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64-675: The Brussel Formation crops out in Walloon Brabant and the north of the provinces of Namur and Hainaut . It is normally about 30 metres in thickness. In Flemish Brabant and Antwerp the formation can be found in the subsurface. The Brussel Formation is subdivided into five members : the Archennes Member ( conglomerates ), the Bois de la Houssière Member ( quartzites ), the Chaumont-Gistoux Member ( glauconiferous quartzites),

128-620: A constituent body of the International Union of Geological Sciences (IUGS), whose primary objective is to precisely define global chronostratigraphic units of the International Chronostratigraphic Chart (ICC) that are used to define divisions of geologic time. The chronostratigraphic divisions are in turn used to define geochronologic units. The geologic time scale is a way of representing deep time based on events that have occurred throughout Earth's history ,

192-687: A continuous line along the top edge with lines protruding down; outcrops have a continuous line around each area of bare rock. An outcrop example in California is the Vasquez Rocks , familiar from location shooting use in many films , composed of uplifted sandstone . Yana is another example of outcrops, located in Uttara Kannada district in Karnataka , India . Geologic time scale The geologic time scale or geological time scale ( GTS )

256-577: A formal proposal to the ICS for the establishment of the Anthropocene Series/Epoch. Nevertheless, the definition of the Anthropocene as a geologic time period rather than a geologic event remains controversial and difficult. An international working group of the ICS on pre-Cryogenian chronostratigraphic subdivision have outlined a template to improve the pre-Cryogenian geologic time scale based on

320-617: A machine-readable Resource Description Framework / Web Ontology Language representation of the time scale, which is available through the Commission for the Management and Application of Geoscience Information GeoSciML project as a service and at a SPARQL end-point. Some other planets and satellites in the Solar System have sufficiently rigid structures to have preserved records of their own histories, for example, Venus , Mars and

384-539: A record of relative changes within geologic strata . Accurate description, mapping, and sampling for laboratory analysis of outcrops made possible all of the geologic sciences and the development of fundamental geologic laws such as the law of superposition , the principle of original horizontality , principle of lateral continuity , and the principle of faunal succession . On Ordnance Survey maps in Great Britain , cliffs are distinguished from outcrops: cliffs have

448-529: A rock that cuts across another rock must be younger than the rock it cuts across. The law of included fragments that states small fragments of one type of rock that are embedded in a second type of rock must have formed first, and were included when the second rock was forming. The relationships of unconformities which are geologic features representing a gap in the geologic record. Unconformities are formed during periods of erosion or non-deposition, indicating non-continuous sediment deposition. Observing

512-609: A specific stratigraphic formation in Europe is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Outcrop An outcrop or rocky outcrop is a visible exposure of bedrock or ancient superficial deposits on the surface of the Earth and other terrestrial planets . Outcrops do not cover the majority of the Earth's land surface because in most places the bedrock or superficial deposits are covered by soil and vegetation and cannot be seen or examined closely. However, in places where

576-419: A specific interval of geologic time, and only this time span. Eonothem, erathem, system, series, subseries, stage, and substage are the hierarchical chronostratigraphic units. A geochronologic unit is a subdivision of geologic time. It is a numeric representation of an intangible property (time). These units are arranged in a hierarchy: eon, era, period, epoch, subepoch, age, and subage. Geochronology

640-532: A system/series (early/middle/late); however, the International Commission on Stratigraphy advocates for all new series and subseries to be named for a geographic feature in the vicinity of its stratotype or type locality . The name of stages should also be derived from a geographic feature in the locality of its stratotype or type locality. Informally, the time before the Cambrian is often referred to as

704-643: A time span of about 4.54 ± 0.05 Ga (4.54 billion years). It chronologically organises strata, and subsequently time, by observing fundamental changes in stratigraphy that correspond to major geological or paleontological events. For example, the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event , marks the lower boundary of the Paleogene System/Period and thus the boundary between the Cretaceous and Paleogene systems/periods. For divisions prior to

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768-458: A wider sense, correlating strata across national and continental boundaries based on their similarity to each other. Many of the names below erathem/era rank in use on the modern ICC/GTS were determined during the early to mid-19th century. During the 19th century, the debate regarding Earth's age was renewed, with geologists estimating ages based on denudation rates and sedimentary thicknesses or ocean chemistry, and physicists determining ages for

832-437: Is a representation of time based on the rock record of Earth . It is a system of chronological dating that uses chronostratigraphy (the process of relating strata to time) and geochronology (a scientific branch of geology that aims to determine the age of rocks). It is used primarily by Earth scientists (including geologists , paleontologists , geophysicists , geochemists , and paleoclimatologists ) to describe

896-543: Is an internationally agreed-upon reference point on a stratigraphic section that defines the lower boundaries of stages on the geologic time scale. (Recently this has been used to define the base of a system) A Global Standard Stratigraphic Age (GSSA) is a numeric-only, chronologic reference point used to define the base of geochronologic units prior to the Cryogenian. These points are arbitrarily defined. They are used where GSSPs have not yet been established. Research

960-439: Is divided into chronostratigraphic units and their corresponding geochronologic units. The subdivisions Early and Late are used as the geochronologic equivalents of the chronostratigraphic Lower and Upper , e.g., Early Triassic Period (geochronologic unit) is used in place of Lower Triassic System (chronostratigraphic unit). Rocks representing a given chronostratigraphic unit are that chronostratigraphic unit, and

1024-556: Is less frequent) remains unchanged. For example, in early 2022, the boundary between the Ediacaran and Cambrian periods (geochronologic units) was revised from 541 Ma to 538.8 Ma but the rock definition of the boundary (GSSP) at the base of the Cambrian, and thus the boundary between the Ediacaran and Cambrian systems (chronostratigraphic units) has not been changed; rather, the absolute age has merely been refined. Chronostratigraphy

1088-484: Is ongoing to define GSSPs for the base of all units that are currently defined by GSSAs. The standard international units of the geologic time scale are published by the International Commission on Stratigraphy on the International Chronostratigraphic Chart; however, regional terms are still in use in some areas. The numeric values on the International Chronostratigrahpic Chart are represented by

1152-457: Is still a useful concept. The principle of lateral continuity that states layers of sediments extend laterally in all directions until either thinning out or being cut off by a different rock layer, i.e. they are laterally continuous. Layers do not extend indefinitely; their limits are controlled by the amount and type of sediment in a sedimentary basin , and the geometry of that basin. The principle of cross-cutting relationships that states

1216-502: Is the element of stratigraphy that deals with the relation between rock bodies and the relative measurement of geological time. It is the process where distinct strata between defined stratigraphic horizons are assigned to represent a relative interval of geologic time. A chronostratigraphic unit is a body of rock, layered or unlayered, that is defined between specified stratigraphic horizons which represent specified intervals of geologic time. They include all rocks representative of

1280-405: Is the scientific branch of geology that aims to determine the age of rocks, fossils, and sediments either through absolute (e.g., radiometric dating ) or relative means (e.g., stratigraphic position , paleomagnetism , stable isotope ratios ). Geochronometry is the field of geochronology that numerically quantifies geologic time. A Global Boundary Stratotype Section and Point (GSSP)

1344-598: The Anthropocene is a proposed epoch/series for the most recent time in Earth's history. While still informal, it is a widely used term to denote the present geologic time interval, in which many conditions and processes on Earth are profoundly altered by human impact. As of April 2022 the Anthropocene has not been ratified by the ICS; however, in May 2019 the Anthropocene Working Group voted in favour of submitting

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1408-529: The Brothers of Purity , who wrote on the processes of stratification over the passage of time in their treatises . Their work likely inspired that of the 11th-century Persian polymath Avicenna (Ibn Sînâ, 980–1037) who wrote in The Book of Healing (1027) on the concept of stratification and superposition, pre-dating Nicolas Steno by more than six centuries. Avicenna also recognised fossils as "petrifications of

1472-592: The Cryogenian , arbitrary numeric boundary definitions ( Global Standard Stratigraphic Ages , GSSAs) are used to divide geologic time. Proposals have been made to better reconcile these divisions with the rock record. Historically, regional geologic time scales were used due to the litho- and biostratigraphic differences around the world in time equivalent rocks. The ICS has long worked to reconcile conflicting terminology by standardising globally significant and identifiable stratigraphic horizons that can be used to define

1536-596: The Diegem Member (glauconiferous quartzite) and the Neerijse Member (glauconiferous calcareous sand). The formation consists either of cross-bedded non-calcareous sands alternating with thin beds of marl and clay or calcareous fine sands with traces of bioturbation . The formation was formed during the early Lutetian age (about 46 million years ago) and is part of the Zenne Group . Stratigraphically on top of

1600-530: The Precambrian or pre-Cambrian (Supereon). While a modern geological time scale was not formulated until 1911 by Arthur Holmes , the broader concept that rocks and time are related can be traced back to (at least) the philosophers of Ancient Greece . Xenophanes of Colophon (c. 570–487  BCE ) observed rock beds with fossils of shells located above the sea-level, viewed them as once living organisms, and used this to imply an unstable relationship in which

1664-806: The Brussel Formation is the Lede Formation (also part of the Zenne Group), or when this formation is absent the Maldegem Formation ( Bartonian ) or Tongeren Group ( Priabonian to Rupelian ). The Brussel Formation is normally lying stratigraphically on top of the Aalter Formation (part of the Zenne Group) or deposits of the Ieper Group . This Belgium-related article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . This article about

1728-668: The Commission on Stratigraphy (applied in 1965) to become a member commission of IUGS led to the founding of the ICS. One of the primary objectives of the ICS is "the establishment, publication and revision of the ICS International Chronostratigraphic Chart which is the standard, reference global Geological Time Scale to include the ratified Commission decisions". Following on from Holmes, several A Geological Time Scale books were published in 1982, 1989, 2004, 2008, 2012, 2016, and 2020. However, since 2013,

1792-464: The Earth's Moon . Dominantly fluid planets, such as the giant planets , do not comparably preserve their history. Apart from the Late Heavy Bombardment , events on other planets probably had little direct influence on the Earth, and events on Earth had correspondingly little effect on those planets. Construction of a time scale that links the planets is, therefore, of only limited relevance to

1856-423: The Earth's surface due to human excavations such as quarrying and building of transport routes. Outcrops allow direct observation and sampling of the bedrock in situ for geologic analysis and creating geologic maps . In situ measurements are critical for proper analysis of geological history and outcrops are therefore extremely important for understanding the geologic time scale of earth history. Some of

1920-515: The Earth's time scale, except in a Solar System context. The existence, timing, and terrestrial effects of the Late Heavy Bombardment are still a matter of debate. The geologic history of Earth's Moon has been divided into a time scale based on geomorphological markers, namely impact cratering , volcanism , and erosion . This process of dividing the Moon's history in this manner means that

1984-447: The ICS has taken responsibility for producing and distributing the ICC citing the commercial nature, independent creation, and lack of oversight by the ICS on the prior published GTS versions (GTS books prior to 2013) although these versions were published in close association with the ICS. Subsequent Geologic Time Scale books (2016 and 2020 ) are commercial publications with no oversight from

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2048-404: The ICS, and do not entirely conform to the chart produced by the ICS. The ICS produced GTS charts are versioned (year/month) beginning at v2013/01. At least one new version is published each year incorporating any changes ratified by the ICS since the prior version. The following five timelines show the geologic time scale to scale. The first shows the entire time from the formation of the Earth to

2112-415: The ICS. While some regional terms are still in use, the table of geologic time conforms to the nomenclature , ages, and colour codes set forth by the International Commission on Stratigraphy in the official International Chronostratigraphic Chart. The International Commission on Stratigraphy also provide an online interactive version of this chart. The interactive version is based on a service delivering

2176-518: The bodies of plants and animals", with the 13th-century Dominican bishop Albertus Magnus (c. 1200–1280) extending this into a theory of a petrifying fluid. These works appeared to have little influence on scholars in Medieval Europe who looked to the Bible to explain the origins of fossils and sea-level changes, often attributing these to the ' Deluge ', including Ristoro d'Arezzo in 1282. It

2240-566: The cooling of the Earth or the Sun using basic thermodynamics or orbital physics. These estimations varied from 15,000 million years to 0.075 million years depending on method and author, but the estimations of Lord Kelvin and Clarence King were held in high regard at the time due to their pre-eminence in physics and geology. All of these early geochronometric determinations would later prove to be incorrect. The discovery of radioactive decay by Henri Becquerel , Marie Curie , and Pierre Curie laid

2304-762: The corresponding geochronologic unit sharing the same name with a change to the suffix (e.g. Phanerozoic Eonothem becomes the Phanerozoic Eon). Names of erathems in the Phanerozoic were chosen to reflect major changes in the history of life on Earth: Paleozoic (old life), Mesozoic (middle life), and Cenozoic (new life). Names of systems are diverse in origin, with some indicating chronologic position (e.g., Paleogene), while others are named for lithology (e.g., Cretaceous), geography (e.g., Permian ), or are tribal (e.g., Ordovician ) in origin. Most currently recognised series and subseries are named for their position within

2368-453: The developments in mass spectrometry pioneered by Francis William Aston , Arthur Jeffrey Dempster , and Alfred O. C. Nier during the early to mid- 20th century would finally allow for the accurate determination of radiometric ages, with Holmes publishing several revisions to his geological time-scale with his final version in 1960. The establishment of the IUGS in 1961 and acceptance of

2432-404: The different layers of stone unless they had been upon the shore and had been covered over by earth newly thrown up by the sea which then became petrified? And if the above-mentioned Deluge had carried them to these places from the sea, you would find the shells at the edge of one layer of rock only, not at the edge of many where may be counted the winters of the years during which the sea multiplied

2496-414: The foundational principles of determining the correlation of strata relative to geologic time. Over the course of the 18th-century geologists realised that: The apparent, earliest formal division of the geologic record with respect to time was introduced during the era of Biblical models by Thomas Burnet who applied a two-fold terminology to mountains by identifying " montes primarii " for rock formed at

2560-458: The geologic time scale of Earth. This table is arranged with the most recent geologic periods at the top, and the oldest at the bottom. The height of each table entry does not correspond to the duration of each subdivision of time. As such, this table is not to scale and does not accurately represent the relative time-spans of each geochronologic unit. While the Phanerozoic Eon looks longer than

2624-492: The ground work for radiometric dating, but the knowledge and tools required for accurate determination of radiometric ages would not be in place until the mid-1950s. Early attempts at determining ages of uranium minerals and rocks by Ernest Rutherford , Bertram Boltwood , Robert Strutt , and Arthur Holmes, would culminate in what are considered the first international geological time scales by Holmes in 1911 and 1913. The discovery of isotopes in 1913 by Frederick Soddy , and

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2688-561: The layers of sand and mud brought down by the neighboring rivers and spread them over its shores. And if you wish to say that there must have been many deluges in order to produce these layers and the shells among them it would then become necessary for you to affirm that such a deluge took place every year. These views of da Vinci remained unpublished, and thus lacked influence at the time; however, questions of fossils and their significance were pursued and, while views against Genesis were not readily accepted and dissent from religious doctrine

2752-453: The lower boundaries of chronostratigraphic units. Defining chronostratigraphic units in such a manner allows for the use of global, standardised nomenclature. The International Chronostratigraphic Chart represents this ongoing effort. Several key principles are used to determine the relative relationships of rocks and thus their chronostratigraphic position. The law of superposition that states that in undeformed stratigraphic sequences

2816-489: The oldest strata will lie at the bottom of the sequence, while newer material stacks upon the surface. In practice, this means a younger rock will lie on top of an older rock unless there is evidence to suggest otherwise. The principle of original horizontality that states layers of sediments will originally be deposited horizontally under the action of gravity. However, it is now known that not all sedimentary layers are deposited purely horizontally, but this principle

2880-580: The overlying cover is removed through erosion or tectonic uplift , the rock may be exposed, or crop out . Such exposure will happen most frequently in areas where erosion is rapid and exceeds the weathering rate such as on steep hillsides, mountain ridges and tops, river banks, and tectonically active areas. In Finland , glacial erosion during the last glacial maximum (ca. 11000 BC), followed by scouring by sea waves, followed by isostatic uplift has produced many smooth coastal and littoral outcrops. Bedrock and superficial deposits may also be exposed at

2944-408: The pertinent time span. As of April 2022 these proposed changes have not been accepted by the ICS. The proposed changes (changes from the current scale [v2023/09]) are italicised: Proposed pre-Cambrian timeline (GTS2012), shown to scale: Current ICC pre-Cambrian timeline (v2023/09), shown to scale: The following table summarises the major events and characteristics of the divisions making up

3008-452: The present, but this gives little space for the most recent eon. The second timeline shows an expanded view of the most recent eon. In a similar way, the most recent era is expanded in the third timeline, the most recent period is expanded in the fourth timeline, and the most recent epoch is expanded in the fifth timeline. Horizontal scale is Millions of years (above timelines) / Thousands of years (below timeline) First suggested in 2000,

3072-485: The principles of superposition, original horizontality, lateral continuity, and cross-cutting relationships. From this Steno reasoned that strata were laid down in succession and inferred relative time (in Steno's belief, time from Creation ). While Steno's principles were simple and attracted much attention, applying them proved challenging. These basic principles, albeit with improved and more nuanced interpretations, still form

3136-467: The rest, it merely spans ~539 million years (~12% of Earth's history), whilst the previous three eons collectively span ~3,461 million years (~76% of Earth's history). This bias toward the most recent eon is in part due to the relative lack of information about events that occurred during the first three eons compared to the current eon (the Phanerozoic). The use of subseries/subepochs has been ratified by

3200-630: The rock record to bring it in line with the post-Tonian geologic time scale. This work assessed the geologic history of the currently defined eons and eras of the pre-Cambrian, and the proposals in the "Geological Time Scale" books 2004, 2012, and 2020. Their recommend revisions of the pre-Cryogenian geologic time scale were (changes from the current scale [v2023/09] are italicised): Proposed pre-Cambrian timeline (Shield et al. 2021, ICS working group on pre-Cryogenian chronostratigraphy), shown to scale: Current ICC pre-Cambrian timeline (v2023/09), shown to scale: The book, Geologic Time Scale 2012,

3264-474: The sea had at times transgressed over the land and at other times had regressed . This view was shared by a few of Xenophanes's contemporaries and those that followed, including Aristotle (384–322 BCE) who (with additional observations) reasoned that the positions of land and sea had changed over long periods of time. The concept of deep time was also recognised by Chinese naturalist Shen Kuo (1031–1095) and Islamic scientist -philosophers, notably

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3328-537: The time during which the rocks were laid down, and the collection of rocks themselves (i.e., it was correct to say Tertiary rocks, and Tertiary Period). Only the Quaternary division is retained in the modern geologic time scale, while the Tertiary division was in use until the early 21st century. The Neptunism and Plutonism theories would compete into the early 19th century with a key driver for resolution of this debate being

3392-730: The time of the 'Deluge', and younger " monticulos secundarios" formed later from the debris of the " primarii" . Anton Moro (1687–1784) also used primary and secondary divisions for rock units but his mechanism was volcanic. In this early version of the Plutonism theory, the interior of Earth was seen as hot, and this drove the creation of primary igneous and metamorphic rocks and secondary rocks formed contorted and fossiliferous sediments. These primary and secondary divisions were expanded on by Giovanni Targioni Tozzetti (1712–1783) and Giovanni Arduino (1713–1795) to include tertiary and quaternary divisions. These divisions were used to describe both

3456-562: The time scale boundaries do not imply fundamental changes in geological processes, unlike Earth's geologic time scale. Five geologic systems/periods ( Pre-Nectarian , Nectarian , Imbrian , Eratosthenian , Copernican ), with the Imbrian divided into two series/epochs (Early and Late) were defined in the latest Lunar geologic time scale. The Moon is unique in the Solar System in that it is the only other body from which humans have rock samples with

3520-585: The time they were laid down in is the geochronologic unit, e.g., the rocks that represent the Silurian System are the Silurian System and they were deposited during the Silurian Period. This definition means the numeric age of a geochronologic unit can be changed (and is more often subject to change) when refined by geochronometry while the equivalent chronostratigraphic unit (the revision of which

3584-473: The timing and relationships of events in geologic history. The time scale has been developed through the study of rock layers and the observation of their relationships and identifying features such as lithologies , paleomagnetic properties, and fossils . The definition of standardised international units of geologic time is the responsibility of the International Commission on Stratigraphy (ICS),

3648-426: The type and relationships of unconformities in strata allows geologist to understand the relative timing the strata. The principle of faunal succession (where applicable) that states rock strata contain distinctive sets of fossils that succeed each other vertically in a specific and reliable order. This allows for a correlation of strata even when the horizon between them is not continuous. The geologic time scale

3712-468: The types of information that cannot be obtained except from bedrock outcrops or by precise drilling and coring operations, are structural geology features orientations (e.g. bedding planes, fold axes, foliation ), depositional features orientations (e.g. paleo-current directions, grading, facies changes), paleomagnetic orientations. Outcrops are also very important for understanding fossil assemblages, and paleo-environment, and evolution as they provide

3776-548: The unit Ma (megaannum, for 'million years '). For example, 201.4 ± 0.2 Ma, the lower boundary of the Jurassic Period, is defined as 201,400,000 years old with an uncertainty of 200,000 years. Other SI prefix units commonly used by geologists are Ga (gigaannum, billion years), and ka (kiloannum, thousand years), with the latter often represented in calibrated units ( before present ). The names of geologic time units are defined for chronostratigraphic units with

3840-526: The work of James Hutton (1726–1797), in particular his Theory of the Earth , first presented before the Royal Society of Edinburgh in 1785. Hutton's theory would later become known as uniformitarianism , popularised by John Playfair (1748–1819) and later Charles Lyell (1797–1875) in his Principles of Geology . Their theories strongly contested the 6,000 year age of the Earth as suggested determined by James Ussher via Biblical chronology that

3904-429: Was accepted at the time by western religion. Instead, using geological evidence, they contested Earth to be much older, cementing the concept of deep time. During the early 19th century William Smith , Georges Cuvier , Jean d'Omalius d'Halloy , and Alexandre Brongniart pioneered the systematic division of rocks by stratigraphy and fossil assemblages. These geologists began to use the local names given to rock units in

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3968-415: Was in some places unwise, scholars such as Girolamo Fracastoro shared da Vinci's views, and found the attribution of fossils to the 'Deluge' absurd. Niels Stensen, more commonly known as Nicolas Steno (1638–1686), is credited with establishing four of the guiding principles of stratigraphy. In De solido intra solidum naturaliter contento dissertationis prodromus Steno states: Respectively, these are

4032-535: Was not until the Italian Renaissance when Leonardo da Vinci (1452–1519) would reinvigorate the relationships between stratification, relative sea-level change, and time, denouncing attribution of fossils to the 'Deluge': Of the stupidity and ignorance of those who imagine that these creatures were carried to such places distant from the sea by the Deluge...Why do we find so many fragments and whole shells between

4096-476: Was the last commercial publication of an international chronostratigraphic chart that was closely associated with the ICS. It included a proposal to substantially revise the pre-Cryogenian time scale to reflect important events such as the formation of the Solar System and the Great Oxidation Event , among others, while at the same time maintaining most of the previous chronostratigraphic nomenclature for

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