The planet we live on: The beginnings of the Earth Sciences

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Millionsof years Some Major Life Eventsago (Ma)2 First humans (genus Homo)65 Major extinction of life on Earth, including dinosaurs130 First flo<strong>we</strong>ring plants150 First birds190 First mammals200 Major extinction of life on Earth225 First dinosaurs250 Major extinction of life on Earth, including most marineorganisms315 First reptiles365 Major extinction of life on Earth370 First amphibians420 First plants and animals on land450 Major extinction of life on Earth510 First fish545 First animals with hard parts1200 First multicellular organisms2000 First eukaryotes (cells with a nucleus)3500 First bacteria and archaea (cells with no nucleus)3800 Earliest life4600 Origin of the EarthFigure 4.2: Key events in the evolution of life. In this table Ma means “Millions of yearsago”.observed and why the sequence is always the same, because this sequence of evolution hasonly happened once.Since Darwin’s time <strong>we</strong> have discovered more about the mechanisms of evolution, howparents pass their characteristics onto their offspring through their DNA and how differentadaptations can develop, but the principle that Darwin discovered remains thebasis of our understanding of life on Earth. <strong>The</strong> evidence from the rocks shows us thesequence of life on Earth, and the evidence from the DNA of modern organisms (DNAis deoxyribonucleic acid which holds the genetic information of all organisms) shows howthis sequence developed.Some of the key events in the evolution of life are shown in a table in Figure 4.2, but atable like this does not show how these events are spaced out over geological time. <strong>The</strong>time line in Figure 4.3 attempts to show some of the key life events in this way.Although <strong>we</strong> know that the age of the Earth is about 4,560 million years, from radiometricdating, <strong>we</strong> don’t know exactly when or how life on Earth began. Probable fossils of mats99
Millionsof yearsago (Ma)01000Some Major Life EventsFirst humans (genus Homo) (2)First flo<strong>we</strong>ring plants (130)First mammals (190)First reptiles (315)First animals with hard parts (545)First multicellular organismsMajor extinction (65)First birds (150)Major extinction (250)Major extinction (450)2000First eukaryotes (cells with a nucleus)3000First bacteria and archaea (cells with no nucleus)Earliest life4000Origin of the EarthFigure 4.3: Key events of life shown on a geological time line.100
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Basic Books in ScienceBook 6<strong
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BASIC BOOKS IN SCIENCE- a Series of
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BASIC BOOKS IN SCIENCE- a Series of
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Looking ahead - If you came across
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3.2 Plate tectonics (20th Century)
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1.30 Coal seams in an opencast coal
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3.4 Alfred Wegener, the polar explo
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5.14 A GPS remote volcano monitorin
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Figure 1.2:minerals.A sandstone roc
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Even diamond can have different col
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Figure 1.8: A red garnet crystal in
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Figure 1.12: Crystals of minerals i
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Hematite, Fe 2 O 3 - earthy red, me
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Figure 1.17: Sedimentary rocks show
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Figure 1.20: A close up view of a p
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Figure 1.26: Ancient wave ripple ma
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Figure 1.30: Coal seams in an openc
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Figure 1.32: Close up view of a pie
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Figure 1.35: A fossil colonial cora
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Figure 1.38: Fossil ammonites, indi
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Figure 1.39: ‘Massive’ igneous
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Figure 1.41: A close up view of a p
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Figure 1.44: A basalt flow that coo
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Figure 1.47: Deposit of volcanic as
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Figure 1.49: An old slate quarry, s
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Figure 1.51: Slate, a low-grade met
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Figure 1.53: Schist, a medium-grade
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Figure 1.56: Metaquartzite, produce
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Figure 1.58: A region of folded roc
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Figure 1.61: A normal fault. This s
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Figure 1.64: An unconformity. Older
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Page 67 and 68: Figure 1.68: A shelled cephalopod f
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Page 71 and 72: Chapter 2Reading landscapes: how la
Page 73 and 74: Figure 2.3: Rock fragments loosened
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Page 81 and 82: Figure 2.19: This photo was taken f
Page 83 and 84: Figure 2.25: Dinosaur tracks conser
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Page 89 and 90: Figure 3.3: James Hutton, the ‘Fo
Page 91 and 92: Figure 3.5: A page of Wegener’s 1
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GlossaryAbsolute age The</s
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Carbon capture The
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Crustal shortening This results of
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Evaporite deposits (or evaporites)
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Geophysical survey Using the method
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“Integrated waste management” <
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Metamorphism The r
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Pore spaces (or pores) Gaps bet<str
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Saltation Sediment movement by flui
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Suspension Sediment movement by flu
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AcknowledgementsPermission to repri
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Figure 2.3 A scree slope. Photo ID:
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Figure 1.15a Hematite.Figure 1.15b
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Figure 1.28 Dune cross bedding in s
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Figure 3.18 An island arc volcano,
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Figure 5.21 Excavations at the dino
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The planet we live on: The beginnings of the Earth Sciences

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