Hassan saad

Subject : geological time scale

Geologic time scale
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This clock representation shows some of the major units of geological time and definitive events of
Earth history. The Hadean eon represents the time before fossil record of life on Earth; its upper
boundary is now regarded as 4.0 Ga (billion years ago).[1] Other subdivisions reflect the evolution of
life; the Archean and Proterozoic are both eons,
the Palaeozoic, Mesozoic and Cenozoic are eras of the Phanerozoic eon. The three million
year Quaternary period, the time of recognizable humans, is too small to be visible at this scale.

The geological time scale (GTS) is a system of chronological dating that relates
geological strata (stratigraphy) to time, and is used by geologists, paleontologists, and
other Earth scientists to describe the timing and relationships of events that have
occurred during Earths history. The table of geologic time spans, presented here, agrees
with the nomenclature, dates and standard color codes set forth by the International
Commission on Stratigraphy.
Evidence from radiometric dating indicates that Earth is about 4.54 billion years old.[2]
[3]
The geology or deep time of Earths past has been organized into various units
according to events which took place in each period. Different spans of time on the GTS
are usually marked by changes in the composition of strata which correspond to those,
and indicate major geological or paleontological events, such as mass extinctions. For
example, the boundary between the Cretaceous period and the Paleogene period is
defined by the CretaceousPaleogene extinction event, which marked the demise of the
non-avian dinosaurs and many other groups of life. Older time spans, which predate the
reliable fossil record (before the Proterozoic Eon), are defined by their absolute age.
History and nomenclature of the time scale

Early history[edit]

In Ancient Greece, Aristotle (384-322 BCE) observed that fossils of seashells in rocks
resembled seashells found on beaches - he inferred that the fossils had once formed part
of living animals, and he reasoned that the positions of land and sea had changed over
long periods of time. Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519) concurred with Aristotle's
interpretation that fossils represented the remains of ancient life. [10]

The 11th-century Persian geologist Avicenna (Ibn Sina, died 1037) and the 13th-
century Dominican bishop Albertus Magnus (died 1280) extended Aristotle's explanation
into a theory of a petrifying fluid.[11]Avicenna also first proposed one of the principles
underlying geologic time scales, the law of superposition of strata, while discussing the
origins of mountains in The Book of Healing (1027).[12][13] The Chinese naturalist Shen
Kuo (10311095) also recognized the concept of "deep time".[14]