Understanding of Earth history,
The Earth is the stage on which the evolutionary play is performed. Darwin studied evolution in the context of Charles Lyell's geology, but our present understanding of Earth history includes some critical advances made during the last half-century.
3. Earth Has a History
Geologic materials record enormous changes.
Earth is a complex, evolving system.
Physical and biological systems continuously interact.
Earth constantly changes and has done so through time.
Species arise, flourish and disappear forever.
Continents rift, drift and collide.
Ocean basins open and close.
Sea-level rises and falls.
Earth: Portrait of a Planet, 3rd edition, by Stephen Marshak
Chapter 13: A Biography of Earth
4. Methods for Studying the Past
Historic Earth changes are measured by…
Orogenic events.
Sea level.
Climates.
Living organisms.
Continental positions.
Plate boundaries.
Chemistry.
Atmosphere.
Ocean.
Depositional environments.
These changes are recorded in rocks.
Earth: Portrait of a Planet, 3rd edition, by Stephen Marshak
Chapter 13: A Biography of Earth
5. Methods for Studying the Past
Earth history is not always easy to decipher.
Much of the record of past events is incomplete. Why?
The record didn’t accumulate continuously.
Erosion destroys the record with age as a variable.
Younger rocks are better preserved; older rocks less so.
Earth: Portrait of a Planet, 3rd edition, by Stephen Marshak
Chapter 13: A Biography of Earth
6. Methods for Studying the Past
Earth history is not always easy to decipher.
Despite erosion, there is still an abundance of evidence.
This evidence is often readily observed by looking at rocks.
Earth: Portrait of a Planet, 3rd edition, by Stephen Marshak
Chapter 13: A Biography of Earth
7. Methods for Studying the Past
Ancient orogens – Former mountain belts.
Igneous activity, deformation and metamorphism.
Thick sedimentary deposits filling foreland basins.
Ancient orogenic belts expose deeply buried rocks.
Earth: Portrait of a Planet, 3rd edition, by Stephen Marshak
Chapter 13: A Biography of Earth
8. Methods for Studying the Past
Clear evidence of continental growth over time.
Continents grow by addition along edges.
Continental interiors are older.
Rocks become younger
toward margins.
Earth: Portrait of a Planet, 3rd edition, by Stephen Marshak
Chapter 13: A Biography of Earth
9. Methods for Studying the Past
Recognizing depositional environments.
Successions of strata record changes
in depositional settings.
Recognizing sea-level changes.
Sediments record sea-level flux.
Shallow and deep environments
create distinctive sediments.
Earth: Portrait of a Planet, 3rd edition, by Stephen Marshak
Chapter 13: A Biography of Earth
10. Methods for Studying the Past
Changing continental positions are preserved.
Paleomagnetism captures paleolatitude.
Ocean width changes by reversing sea-floor anomalies.
Rock and fossil distributions compare across oceans.
Earth: Portrait of a Planet, 3rd edition, by Stephen Marshak
Chapter 13: A Biography of Earth
11. Methods for Studying the Past
Paleoclimates – Rocks preserve ancient climates.
Tropical – Extensive coral reefs.
Sub-tropical – Extensive deserts.
Polar – Extensive glacial deposits.
Climatic belts expand and contract.
Greenhouse Earth.
Snowball earth.
O/16O isotopic ratios preserve
ancient temperatures
18
Earth: Portrait of a Planet, 3rd edition, by Stephen Marshak
Chapter 13: A Biography of Earth
12. Methods for Studying the Past
Evolution – Fossils preserve changes in Earth’s life.
Sedimentary rocks preserve fossil ecosystems.
Organisms inhabiting Earth have obviously changed.
Over geologic time, most species have exhibited both…
Trends toward specialization.
Catastrophic extinctions.
Earth: Portrait of a Planet, 3rd edition, by Stephen Marshak
Chapter 13: A Biography of Earth
13. The Hadean Eon
Geochronology dates the age of Earth to 4.57 Ga.
Based on ages of meteorites akin to planetesimals.
Continental crustal rocks date from 3.8 Ga.
The time between 4.57 – 3.8 Ga is the Hadean Eon.
Named for Hades, the Greek god of the underworld.
Began with formation of Earth by planetesimal accretion.
Earth: Portrait of a Planet, 3rd edition, by Stephen Marshak
Chapter 13: A Biography of Earth
14. The Hadean Eon
Earth was heated by impacts and radioactive decay.
Earth was hot enough to partially melt by ~ 4.5 Ga.
The molten Earth underwent chemical differentiation.
Gravity pulled molten iron into the center.
The ultramafic mantle remained as a thick shell.
Earth: Portrait of a Planet, 3rd edition, by Stephen Marshak
Chapter 13: A Biography of Earth
15. The Hadean Eon
After differentiation, Earth smashed a proto-planet.
The size of Mars, this planet blasted…
A sizeable chunk of Earth’s mantle.
Much of the proto-planet’s mantle.
Debris from the collision formed a ring around Earth.
Earth: Portrait of a Planet, 3rd edition, by Stephen Marshak
Chapter 13: A Biography of Earth
16. The Hadean Eon
This debris coalesced to form the moon.
When 1st formed, moon was much closer (20,000 km).
Today it is 19x farther away (384,000 km).
Earth: Portrait of a Planet, 3rd edition, by Stephen Marshak
Chapter 13: A Biography of Earth
17. The Hadean Eon
Earth was inhospitable; a molten surface.
Evidence of solidified igneous rock dates from 4.4 Ga.
This evidence is from zircon grains, not a whole rock.
Earth: Portrait of a Planet, 3rd edition, by Stephen Marshak
Chapter 13: A Biography of Earth
18. The Hadean Eon
Volcanic outgassing created a deadly atmosphere.
N2, NH3, CH4, H2O, CO, CO2 and SO42- were components.
This atmosphere had a greater density that today’s.
Early formed crust was bombarded by meteorites.
Meteorite impacts were abundant between 4.0 and 3.9 Ga.
This would have destroyed early formed crust.
Oldest evidence of crust is 4.03 Ga.
Earth: Portrait of a Planet, 3rd edition, by Stephen Marshak
Chapter 13: A Biography of Earth
19. The Hadean Eon
The first oceans formed as rain from the skies.
Liquid water required cooling of the surface.
First evidence of oceans from marine sediments ~ 3.85 Ga.
Earth: Portrait of a Planet, 3rd edition, by Stephen Marshak
Chapter 13: A Biography of Earth
20. The Archean Eon
Time of significant change to planet Earth.
~3.8 Ga, Earth had cooled to form lithosphere.
Intense meteorite bombardment ceased.
Portions of the rock record begin to survive.
Earth: Portrait of a Planet, 3rd edition, by Stephen Marshak
Chapter 13: A Biography of Earth
21. The Archean Eon
Had plate tectonics started yet? 2 models.
Many small microplates, island arcs and hot spot volcanoes
rapidly formed and subducted crust.
Archean lithosphere was too hot to subduct; hot spot plume
volcanics dominated formation of crust.
Earth: Portrait of a Planet, 3rd edition, by Stephen Marshak
Chapter 13: A Biography of Earth
22. The Archean Eon
Volume of continental crust increased dramatically.
85% of modern continental area present by end Archean.
Signals full development of plate tectonic processes.
Earth: Portrait of a Planet, 3rd edition, by Stephen Marshak
Chapter 13: A Biography of Earth
23. The Archean Eon
How did continental crust form?
Low density felsic rocks formed above subduction zones.
Felsic crustal blocks grew via continental collision.
Felsic sediments accumulated near continental crust.
Mantle hot spots built mafic volcanoes.
Earth: Portrait of a Planet, 3rd edition, by Stephen Marshak
Chapter 13: A Biography of Earth
24. The Archean Eon
How did continental crust form?
Continental crust is too buoyant to subduct.
Jams subduction trenches.
Shuts off subduction.
Creates thickened, uplifted continental crust.
Frequent collisions sutured volcanic arcs, hot spots and
sedimentary debris together as protocontinents.
Earth: Portrait of a Planet, 3rd edition, by Stephen Marshak
Chapter 13: A Biography of Earth
25. The Archean Eon
The 1st cratons had formed by 2.7 Ga. Cratons are…
Long-lived blocks of durable continental crust.
Too buoyant to subduct, these blocks persist over time.
Cratons are the interior core of modern continents.
Continents grow as rocks are added to cratons.
Earth: Portrait of a Planet, 3rd edition, by Stephen Marshak
Chapter 13: A Biography of Earth
26. The Archean Eon
Archean cratons consist of 5 principle rock types.
Gneiss – Hi-grade metamorphics from Archean collisions.
Greenstone – Metamorphosed fragments of mafic rocks.
Granite – Magmas from partial melting of the crust.
Graywacke – Sedimentary debris derived from arcs.
Chert – Silica precipitated in the deep sea.
Earth: Portrait of a Planet, 3rd edition, by Stephen Marshak
Chapter 13: A Biography of Earth
27. The Archean Eon
Archean shallow sediments are poorly known.
There were few shallow depositional settings, or…
Few examples have survived destruction by erosion.
Sedimentary processes were clearly operating.
Transport rounded sediment grains.
Earth: Portrait of a Planet, 3rd edition, by Stephen Marshak
Chapter 13: A Biography of Earth
28. The Archean Eon
Life first appeared during
the Archean. Evidence?
Biomarker molecules.
Isotopic signatures.
Preserved fossil cells.
Clear evidence of life in
rocks dated to 3.5 Ga.
Life may have started earlier.
Oldest undisputed bacteria
fossils ~ 3.2 Ga.
Earth: Portrait of a Planet, 3rd edition, by Stephen Marshak
Chapter 13: A Biography of Earth
29. The Archean Eon
Rocks after 3.2 Ga contain stromatolites.
Layered mats of cyanobacteria (blue-green algae).
Sediments stuck to mucous coatings on algal filaments.
Photosynthesis changed Earth’s atmosphere.
Converts CO2 and H2O to organic matter and free oxygen.
Earth: Portrait of a Planet, 3rd edition, by Stephen Marshak
Chapter 13: A Biography of Earth
30. The Proterozoic Eon
Protero = first; zoic = life.
Named before Archean life was discovered.
~ 2 Ga (2.5 to 0.542 Ga); almost ½ of Earth history.
The unfamiliar Archean world changed to…
Fewer, larger lithospheric plates.
Larger continental landmasses.
An oxygenated atmosphere.
Earth: Portrait of a Planet, 3rd edition, by Stephen Marshak
Chapter 13: A Biography of Earth
31. The Proterozoic Eon
New continental crust formed, but at slower rates.
90% of Earth’s continental crust by the middle Proterozoic.
Continents grew by addition of volcanic arcs.
Continents cooled and strengthened to become cratons.
Earth: Portrait of a Planet, 3rd edition, by Stephen Marshak
Chapter 13: A Biography of Earth
32. The Proterozoic Eon
Case History: The assembly of North America.
A large area of Pre-Cambrian rocks outcrops in Canada.
This constitutes a shield – a low-lying area of Pre-C rocks.
The cratonic platform occurs to the S and W of the shield.
Phanerozoic strata cover the Pre-C shield.
Shield rock underlies much of U.S.
Encountered by drilling.
Exposed in the Grand Canyon.
Earth: Portrait of a Planet, 3rd edition, by Stephen Marshak
Chapter 13: A Biography of Earth
33. The Proterozoic Eon
Canadian Shield consists of many distinct blocks.
Sutured Archean crustal blocks form the shield interior.
Added volcanic arcs and crustal slivers extended
Earth: Portrait of a Planet, 3rd edition, by Stephen Marshak
Chapter 13: A Biography of Earth
34. The Proterozoic Eon
Continental collision created Pre-C supercontinents.
Rodinia – Formed ~ 1 Ga.
The Grenville Orogeny formed an extensive mountain belt.
Pannotia – A short-lived supercontinent ~ 600 Ma.
Earth: Portrait of a Planet, 3rd edition, by Stephen Marshak
Chapter 13: A Biography of Earth
35. The Proterozoic Eon
Atmospheric oxygen (O2) skyrocketed 2.4 to 2.2 Ga.
Currently, O2 is 21% of the atmosphere.
Before 2.2 Ga, detrital pyrite in sediments indicated no O2.
Redbeds (red from Fe-oxides) don’t appear before 2.2 Ga.
Banded Iron Formations (BIFs) – Fe dissolved in the ocean
reacted with O2, forming world wide iron oxide deposits.
Earth: Portrait of a Planet, 3rd edition, by Stephen Marshak
Chapter 13: A Biography of Earth
36. The Proterozoic Eon
Atmospheric O2 permitted diversification of life.
Aerobic respiration more efficient; allowed multicellular life.
Without O2, only single celled organisms possible.
Eukaryotic (nucleated) cells evolved by at least 1.0 Ga.
The possibility of a land-dwelling biota.
O2 made formation of the ozone layer possible.
Ozone absorbs deadly ultraviolet (UV) radiation.
Prior to the ozone layer, exposed land was bathed in UV.
Earth: Portrait of a Planet, 3rd edition, by Stephen Marshak
Chapter 13: A Biography of Earth
37. The Proterozoic Eon
Over the last 500 Ma of the Proterozoic…
A gigantic leap in biological complexity.
Simple organisms gave way to complex ones.
Ediacaran fauna – Unusual soft-bodied fossils.
Preserved in end Proterozoic sediments.
Multicellular invertebrates
resembling worms and jellyfish.
Earth: Portrait of a Planet, 3rd edition, by Stephen Marshak
Chapter 13: A Biography of Earth
38. The Proterozoic Eon
Ediacaran fauna arose in conjunction with 2 events.
The assembly and breakup of the Pannotia.
Global cooling possibly resulting in a “Snowball Earth.”
Most of the world bears evidence of being frozen.
Life diversified rapidly after snowball conditions waned.
Earth: Portrait of a Planet, 3rd edition, by Stephen Marshak
Chapter 13: A Biography of Earth
39. The Phanerozoic Eon
Phaneros = visible; zoic = life.
The most recent 542 Ma of Earth history.
Began with appearance of diverse hard-shelled organisms.
Hard-shells vastly increased fossil preservation.
Made possible a more complete archive of life on Earth.
Earth: Portrait of a Planet, 3rd edition, by Stephen Marshak
Chapter 13: A Biography of Earth
40. The Phanerozoic Eon
The Phanerozoic is divided into 3 Eras.
Paleozoic – Ancient life.
Mesozoic – Middle life.
Cenozoic – Recent life.
Eras emphasize changes in Earth’s biota.
Earth: Portrait of a Planet, 3rd edition, by Stephen Marshak
Chapter 13: A Biography of Earth
41. The Phanerozoic Eon
Tectonic plates and continental blocks rearranged.
Ancient changes in paleogeography have been deciphered.
The map of Earth looked different throughout the Eon.
New supercontinents formed and rifted apart.
Numerous orogenic belts were created and eroded.
Earth: Portrait of a Planet, 3rd edition, by Stephen Marshak
Chapter 13: A Biography of Earth
42. The Phanerozoic Eon
Phanerozoic sea-level (SL) has changed often.
SL highstands flooded continental interiors.
Rising SL (transgression) initiated sediment deposition.
SL lowstands exposed
continental margins.
Falling SL (regression)
initiated erosion or
non-deposition.
Earth: Portrait of a Planet, 3rd edition, by Stephen Marshak
Chapter 13: A Biography of Earth
43. The Phanerozoic Eon
SL cycles are marked by large-scale unconformities.
Stratigraphic sequences reflect SL highstands.
Rising SL invaded further inland with passing time.
Falling SL moved progressively outward from the interior.
Unconformities…
Become younger toward
continental interiors.
Bound less time in the
interior; more time along
the margins.
Earth: Portrait of a Planet, 3rd edition, by Stephen Marshak
Chapter 13: A Biography of Earth
44. The Early Paleozoic
Cambrian and Ordovician Paleogeography:
Rifting of Pannotia left 4 large continental fragments.
Gondwana – (S. America, Africa, Antarctica, India, Australia).
Laurentia – (N. America and Greenland).
Baltica – (Europe).
Siberia.
Part
of Gondwana was
over the South Pole
in the late Ordovician.
Marked by glacial deposits.
Earth: Portrait of a Planet, 3rd edition, by Stephen Marshak
Chapter 13: A Biography of Earth
45. The Early Paleozoic
Cambrian and Ordovician Paleogeography:
The rifted continents developed passive margins.
Rising seas flooded expanses of continental crust.
Epicontinental seas were shallow, warm and sunlit.
Thriving marine life preserved as fossiliferous sediments.
Earth: Portrait of a Planet, 3rd edition, by Stephen Marshak
Chapter 13: A Biography of Earth
46. The Early Paleozoic
Cambrian and Ordovician Paleogeography:
Subduction carried a volcanic arc toward Laurentia.
Mid-Late Ordovician: continental crust jammed the trench.
Passive margin sediments were deformed by the collision.
A volcanic arc was welded onto the margin.
The “Taconic Orogeny” was the 1st Appalachian event.
Earth: Portrait of a Planet, 3rd edition, by Stephen Marshak
Chapter 13: A Biography of Earth
47. The Early Paleozoic
Cambrian and Ordovician Life Evolution:
Earliest Cambrian – Hard shells appeared for the 1st time.
Massive diversification followed: the “Cambrian explosion.”
Reflects the evolution of a complex ecosystem.
Plankton, deposit feeders, giant predators.
Earth: Portrait of a Planet, 3rd edition, by Stephen Marshak
Chapter 13: A Biography of Earth
48. The Early Paleozoic
Cambrian and Ordovician Life Evolution:
Life during the Ordovician included several “firsts.”
The 1st vertebrates were jawless fish (agnathans).
The 1st crinoids (flower-like echinoderms).
The 1st green algae and primitive land plants.
The end of the Ordovician witnessed a mass extinction.
The seas roiled with life, but there was no life on land yet.
Earth: Portrait of a Planet, 3rd edition, by Stephen Marshak
Chapter 13: A Biography of Earth
49. The Middle Paleozoic
Silurian and Devonian Paleogeography:
Silurian climate warmed to create greenhouse conditions.
Epicontinental seas expanded.
Gigantic reef complexes developed in normal salinity water.
Thick evaporite deposits accumulated in isolated ocean basins.
The Taconic mountains eroded away.
Sediment was shed to either side of the eroding source.
Earth: Portrait of a Planet, 3rd edition, by Stephen Marshak
Chapter 13: A Biography of Earth
50. The Middle Paleozoic
Silurian and Devonian Paleogeography:
A 2nd eastern orogenic phase occurred in the Devonian.
The Avalon microcontinent was welded onto North America.
Large mountains marked the Acadian-Caledonian Orogeny.
Vast sediment aprons spread outward from the uplift.
Earth: Portrait of a Planet, 3rd edition, by Stephen Marshak
Chapter 13: A Biography of Earth
51. The Middle Paleozoic
Silurian and Devonian Paleogeography:
In the west, thick passive-margin sediments accumulated.
An island arc smashed this margin in the Late Devonian.
This created the Antler orogenic belt.
Earth: Portrait of a Planet, 3rd edition, by Stephen Marshak
Chapter 13: A Biography of Earth
52. The Middle Paleozoic
Silurian and Devonian Life Evolution:
New species replaced those lost to extinction.
Vascular land plants evolved and spread across Earth.
Internal water transport systems.
Woody tissues.
Seeds.
Land
plants changed Earth.
Earth: Portrait of a Planet, 3rd edition, by Stephen Marshak
Chapter 13: A Biography of Earth
53. The Middle Paleozoic
Silurian and Devonian Life Evolution:
Fish
rapidly evolve and proliferate.
Jawed fish.
Boney fish.
The
1st land animals
followed plants.
Scorpions.
Spiders.
Insects.
Crustaceans.
Earth: Portrait of a Planet, 3rd edition, by Stephen Marshak
Chapter 13: A Biography of Earth
54. The Middle Paleozoic
Silurian and Devonian Life Evolution:
At
the end Devonian, the 1st amphibians appeared.
Walked on legs.
Breathed air with lungs.
Earth: Portrait of a Planet, 3rd edition, by Stephen Marshak
Chapter 13: A Biography of Earth
55. The Late Paleozoic
Carboniferous and Permian Paleogeography:
Climatic cooling followed the Mid-Paleozoic greenhouse.
Seas regressed from continents.
Clastics choked out carbonates.
Thick coals formed equatorially.
Ice sheets spread across Gondwana.
Earth: Portrait of a Planet, 3rd edition, by Stephen Marshak
Chapter 13: A Biography of Earth
56. The Late Paleozoic
Carboniferous and Permian Paleogeography:
Continental collisions formed the supercontinent Pangaea.
Gondwana collided with Laurentia (Alleghenian orogeny).
North America collided with Africa.
The Gulf Coast collided with
South America.
Collisions were oblique.
Folding.
Thrust faulting.
Strike-slip faulting.
Earth: Portrait of a Planet, 3rd edition, by Stephen Marshak
Chapter 13: A Biography of Earth
57. The Late Paleozoic
Carboniferous and Permian Paleogeography:
The Appalachians preserve several types of geology.
Thin-skinned thrust faulting over basement rock.
Produced the Appalachian fold-thrust belt (Valley and Ridge).
Deformation above a large horizontal detachment fault.
A more intensely deformed and intruded metamorphic core.
Earth: Portrait of a Planet, 3rd edition, by Stephen Marshak
Chapter 13: A Biography of Earth
58. The Late Paleozoic
Carboniferous and Permian Paleogeography:
The assembly of Pangaea had other tectonic effects.
Deformation was transmitted across Laurentia.
Basins and uplifts formed in the mid-continent.
Hercynian orogen - Africa
collided with S. Europe.
Ural Mountains – Europe
collided with Siberia.
China attached to
southern Siberia.
Earth: Portrait of a Planet, 3rd edition, by Stephen Marshak
Chapter 13: A Biography of Earth
59. The Late Paleozoic
Carboniferous and Permian Paleogeography:
Pangaea was a massive supercontinent.
The interior was a vast desert far from ocean moisture.
Large deposits of red (oxidized) dune and fluvial sandstones.
Large accumulations of evaporites.
Earth: Portrait of a Planet, 3rd edition, by Stephen Marshak
Chapter 13: A Biography of Earth
60. The Late Paleozoic
Carboniferous and Permian Life Evolution:
Life continued to evolve.
Dense tropical wetlands hosted vegetation and giant insects.
Amphibians diversified.
Reptiles appeared for the 1st time.
The amniote egg permitted reproduction away from water.
Reptiles populated previously inhospitable environments.
Earth: Portrait of a Planet, 3rd edition, by Stephen Marshak
Chapter 13: A Biography of Earth
61. The Late Paleozoic
Carboniferous and Permian Life Evolution:
The Paleozoic ended with the Permian extinction.
90% of all marine species disappeared.
Some evidence links the extinction to a bolide impact.
Earth: Portrait of a Planet, 3rd edition, by Stephen Marshak
Chapter 13: A Biography of Earth
62. Early and Mid-Mesozoic Era
Triassic and Jurassic Paleogeography:
The supercontinent Pangaea lasted 100 million years.
Pangaea began to rift late Triassic to early Jurassic.
Rifting started in the North Atlantic.
A thin narrow ocean had
opened by the end Jurassic.
This basin accumulated
thick evaporite deposits.
Earth: Portrait of a Planet, 3rd edition, by Stephen Marshak
Chapter 13: A Biography of Earth
63. Early and Mid-Mesozoic Era
Triassic and Jurassic Paleogeography:
Pangaea's interior was hot and dry.
Greenhouse climates cooled by the mid-Jurassic.
Transgression flooded much of the Rocky Mountain region.
Earth: Portrait of a Planet, 3rd edition, by Stephen Marshak
Chapter 13: A Biography of Earth
64. Early and Mid-Mesozoic Era
Triassic and Jurassic Paleogeography:
Western North America was an active margin.
Subduction created island arcs.
Collision added arcs and
microcontinents to N. America.
Sonoma orogeny – Perm – Tri.
Nevadan orogeny – Late Jur.
Earth: Portrait of a Planet, 3rd edition, by Stephen Marshak
Chapter 13: A Biography of Earth
65. Early and Mid-Mesozoic Era
Triassic and Jurassic Life Evolution:
New species filled niches vacated by extinction.
Corals became dominant reef builders.
Gymnosperms proliferated.
Reptiles diversified.
Plesiosaurs – Swimming reptiles.
Pterosaurs – Flying reptiles.
Turtles appear.
Earth: Portrait of a Planet, 3rd edition, by Stephen Marshak
Chapter 13: A Biography of Earth
66. Early and Mid-Mesozoic Era
Triassic and Jurassic Life Evolution:
By end of the Triassic the first true at dinosaurs appeared.
Dinosaurs differ from other reptiles in significant ways.
Legs are positioned beneath their bodies.
They bear evidence of warm bloodedness.
By the end Jurassic giant sauropods were abundant.
Earth: Portrait of a Planet, 3rd edition, by Stephen Marshak
Chapter 13: A Biography of Earth
67. Early and Mid-Mesozoic Era
Triassic and Jurassic Life Evolution:
The 1st feathered birds (archaeopteryx).
The 1st ancestors of mammals appeared at Triassic.
They resembled small rat like creatures.
Earth: Portrait of a Planet, 3rd edition, by Stephen Marshak
Chapter 13: A Biography of Earth
68. The Late Mesozoic
Cretaceous Paleogeography:
Climate continued to warm; seas flooded the continents.
An ocean connected the
Gulf of Mexico to the Arctic.
Epicontinental seas
accumulated limestone
and sandstone.
Earth: Portrait of a Planet, 3rd edition, by Stephen Marshak
Chapter 13: A Biography of Earth
69. The Late Mesozoic
Cretaceous Paleogeography:
Breakup of Pangaea continued through the Cretaceous.
South America separated from Africa.
Antarctica separated from Australia.
India broke from
Gondwana and raced
toward Asia.
Passive margins
developed along
the Atlantic.
Earth: Portrait of a Planet, 3rd edition, by Stephen Marshak
Chapter 13: A Biography of Earth
70. The Late Mesozoic
Cretaceous Paleogeography:
In western North America the Sierran continental arc grew.
Arc volcanoes have long eroded away.
Roots of the arc are exposed as the Sierra Nevada batholith.
An accretionary prism grew on the overriding plate.
These sediments form the present day Coast Range.
Earth: Portrait of a Planet, 3rd edition, by Stephen Marshak
Chapter 13: A Biography of Earth
71. The Late Mesozoic
Cretaceous
Paleogeography:
Sierran Arc compression
initiated the Sevier orogeny.
Large thrust faults moved to
the east of the arc.
The Sevier fold and thrust
belt elevated the Canadian
Rockies.
A large foreland basin
formed east of the thrusting.
Earth: Portrait of a Planet, 3rd edition, by Stephen Marshak
Chapter 13: A Biography of Earth
72. The Late Mesozoic
Cretaceous Paleogeography:
Laramide Orogeny – Late Cretaceous basement uplifts.
Reverse faulting due to continued compression to the west.
Uplifts appear in Wyoming, Colorado, Utah and Arizona.
Basement faulting folded overlying Paleozoic strata.
Results: Large monoclines and uplift of Rocky Mountain Front.
Earth: Portrait of a Planet, 3rd edition, by Stephen Marshak
Chapter 13: A Biography of Earth
73. The Late Mesozoic
Orogenic events suggest complicated feedbacks.
Rifting of Pangaea led to mid-ocean ridges (MORs).
Seafloor spreading operated 3x faster.
Huge submarine plateaus formed from flood basalt.
Earth: Portrait of a Planet, 3rd edition, by Stephen Marshak
Chapter 13: A Biography of Earth
74. The Late Mesozoic
The Late K was a time of unusual volcanic activity.
Attributed to unusually large hot spots.
Late K volcanism influenced the climate.
Volcanic CO2 (8x modern values) warmed the atmosphere.
Melting ice caps contributing to sea level rise.
Earth: Portrait of a Planet, 3rd edition, by Stephen Marshak
Chapter 13: A Biography of Earth
75. The Late Mesozoic
Cretaceous Life Evolution:
Teleost fish appeared and became dominant.
Symmetrical tails, specialized fins, short jaws, rounded
scales.
Swimming reptiles and gigantic turtles swam the seas.
Angiosperms (flowering plants) appeared and spread.
Produce seeds rapidly.
Insects facilitate pollination.
Hardwood trees proliferated.
Earth: Portrait of a Planet, 3rd edition, by Stephen Marshak
Chapter 13: A Biography of Earth
76. The Late Mesozoic
Cretaceous Life Evolution:
Dinosaurs reached their evolutionary peak.
Inhabited almost all environments on earth.
Social herds of grazing dinosaurs roamed the plains.
Large carnivores fed upon the herbivores.
Pterosaurs soared overhead, birds began to diversify.
Mammals developed larger brains and specialized teeth.
Earth: Portrait of a Planet, 3rd edition, by Stephen Marshak
Chapter 13: A Biography of Earth
77. The Late Mesozoic
The K-T (Cretaceous–Tertiary) boundary event.
There is abundant evidence of catastrophic change.
Instantaneous global change in fossil assemblages.
Sudden mass extinction of most species on earth.
The dinosaurs which had ruled the planet for 150 Ma vanished.
90 percent of plankton disappeared.
75% of plant species vanished.
Earth: Portrait of a Planet, 3rd edition, by Stephen Marshak
Chapter 13: A Biography of Earth
78. The Late Mesozoic
The K-T (Cretaceous–Tertiary) boundary event.
Catastrophic impact by a 10 km comet or meteorite.
The Chicxulub crater lies beneath the northern Yucatan.
Radiometric dating indicates the crater formed at ~ 65 Ma.
100 km wide; 16 km deep.
Periodic impacts are
likely contributors to
other extinctions.
Earth: Portrait of a Planet, 3rd edition, by Stephen Marshak
Chapter 13: A Biography of Earth
79. The Late Mesozoic
The K-T (Cretaceous–Tertiary) boundary event.
Evidence for an impact end to the Mesozoic?
Thin clay interrupts deep-sea chalk at the K-T boundary.
This suggests that, for a short time, all plankton died.
Iridium in the clay is rare on Earth; common in meteorites.
Iridium enriched clay found at the K-T boundary worldwide.
The clay contains shocked quartz and tiny glass spheres.
An immense impact best explains these features.
Earth: Portrait of a Planet, 3rd edition, by Stephen Marshak
Chapter 13: A Biography of Earth
80. The Late Mesozoic
The K-T (Cretaceous–Tertiary) boundary event.
What did the impact do to Earth?
The impact blasted debris into the sky from a huge crater.
It created a gigantic tsunami (2 km high).
The blast of hot air set forests on fire.
Earth: Portrait of a Planet, 3rd edition, by Stephen Marshak
Chapter 13: A Biography of Earth
81. The Late Mesozoic
The K-T (Cretaceous–Tertiary) boundary event.
What did the impact do to Earth?
Dust in the atmosphere would have blotted out the sun.
Sulfate from vaporized gypsum created sulfuric acid rain.
Lack of sunlight shut down photosynthesis.
Earth: Portrait of a Planet, 3rd edition, by Stephen Marshak
Chapter 13: A Biography of Earth
82. The Cenozoic Era
Cenozoic (65 Ma-present) – The most recent history.
Cenozoic Paleogeography:
During the last 65 Ma, Earth has continued to change.
The final stages of the breakup of Pangaea.
Australia detached from Antarctica.
Greenland separated from North America
The North Sea formed between Britain and Europe.
Sea-floor spreading continued to open the Atlantic Ocean.
Earth: Portrait of a Planet, 3rd edition, by Stephen Marshak
Chapter 13: A Biography of Earth
83. The Cenozoic Era
Cenozoic Paleogeography:
Fragments of Gondwana collided with Europe and Asia.
Closed the Tethys Ocean.
Deformed and uplifted the Alpine-Himalayan chain.
Earth: Portrait of a Planet, 3rd edition, by Stephen Marshak
Chapter 13: A Biography of Earth
84. The Cenozoic Era
Cenozoic Paleogeography:
Pacific margins of the Americas continued convergence.
Andes grew as a continental volcanic arc.
Rocky Mountains grew by thrusting and basement uplift.
Earth: Portrait of a Planet, 3rd edition, by Stephen Marshak
Chapter 13: A Biography of Earth
85. The Cenozoic Era
Cenozoic Paleogeography:
The large Farallon plate was almost completely consumed.
A transform fault replaced part of the Farallon trench 40 Ma.
The San Andreas / Queen Charlotte fault system formed.
The Juan de Fuca plate remains as a Farallon remnant.
Earth: Portrait of a Planet, 3rd edition, by Stephen Marshak
Chapter 13: A Biography of Earth
86. The Cenozoic Era
Cenozoic Paleogeography:
East-west extension started to
stretch southwestern N. Am.
A broad continental rift stretched
and thinned the crust.
This region is called the Basin
and Range Province.
Elongate N-S linear mountain
ridges (ranges).
Ranges are separated by N-S
linear valleys (basins).
This geometry reflects normal
fault block rotation.
Earth: Portrait of a Planet, 3rd edition, by Stephen Marshak
Chapter 13: A Biography of Earth
87. The Cenozoic Era
Cenozoic Paleogeography:
Global climate has gradually cooled since the Cretaceous.
The Antarctic ice cap reappeared in the early Oligocene.
Continued cooling led to the formation of grasslands.
The Isthmus of Panama emerged 2.5 Ma.
Isolated circulation between the Atlantic and the Pacific.
Permitted the Arctic Ocean to freeze.
Earth: Portrait of a Planet, 3rd edition, by Stephen Marshak
Chapter 13: A Biography of Earth
88. The Cenozoic Era
Cenozoic Paleogeography:
The Quaternary Period (2 Ma – present): Cool climate.
Pleistocene ice ages – Continental scale glaciation.
Glaciers have advanced and
retreated at least 20 times.
Modern landscapes sculpted
by glacial erosion /deposition.
Climate warmed 11 Ka; Earth
is currently in an interglacial.
Earth: Portrait of a Planet, 3rd edition, by Stephen Marshak
Chapter 13: A Biography of Earth
89. The Cenozoic Era
Cenozoic Paleogeography:
The Quaternary Period (2 Ma – present): Cool climate.
Pleistocene ice ages – Continental scale glaciation.
During ice ages,
SL fell exposing
continental shelves.
Shelves acted as
land bridges for
human and animal
migration.
Earth: Portrait of a Planet, 3rd edition, by Stephen Marshak
Chapter 13: A Biography of Earth
90. The Cenozoic Era
Cenozoic Life Evolution:
After the K-T boundary, plant life recovered.
Forests of angiosperms and gymnosperms reappeared.
The 1st grasses appeared in the middle Cenozoic.
Dinosaur descendants (birds) diversified and spread.
Earth: Portrait of a Planet, 3rd edition, by Stephen Marshak
Chapter 13: A Biography of Earth
91. The Cenozoic Era
Cenozoic Life Evolution:
The Cenozoic is known as the age of mammals.
Mammals rapidly diversified to fill vacated niches.
By mid-Cenozoic huge mammals appeared.
Woolly mammoths.
Giant beavers.
Ground sloths.
Late Cenozoic, human ancestors 1st appeared.
Earth: Portrait of a Planet, 3rd edition, by Stephen Marshak
Chapter 13: A Biography of Earth
92. The Cenozoic Era
Cenozoic Life Evolution:
Ape-like primates diversified in
the Miocene (~ 20 Ma).
The 1st human-like primate
appeared about 4 Ma.
The first members of the genus
Homo appeared to 2.4 Ma.
Earth: Portrait of a Planet, 3rd edition, by Stephen Marshak
Chapter 13: A Biography of Earth
93. The Cenozoic Era
Cenozoic Life Evolution:
What sparked the evolution of the genus Homo?
Climate changes that led to the spread of grasslands?
Permitted departure from the trees.
Life on the ground allowed more time for infant development.
This permitted growth of larger brains.
Homo erectus appeared ~ 1.6 Ma.
Made stone axes.
Homo sapiens appeared ~ 500 Ka.
Modern humans appeared ~150 Ka.
Many giant mammals died off 10 Ka.
Climatic change?
Hunting pressure by humans?
Earth: Portrait of a Planet, 3rd edition, by Stephen Marshak
Chapter 13: A Biography of Earth
94. The Geologic Time Scale
Earth: Portrait of a Planet, 3rd edition, by Stephen Marshak
Chapter 13: A Biography of Earth
95. W. W. Norton & Company
Independent and Employee-Owned
This concludes the Norton Media Library
PowerPoint Slide Set for Chapter 13
Earth: Portrait of a Planet
3rd Edition (2008)
by Stephen Marshak