1.
South Australia
–
South Australia is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country, with a total land area of 983,482 square kilometres, it is the fourth-largest of Australias states and territories. Other population centres in the state are relatively small, the state comprises less than 8 percent of the Australian population and ranks fifth in population among the six states and two territories. The majority of its people reside in Adelaide, most of the remainder are settled in fertile areas along the south-eastern coast and River Murray. The states colonial origins are unique in Australia as a settled, planned British province. Official settlement began on 28 December 1836, when the colony was proclaimed at the Old Gum Tree by Governor John Hindmarsh, as with the rest of the continent, the region had been long occupied by Aboriginal peoples, who were organised into numerous tribes and languages. The first British settlement to be established was Kingscote, Kangaroo Island, on 26 July 1836, the guiding principle behind settlement was that of systematic colonisation, a theory espoused by Edward Gibbon Wakefield that was later employed by the New Zealand Company. The goal was to establish the province as a centre of civilisation for free immigrants, promising civil liberties, although its history is marked by economic hardship, South Australia has remained politically innovative and culturally vibrant. Today, it is known for its wine and numerous cultural festivals. The states economy is dominated by the agricultural, manufacturing and mining industries, the state has an increasingly significant finance sector as well. Evidence of human activity in South Australia dates back as far as 20,000 years, with flint mining activity, in addition wooden spears and tools were made in an area now covered in peat bog in the South East. Kangaroo Island was inhabited long before the island was cut off by rising sea levels, thijssen named his discovery Pieter Nuyts Land, after the highest ranking individual on board. The complete coastline of South Australia was first mapped by Matthew Flinders, the land which now forms the state of South Australia was claimed for Britain in 1788 as part of the colony of New South Wales. Although the new colony included almost two-thirds of the continent, early settlements were all on the eastern coast and it took more than forty years before any serious proposal to establish settlements in the south-western portion of New South Wales were put forward. In 1834, the British Parliament passed the South Australia Act 1834, the act stated that 802,511 square kilometres would be allotted to the colony and it would be convict-free. In contrast to the rest of Australia, terra nullius did not apply to the new province, although the patent guaranteed land rights under force of law for the indigenous inhabitants it was ignored by the South Australian Company authorities and squatters. Settlement of seven vessels and 636 people was made at Kingscote on Kangaroo Island. The first immigrants arrived at Holdfast Bay in November 1836, the Colonisation Commissioners intended to establish a police service as soon as misconduct within the increasing population warranted it
2.
Stratigraphy
–
Stratigraphy is a branch of geology which studies rock layers and layering. It is primarily used in the study of sedimentary and layered volcanic rocks, stratigraphy has two related subfields, lithologic stratigraphy or lithostratigraphy, and biologic stratigraphy or biostratigraphy. The first practical application of stratigraphy was by William Smith in the 1790s. Another influential application of stratigraphy in the early 19th century was a study by Georges Cuvier, variation in rock units, most obviously displayed as visible layering, is due to physical contrasts in rock type. This variation can occur vertically as layering, or laterally, and these variations provide a lithostratigraphy or lithologic stratigraphy of the rock unit. Key concepts in stratigraphy involve understanding how certain geometric relationships between rock layers arise and what these geometries imply about their original depositional environment. The basic concept in stratigraphy, called the law of superposition, states, in a stratigraphic sequence. Chemostratigraphy studies the changes in the proportions of trace elements and isotopes within. Carbon and oxygen isotope ratios vary with time, and researchers can use those to map subtle changes that occurred in the paleoenvironment and this has led to the specialized field of isotopic stratigraphy. Biostratigraphy or paleontologic stratigraphy is based on evidence in the rock layers. Strata from widespread locations containing the fossil fauna and flora are said to be correlatable in time. Biologic stratigraphy was based on William Smiths principle of succession, which predated. It provides strong evidence for the formation and extinction of species, the geologic time scale was developed during the 19th century, based on the evidence of biologic stratigraphy and faunal succession. One important development is the Vail curve, which attempts to define a global historical sea-level curve according to inferences from worldwide stratigraphic patterns, stratigraphy is also commonly used to delineate the nature and extent of hydrocarbon-bearing reservoir rocks, seals, and traps of petroleum geology. Chronostratigraphy is the branch of stratigraphy that places an absolute age, a gap or missing strata in the geological record of an area is called a stratigraphic hiatus. This may be the result of a halt in the deposition of sediment, alternatively, the gap may be due to removal by erosion, in which case it may be called a stratigraphic vacuity. It is called a hiatus because deposition was on hold for a period of time, a physical gap may represent both a period of non-deposition and a period of erosion. A geologic fault may cause the appearance of a hiatus, magnetostratigraphy is a chronostratigraphic technique used to date sedimentary and volcanic sequences
3.
Paleontology
–
Paleontology or palaeontology is the scientific study of life that existed prior to, and sometimes including, the start of the Holocene Epoch. It includes the study of fossils to determine organisms evolution and interactions with each other, paleontological observations have been documented as far back as the 5th century BC. The science became established in the 18th century as a result of Georges Cuviers work on comparative anatomy, and developed rapidly in the 19th century. The term itself originates from Greek παλαιός, palaios, i. e. old, ancient, ὄν, on, i. e. being, creature and λόγος, logos, i. e. speech, thought, study. Paleontology lies on the border between biology and geology, but differs from archaeology in that it excludes the study of modern humans. It now uses techniques drawn from a range of sciences, including biochemistry, mathematics. The final quarter of the 20th century saw the development of molecular phylogenetics, molecular phylogenetics has also been used to estimate the dates when species diverged, but there is controversy about the reliability of the molecular clock on which such estimates depend. The simplest definition is the study of ancient life, paleontology is one of the historical sciences, along with archaeology, geology, astronomy, cosmology, philology and history itself. This means that it aims to describe phenomena of the past, hence it has three main elements, description of the phenomena, developing a general theory about the causes of various types of change, and applying those theories to specific facts. Sometimes the smoking gun is discovered by an accident during other research. Paleontology lies on the boundary between biology and geology since paleontology focuses on the record of past life but its source of evidence is fossils. In addition paleontology often uses techniques derived from other sciences, including biology, osteology, ecology, chemistry, techniques developed in engineering have been used to analyse how ancient organisms might have worked, for example how fast Tyrannosaurus could move and how powerful its bite was. As knowledge has increased, paleontology has developed specialised subdivisions, vertebrate paleontology concentrates on fossils of vertebrates, from the earliest fish to the immediate ancestors of modern mammals. Invertebrate paleontology deals with fossils of such as molluscs, arthropods. Paleobotany focuses on the study of plants, but traditionally includes the study of fossil algae. Palynology, the study of pollen and spores produced by plants and protists. Micropaleontology deals with all microscopic fossil organisms, regardless of the group to which they belong, one example is the development of oxygenic photosynthesis by bacteria, which hugely increased the productivity and diversity of ecosystems. This also caused the oxygenation of the atmosphere, together, these were a prerequisite for the evolution of the most complex eukaryotic cells, from which all multicellular organisms are built
4.
Cenomanian
–
The Cenomanian is, in the ICS geological timescale the oldest or earliest age of the Late Cretaceous epoch or the lowest stage of the Upper Cretaceous series. An age is a unit of geochronology, it is a unit of time, both age and stage bear the same name. As a unit of time measure, the Cenomanian age spans the time between 100.5 ±0.9 Ma and 93.9 ±0.8 Ma. In the geologic timescale it is preceded by the Albian and is followed by the Turonian, the Cenomanian is coeval with the Woodbinian of the regional timescale of the Gulf of Mexico and the early part of the Eaglefordian of the regional timescale of the US East Coast. At the end of the Cenomanian an anoxic event took place, called the Cenomanian-Turonian boundary event or the Bonarelli Event, the Cenomanian was introduced in scientific literature by French palaeontologist Alcide dOrbigny in 1847. Its name comes from the New Latin name of the French city of Le Mans, the base of the Cenomanian stage is placed at the first appearance of foram species Rotalipora globotruncanoides in the stratigraphic record. An official reference profile for the base of the Cenomanian is located in an outcrop at the flank of Mont Risou. The base is, in the profile, located 36 meters below the top of the Marnes Bleues Formation. The top of the Cenomanian is at the first appearance of ammonite species Watinoceras devonense, important index fossils for the Cenomanian are the ammonites Calycoceras naviculare, Acanthoceras rhotomagense and Mantelliceras mantelli. The late Cenomanian represents the highest mean sea-level observed in the Phanerozoic eon, a corollary is that the highlands were at all time lows, so the landscape on Earth was one of warm broad shallow seas inundating low-lying land areas on the precursors to todays continents. What few lands rose above the waves were made of old mountains and hills, upland plateaus, tectonic mountain building was minimal and most continents were isolated by large stretches of water. Without highlands to brake winds, the climate would have been windy and waves large, adding to the weathering, & Smith, A. G.2004, A Geologic Time Scale 2004, Cambridge University Press. & Caron, M.2004, The Global Boundary Stratotype Section and Point for the base of the Cenomanian Stage, Mont Risou, Hautes-Alpes, France, Episodes 27, pp. 21–32
5.
Bathonian
–
In the geologic timescale the Bathonian is an age or stage of the Middle Jurassic. It lasted from approximately 168.3 Ma to around 166.1 Ma, the Bathonian age succeeds the Bajocian age and precedes the Callovian age. The Bathonian stage takes its name from Bath, a spa town in England built on Jurassic limestone, the name was introduced in scientific literature by Belgian geologist dOmalius dHalloy in 1843. The original type locality was located near Bath, the French palaeontologist Alcide dOrbigny was in 1852 the first to define the exact length of the stage. The base of the Bathonian is at the first appearance of ammonite species Parkinsonia convergens in the stratigraphic column, the global reference profile for the base of the Bathonian was ratified as Ravin du Bès, Bas-Auran area, Alpes de Haute Provence, France in 2009. The top of the Bathonian is at the first appearance of ammonite genus Kepplerites, in the north and northeast, Russia, etc. clays, sandstones and ferruginous oolites prevail, some of the last being exploited for iron. The well-known Caen stone of Normandy and Hauptrogenstein of Swabia, as well as the Eisenkalk of northwest Germany, members of the order ammonitida are known as Ammonitic ammonites. They are distinguished primarily by their suture lines, in ammonitic suture patterns, the lobes and saddles are much subdivided and subdivisions are usually rounded instead of saw-toothed. Ammonoids of this type are the most important species from a point of view. This suture type is characteristic of Jurassic and Cretaceous ammonoids but extends all the way to the Permian. Cadomites Oecoptychius Oxycerites Somalinautilus Gradstein, F. M, & Smith, A. G.2004, A Geologic Time Scale 2004, Cambridge University Press. 1843, Précis élémentaire de géologie, Bertrand, Paris
6.
Bajocian
–
In the geologic timescale, the Bajocian is an age or stage in the Middle Jurassic. It lasted from approximately 170.3 Ma to around 168.3 Ma, the Bajocian age succeeds the Aalenian age and precedes the Bathonian age. The Bajocian stage takes its name from the Latin name of the town of Bayeux, the stage was named and introduced in scientific literature by French palaeontologist Alcide dOrbigny in 1842. The base of the Bajocian stage is defined as the place in the column where fossils of the ammonite genus Hyperlioceras first appear. A global reference profile for the base is located at Murtinheira, the top of the Bajocian is at the first appearance of ammonite species Parkinsonia convergens. The Bajocian is often divided into Lower/Early and Upper/Late subages or substages. M, & Smith, A. G.2004, A Geologic Time Scale 2004, Cambridge University Press. Terrains oolitiques ou jurassiques,642 pp. Bertrand, Paris, pavia, G. & Enay, R.1997, Definition of the Aalenian-Bajocian Stage boundary, Episodes,20, pp 16–22. Sepkoski, J.2002, A compendium of fossil marine animal genera, Bulletin of American Paleontology 364, p 560
7.
Sinemurian
–
In the geologic timescale, the Sinemurian is an age or stage in the Early or Lower Jurassic epoch or series. It spans the time between 199.3 ±2 Ma and 190.8 ±1.5 Ma, the Sinemurian is preceded by the Hettangian and is followed by the Pliensbachian. In Europe the Sinemurian age, together with the Hettangian age, saw the deposition of the lower Lias, the Sinemurian stage was defined and introduced into scientific literature by French palaeontologist Alcide dOrbigny in 1842. It takes its name from the French town of Semur-en-Auxois, near Dijon, the calcareous soil formed from the Jurassic limestone of the region is in part responsible for the character of the classic Sancerre wines. The base of the Sinemurian stage is at the first appearance of the ammonite genera Vermiceras and Metophioceras in the stratigraphic record. A global reference profile for the Sinemurian stage is located in a north of the hamlet of East Quantoxhead,6 kilometres east of Watchet, Somerset. The top of the Sinemurian is at the first appearances of the ammonite species Bifericeras donovani,2001, Global Stratotype Section and Point for base of the Sinemurian Stage, Episodes 25, pp. 22–28, PDF Gradstein, F. M. & Smith, A. G.2004, A Geologic Time Scale 2004, terrains oolitiques ou jurassiques, Bertrand, Paris
8.
Carnian
–
The Carnian is the lowermost stage of the Upper Triassic series. It lasted from 235 to 228.4 million years ago, the Carnian is preceded by the Ladinian and is followed by the Norian. The Carnian was named in 1869 by Mojsisovics and it is unclear if it was named after the Carnic Alps or after the Austrian region of Carinthia. The name, however, was first used referring to a part of the Hallstatt Limestone cropping out in Austria, the base of the Carnian stage is defined as the place in the stratigraphic record where the ammonite species Daxatina canadensis first appears. The global reference profile for the base is located at the Stuores-Wiesen near Badia in the Val Badia in the region of South Tyrol, Italy. The top of the Carnian is at the bases of the ammonite biozones of Klamathites macrolobatus or Stikinoceras kerri, most continents were merged into the supercontinent Pangaea, and there was a single global ocean, Panthalassa. The global ocean had a branch at tropical latitudes called Paleo-Tethys. The sediments of Paleo-Tethys now crop out in southeastern Europe, in the Middle East, in the Himalayas, the extreme land-sea distribution led to mega-monsoons, i. e. an atmospheric monsoon regime more intense than the present one. As for most of the Mesozoic, there were no ice caps, climate was mostly arid in the tropics, but an episode of wet tropical climate is documented at least in the Paleo-Tethys. This putative climatic event is called the “Carnian Pluvial Event”, its age being between latest early Carnian and the beginning of late Carnian, in the marine realm, the Carnian saw the first abundant occurrences of calcareous nannoplankton, a morphological group including the Coccolithophores. There are a few invertebrates which are typical and characteristic of the Carnian, among molluscs, the ammonoid genus Trachyceras is exclusive to the lower Carnian. The family Tropitidae and the genus Tropites appear at the base of the upper Carnian, the bivalve genus Halobia, a bottom-dweller of deep sea environments, differentiated from Daonella at the beginning of this age. Scleractinian coral reefs, i. e. reefs with corals of the modern type, the earliest dinosaur Eoraptor originated slightly before the Carnian stage began around 230 Ma. The oldest well documented dinosaurian assemblage, in the Ischigualasto Formation of Argentina, is most probably late Carnian in age, in this stage the archosaurs became the dominant faunas in the world, evolving into groups such as the phytosaurs, rhynchosaurs, aetosaurs, and rauisuchians. The first dinosaurs also appeared in stage, and though at the time they were small and insignificant, they diversified rapidly. On the other hand, the therapsids, which included the ancestors of mammals, conodonts were present in Triassic marine sediments. Paragondolella polygnathiformis appeared at the base of the Carnian stage, and is perhaps the most characteristic species, a partial list of Carnian vertebrates is given below. Many Carnian vertebrates are found in Santa Maria Formation rocks of the Paleorrota geopark, the lower Carnian fauna of the San Cassiano Formation has been studied since the 19th century
9.
Ladinian
–
The Ladinian is a stage and age in the Middle Triassic series or epoch. It spans the time between 242 Ma and ~235 Ma, the Ladinian was preceded by the Anisian and succeeded by the Carnian. The Ladinian is coeval with the Falangian Chinese regional stage, the Ladinian was established by Austrian geologist Alexander Bittner in 1892. Its name comes from the Ladin people that live in the Italian Alps, the global reference profile for the base is at an outcrop in the river bed of the Caffaro river at Bagolino, in the province of Brescia, northern Italy. The top of the Ladinian is at the first appearance of ammonite species Daxatina canadensis, the Ladinian is sometimes subdivided into two subages or substages, the Fassanian and the Longobardian. Paleorrota lies within the Santa Maria Formation and the Caturrita Formation, vertebrates of Ladinian age include, Spondylosoma Dicynodonts Paleorrota Bittner, A.1892, Was ist norisch. Jahrbuch der kaiserlich-königlichen geologischen Reichsanstalt 42, pp. 387–396, & Smith, A. G.2004, A Geologic Time Scale 2004, Cambridge University Press
10.
Anisian
–
In the geologic timescale, the Anisian is the lower stage or earliest age of the Middle Triassic series or epoch and lasted from 247.2 million years ago until 242 million years ago. The Anisian age succeeds the Olenekian age and precedes the Ladinian age, the stage and its name were established by Austrian geologists Wilhelm Heinrich Waagen and Carl Diener in 1895. The name comes from Anisus, the Latin name of the river Enns, the original type locality is at Großreifling in the Austrian state of Styria. The base of the Anisian stage is laid at the first appearance of conodont species Chiosella timorensis in the stratigraphic record. Other stratigraphers prefer to use the base of magnetic chronozone MT1n, the global reference profile for the base is at a flank of the mountain Deşli Caira in the Romanian Dobruja. The top of the Anisian is at the first appearance of ammonite species Eoprotrachyceras curionii, the conodont species Neogondolella praehungarica appears at the same level. Especially in Central Europe the Anisian stage is sometimes subdivided into four substages, Aegean, Bythinian, Pelsonian and Illyrian. Rieber, H. Nicora, A. & Mundil, R.2005, The Global boundary Stratotype Section and Point of the Ladinian Stage at Bagolino and its implications for the Triassic time scale, Episodes 28, pp. 233–244. Grǎdinaru, E. Orchard, M. J. Nicora, A. Gallet, besse, J. Krystyn, L. Sobolev, E. S. & Ivanova, D.2007, The Global Boundary Stratotype Section and Point for the base of the Anisian Stage, Deşli Caira Hill, North Dobrogea, Romania, Albertiana 36, pp. 54–71. & Smith, A. G.2004, A Geologic Time Scale 2004, Cambridge University Press
11.
Olenekian
–
In the geologic timescale, the Olenekian is an age in the Early Triassic epoch or a stage in the Lower Triassic series. It spans the time between 251.2 Ma and 247.2 Ma, the Olenekian follows the Induan and is followed by the Anisian. The Olenekian saw the deposition of a part of the Buntsandstein in Europe. Archosaurs - a group encompassing crocodiles, pterosaurs, dinosaurs, the Olenekian is roughly coeval with the regional Yongningzhenian stage used in China. The Olenekian stage was introduced into scientific literature by Russian stratigraphers in 1956, the stage is named after Olenëk in Siberia. Before the subdivision in Olenekian and Induan became established, both formed the Scythian stage, which has since disappeared from the official timescale. The base of the Olenekian is at the lowest occurrence of the ammonites Hedenstroemi or Meekoceras gracilitatis and it is defined as ending near the lowest occurrences of genera Japonites, Paradanubites, and Paracrochordiceras, and of the conodont Chiosella timorensis. A GSSP has in 2009 not yet been established, the Olenekian is sometimes divided into the Smithian and the Spathian subages or substages. & Smith, A. G.2004, A Geologic Time Scale 2004,1956, Расчленение нижнего отдела триасовой системы на ярусы, Doklady Akademii Nauk SSSR109, pp 842–845
12.
Radiometric dating
–
Radiometric dating or radioactive dating is a technique used to date materials such as rocks or carbon, in which trace radioactive impurities were selectively incorporated when they were formed. The method compares the abundance of a naturally occurring radioactive isotope within the material to the abundance of its decay products, together with stratigraphic principles, radiometric dating methods are used in geochronology to establish the geological time scale. Among the best-known techniques are radiocarbon dating, potassium-argon dating and uranium-lead dating, by allowing the establishment of geological timescales, it provides a significant source of information about the ages of fossils and the deduced rates of evolutionary change. Radiometric dating is used to date archaeological materials, including ancient artifacts. Different methods of radiometric dating vary in the timescale over which they are accurate, all ordinary matter is made up of combinations of chemical elements, each with its own atomic number, indicating the number of protons in the atomic nucleus. Additionally, elements may exist in different isotopes, with each isotope of an element differing in the number of neutrons in the nucleus, a particular isotope of a particular element is called a nuclide. That is, at point in time, an atom of such a nuclide will undergo radioactive decay. This transformation may be accomplished in a number of different ways, including alpha decay, another possibility is spontaneous fission into two or more nuclides. After one half-life has elapsed, one half of the atoms of the nuclide in question will have decayed into a daughter nuclide or decay product, Isotopic systems that have been exploited for radiometric dating have half-lives ranging from only about 10 years to over 100 billion years. For most radioactive nuclides, the half-life depends solely on nuclear properties and is essentially a constant and it is not affected by external factors such as temperature, pressure, chemical environment, or presence of a magnetic or electric field. The only exceptions are nuclides that decay by the process of capture, such as beryllium-7, strontium-85. For all other nuclides, the proportion of the nuclide to its decay products changes in a predictable way as the original nuclide decays over time. This predictability allows the relative abundances of related nuclides to be used as a clock to measure the time from the incorporation of the original nuclides into a material to the present. The basic equation of radiometric dating requires that neither the parent nuclide nor the product can enter or leave the material after its formation. The possible confounding effects of contamination of parent and daughter isotopes have to be considered and it is therefore essential to have as much information as possible about the material being dated and to check for possible signs of alteration. Precision is enhanced if measurements are taken on multiple samples from different locations of the rock body and this can reduce the problem of contamination. In uranium-lead dating, the diagram is used which also decreases the problem of nuclide loss. Finally, correlation between different isotopic dating methods may be required to confirm the age of a sample, the procedures used to isolate and analyze the parent and daughter nuclides must be precise and accurate
.svg)
