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The last phase of the history of our planet, the one in which we currently live, was officially designated as the Meghalayan era, Newsweek . 19659003] The announcement comes from the International Commission on Stratigraphy (ICS), which proposed that the Holocene, the present geological time of the Earth, be divided into three distinct stages, marking the lower phases , average and superior of the time. The Meghalayan era is now the youngest of the three phases, extending from 4200 years up to the present day
The decision is based on geological and chemical data pointing to a global climate event that unleashed the Meghalayan era and not only influenced the Earth's climate, but also the ancient human civilizations that inhabited the planet at that time.
The ICS proposal comes after more than a decade of study on the Quaternary period – the most recent period of the Cenozoic era. Pleistocene and Holocene eras – and was officially approved by the International Union of Geological Sciences (IUGS), notes the BBC .
These latest modifications must now be included in the International Chronostratigraphic Chart, the diagram that represents the chronology of the history of our planet, describing all ages, eras, eras and ages of the Earth.
The Holocene Epoch [1] 9659003] The Holocene era includes the last 11,700 years of history of 4.6 billion years of our planet. This last geological epoch of Earth began with a global warming event that pushed the planet out of the last ice age.
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The first, or lower, stage of the Holocene is now described as the Greenlandic age, which lasted 3,400 years, of 11,700 years up to 8,300 years ago Another major event changed the climate of the planet some time ago.
Then comes the Nordic age – the middle phase of the Holocene, which lasts 4,100 years – which began 8,300 years ago with global cooling. Just like the Greenlandic age, North Savoy age was defined after the study of ice cores in Greenland, which revealed the boundary between the first two stages of the Holocene.
The age of the NorthGrippians was caused by the melting of Canadian glaciers. warming period, which released massive volumes of fresh water in the North Atlantic, disrupting ocean currents and cooling the climate.
The latest version of the chronological chronological / chronological geological timeline is now available! Nine #Holocene subdivisions: #Greenlandian (11,700 yr b2k) #Northgrippian (8326 years old) #Meghalayan (4200 years before 1950) ) https://t.co/IhvZHfHnWh#ChronostratigraphicChart208 pic.twitter.com/8Pf9Dnct7h
– IUGS (@theIUGS) July 13, 2018
The Third and The Last Phase of The Holocene, now known as Meghalayan Age, propelled the planet into another phase of warming and began with a global drought that lasted two centuries.
"The units represent a highly refined register of IUGS Secretary General, Stanley Finney, professor of geological sciences at the State University of Long Beach, California, explained that the earth system is the basis for assessing the nature of climate change.
meganayan age
Described in a scientific article published six years ago in the Journal of Quaternary Science Meghalayan age was identified from geochemical analyzes conducted on stalagmites in a cave in the state of Meghalaya in India – from where This last chapter of Earth's history Research on the layers of stalagmites that cover the ground of the Mawmluh cave revealed a disturbance in the isotopes of the oxygen atoms contained in the rock formations, which indicates a shift in weather conditions ologies from the monsoon to a drier environment. "In these stalagmites, there is a very detailed record of climate change, which is shown by the geochemistry of the precipitated material – the carbonate formed by the dripping of water into the cave," said the secretary General ICS, Philip Gibbard. a statement
The stalagmite of India with the GSSP for the base of the Meghalayan stadium (early Meghalayan era) .https: //t.co/ginCzDbKYS # Holocene [19659024] #Meghalayan #GSSP pic.twitter.com/VV82P9AYVR
– IUGS (@theIUGS) July 14, 2018
According to Prof. Mike Walker of the University of Wales in the UK, the change in oxygen isotopes indicates that monsoon rains have decreased by 20 to 30 percent. This revealed that the planet experienced yet another massive change in its climate about 4200 years ago, especially at mid and low altitude
"The two most important changes occur at around 4,300 years and about 4,100 years ago before the present, between the two would be 4200 years before the present, and it is the age we attribute to [Meghalayan golden spike]explained Walker, who led the international team of Holocene scientists who developed the proposal for the division of the time.
Of other intervals in the geological time scale of the planet, the Meghalayan era also coincided with a major cultural event, caused by the severe drought at the beginning of this last phase of the # 39; Holocene. In this particular case, the global climatic event that sparked the geological era also produced a world cultural event that affected ancient civilizations in Egypt, Greece, Syria, Palestine, Mesopotamia, the valley of the Indus and in the Yangtze Valley.
What about the Anthropocene?
Although the Meghalayan classification has already been formalized, some scientists claim that it would have been premature to place it on the chart, report the sources.
A stalagmite of a cave in India shows that we are now in the #Meghalayan Age #geology #Holocene @theIUGS https: / /t.co/cyuXYObF6k
– Katherine Hignett (@krhignett) July 18, 2018
For example, Mark Maslin, who is a professor of geography at University College London in the UK, thinks that this last division of the Holocene should have taken into account all the research that is currently as the Inquisitr has already described, the Anthropocene is supposed to describe the I & # 39; human impact on the geological balance of the planet, marking the end of the Earth's history. "We have many new definitions that may now contradict the Anthropocene working group and go against what most scientists perceive as the most significant change on Earth in the last 10,000 years." said Maslin. 19659003] However, Walker notes that the newly established Holocene subdivision does not conflict with a future designation of the Anthropocene.
"These subdivisions of the Holocene are entirely based on physical evidence (climatic / environmental) whereas the designation of the Anthropocene as a new unit in the geological time scale would rest entirely on the proof of the human impact, "said Walker.
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