3. What is it?
a system of chronological measurement that relates stratigraphy to
time, to describe the timing and relationships between events that
have occurred throughout Earth's history.
Who uses it?
Geologists, paleontologists, archaeologists, anthropologists, and other
Earth scientists.
4. Why do we need to know about it?
History Important events Exploration
Record Calendar Evolution
Dating General knowledge Links; Chains
5. How does one construct a geological time scale?
By studying rock layers [Stratigraphy]
Mining
Bottom-most layer = oldest; topmost layer = newest ← Principle of
Uniformitarianism (geology)
Fossils, artifacts, ecofacts, biofacts; evidence in the different layers
6. Segments of rock
(strata) in
chronostratigraphy
Units
Time spans in
geochronology
Notes to
geochronological
units
Eonothem Eon Half a billion years or
more
Erathem Era Several hundred
million years
System Period Few hundred million
years
Series Epoch Tens of millions of
years
Stage Age Millions of years