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Date of Earth's Quaternary age revised
London (UPI) Sep 23, 2009 The International Commission on Stratigraphy says it has revised the date of the start of Earth's prehistoric Quaternary Period by 800,000 years. The London-headquartered commission -- the authority for geological science -- decided to end decades of controversy by formally declaring when the Quaternary Period started. The Quaternary age covers both the ice age and moment early man first started to use tools. Researchers said Earth's history during the 18th Century was split into four epochs, Primary, Secondary, Tertiary and Quaternary. Although the first two have been renamed Paleozoic and Mesozoic, in that order, the second two have remained in use for more than 150 years. "It has long been agreed that the boundary of the Quaternary Period should be placed at the first sign of global climate cooling," said University of Cambridge Professor Philip Gibbard, a commission member. "What we have achieved is the definition of the boundary of the Quaternary to an internationally recognized and fixed point that represents a natural event, the beginning of the ice ages on a global scale." In 1983 the boundary was fixed at 1.8 million years, a decision which sparked argument since that point had no particular geological significance. "For practical reasons such boundaries should ideally be made as easy as possible to identify all around the world. The new boundary of 2.6 million years is just that," Gibbard said. The decision is detailed in the Journal of Quaternary Science. Share This Article With Planet Earth
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'Tiny' new T-Rex ancestor unearthed in ChinaChicago (AFP) Sept 17, 2009 A relatively tiny new ancestor of the Tyrannosaurus rex has been unearthed in China, researchers said Thursday. The three-meter-long (10-foot) dinosaur dubbed the Raptorex only weighed about 60 kilograms (150 pounds) and was nearly 100 times smaller than the king of the dinosaurs. But it was nearly identical in structure -- even down to the scrawny arms -- and had all of the traits which ... read more |
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