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Geologic Time & the Geologic Time Scale
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How do we make sense out of a 1000 foot-thick rock sequence?
Rock Units: Supergroup Group Formation Member Bed Time Units: Eon Era Period Epoch Stage
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Geologic Time as a Linear Progression
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Geologic Time in one Hour
Hadean – Proterozoic eons Proterozoic & Phanerozoic eons
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Evolution of Life on Earth (in 1 hour)
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Earth’s Geologic Time in 100 Yards
Phanerozoic Eon begins between 12 and 11 yard lines
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Geologic Time as a Spiraling Line
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2009 Geologic Time Scale Subdividing 4.6 billion years into smaller, more “manageable” intervals
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Time-rock Time vs. Phanerozoic Cenozoic Neogene Eocene Bartonian Eon
Era Period Epoch Age Eonothem Erathem System Series Stage
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Rocks Don’t mix time units with rock units! Late Fossils Eocene Time
vs. vs. Upper Meaning: Late Eocene fossils are found in Upper Eocene rocks. So Periarchus lyelli (sand dollar) lived during the Priabonian age and fossils occur in rocks from the Priabonian stage.
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Time-Rock and Rock-Rock Units
Time Units Pennsylvanian rocks in SE Kansas
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What’s in a Name? Paleozoic rocks of Europe Western England
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Evolution of Western Interior Seaway, North America (Cretaceous Period)
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goodbye Tertiary, hello Paleogene/Neogene
2009 Cenozoic Era – goodbye Tertiary, hello Paleogene/Neogene 1980s Subdivisions were based on fossil content…
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If the type section for the Ordovician is in western England, how do we know rocks in Eastern USA are the same age?
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Stratigraphic Correlation Through…
…Relative dating and Biostratigraphy
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Index fossils are: • Common • Widespread • Lived during a relatively
short interval of time
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Surface Geology of South Carolina
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