Pliocene Epoch From 58 Million Years Ago
Time scale
The Pliocene Epoch extends from 5.3 million years ago to 2.58 million years ago. This epoch was also a period of cooling down for the Earth after the warm time period of the Miocene Epoch. There was also more advanced primate development of the ancestors of humans. It follows the Miocene Epoch (23 million to 5.3 million years ago) and is followed by the Pleistocene Epoch (2.58 million to 11,700 years ago). The Pliocene Epoch is a subdivision of the Neogene Period, which is a part of the Tertiary Period. It is divided into two smaller time periods: Zanclean (5.3 million to 3.6 million years ago) and Piacenzian (3.6 million to 2.58 million years ago).
Key events
The beginning of this time period is defined by the formation of the …show more content…
This formation was complete 3 million years ago and the little bit of connecting land is called Isthmus of Panama. The creation of Isthmus of Panama had important impacts on Earth’s climate and biodiversity. The direction of the Atlantic and Pacific currents were changed due to no more flow of water between the oceans. Also, the land made it much easier for animals (such as bears, cats, dogs, horses, armadillos and porcupines) to migrate between North and South …show more content…
This cooling and drying helped with the growth of savannahs and grasslands and the decline in tropical forests, and seasons become more distinguishable. The global average temperature was only 2-3℃ warmer than it is today. There was also similar amounts of CO2 in the atmosphere as there is now: 350-450ppm in the mid-pliocene epoch compared to 400ppm currently. At the start of the Pliocene Epoch there was much variation in temperature (warm period) but eventually the fluctuations stopped and the weather stayed cool towards the end (cool period). There are many volcanoes still here today that were active in the Pliocene Epoch such as Mount Pirongia and Level Mountain, but not many of them are still active.
In this period of time the formation of the Arctic ice cap starts by a sudden change in oxygen isotope ratios (the abundance of oxygen) and ice-rafted cobbles (ice rafting is transporting materials through ice) in the bed of the North Pacific and North Atlantic oceans. Antarctic ice sheets also started to grow during this period. These ice caps were thought to have grew between 3.1 million and 2.7 million years ago. Over the past 2 million years glaciers spread over large areas. They are thought to have brought about the latest ice age, which started 2.6 million years ago at the start of the Pleistocene
The Pliocene Epoch extends from 5.3 million years ago to 2.58 million years ago. This epoch was also a period of cooling down for the Earth after the warm time period of the Miocene Epoch. There was also more advanced primate development of the ancestors of humans. It follows the Miocene Epoch (23 million to 5.3 million years ago) and is followed by the Pleistocene Epoch (2.58 million to 11,700 years ago). The Pliocene Epoch is a subdivision of the Neogene Period, which is a part of the Tertiary Period. It is divided into two smaller time periods: Zanclean (5.3 million to 3.6 million years ago) and Piacenzian (3.6 million to 2.58 million years ago).
Key events
The beginning of this time period is defined by the formation of the …show more content…
This formation was complete 3 million years ago and the little bit of connecting land is called Isthmus of Panama. The creation of Isthmus of Panama had important impacts on Earth’s climate and biodiversity. The direction of the Atlantic and Pacific currents were changed due to no more flow of water between the oceans. Also, the land made it much easier for animals (such as bears, cats, dogs, horses, armadillos and porcupines) to migrate between North and South …show more content…
This cooling and drying helped with the growth of savannahs and grasslands and the decline in tropical forests, and seasons become more distinguishable. The global average temperature was only 2-3℃ warmer than it is today. There was also similar amounts of CO2 in the atmosphere as there is now: 350-450ppm in the mid-pliocene epoch compared to 400ppm currently. At the start of the Pliocene Epoch there was much variation in temperature (warm period) but eventually the fluctuations stopped and the weather stayed cool towards the end (cool period). There are many volcanoes still here today that were active in the Pliocene Epoch such as Mount Pirongia and Level Mountain, but not many of them are still active.
In this period of time the formation of the Arctic ice cap starts by a sudden change in oxygen isotope ratios (the abundance of oxygen) and ice-rafted cobbles (ice rafting is transporting materials through ice) in the bed of the North Pacific and North Atlantic oceans. Antarctic ice sheets also started to grow during this period. These ice caps were thought to have grew between 3.1 million and 2.7 million years ago. Over the past 2 million years glaciers spread over large areas. They are thought to have brought about the latest ice age, which started 2.6 million years ago at the start of the Pleistocene