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71-592: PRI's facilities include the Museum of the Earth , a natural history museum that houses some of PRI's collections for public viewing and educates visitors on the history of life on Earth, and, since 2013, the Cayuga Nature Center , an educational venue with a focus on outdoor and environmental education. PRI was founded in 1932 by Gilbert Harris , a professor of geology at Cornell University from 1894 to 1934. Frustrated by

142-467: A right whale and American mastodon . In 2004, PRI and Cornell University signed an agreement of formal affiliation. PRI remains an independent organization with recognized connections to the university. In 2013, the Cayuga Nature Center became part of PRI with the goal of educating the public about the impact of climate change on the fauna and flora of Tompkins County PRI's facilities at

213-778: A central open-air court. The design for the museum won the American Institute of Architects 's regional Excellence in Design Award and Honor Award for Architecture" in 2004. The museum's permanent exhibits include North Atlantic Right Whale #2030; Rock of Ages, Sands of Time ; and A Journey Through Time . North Atlantic Right Whale #2030 was killed after becoming severely entangled in fishing gear in May 1999. Rescuers attempted to free her, but she fought them off, swimming hundreds of miles before ultimately succumbing to her injuries. Director Warren D. Allmon expressed interest in acquiring

284-402: A collection of over 3 million specimens and a 50,000 volume research library. In 2003, PRI opened the Museum of the Earth , an 18,000-square-foot (1,700 m) facility that showcases PRI's collections on a journey through 4.5 billion years of history. Attracting approximately 30,000 visitors a year, the museum's displays include fossils, glaciers , coral reef aquaria , and the skeletons of

355-459: A grant from the Nelson B. Delavan Foundation. The exhibit includes baleen specimens as well as a short film by David Brown featuring footage of the unsuccessful attempts to rescue #2030 from the fishing gear that ultimately killed her. Rock of Ages, Sands of Time is a series of 544 mural paintings by artist Barbara Page. Each of the 544 11✕11" masonite tiles represents 1 million years, encompassing

426-669: A haven for Harris and others who wished to pursue research in paleontology . PRI was granted a provisional charter by the New York State Board of Regents in 1933, and an absolute charter in 1936. Through various additions over the next two decades, the original building grew into a 20-room complex that housed the Institution's collections, library, laboratories, and offices. In 1968, under the then director Katherine Palmer , PRI relocated to its present facility on West Hill , along Trumansburg Road (N.Y. Rte. 96), which currently holds

497-589: 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 ". It is often cited that over 322 recorded species have become extinct due to human activity since the Industrial Revolution, but the rate may be as high as 500 vertebrate species alone, the majority of which have occurred after 1900. Geologically ,

568-564: A newsletter for members of PRI and the Museum of the Earth, American Paleontologist was a quarterly magazine designed to be accessible for everyone interested in fossils and the history of life. American Paleontologist was published in themed issues and featured articles by experts in paleontology and related fields, regular columns, book reviews, scientific and PRI-specific news, a museum calendar of events, and an insert geared towards children titled "Fossil Stuff". Publication of American Paleontologist

639-571: 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 , sabre-toothed cats, and Homo sapiens . 100,000 years ago marked the end of one of the worst droughts in Africa, and led to the expansion of primitive humans. As the Pleistocene drew to a close, a major extinction wiped out much of

710-454: A very important role in this era, shaping the evolution of the birds and mammals that fed on them. 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,

781-595: Is Earth's current geological era , representing the last 66   million years of Earth's history. It is characterized by the dominance of mammals , birds , conifers , and angiosperms (flowering plants). It is the latest of three geological eras of the Phanerozoic Eon , preceded by the Mesozoic and Paleozoic . The Cenozoic started with the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event , when many species, including

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852-483: Is a period in which grasses spread further, dominating a large portion of the world, at the expense of forests. Kelp forests evolved, encouraging the evolution of new species, such as sea otters . During this time, perissodactyla thrived, and evolved into many different varieties. Apes evolved into 30 species. The Tethys Sea finally closed with the creation of the Arabian Peninsula , leaving only remnants as

923-699: Is also involved with several organizations that promote scientific education and literacy, including Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS), the Climate Literacy and Energy Awareness Network (CLEAN), and the Western New York STEM Hub (WNY STEM). Two major online, open educational resources being developed by PRI include the Digital Atlas of Ancient Life (focused on paleontology ) and Earth@Home (focused on geology and other Earth sciences ). With over seven million specimens, PRI houses one of

994-472: Is displayed along a ramp leading visitors from the lobby to the lower-level exhibits. A book contains reproductions of each painting and describes their scientific context in detail. A Journey Through Time leads visitors through four billion years of history, from the Big Bang to the present day, with an additional focus on the future as shaped by human effects and dependence on the Earth. The exhibit explores

1065-535: Is home to Earth science exhibits and science-related art displays with a focus on the concurrent evolution of the Earth and life. In the spring of 1994, the PRI Board of Directors approved the proceedings for the initial planning of a museum to operate in accordance with PRI's mission. With initial state financial support of $ 2 million, PRI began the design process for the Museum of the Earth in January 1999. Construction of

1136-447: Is issued biannually and is notable for its coverage of lengthier papers and dissertations that would otherwise be more difficult to publish. Established in 1916, the academic journal Palaeontographica Americana was originally published in a larger format than Bulletins of American Paleontology to allow for larger, more high-quality images. Publication of Palaeontographica Americana was officially discontinued in 2013. Originating as

1207-456: Is one of only three in the U.S. and six worldwide, and the only one to use an Agilent 6890 gas chromatography (GC). Apart from the labs, PRI's research facilities also include the specimen collections and the William P.S. and Jeannine Ventress Library, a collection of approximately 60,000 books and serials. PRI also presents four awards annually to recognize excellence in the field of paleontology:

1278-526: The Black , Red , Mediterranean and Caspian Seas . This increased aridity. Many new plants evolved: 95% of modern seed plants families were present by the end of the Miocene. The Pliocene Epoch lasted from 5.333 to 2.58 million years ago. The Pliocene featured dramatic climatic changes, which ultimately led to modern species of flora and fauna. The Mediterranean Sea dried up for several million years (because

1349-773: The Cayuga Nature Center , the Cornell Lab of Ornithology , the Cornell Botanic Gardens , the History Center, the Johnson Museum of Art , the Sciencenter , and the Tompkins County Public Library . The Discovery Trail was established in 1999. Cenozoic The Cenozoic ( / ˌ s iː n ə ˈ z oʊ . ɪ k , ˌ s ɛ n -/ SEE -nə- ZOH -ik, SEN -ə- ; lit.   ' new life ' )

1420-632: The Gulf coastal plain and Caribbean . PRI also houses notable collections of Recent mollusks, Triassic - Jurassic vertebrates of the Newark series, Pleistocene vertebrates (particularly mastodons ) of New York State, and fossil plants and fish. Many of PRI's specimens are especially valuable because they are from localities now destroyed or no longer available for study. In 1995, Cornell University 's nonbotanical fossil and Recent mollusk collections were transferred to PRI on long-term loan. Research has been one of

1491-765: The Hudson Valley , and the Quaternary glaciation . Highlights include the Hyde Park Mastodon, the Discovery Labs, coral reef aquaria , a glacier exhibit, four audio-visual object theaters featuring short films narrated by geologist and Cornell President Emeritus Frank H.T. Rhodes , Steggy the Stegosaurus and Amelia the Quetzalcoatlus , and a garden that mimics the landscape of the northeastern United States during

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1562-629: The Isthmus of Panama around 2.8  million years ago , the Arctic region cooled due to the strengthening of the Humboldt and Gulf Stream currents, eventually leading to the glaciations of the Quaternary ice age , the current interglacial of which is the Holocene Epoch. Recent analysis of the geomagnetic reversal frequency, oxygen isotope record, and tectonic plate subduction rate, which are indicators of

1633-843: 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 to greatly diversify in the absence of the dinosaurs that had dominated during the Mesozoic. Birds also diversified rapidly; some flightless birds grew larger than humans. 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. The ranges of many Cenozoic bird clades were governed by latitude and temperature and have contracted over

1704-561: The K–Pg extinction event included the extinction of large herbivores , which permitted the spread of dense but usually species-poor forests. The Early Paleocene saw the recovery of Earth. The continents began to take their modern shape, but all the continents and the subcontinent of India were separated from each other. Afro-Eurasia was separated by the Tethys Sea , and the Americas were separated by

1775-575: The Quaternary glaciation dried and cooled Earth. Cenozoic derives from the Greek words kainós ( καινός 'new') and zōḗ ( ζωή 'life'). The name was proposed in 1840 by the British geologist John Phillips (1800–1874), who originally spelled it Kainozoic . The era is also known as the Cænozoic , Caenozoic , or Cainozoic ( / ˌ k aɪ . n ə ˈ z oʊ . ɪ k , ˌ k eɪ -/ ). In name,

1846-608: The ice ages reduced sea levels, disconnecting the Atlantic from the Mediterranean, and evaporation rates exceeded inflow from rivers). Australopithecus evolved in Africa , beginning the human branch. The isthmus of Panama formed, and animals migrated between North and South America during the great American interchange , wreaking havoc on local ecologies. Climatic changes brought: savannas that are still continuing to spread across

1917-733: 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 break-up of Gondwana in Late Cretaceous and Cenozoic times led to a shift in the river courses of various large African rivers including the Congo , Niger , Nile , Orange , Limpopo and Zambezi . In

1988-483: The last 544 million years of history , from the Cambrian Explosion to the present day. Each tile features life-size images of fossils from its respective interval of time, both two-dimensional and in low bas-relief , displayed on a background representing the common rocks and sediments of the time. The images are based on actual specimens from PRI's collections. The entire mural is approximately 500 feet long and

2059-628: The 1904 Louisiana Purchase Exposition and was displayed in the Smithsonian Institution for over a century. In 2015, the sculpture was restored and transferred to the Museum of the Earth. It currently resides next to the Dino Zone, in the museum's Jurassic area. In 2016, Amelia the Quetzalcoatlus was permanently transferred to the Museum of the Earth alongside Steggy the Stegosaurus from

2130-692: The BioLab, a clean lab for microscope work; the PaleoLab, a dirty lab for rough processing of field collections, the WetLab for maintaining and studying living aquatic specimens, the PrepLab, a space for fine specimen preparation that also functions as a public exhibition at the Museum of the Earth, and the Amino Acid Racemization (AAR) geochronology lab, which provides equipment for amino acid dating . The AAR Lab at PRI

2201-573: The Cenozoic ( lit.   ' new life ' ) is comparable to the preceding Mesozoic ('middle life') and Paleozoic ('old life') Eras, as well as to the Proterozoic ('earlier life') Eon. 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

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2272-539: 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 Southeast Asia ; Antarctica moved into its current position over the South Pole ; the Atlantic Ocean widened and, later in the era (2.8 million years ago), South America became attached to North America with

2343-707: The Conservation Paleobiology Workshop; the Mastodon Matrix Project, an effort to sift through the matrix recovered from around the Hyde Park Mastodon ; and the Minute 319 Project, which uses samples of baseline benthic Mollusk communities to evaluate the impact of engineered pulse flows in the Colorado River . PRI offers five research labs for both affiliated and visiting staff and students:

2414-589: The Cretaceous, the climate was hot and humid with lush forests at the poles, there was no permanent ice and sea levels were around 300 metres higher than today. This continued for the first 10 million years of the Paleocene, culminating in the Paleocene–Eocene Thermal Maximum about 55.5  million years ago . Around 50  million years ago Earth entered a period of long term cooling. This

2485-453: The Dino Zone, which is a dinosaur -themed play and learning area for young children. The coral reef exhibit, located in the Ice Age section of A Journey Through Time , features Indo-Pacific and Caribbean reefs. Both aquaria were designed to be accurate and educational while simultaneously emphasizing environmental sustainability and conservation. The glacier exhibit, built to commemorate

2556-477: The Early-Eocene, species living in dense forest were unable to evolve into larger forms, as in the Paleocene. 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 Paracrax . Carbon dioxide levels were approximately 1,400 ppm . The temperature was 30 degrees Celsius with little temperature gradient from pole to pole. In

2627-590: The Earth The Museum of the Earth is a natural history museum located in Ithaca, New York . The museum was opened in 2003 as part of the Paleontological Research Institution (PRI), an independent organization pursuing research and education in the history of the Earth and its life. Both PRI and the Museum of the Earth are formally affiliated with Cornell University . The Museum of the Earth

2698-487: The Ice Age, with tundra vegetation, polished gravel, and glacial erratic boulders. The Hyde Park mastodon was discovered in 1999 when a local family noticed some unusual-looking logs during a pond excavation of their backyard in suburban Hyde Park, New York . Upon further investigation, they were identified as the bones of an American mastodon ( Mammut americanum ). In June 2000, PRI staff along with volunteers from several organizations and universities began draining

2769-657: The Katherine Palmer Award, the Gilbert Harris Award, the J. Thomas Dutro Jr. Student Award, and the John W. Wells Grants-in-Aid of Research. Founded by Gilbert Harris in 1895, Bulletins of American Paleontology is the oldest continuously published paleontological journal in the Western Hemisphere. Originally based at Cornell, the publication of Bulletins was taken over by PRI upon the institution's founding. It

2840-535: The Mid-Eocene, the Antarctic Circumpolar Current between Australia and Antarctica formed. This 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, had become almost fully aquatic. Mammals like Andrewsarchus were at the top of the food-chain. The Late Eocene saw

2911-639: The Museum of the Earth and the Cayuga Nature Center provide opportunities for exploration-based, hands-on learning about the natural world and scientific process. PRI offers programs and opportunities for both students and teachers at the regional, state, and national levels to learn about a wide variety of topics, including ecology , evolution , Earth science , energy, and climate change . The Education Department offers programs in six major areas: Interactive Programs and Events, Teacher Development, Global Change Education, Evolution Education, Earth Research Partnerships, and National Education Networks. The institution

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2982-594: The Museum of the Earth's 10th anniversary, allows visitors to learn about glaciology and the impact of glaciers on the Finger Lakes region through an interactive walkthrough ice cave. Steggy the Stegosaurus is a permanent gift to the Museum of the Earth from the National Museum of Natural History in Washington, DC. The life-size papier-mâché model was originally constructed by Milwaukee Papier-Mâché Works, Inc. for

3053-447: The National Museum of Natural History. The model pterosaur was named in honor of Amelia Earhart after a monthlong naming competition during its installation and currently resides alongside Steggy in the Jurassic area of A Journey Through Time . The Museum of the Earth aims for a broad audience, with features intended to appeal to both children and adults, scientists and non-scientists. As part of its association with Cornell University,

3124-399: The changes in the heat flux at the core mantle boundary, climate and plate tectonic activity, shows that all these changes indicate similar rhythms on million years' timescale in the Cenozoic Era occurring with the common fundamental periodicity of ~13 Myr during most of the time. The levels of carbonate ions in the ocean fell over the course of the Cenozoic. Early in the Cenozoic, following

3195-410: The climate. It is divided into two epochs: the Pleistocene and the Holocene. The Pleistocene lasted from 2.58 million to 11,700 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° N in mountainous areas. Meanwhile, Africa experienced

3266-416: The core functions of the institution since its founding in 1932. Much of the current research done at PRI focuses on fossils and Recent mollusks of the Western hemisphere, in addition to Devonian marine invertebrates and Pleistocene mastodons of New York State. Ongoing projects at PRI include Bivalve Assembling the Tree of Life (BivAToL), a venture to reconstruct the evolutionary origins of bivalve mollusks;

3337-420: The course of this era as the world cooled. During the Cenozoic, mammals proliferated from a few small, simple, generalised forms into a diverse collection of terrestrial , marine , and flying animals, giving this period its other name, the Age of Mammals. The Cenozoic is just as much the age of savannas , the age of co-dependent flowering plants and insects , and the age of birds. Grasses also played

3408-400: The excavation, PRI recovered 22,000 pounds (10,000 kg) of matrix from the site and turned to volunteers to help sort through it in what is known as the Mastodon Matrix Project. Post-excavation, the specimen was shipped first to the University of Michigan Museum of Paleontology, where it was studied and a cast of the bones was created, then to Alberta , Canada , where an armature for

3479-467: The first elephants, cats, dogs, marsupials and many other species still prevalent today. Many other species of plants evolved in this period too. A cooling period featuring seasonal rains was still in effect. Mammals still continued to grow larger and larger. The Neogene spans from 23.03 million to 2.58 million years ago. It features 2 epochs: the Miocene, and the Pliocene. The Miocene Epoch spans from 23.03 to 5.333 million years ago and

3550-406: The museum also offers resources for educators. Cecil A. Physis, a Coelophysis , is the Museum of the Earth's official mascot. A bronze , life-size statue of Cecil, created by Brazilian sculptor Yure Berkley Lima de Alenca, can be seen near the museum's entrance. Dinosaur fossils in the Central New York region are rare, the only known ones being small footprints attributed to Coelophysis , so

3621-418: The museum began in 2001 and was finished by 2003, after several delays, costing a total of more than $ 11 million. The museum officially opened to the public on September 29, 2003. The Museum occupies an 18,000-square-foot (1,700m ) addition to the PRI complex on Ithaca's West Hill. The building was designed by New York architectural firm Weiss/Manfredi to be evocative of a gorge , with two wings divided by

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3692-482: The non-avian dinosaurs , became extinct in an event attributed by most experts to the impact of a large asteroid or other celestial body, the Chicxulub impactor . The Cenozoic is also known as the Age of Mammals because the terrestrial animals that dominated both hemispheres were mammals – the eutherians (placentals) in the northern hemisphere and the metatherians (marsupials, now mainly restricted to Australia and to some extent South America ) in

3763-449: The rebirth of seasons, which caused the expansion of savanna-like areas, along with the evolution of grasses . The end of the Eocene was marked by the Eocene–Oligocene extinction event , the European face of which is known as the Grande Coupure . The Oligocene Epoch spans from 33.9 million to 23.03 million years ago. The Oligocene featured the expansion of grasslands which had led to many new species to evolve, including

3834-432: The relatively young, well-preserved rocks associated with it. The Paleogene spans from the extinction of non-avian dinosaurs, 66 million years ago, to the dawn of the Neogene, 23.03 million years ago. It features three epochs : the Paleocene , Eocene and Oligocene . The Paleocene Epoch lasted from 66 million to 56 million years ago. Modern placental mammals originated during this time. The devastation of

3905-436: The remaining flesh and oil. After cleaning, North Atlantic Right Whale #2030 was mounted on a steel armature in a greenhouse on-site. The museum building was left open on the northeast end so that the whale could be brought through for installation. In November 2002, the skeleton was transported into the building via crane and mounted in the atrium lobby. By 2004, a permanent exhibit about the whale had been installed, funded by

3976-504: The rhinoceros-like brontotheres , various bizarre groups of mammals from South America, such as the vaguely elephant-like pyrotheres and the dog-like marsupial relatives called borhyaenids and the monotremes and marsupials of Australia. Mammal evolution in the Cenozoic was predominantly shaped by climatic and geological processes. Cenozoic calcareous nannoplankton experienced rapid rates of speciation and reduced species longevity, while suffering prolonged declines in diversity during

4047-431: The scientifically technical areas of geologic processes, evolution , and biodiversity , as well as the cultural contexts of such understanding, and features a diverse selection of fossils from PRI's collections, including the largest complete fossil eurypterid ever found. The exhibit includes three main sections devoted to the Devonian of Central New York , the Triassic and Jurassic of Connecticut , Newark , and

4118-421: The site and discovered more mastodon bones. The excavation took approximately 6 weeks and more than 95% of the bones were discovered, including both tusks, the skull, and the major limb bones, making the Hyde Park mastodon one of the most complete and well-preserved skeletons of its kind ever discovered. The specimen was most likely an older male weighing as much as 10,000–15,000 pounds (4,500–6,800 kg). During

4189-439: The skeleton after being notified on October 21, 1999 by the National Marine Fisheries Service that the 44-foot (13 m) right whale had been spotted dead off the coast of Cape May, New Jersey . PRI was informed that they could take the skeleton if they assisted with flensing the 30-ton carcass. Three days later, the bones arrived at PRI, where they were buried in a bed of horse manure for several months in order to remove

4260-420: The skeleton was assembled. In September 2003, the Hyde Park mastodon was put on display at the Museum of the Earth. The Museum of the Earth's Discovery Labs, which provide opportunities for hands-on learning and exploration, include the Prep Lab, where scientists can be observed preparing specimens for research and display; the Fossil Lab, where visitors can search for and identify fossils in local shale ; and

4331-405: The southern hemisphere. The extinction of many groups allowed mammals and birds to greatly diversify so that large mammals and birds dominated life on Earth. The continents also moved into their current positions during this era. The climate during the early Cenozoic was warmer than today, particularly during the Paleocene–Eocene Thermal Maximum . However, the Eocene to Oligocene transition and

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4402-408: The species is said to be “ New York ’s only known dinosaur.” A stylized running Coelophysis features prominently on the logos of PRI and the Museum of the Earth. The museum's collections also include three Coelophysis footprints preserved in slabs of rock. The Museum of the Earth is part of Ithaca's Discovery Trail, which features the museum and seven other educational institutions in the area:

4473-442: The strait of Panama, as the isthmus had 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 predominated were extinct. Archaic mammals filled the world such as creodonts (extinct carnivores, unrelated to existing Carnivora ). The Eocene Epoch ranged from 56 million years to 33.9 million years ago. In

4544-409: The ten largest collections of fossils and Recent shells in the United States. Among them are over 16,000 type and figured specimens, also one of the ten largest such collections in the nation. The bulk of the collections consists of invertebrates , with strong points in western hemisphere Cenozoic mollusks , Paleozoic marine invertebrates of New York State, and Cenozoic Benthic foraminifera of

4615-405: The university's lack of assurance for the safety and perpetuation of his fossil collections and printing enterprise, Bulletins of American Paleontology , Harris established PRI as a separate organization, unaffiliated with Cornell, to house his collection of fossils and continue to publish research. Beginning as a small building behind Harris' home in Ithaca, New York , the institution served as

4686-581: The world was dominated by the gastornithid birds, terrestrial crocodylians like Pristichampsus , large sharks such as Otodus , and a handful of primitive large mammal groups like uintatheres , mesonychians , 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 , sabre-toothed cats , mastodons and mammoths , three-toed horses , giant rhinoceros like Paraceratherium ,

4757-401: The world's megafauna, including some of the hominid species, such as Neanderthals . All the continents were affected, but Africa to a lesser extent. It still retains many large animals, such as hippos. The Holocene began 11,700 years ago and lasts to the present day. All recorded history and "the Human history " lies within the boundaries of the Holocene Epoch. Human activity is blamed for

4828-469: The world; Indian monsoons ; deserts in central Asia ; and the beginnings of the Sahara desert. The world map has not changed much since, save for changes brought about by the glaciations of the Quaternary, such as the Great Lakes , Hudson Bay , and the Baltic Sea . The Quaternary spans from 2.58 million years ago to present day, and is the shortest geological period in the Phanerozoic Eon . It features modern animals, and dramatic changes in

4899-464: Was halted in 2012, following the release of volume 19. The Teacher-Friendly Guide series published by PRI provides information for grades 6–9 teachers and includes guides for climate change , geology , and evolution in bivalves and maize . Teacher-Friendly Guides to Earth Sciences cover six US regions (the Northeast , Southeast , Midwest , West , South Central , Northwest Central, and Southwest ), each with their own book. Museum of

4970-479: Was mainly due to the collision of India with Eurasia, which caused the rise of the Himalayas : the upraised rocks eroded and reacted with CO 2 in the air, causing a long-term reduction in the proportion of this greenhouse gas in the atmosphere. Around 35  million years ago permanent ice began to build up on Antarctica. The cooling trend continued in the Miocene , with relatively short warmer periods. When South America became attached to North America creating

5041-440: Was officially recognised by the International Commission on Stratigraphy in June 2009. In 2004, the Tertiary Period was officially replaced by the Paleogene and Neogene Periods. The common use of epochs during the Cenozoic helps palaeontologists better organise and group the many significant events that occurred during this comparatively short interval of time. Knowledge of this era is more detailed than any other era because of

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