The Statherian Period ( /stəˈθɪəriən/; Ancient Greek: σταθερός, romanized: statherós, meaning "stable, firm") is the final geologic period in the Paleoproterozoic era and lasted from 1800 Mya to 1600 Mya (million years ago). Instead of being based on stratigraphy, these dates are defined chronometrically.[2][3]
Statherian | |||||||||
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Chronology | |||||||||
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Etymology | |||||||||
Name formality | Formal | ||||||||
Usage information | |||||||||
Celestial body | Earth | ||||||||
Regional usage | Global (ICS) | ||||||||
Time scale(s) used | ICS Time Scale | ||||||||
Definition | |||||||||
Chronological unit | Period | ||||||||
Stratigraphic unit | System | ||||||||
Time span formality | Formal | ||||||||
Lower boundary definition | Defined chronometrically | ||||||||
Lower GSSA ratified | 1991[1] | ||||||||
Upper boundary definition | Defined chronometrically | ||||||||
Upper GSSA ratified | 1991[1] |
The period was characterized on most continents by either new platforms or final cratonization of fold belts. Oxygen levels were 10% to 20% of current values.[4]
Rafatazmia, controversially[5] claimed to be present in Statherian beds in India, may be the oldest known confirmably eukaryotic fossil organism.[6]
By the beginning of the Statherian, the supercontinent Columbia had assembled.[7]
Approximately 1.7 billion years ago, natural nuclear fission reactors were generating power in what is now Oklo, Gabon.[8]
See also
edit- Boring Billion – Earth history, 1.8 to 0.8 billion years ago
References
edit- ^ a b Plumb, K. A. (June 1, 1991). "New Precambrian time scale". Episodes. 14 (2): 139–140. doi:10.18814/epiiugs/1991/v14i2/005.
- ^ "Statherian Period". GeoWhen Database. Archived from the original on May 12, 2006. Retrieved January 5, 2006.
- ^ James G. Ogg (2004). "Status on Divisions of the International Geologic Time Scale". Lethaia. 37 (2): 183–199. doi:10.1080/00241160410006492.
- ^ Holland, Heinrich D. (2006). "The oxygenation of the atmosphere and oceans" (PDF). Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society: Biological Sciences. 361 (1470): 903–915. doi:10.1098/rstb.2006.1838. PMC 1578726. PMID 16754606.
- ^ Kumar, S. (2009). "Controversy concerning 'Cambrian' fossils from the Vindhyan sediments: a re-assessment" (PDF). Journal of the Palaeontological Society of India. 54 (1): 115–117.
- ^ Bengtson, Stefan; Sallstedt, Therese; Belivanova, Veneta; Whitehouse, Martin (2017). "Three-dimensional preservation of cellular and subcellular structures suggests 1.6 billion-year-old crown-group red algae". PLOS Biology. 15 (3): e2000735. doi:10.1371/journal.pbio.2000735. PMC 5349422. PMID 28291791.
- ^ Zhao, Guochun; Cawood, Peter A; Wilde, Simon A; Sun, Min (November 2002). "Review of global 2.1–1.8 Ga orogens: implications for a pre-Rodinia supercontinent". Earth-Science Reviews. 59 (1–4): 125–162. Bibcode:2002ESRv...59..125Z. doi:10.1016/S0012-8252(02)00073-9.
- ^ Davis, E. D.; Gould, C. R.; Sharapov, E. I. (1 April 2014). "Oklo reactors and implications for nuclear science". International Journal of Modern Physics E. 23 (4): 1430007–1430236. arXiv:1404.4948. Bibcode:2014IJMPE..2330007D. doi:10.1142/S0218301314300070. S2CID 118394767.