A major shift in thinking came when James Hutton presented his Theory of the Earth; or, an Investigation of the Laws Observable in the Composition, Dissolution, and Restoration of Land Upon the Globe before the Royal Society of Edinburgh in March and April 1785.
Detailed studies between 1820 and 1850 of the strata and fossils of Europe produced the sequence of geologic periods still used today. ===Naming of geologic periods, eras and epochs=== Early work on developing the geologic time scale was dominated by British geologists, and the names of the geologic periods reflect that dominance.
The "Cretaceous" (from Latin creta meaning ‘chalk’) as a separate period was first defined by Belgian geologist Jean d'Omalius d'Halloy in 1822, using strata in the Paris basin and named for the extensive beds of chalk (calcium carbonate deposited by the shells of marine invertebrates) found in Western Europe. British geologists were also responsible for the grouping of periods into eras and the subdivision of the Tertiary and Quaternary periods into epochs.
The "Triassic" was named in 1834 by a German geologist Friedrich Von Alberti from the three distinct layers (Latin trias meaning triad)red beds, capped by chalk, followed by black shalesthat are found throughout Germany and Northwest Europe, called the ‘Trias’.
In 1841 John Phillips published the first global geologic time scale based on the types of fossils found in each era.
Detailed studies between 1820 and 1850 of the strata and fossils of Europe produced the sequence of geologic periods still used today. ===Naming of geologic periods, eras and epochs=== Early work on developing the geologic time scale was dominated by British geologists, and the names of the geologic periods reflect that dominance.
Until the discovery of radioactivity in 1896 and the development of its geological applications through radiometric dating during the first half of the 20th century, the ages of various rock strata and the age of Earth were the subject of considerable debate. The first geologic time scale that included absolute dates was published in 1913 by the British geologist Arthur Holmes.
Until the discovery of radioactivity in 1896 and the development of its geological applications through radiometric dating during the first half of the 20th century, the ages of various rock strata and the age of Earth were the subject of considerable debate. The first geologic time scale that included absolute dates was published in 1913 by the British geologist Arthur Holmes.
2 June 2004 (pdf) Lane, Alfred C, and Marble, John Putman 1937.
He greatly furthered the newly created discipline of geochronology and published the world-renowned book The Age of the Earth in which he estimated Earth's age to be at least 1.6 billion years. In 1977, the Global Commission on Stratigraphy (now the International Commission on Stratigraphy) began to define global references known as GSSP (Global Boundary Stratotype Sections and Points) for geologic periods and faunal stages.
The term was coined by Paul Crutzen and Eugene Stoermer in 2000 to describe the current time in which humans have had an enormous impact on the environment.
2 June 2004 (pdf) Lane, Alfred C, and Marble, John Putman 1937.
The commission's work is described in the 2012 geologic time scale of Gradstein et al.
The Anthropocene Working Group met in Oslo in April 2016 to consolidate evidence supporting the argument for the Anthropocene as a true geologic epoch.
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