata.
Particularly good examples of Ordovician sequences are found in China (Yangtze
Gorge area, Hubei Province), Western Australia (Emanuel Formation, Canning Basin),
Argentina (La Chilca Formation, San Juan Province), the United States (Bear River Range,
Utah), and Canada (Survey Peak Formation, Alberta). Ordovician rocks over much of these
areas are typified by a considerable thickness of lime and other carbonate rocks that
accumulated in shallow subtidal and intertidal environments. Quartzites are also present.
Rocks formed from sediments deposited on the margins of Ordovician shelves are commonly
dark, organic-rich mudstones which bear the remains of graptolites and may have thin seams
of iron sulfide.

Tectonics and paleoclimate

During the Ordovician, most of the world's land southern Europe, Africa, South
America, Antarctica, and Australia was collected together in the super-continent
Gondwana. Throughout the Ordovician, Gondwana moved towards the South Pole where it

finally came to rest by the end of the period. In the Lower Ordovician, North America
roughly straddled the equator and almost all of that continent lay underwater. By the Middle
Ordovician North America had shed its seas and a tectonic highland, roughly corresponding
to the later Appalachian Mountains, formed along the eastern margin of the continent. Also at
this time, western and central Europe were separated and located in the southern tropics;
Europe shifted towards North America from higher to lower latitudes.
During the Middle Ordovician, uplifts took place in most of the areas that had been
under shallow shelf seas. These uplifts are seen as the precursor to glaciation. Also during the
Middle Ordovician, latitudinal plate motions appear to have taken place, including the
northward drift of the Baltoscandian Plate (northern Europe). Increased sea floor spreading
accompanied by volcanic activity occurred in the early Middle Ordovician. Ocean currents
changed as a result of lateral continental plate motions causing the opening of the Atlantic
Ocean. Sea levels underwent regression and transgression globally. Because of sea level
transgression, flooding of the Gondwana craton occurred as well as regional drowning which
caused carbonate sedimentation to stop.
During the Upper Ordovician, a major glaciation centered in Africa occurred resulting
in a severe drop in sea level which drained nearly all craton platforms. This glaciation
contributed to ecological disruption and mass extinctions. Nearly all conodonts disappeared
in the North Atlantic Realm while only certain lineages became extinct in the Midcontinental
Realm. Some trilobites, echinoderms, brachiopods, bryozoans, graptolites, and chitinozoans
also became extinct. The Atlantic Ocean closed as Europe moved towards North America.
Climatic fluctuations were extreme as glaciation continued and became more extensive. Cold
climates with floating marine ice developed as the maximum glaciation was reached.

6.6 Silurian
The Silurian (443.7 to 416.0 million years ago)* was a time when the Earth
underwent considerable changes that had important repercussions for the environment and
life within it. One result of these changes was the melting of large glacial formations. This
contributed to a substantial rise in the levels of the major seas. The Silurian witnessed a
relative stabilization of the Earth's general climate, ending the previous pattern of erratic
climatic fluctuations.

Coral reefs made their first appearance during this time, and the Silurian was also a
remarkable time in the evolution of fishes. Not only does this time period mark the wide and
rapid spread of jawless fish, but also the highly significant appearances of both the first
known freshwater fish as well as the first fish with jaws. It is also at this time that our first
good evidence of life on land is preserved, such as relatives of spiders and centipedes, and
also the earliest fossils of vascular plants.
Life
The Silurian is a time when many biologically significant events occurred. In the
oceans, there was a widespread radiation of crinoids, a continued proliferation and expansion
of the brachiopods, and the oldest known fossils of coral reefs. As mentioned earlier, this time
period also marks the wide and rapid spread of jawless fish, along with the important
appearances of both the first known freshwater fish and the appearance of jawed fish. Other
marine fossils commonly found throughout the Silurian record include trilobites, graptolites,
conodonts, corals, stromatoporoids, and mollusks.

On the left, Dalmanites limuluris, a trilobite from the Silurian of

New York. To the right,Grammysia cingulata, a brachiopod from the
Upper Ludlow of England.
It is also in the Silurian that we find the first clear evidence of life on land. While it is
possible that plants and animals first moved onto the land in the Ordovician, fossils of
terrestrial life from that period are fragmentary and difficult to interpret. Silurian strata have
provided likely ascomycete fossils (a group of fungi), as well as remains of the first arachnids
and centipedes.

Perhaps most striking of all biological events in the Silurian was the evolution of
vascular plants, which have been the basis of terrestrial ecology since their appearance. Most
Silurian plant fossils have been assigned to the genus Cooksonia, a collection of branchingstemmed plants which produced sporangia at their tips. None of these plants had leaves, and
some appear to have lacked vascular tissue. Also from the Silurian of Australia comes a
controversial fossil of Baragwanathia, a lycophyte. If such a complex plant with leaves and a
fully-developed vascular system was present by this time, then surely plants must have been
around already by the Ordovician. In any event, the Silurian was a time for important events
in the history of evolution, including many "firsts," that would prove highly consequential for
the future of life on Earth.

Cooksonia, on the left, has usually been considered

the oldest known land plant. Fossils assigned to
several species are known from North America,
Europe, Asia, and Africa, and from both the Late
Silurian

and

Early

lycophyte Baragwanathia,

Devonian.
on

the

right,

The
is

structurally more complex than Cooksonia, but

Silurian fossils of this plant have been found in
Australia, significantly earlier than in the Northern
Hemisphere.
Stratigraphy
The Silurian's stratigraphy is subdivided into four epochs (from oldest to youngest):
the Llandovery, Wenlock, Ludlow, and Pridoli. Each epoch is distinguished from the others

by the appearance of new species of graptolites. Graptolites are a group of extinct colonial,
aquatic animals that put in their first appearance in the Cambrian Period and persisted into the
early Carboniferous. The beginning of the Silurian (and the Llandovery) is marked by the
appearance of Parakidograptus acuminatus, a species of graptolite.
The Llandovery (443.7-428.2 million years ago) preserves its fossils in shale,
sandstone, and gray mudstone sediment. Its base (beginning) is marked by the appearance of
the graptolitesParakidograptus acuminatus and Akidograptus ascensus. The Llandoverian
epoch is subdivided into the Rhuddanian, Aeronian, and Telychian stages.
At the close of the Telychian stage, the appearance of Cyrtograptus centrifugus marks
the start of the Wenlockian epoch (428.2 to 422.9 million years ago).* The fossils are found
in siltstone and mudstone under limestone. Missing from the fossil record of the Wenlock was
the conodont Pterospathodus amorphognathoides, present in earlier strata. This is an epoch
with excellent preservations of brachiopod, coral, trilobite, clam, bryozoan, and crinoid
fossils. The Wenlock is subdivided into the Sheinwoodian and Homerian stages.
The Ludlow (422.9 to 418.7 million years ago)* consists of siltstone and limestone
strata, marked by the appearance of Neodiversograptus nilssoni. There is an abundance of
shelly animal fossils. The Gorstian and Ludfordian stages make up the Ludlow epoch.
Platy limestone strata rich in cephalopods and bivalves characterize the Pridolian
(418.7 to 416.0 million years ago),* the final epoch of the Silurian. It is marked by the
appearance of the index fossil Monograptus parultimus, and also by two new species of
chitinozoans (marine plankton), Urnochitina urna and Fungochitina kosovensis, which
appear at the base or just above the base of the Pridoli.
Tectonics and paleoclimate
Although there were no major periods of volcanism during the Silurian, the period is
marked by major orogenic events in eastern North America and in northwestern Europe (the
Caledonian Orogeny), resulting in the formation of the mountain chains there. The ocean
basins between the regions known as Laurentia (North America and Greenland), Baltica
(central and northern Europe and Scandinavia) and Avalonia (western Europe) closed
substantially, continuing a geologic trend that had begun much earlier. The modern Philippine

Islands were near the Arctic Circle, while Australia and Scandinavia resided in the tropics;
South America and Africa were over the South Pole. While not characterized by dramatic
tectonic activity, the Silurian world experienced gradual continental changes that would be
the basis for greater global consequences in the future, such as those that created terrestrial
ecosystems. A deglaciation and rise in sea levels created many new marine habitats,
providing the framework for significant biological events in the evolution of life. Coral reefs,
for example, made their first appearance in the fossil record during this time.
The Silurian Period's condition of low continental elevations with a high global stand
in sea level can be strongly distinguished from the present-day environment. This is a result
of the flood of 65% of the shallow seas in North America during the Llandovery and Wenlock
times. The shallow seas ranged from tropical to subtropical in climate. Coral mound reefs
with associated carbonate sediments were common in the shallow seas. Due to reduced
circulation during the Ludlow and Pridoli times, the process of deposition of evaporites
(salts) was set in motion. Some of these deposits are found in northern Europe, Siberia, South
China and Australia.

6.7 Devon
The Rhynie Chert in Scotland is a Devonian age deposit containing fossils of both
zosterophylls and trimerophytes, some of the earliest vascular plants. This indicates that prior
to the start of the Devonian, the first major radiations of plants had already happened. The
oldest known vascular plants in the Northern Hemisphere are from the Devonian Period.
The vegetation of the early Devonian consisted primarily of small plants, the tallest
being only a meter tall. By the end of the Devonian, ferns, horsetails and seed plants had also
appeared, producing the first trees and the first forests.

At left, the fern-like leaves of Archaeopteris, one of the first tree-like plants. It grew to an
average height of about 10 meters, produced spores, and had a global distribution. At right, a
beautifully pyritized Devonian brachiopod, Paraspirifer bownockeri, from Ohio.
During the Devonian, two major animal groups colonized the land. The first tetrapods
land-living vertebrates appeared during the Devonian, as did the first terrestrial
arthropods, including wingless insects and the earliest arachnids. In the oceans, brachiopods
flourished. Crinoids and other echinoderms, tabulate and rugose corals, and ammonites were
also common. Many new kinds of fish appeared.
During the Devonian, there were three major continental masses: North America and Europe
sat together near the equator, with much of their current area covered by shallow seas. To the
north lay a portion of modern Siberia. A composite continent of South America, Africa,
Antarctica, India, and Australia dominated the southern hemisphere.
Life
The Devonian seas were dominated by brachiopods, such as the spiriferids, and by
tabulate and rugose corals, which built large reefs in shallow waters. Encrusting red algae
also contributed to reef building. In the Lower Devonian, ammonoids appeared, leaving us
large limestone deposits from their shells. Bivalves, crinoid and blastoid echinoderms,
graptolites, and trilobites were all present, though most groups of trilobites disappeared by
the close of the Devonian.
The Devonian is also notable for the rapid diversification in fish. Benthic, jawless,
armored fish are common by the Lower Devonian. These early fish include a number of
different groups. By the the Middle Devonian, placoderms, the first jawed fish, appear. Many
of these grew to large sizes and were fearsome predators. Of the greatest interest to us is the
rise of the first sarcopterygians, the lobe-finned fish, which eventually produced the first
tetrapods just before the end of the Devonian.
The Devonian landscape
By the Devonian Period, colonization of the land was well underway. Before this
time, there was no organic accumulation in the soils, resulting in soils with a reddish color.

This is indicative of the underdeveloped landscape, probably colonized only by bacterial and
algal mats.
By the start of the Devonian, early terrestrial vegetation had begun to spread. These
plants did not have roots or leaves like most plants today, and many had no vascular tissue at
all. They probably spread vegetatively, rather than by spores or seeds, and did not grow much
more than a few centimeters tall. These plants included the now extinct zosterophylls and
trimerophytes. The early fauna living among these plants were primarily arthropods: mites,
trigonotarbids, wingless insects, and myriapods, though these early faunas are not well
known.
By the Late Devonian, lycophytes, sphenophytes, ferns, and progymnosperms had
evolved. Most of these plants have true roots and leaves, and many grew quite tall. The
progymnospermArchaeopteris (see photo above) was a large tree with true wood. It was the
oldest known tree until the 2007 identification of Wattieza in 2007. By the end of the
Devonian, the first seed plants had appeared. This rapid appearance of so many plant groups
and growth forms has been called the "Devonian Explosion." Along with this diversification
in terrestrial vegetation structure, came a diversification of the arthropods.
Tectonics and paleoclimate
Significant changes in the world's geography took place during the Devonian. During
this period, the world's land was collected into two supercontinents, Gondwana and
Euramerica. These vast landmasses lay relatively near each other in a single hemisphere,
while a vast ocean covered the rest of the globe. These supercontinents were surrounded on
all sides by subduction zones. With the development of the subduction zone between
Gondwana and Euramerica, a major collision was set in motion that would bring the two
together to form the single world-continent Pangea in thePermian.
In addition to global patterns of change, many important regional activities also
occurred. The continents of North America and Europe collided, resulting in massive granite
intrusions and the raising of the Appalachian Mountains of eastern North America. Vigorous
erosion of these newly uplifted mountains yielded great volumes of sediment, which were
deposited in vast lowlands and shallow seas nearby.

Extensive reef building, producing some of the world's largest reef complexes,
proceeded as stromatoporoids and corals appeared in increasing numbers. These were built in
the equatorial seas between the continents. Large shallow seas in North America, central
Asia, and Australia became basins in which great quantities of rock salt, gypsum, and other
minerals precipitated.
Near the end of the Devonian, a mass extinction event occurred. Glaciation and the lowering
of the global sea level may have triggered this crisis, since the evidence suggests warm water
marine species were most affected. Meteorite impacts have also been blamed for the mass
extinction, or changes in atmospheric carbon dioxide. It is even conceivable that it was the
evolution and spread of forests and the first plants with complex root systems that may have
altered the global climate. Whatever the cause, it was about this time that the first vertebrates
moved onto the land.

6.8 Carbon
The Carboniferous Period lasted from about 359.2 to 299 million years ago* during
the late Paleozoic Era. The term "Carboniferous" comes from England, in reference to the
rich deposits of coal that occur there. These deposits of coal occur throughout northern
Europe, Asia, and midwestern and eastern North America. The term "Carboniferous" is used
throughout the world to describe this period, although in the United States it has been
separated into the Mississippian (early Carboniferous) and the Pennsylvanian (late
Carboniferous) Subsystems. This division was established to distinguish the coal-bearing
layers of the Pennsylvanian from the mostly limestone Mississippian, and is a result of
differing stratigraphy on the different continents. The Mississippian and Pennsylvanian, in
turn, are subdivided into a number of internationally recognized stages based on evolutionary
successions of fossil groups . These stages are (from early to late) Tournaisian, Visean, and
Serpukhovian for the Mississippian and Bashkirian, Moscovian, Kasimovian, and
Gzhelian for the Pennsylvanian.
In addition to having the ideal conditions for the formation of coal, several major
biological, geological, and climatic events occurred during this time. Biologically, we see one
of the greatest evolutionary innovations of the Carboniferous: the amniote egg, which

allowed for the further exploitation of the land by certain tetrapods. It gave the ancestors of
birds, mammals, and reptiles the ability to lay their eggs on land without fear of desiccation.
Geologically, the Late Carboniferous collision of Laurasia (present-day Europe, Asia, and
North America) into Gondwana (present-day Africa, South America, Antarctica, Australia,
and India) produced the Appalachian Mountain belt of eastern North America and the
Hercynian Mountains in the United Kingdom. A further collision of Siberia and eastern
Europe created the Ural Mountains of Russia. And climatically, there was a trend towards
mild temperatures during the Carboniferous, as evidenced by the decrease in lycopods and
large insects, and an increase in the number of tree ferns.
The stratigraphy of the Mississippian can be easily distinguished from that of the
Pennsylvanian. The Mississippian environment of North America was heavily marine, with
seas covering parts of the continent. As a result, most Mississippian rocks are limestone,
which are composed of the remains of crinoids, lime-encrusted green algae, or calcium
carbonate shaped by waves. The North American Pennsylvanian environment was alternately
terrestrial and marine, with the transgression and regression of the seas caused by glaciation.
These environmental conditions, with the vast amount of plant material provided by the
extensive coal forests, allowed for the formation of coal. Plant material did not decay when
the seas covered them, and pressure and heat eventually built up over millions of years to
transform the plant material to coal.
Life
The beginning of the Carboniferous generally had a more uniform, tropical, and
humid climate than exists today. Seasons if any were indistinct. These observations are based
on comparisons between fossil and modern-day plant morphology. The Carboniferous plants
resemble those that live in tropical and mildly temperate areas today. Many of them lack
growth rings, which suggests a uniform climate. This uniformity in climate may have been
the result of the large expanse of ocean that covered the entire surface of the globe, except for
a localized section where Pangea, the massive supercontinent that existed during the
late Paleozoic and early Triassic, was coming together.
Shallow, warm, marine waters often flooded the continents. Attached filter feeders
such as bryozoans, particularly fenestellids, were abundant in this environment, and the sea
floor was dominated by brachiopods. Trilobites were increasingly scarce while foraminifers

were abundant. The heavily armored fish from the Devonian became extinct, being replaced
with more modern-looking fish fauna.

Though many spectacular plant forms dominated the Carboniferous, most of them
disappeared before the end of the Paleozoic. On the left, Neuropteris, a leaf form
associated with the cycad-like seed-ferns. On the right, terminal branches
from Lepidodendron sternbergii, one of the great scale trees, most of which went extinct
in the late Middle Pennsylvanian.
Uplifting near the end of the Mississippian resulted in increased erosion, with an
increase in the number of floodplains and deltas. The deltaic environment supported fewer
corals, crinoids, blastoids, cryozoans, and bryzoans, which were abundant earlier in the
Carboniferous. Freshwater clams made their first appearance, and there was an increase in
gastropod, bony fish, and shark diversity. As the continents moved closer to forming Pangea,
there was a net decrease in coastline, which in turn affected the diversity of marine life in
those shallow continental waters.
Two large ice sheets at the southern pole locked up large amounts of water as ice.
With so much water taken out of the water cycle, sea levels dropped, leading to an increase in
terrestrial habitat. Increases and decreases in glaciation during the Pennsylvanian resulted in
sea level fluctuations that can be seen in the rocks as striped patterns of alternating shale and
coal layers.

Many groups that appeared in the Carboniferous would give rise to groups that
dominated the Permian and Mesozoic. On the left isAmphibiamus lyelli, an early
temnospondyl. These amphibian-like early tetrapods grew to the size of crocodiles in the
Permian and Triassic. On the right, Lebachia, an early relative of the conifers.
The uplift of the continents caused a transition to a more terrestrial environment
during the Pennsylvanian Subsystem, although swamp forests were widespread. In the
swamp forests, seedless plants such as lycopsids flourished and were the primary source of
carbon for the coal that is characteristic of the period. The lycopods underwent a major
extinction event after a drying trend, most likely caused by increased glaciation, during the
Pennsylvanian. Ferns and sphenopsids became more important later during the
Carboniferous, and the earliest relatives of the conifers appeared. The first land snails
appeared and insects with wings that can't fold back, such as dragonflies and mayflies,
flourished and radiated. These insects, as well as millipedes, scorpions, and spiders became
important in the ecosystem.
A trend towards aridity and an increase in terrestrial habitat led to the increasing
importance of the amniotic egg for reproduction. The earliest amniote fossil was the lizardlike Hylonomus, which was lightly built with deep, strong jaws and slender limbs. The basal
tetrapods became more diverse during the Carboniferous. Predators with long snouts, short
sprawling limbs and flattened heads such as temnospondyls, like Amphibiamus (above)
appeared. Anthracosaurs basal tetrapods and amniotes with deep skulls and a less
sprawling body plan that afforded greater agility appeared during the Carboniferous and
were quickly followed by diapsids which divided into two groups: (1) the marine reptiles,
lizards, and snakes, and (2) the archosaurs crocodiles, dinosaurs, and birds. The synapsids
also made their first appearance, and presumably the anapsids did as well, although the oldest
fossils for that group are from the Lower Permian.

Stratigraphy
The appearance or disappearance of fauna usually marks the boundaries between time
periods. The Carboniferous is separated from the earlier Devonian by the appearance of the
conodontSiphonodella sulcata or Siphondella duplicata. Conodonts are fossils that resemble
the teeth or jaws of primitive eel- or hagfish-like fish. The Carboniferous-Permian boundary
is distinguished by the appearance of the fusulinid foram Sphaeroschwagerina fusiformis in
Europe and Pseudoschwagerina beedei in North America. Fusulinids are giants among
protists and could reach a centimeter in length. They were abundant enough to form sizable
deposits known as "rice rock" because of the resemblance between fusulinids and rice grains.
The Mississippian Subsystem is differentiated from the Pennsylvanian by the
appearance of the conodont Declinognathodus noduliferus, the ammonoid genus Homoceras,
and the foraminifersMillerella pressa and Millerella marblensis, though these markers apply
only to marine deposits. The distinction between the Mississippian and Pennsylvanian
subsystems may also be illustrated by a break in the flora due to transitional changes from a
marine to a more terrestrial environment.
The stratigraphy of the Mississippian is distinguished by shallow-water limestones.
Some of these limestones are composed of parts of organisms, primarily the remains of
crinoids that thrived in the shallow seas. Other limestones include lime mudstones, composed
of the carbonate mud produced by green algae, and oolithic limestones, composed of calcium
carbonate in concentric spheres produced by high wave energy. Also found in Mississippian
strata, though not as common, are sandstones (sedimentary rock composed of quartz sand and
cemented by silica or calcium carbonate) and siltstones (rock composed of hardened silt).

At left, scientists in a coal mine have color coded the successive layers of coal ball
formation. Each layer represents an individual flood event in the coal swamp. On the
right, a scientist observes the evidence of glacial and interglacial strata in Kansas.

Glacial periods result in lowered ocean levels, while interglacial periods result in a rise
in ocean levels, covering the continental shelf with shallow seas.
Coal beds, which can be up to 11 to 12 meters thick, characterize the late
Carboniferous. The forests of seedless vascular plants that existed in the tropical swamp
forests of Europe and North America provided the organic material that became coal. Dead
plants did not completely decay and were turned to peat in these swamp forests. When the sea
covered the swamps, marine sediments covered the peat. Eventually, heat and pressure
transformed these organic remains into coal. Coal balls, pockets of plant debris that were
preserved as fossils and not converted to coal, are sometimes found within the coal layers.
Multiple transgressions and regressions of the Pennsylvanian seas across the continent
can be seen in the rocks, and even counted, because they leave a telltale sequence of layers.
As sea levels rise, the layers may go from sandstone (beach), to silty shale or siltstone (tidal),
to freshwater limestone (lagoon), to underclay (terrestrial), to coal (terrestrial swampy forest).
Then as sea levels fall, one may see a shale (nearshore tidal) grade to limestone (shallow
marine) and finally to black shale (deep marine).
Index fossils are the remains of plants and animals that characterize a well-defined
time span and occur over a wide range of geography. Fossils of marine life characterize the
Mississippian, as shallow epicontinental seas covered the United States at that time. These
fossils include solitary corals and Syringopora, tubular colonial corals. Other fossil colonial
corals include Stelechophyllum and Siphonodendron. Because conodont fossils are distributed
all over the world, they are utilized internationally to date Mississippian rocks.
Index fossils used for the Pennsylvanian Subsystem are fusulinid foraminifers and the
pollen and spores from the coal forests prevalent during that time. The MississippianPennsylvanian boundary is marked by the appearance of the fusulinid Pseudostaffella
antiqua. Other fossils used to identify the early Pennsylvanian are the three ammonoid
cephalopod genera Gastrioceras, Daiboloceras, and Paralegoceras, all found in marine
deposits.

6.9 Permian

The Permian period lasted from 299 to 251 million years ago* and was the last period
of the Paleozoic Era. The distinction between the Paleozoic and the Mesozoic is made at the
end of the Permian in recognition of the largest mass extinction recorded in the history of life
on Earth. It affected many groups of organisms in many different environments, but it
affected marine communities the most by far, causing the extinction of most of the marine
invertebrates of the time. Some groups survived the Permian mass extinction in greatly
diminished numbers, but they never again reached the ecological dominance they once had,
clearing the way for another group of sea life. On land, a relatively smaller extinction of
diapsids and synapsids cleared the way for other forms to dominate, and led to what has been
called the "Age of Dinosaurs." Also, the great forests of fern-like plants shifted to
gymnosperms, plants with their offspring enclosed within seeds. Modern conifers, the most
familiar gymnosperms of today, first appear in the fossil record of the Permian. The Permian
was a time of great changes and life on Earth was never the same again.
The global geography of the Permian included massive areas of land and water. By
the beginning of the Permian, the motion of the Earth's crustal plates had brought much of the
total land together, fused in a supercontinent known as Pangea. Many of the continents of
today in somewhat intact form met in Pangea (only Asia was broken up at the time), which
stretched from the northern to the southern pole. Most of the rest of the surface area of the
Earth was occupied by a corresponding single ocean, known as Panthalassa, with a smaller
sea to the east of Pangea known as Tethys.
Models indicate that the interior regions of this vast continent were probably dry, with
great seasonal fluctuations due to the lack of a moderating effect provided by nearby bodies
of water. Only portions of this interior region received rainfall throughout the year. There is
little known about the Panthalassic Ocean itself. There are indications that the climate of the
Earth shifted during the Permian, with decreasing glaciation as the interiors of continents
became drier.
Stratigraphy
Until the later 1990s, there was little consensus on the order of strata in the late
Permian. Since the upper strata of various Permian locations tend to be relatively fossil
deficient, correlation using index fossils has been difficult. Correlation was attempted using

fossils that were in some cases native only to the local regions where they were found and
older work was based on assumptions that have changed in more recent years.
Older classifications relied on the Ural Mountains stratigraphy. In 1994, Jin et al.
proposed a worldwide stratigraphy of the Permian Period made up of four series/epochs: the
Uralian, the Chihsian, the Guadalupian, and the Lopingian. In the early 2000s, work by Jin
and others resulted in the stratigraphy currently accepted by the International Commission on
Stratigraphy.
The current stratigraphy divides the Permian into three series or epochs: the
Cisuralian (299 to 270.6 mya), Guadalupian (270.6 to 260.4 mya), and Lopingian (260.4 to
251 mya).* Find out more about how these periods of time are defined.
Permian shales, sandstones, siltstones, limestones, sands, marls, and dolostones were
deposited as a result of sea-level fluctuations. These fluctuation cycles can be seen in the rock
layers. Relatively few sites lend themselves to direct radioactive dating, so the age of
intermediate strata is often estimated.
Permian fossils that have been used as index fossils include brachiopods, ammonoids,
fusilinids, conodonts, and other marine invertebrates, and some genera occur within such
specific time frames that strata are named for them and permit stratigraphic identification
through the presence or absence of specified fossils.

CHAPTER 7
MESOZOIC
The Mesozoic Era is an interval of geological time from about 252 to 66 million years
ago. It is also called the Age of Reptiles, a phrase introduced by the 19th
century paleontologist Gideon Mantell who viewed it as dominated by reptiles such as
Iguanodon, Megalosaurus, Plesiosaurus and what are now called Pseudosuchia.
Mesozoic means "middle life", deriving from the Greek prefix meso-/- for
"between" and zon/ meaning "animal" or "living being". It is one of three geologic
eras of the Phanerozoic Eon, preceded by the Paleozoic ("ancient life") and succeeded by the
Cenozoic ("new life"). The era is subdivided into three major periods: the Triassic, Jurassic,
and Cretaceous, which are further subdivided into a number of epochs and stages.
The era began in the wake of the PermianTriassic extinction event, the largest welldocumented mass extinction in Earth's history, and ended with the CretaceousPaleogene
extinction event, another mass extinction which is known for having killed off non-avian
dinosaurs, as well as other plant and animal species. The Mesozoic was a time of significant
tectonic, climate and evolutionary activity. The era witnessed the gradual rifting of the
supercontinent Pangaea into separate landmasses that would eventually move into their
current positions. The climate of the Mesozoic was varied, alternating between warming and
cooling periods. Overall, however, the Earth was hotter than it is today. Nonavian dinosaurs appeared in the Late Triassic and became the dominant terrestrial vertebrates
early in the Jurassic, occupying this position for about 135 million years until their demise at
the end of the Cretaceous. Birds first appeared in the Jurassic, having evolved from a branch
of theropod dinosaurs. The first mammals also appeared during the Mesozoic, but would
remain smallless than 15 kguntil the Cenozoic.
Geologic periods
Following the Paleozoic, the Mesozoic extended roughly 186 million years,
from 252.17 to 66 million years ago when the Cenozoic Era began. This time frame is
separated into three geologic periods. From oldest to youngest:

Triassic (252.17 to 201.3 million years ago)

Jurassic (201.3 to 145 million years ago)

Cretaceous (145 to 66 million years ago)

The lower (Triassic) boundary is set by the PermianTriassic extinction event, during

which approximately 90% to 96% of marine species and 70% of terrestrial vertebrates
became extinct. It is also known as the "Great Dying" because it is considered the largest
mass extinction in the Earth's history. The upper (Cretaceous) boundary is set at
the CretaceousTertiary (KT) extinction event (now more accurately called the Cretaceous
Paleogene (or KPg) extinction event]), which may have been caused by the impactor that
created Chicxulub Crater on the Yucatn Peninsula. Towards the Late Cretaceous large
volcanic eruptions are also believed to have contributed to the CretaceousPaleogene
extinction event. Approximately 50% of all genera became extinct, including all of the nonavian dinosaurs.

7.1 Triassic
The Triassic ranges from 250 million to 200 million years ago. The Triassic is a
desolate transitional state in Earth's history between the Permian Extinction and the lush
Jurassic Period. It has three major epochs: the Early Triassic, the Middle Triassic and the Late
Triassic.
The Early Triassic lived between 250 million to 247 million years ago and was
dominated by deserts as Pangaea had not yet broken up, thus the interior was nothing but
arid. The Earth had just witnessed a massive die-off in which 95% of all life went extinct.
The most common life on earth were Lystrosaurus, Labyrinthodont, andEuparkeria along
with many other creatures that managed to survive the Great Dying. Temnospondyli evolved
during this time and would be the dominant predator for much of the Triassic.

Plateosaurus (a prosauropod)

The Middle Triassic spans from 247 million to 237 million years ago. The Middle
Triassic featured the beginnings of the breakup of Pangaea, and the beginning of the Tethys
Sea. The ecosystem had recovered from the devastation that was the Great Dying.
Phytoplankton, coral, and crustaceans all had recovered, and the reptiles began to get bigger
and bigger. New aquatic reptiles evolved such as Ichthyosaurs and Nothosaurs. Meanwhile,
on land, Pine forests flourished, bringing along mosquitoes and fruit flies. The first ancient
crocodilians evolved, which sparked competition with the large amphibians that had since
ruled the freshwater world.
The Late Triassic spans from 237 million to 200 million years ago. Following the
bloom of the Middle Triassic, the Late Triassic featured frequent heat spells, as well as
moderate precipitation (10-20 inches per year). The recent warming led to a boom of reptilian
evolution on land as the first true dinosaurs evolve, as well as pterosaurs. All this climatic
change, however, resulted in a large die-out known as the Triassic-Jurassic extinction event,
in which all archosaurs (excluding ancient crocodiles), synapsids, and almost all large
amphibians went extinct, as well as 34% of marine life in the fourth mass extinction event of
the world. The cause is debatable.

7.2 Jurassic

Rhamphorhynchus

The Jurassic ranges from 200 million years to 145 million years ago and features 3
major epochs: The Early Jurassic, the Middle Jurassic, and the Late Jurassic.

The Early Jurassic spans from 200 million years to 175 million years ago. The climate
was much more humid than the Triassic, and as a result, the world was very tropical. In the
oceans, Plesiosaurs, Ichthyosaurs and Ammonites fill waters as the dominant races of the
seas. On land, dinosaurs and other reptiles stake their claim as the dominant race of the land,
with species such as Dilophosaurus at the top. The first true crocodiles evolved, pushing out
the large amphibians to near extinction. All-in-all, reptiles rise to rule the world. Meanwhile,
the first true mammals evolve, but remained relatively small sized.
The Middle Jurassic spans from 175 million to 163 million years ago. During this
epoch, reptiles flourished as huge herds of sauropods, such as Brachiosaurus and Diplodocus,
filled the fern prairies of the Middle Jurassic. Many other predators rose as well, such
as Allosaurus. Conifer forests made up a large portion of the forests. In the
oceans, Plesiosaurs were quite common, and Ichthyosaurs were flourishing. This epoch was
the peak of the reptiles.

Stegosaurus
The Late Jurassic spans from 163 million to 145 million years ago. The Late Jurassic
featured a massive extinction ofsauropods and Ichthyosaurs due to the separation of Pangaea
into Laurasia and Gondwana in an extinction known as the Jurassic-Cretaceous extinction.
Sea levels rose, destroying fern prairies and creating shallows in its wake. Ichthyosaurs went
extinct whereas sauropods, as a whole, did not die out in the Jurassic; in fact, some species,
like the Titanosaurus, lived up to the K-T extinction. The increase in sea-levels opened up the
Atlantic sea way which would continue to get larger over time. The divided world would give
opportunity for the diversification of new dinosaurs.

7.3 Cretaceous
The Cretaceous is the longest period in the Mesozoic, but has only two epochs: the
Early Cretaceous, and the Late Cretaceous.
The Early Cretaceous spans from 145 million to 100 million years ago. The Early
Cretaceous saw the expansion of seaways, and as a result, the decline and extinction of
sauropods (except in South America). Many coastal shallows were created, and that caused
Ichthyosaurs to die out. Mosasaurs evolved to replace them as head of the seas. Some islandhopping dinosaurs, like Eustreptospondylus, evolved to cope with the coastal shallows and
small islands of ancient Europe. Other dinosaurs rose up to fill the empty space that the
Jurassic-Cretaceous extinction left behind, such as Carcharodontosaurus and Spinosaurus. Of
the most successful would be the Iguanodon which spread to every continent. Seasons came
back into effect and the poles got seasonally colder, but dinosaurs still inhabited this area like
the Leaellynasaura which inhabited the polar forests year-round, and many dinosaurs
migrated there during summer like Muttaburrasaurus. Since it was too cold for crocodiles, it
was the last stronghold for large amphibians, like Koolasuchus. Pterosaurs got larger as
species like Tapejara and Ornithocheirus evolved.

Tylosaurus (a mosasaur)
The Late Cretaceous spans from 100 million to 65 million years ago. The Late
Cretaceous featured a cooling trend that would continue on in the Cenozoic period.
Eventually, tropics were restricted to the equator and areas beyond the tropic lines featured
extreme seasonal changes in weather. Dinosaurs still thrived as new species such
as Tyrannosaurus, Ankylosaurus, Triceratops and Hadrosaurs dominated the food web. In the
oceans, Mosasaurs ruled the seas to fill the role of the Ichthyosaurs, and huge plesiosaurs,
such as Elasmosaurus, evolved. Also, the first flowering plants evolved. At the end of the

Cretaceous, theDeccan traps and other volcanic eruptions were poisoning the atmosphere. As
this was continuing, it is thought that a large meteor smashed into earth, creating
theChicxulub Crater in an event known as the K-T Extinction, the fifth and most recent mass
extinction event, in which 75% of life on earth went extinct, including all non-avian
dinosaurs. Everything over 10 kilograms went extinct. The age of the dinosaurs was over.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mesozoic

CHAPTER 8
CENOZOIC

8.1 Definition
The Cenozoic Era also

meaning

"new

life",

(from Greek kainos "new",

and zoe "life) is the current and most recent of the three Phanerozoic geological eras,
following the Mesozoic Era and covering the period from 65 million years ago to present day.
The Cenozoic is also known as the Age of Mammals, because the extinction of many
groups allowed mammals to greatly diversify.
Early in the Cenozoic, following the K-Pg event, the planet was dominated by
relatively small fauna, including small mammals, birds, reptiles, and amphibians. From a
geological perspective, it did not take long for mammals and birds to greatly diversify in the
absence of the large reptiles that had dominated during the Mesozoic. Some flightless birds
grew larger than the average human. These species are sometimes referred to as "terror
birds," and were formidable predators. Mammals came to occupy almost every
available niche (both marine and terrestrial), and some also grew very large, attaining sizes
not seen in most of today's terrestrial mammals.
Climate-wise, the Earth had begun a drying and cooling trend, culminating in
the glaciations of the Pleistocene Epoch, and partially offset by the Paleocene-Eocene
Thermal Maximum. The continents also began looking roughly familiar at this time and
moved into their current positions.

8.2 Subdivisions
The Cenozoic is divided into three periods: The Paleogene, Neogene, and Quaternary;
and

seven

epochs:

The Paleocene, Eocene, Oligocene, Miocene, Pliocene,Pleistocene,

and Holocene. The Quaternary Period was officially recognized by the International
Commission on Stratigraphy in June 2009, and the former Tertiary Period was officially
disused in 2004 because of the necessity to divide the Cenozoic into periods more like that of
the previous Paleozoic and Mesozoic eras. The common use of epochs during the Cenozoic
helps paleontologists better organize and group the many significant events that occurred

during this comparatively short interval of time. There is also more detailed knowledge of
this era than any other because of the relatively young strata associated with it.
Paleogene
The Paleogene spans from the extinction of the dinosaurs, some 66 million years ago,
to the dawn of the Neogene twenty three million years ago. It features threeepochs:
the Paleocene, Eocene and Oligocene.
The Paleocene ranged from 65 million to 55 million years ago. The Paleocene is a
transitional point between the devastation that is the K-T extinction, to the rich jungles
environment that is the Early Eocene. The Early Paleocene saw the recovery of the earth. The
continents began to take their modern shape, but all continents (and India) were separated
from each other. Afro-Eurasia was separated by the Tethys Sea, and the Americas were
separated by the strait of Panama, as the isthmus has not yet formed. This epoch featured a
general warming trend, with jungles eventually reaching the poles. The oceans were
dominated by sharks as the large reptiles that had once ruled went extinct. Archaic mammals
filled the world such as creodonts and early primates that evolved during the Mesozoic, and
as a result, there was nothing over 10 kilograms. Mammals were still quite small.
The Eocene Epoch ranged from 55 million years to 33 million years ago. In the EarlyEocene, life was small and lived in cramped jungles, much like the Paleocene. There was
nothing over the weight of 10 kilograms. Among them were early primates, whales and
horses along with many other early forms of mammals. At the top of the food chains were
huge birds, such as Gastornis. It is the only time in recorded history that birds ruled the world
(excluding their ancestors, the dinosaurs). The temperature was 30 degrees Celsius with little
temperature gradient from pole to pole. In the Mid-Eocene, the circum-Antarctic current
between Australia and Antarctica formed which disrupted ocean currents worldwide and as a
result caused a global cooling effect, shrinking the jungles. This allowed mammals to grow to
mammoth proportions, such as whales which, by that time, were almost fully aquatic.
Mammals like Andrewsarchus were at the top of the food-chain and sharks were replaced by
whales such as Basilosaurus as rulers of the seas. The Late Eocene saw the rebirth of seasons,
which caused the expansion of savanna-like areas, along with the evolution of grass.

Basilosaurus
The Oligocene Epoch spans from 33 million to 23 million years ago. The Oligocene
featured the expansion of grass which had led to many new species to evolve, including the
first elephants, cats, dogs, marsupials and many other species still prevalent today. Many
other species of plants evolved in this period too, such as the evergreen trees. A cooling
period was still in effect and seasonal rains were as well. Mammals still continued to grow
larger and larger. Paraceratherium, the largest land mammal to ever live evolved during this
period, along with many perissodactyls in an event known as the Grande Coupure.
Neogene.
The Neogene spans from 23 million to 3 million years ago, and is the shortest
geological period in the Phanerozoic Eon. It features 2 epochs: the Miocene, and the
Pliocene.
The Miocene spans from 23 to 5 million years ago and is a period in which grass
spread further across, effectively dominating a large portion of the world, diminishing forests
in the process. Kelp forests evolved, leading to new species such as sea otters to evolve.
During this time, perissodactyls thrived, and evolved into many different varieties. Alongside
them were the apes, which evolved into a staggering 30 species. Overall, arid and
mountainous land dominated most of the world, as did grazers. TheTethys Sea finally closed
with the creation of the Arabian Peninsula and in its wake left the Black, Red, Mediterranean
and Caspian Seas. This only increased aridity. Many new plants evolved, and 95% of modern
seed plants evolved in the mid-Miocene.
The Pliocene lasted from 5 to 2 million years ago. The Pliocene featured dramatic
climactic changes, which ultimately lead to modern species and plants. The Mediterranean

Sea

dried

up

for

several

million

years. Along

with

these

major

geological

events,Australopithecus evolved in Africa, beginning the human branch. The isthmus of

Panama formed, and animals migrated between North and South America, wreaking havoc on
the local ecology. Climatic changes brought savannas that are still continuing to spread across
the world, Indian monsoons, deserts in East Asia, and the beginnings of the Sahara desert.
The earth's continents and seas moved into their present shapes. The world map has not
changed much since.

Animals of the Miocene (Chalicotherium, Hyenadon,Entelodont...). Mammals are the

dominant terrestrial vertebrates of the Cenozoic
Quaternary
The Quaternary spans from 3 million to present day, and features modern animals,
and dramatic changes in the climate. It is divided into two epochs: the Pleistocene and the
Holocene.
The Pleistocene lasted from 3 million to 12,000 years ago. This epoch was marked by
ice ages as a result of the cooling trend that started in the Mid-Eocene. There were at least
four separate glaciation periods marked by the advance of ice caps as far south as 40 degrees
N latitude in mountainous areas. Meanwhile, Africa experienced a trend of desiccation which
resulted in the creation of the Sahara, Namib, and Kalahari deserts. Many animals evolved
including mammoths, giant ground sloths, dire wolves, saber-toothed cats, and most
famously Homo sapiens. 100,000 years ago marked the end of one of the worst droughts of
Africa, and led to the expansion of primitive man. As the Pleistocene drew to a close, a major
extinction caused wiped out much of the world's megafauna, including some of the hominid

species, such as Neanderthals. All the continents were affected, but Africa to a lesser extent.
The continent retains many large animals, such as hippos.
The Holocene began 12,000 years ago and lasts until to present day. Also known as
"the Age of Man", the Holocene is marked by the rise of man on his path to sentience. All
recorded history and "the history of the world" lies within the boundaries of the Holocene
epoch.[15] Human activity is blamed for a mass extinction that began roughly 10,000 years
ago, though the species becoming extinct have only been recorded since the Industrial
Revolution. This is sometimes referred to as the "Sixth Extinction". 322 species have become
extinct due to human activity since the Industrial Revolution.

Megafauna

of

the

Pleistocene

(mammoths, cave

lions, woolly

rhino,Megaloceros,

American horses)

8.3 Tectonics & Climate

Geologically, the Cenozoic is the era when the continents moved into their current
positions. Australia-New Guinea, having split from Pangea during the early Cretaceous,
drifted north and, eventually, collided with South-east Asia; Antarctica moved into its current
position over the South Pole; the Atlantic Ocean widened and, later in the era, South
America became attached to North America with the isthmus of Panama.
India collided with Asia 55 to 45 million years ago creating the Himalayas; Arabia
collided with Eurasia, closing the Tethys ocean and creating the Zagros Mountains,
around 35 million years ago.
The PaleoceneEocene Thermal Maximum of 55.8 million years ago was a significant
global warming event; however, since the Azolla event of 49 million years ago, the Cenozoic
Era has been a period of long-term cooling. After the tectonic creation of Drake Passage,
when South America fully detached from Antarctica during theOligocene, the climate cooled
significantly due to the advent of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current which brought cool deep
Antarctic water to the surface. The cooling trend continued in the Miocene, with relatively

short warmer periods. When South America became attached to North America creating
the Isthmus of Panama, the Arctic region cooled due to the strengthening of
the Humboldt and Gulf

Stream currents,[19] eventually

leading

to

the

glaciations

of

the Quaternary ice age, the currentinterglacial of which is the Holocene Epoch.

8.4 The Evolution of Biota

During the Cenozoic, mammals proliferated from a few small, simple, generalized
forms into a diverse collection of terrestrial, marine, and flying animals, giving this period its
other name, the Age of Mammals, despite the fact that birds still outnumbered mammals two
to one. The Cenozoic is just as much the age of savannas, the age of co-dependent flowering
plants and insects, and the age of birds.[20] Grass also played a very important role in this era,
shaping the evolution of the birds and mammals that fed on it. One group that diversified
significantly in the Cenozoic as well were the snakes. Evolving in the Cenozoic, the variety
of snakes increased tremendously, resulting in many colubrids, following the evolution of
their current primary prey source, the rodents.
In the earlier part of the Cenozoic, the world was dominated by the gastornid birds,
terrestrial crocodiles like Pristichampsus, and a handful of primitive large mammal groups
like uintatheres, mesonychids, and pantodonts. But as the forests began to recede and the
climate began to cool, other mammals took over.
The

Cenozoic

is

full

of

mammals

both

strange

and

familiar,

including chalicotheres, creodonts, whales, primates, entelodonts, saber-toothed

cats, mastodons andmammoths, three-toed horses, giant rhinoceros like Indricotherium, the
rhinoceros-like brontotheres, various bizarre groups of mammals from South America, such
as

the

vaguely

elephant-like pyrotheres and

the

dog-like

called borhyaenids and the monotremes and marsupials of Australia.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cenozoic

marsupial

relatives

CHAPTER 9
THE QUARTENARY PERIOD
The Quaternary is the third geological period of the era of the Cenozoic and the most
recent on a geological time scale. This period is characterized by the return of the ice ages,
the appearance of the genus Homo and the extinction of the Holocene.
9.1 The Evolution Of Human Beings
The earliest representatives of the genus Homo, the Homo habilis and Homo
rudolfensis, seem to appear in Africa about 2.5 Ma, while significant climate changes take
place: the formation of the Arctic ice cap causes a drought in Africa, which causes the loss of
forests.
The genus Homo is defined by a cranial capacity higher (greater than 600 cm ) than
Australopithecus, a more rounded skull, a reduction of the masticatory apparatus and face,
small canines, and bipedalism almost exclusively .
Homo habilis was even adapted to arboreal life. The visible marks on the bones of the
skull show that there was already an asymmetry between the right and left brains, suggesting
a greater ability to make and use tools. It is probably the author of some of the first roller cut
(Industry Oldowan). Homo rudolfensis was more portly and had a large brain and most
powerful jaws (to link with probably more carnivorous diet than Homo habilis). Although it
is little known, it is believed that his bipedalism had to be more advanced than that of Homo
habilis. Homo habilis and Homo rudolfensis disappear around 1.6 Ma.
Contemporary recent Homo habilis and Paranthropus, the Homo ergaster has
characteristics that resemble the lot of modern man: larger, exclusive bipedalism, large
cranial capacity (greater than 800 cm ), well rounded skull and dominates face, small face,
etc. Its tools are starting to be more sophisticated: bifaces, cleavers, etc. (Industry Acheulean).
Its good adaptation to bipedal walking and running allows him to travel great
distances and will gradually occupy part of the old world (Asia and Europe), from 1.8 Ma,
probably following his prey at the mercy of climatic changes. Its new tools allow it to adopt a
diet containing more meat (it's a real fighter). Finally, it can communicate practicing
articulate speech (probably already outlined in Homo habilis).

The ergaster Homo originated in Asia are probably at the origin of Homo erectus, the
sturdy skeleton, but the high cranial capacity and reduced side. They produce a lithic industry
often close to the Oldowan but sometimes clearly Acheulean.
The Homo ergaster in Africa settled in Europe. Descendant of the first men who
conquered the Europe (Homo heidelbergensis) and the Middle East, and which are probably
found isolated during certain periods of glaciation, Homo neanderthalensis (Neanderthal
Man) lived from 200 000 to 30 000 years . His body has adapted to the cold. It is probably
them who adopts the first funeral rites.
Include representatives of prnandertalienne line between Ma and 120 000 years, but
the true origins are far from clear (there may have been continuity in Asia, but replacement in
Europe.
Other populations of Homo ergaster from Africa and the Middle East are at the origin
of the "Proto-Cro-Magnon" and the Cro-Magnon man (Homo sapiens).mBy 40,000 years,
Homo neanderthalensis and Homo sapiens (Cro-Magnon) coexist in Europe. This is the first
representative of our species. His lanky morphology probably reflects African origins .
The oldest bones attributed to Homo sapiens have indeed been discovered in Africa.
Currently, paleontologists give Homo sapiens an age of about 200,000 years since the oldest
bones found are two skulls dated to 195,000 years, called Omo Omo 1 and 2; followed by
those of the Man of Herto also called Homo sapiens idaltu, dated about 154,000 years.