Evolution of the Earth
Evolution of the Earth
The planet earth has gone through much abuse and punishment in the past. Formed approximately 4.5 billion years ago, the earth has undergone multiple catastrophic asteroids erasing species after species. Due to geologic evidence, it is estimated over 90 percent of all life that had ever lived in this planet have been extinct. No more than the past 500 million years alone, 50-90 percent of all organisms on earth were wiped out of the geological timeline without any warning. This little blue planet has been through bombardments of asteroids, devastating earthquakes, volcanoes that resulted in a total wipeout of entire civilizations. plate tectonics, solar flares, reversal of the magnetic fields and magnetic storms, continental drifts that literally broke apart a massive singular continent, worldwide floods, hundreds and thousands of meteorites, ice ages, cosmic radiations, and god knows what else. Through all of this the planet still stands and in turn explains the evolution of this planet throughout the geologic timeline.
Based on the system of chronological measurement based on the planet’s stratigraphy, we can determine the earth’s age through radioactive dating which is the process of using an elements half-life decay rate of meteorites that show they all have nearly the same radiometric age of 4.56 billion years thus is can be reasonably inferred that the solar system (earth included) is about that age. Although due to the very nature of our dynamic and continuously changing earth, the wear and tear of erosion and weathering has eliminated a lot of the original rocks that inhabited the planet making the actual age of the earth theoretical than actual fact.
In the beginning, there was light. Well specifically, the sun. Formed gradually from a disc-shaped matter of debris and gas left by the formation of the sun, the earth was literally a ball of fire at first. Completely molten due to extreme temperatures caused by friction from constant
The planet earth has gone through much abuse and punishment in the past. Formed approximately 4.5 billion years ago, the earth has undergone multiple catastrophic asteroids erasing species after species. Due to geologic evidence, it is estimated over 90 percent of all life that had ever lived in this planet have been extinct. No more than the past 500 million years alone, 50-90 percent of all organisms on earth were wiped out of the geological timeline without any warning. This little blue planet has been through bombardments of asteroids, devastating earthquakes, volcanoes that resulted in a total wipeout of entire civilizations. plate tectonics, solar flares, reversal of the magnetic fields and magnetic storms, continental drifts that literally broke apart a massive singular continent, worldwide floods, hundreds and thousands of meteorites, ice ages, cosmic radiations, and god knows what else. Through all of this the planet still stands and in turn explains the evolution of this planet throughout the geologic timeline.
Based on the system of chronological measurement based on the planet’s stratigraphy, we can determine the earth’s age through radioactive dating which is the process of using an elements half-life decay rate of meteorites that show they all have nearly the same radiometric age of 4.56 billion years thus is can be reasonably inferred that the solar system (earth included) is about that age. Although due to the very nature of our dynamic and continuously changing earth, the wear and tear of erosion and weathering has eliminated a lot of the original rocks that inhabited the planet making the actual age of the earth theoretical than actual fact.
In the beginning, there was light. Well specifically, the sun. Formed gradually from a disc-shaped matter of debris and gas left by the formation of the sun, the earth was literally a ball of fire at first. Completely molten due to extreme temperatures caused by friction from constant
References: 1."Geological History of Earth." Geological History of Earth. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Nov. 2012. <http://www.extremescience.com/earth.htm>. 2. "Evolution -- Geology -- Planet Earth." Evolution -- Geology -- Planet Earth. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Nov. 2012. <http://darwiniana.org/geology.htm>. "Mass Extinctions." National Geographic. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Nov. 2012. <http://science.nationalgeographic.com/science/prehistoric-world/mass-extinction/>. "How Are the Ages of the Earth and Universe Calculated?" BioLogos.org. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Nov. 2012. <http://biologos.org/questions/ages-of-the-earth-and-universe>. Wicander, Reed, and James S. Monroe. Historical Geology: Evolution of Earth and Life through Time. Belmont, CA: Thomson-Brooks/Cole, 2007. Print.