The Holocene Epoch

The most recent and debatably best-known, the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event, which occurred approximately 66 million years ago (Ma), was a large-scale mass extinction of animal and plant species in a geologically short period of time.

The first major extinction event is said to have been the Ordovician-Silurian mass extinction, 443 million years ago, which occurred during the end of the Ordovician period, and the start of the Silurian period (bbc.co.uk, 2014). This is the third largest mass extinction in the Earth’s history, and there were two “peak” dying times during this period, separated my hundreds of thousands of years. The Ordovician is characterised by sea life, so creatures such as brachiopods, graptolites and trilobite populations were severely diminished. An ice age is said to be responsible for the death (endangerdspeciesinternational.org, 2011).

Essentially, there have been 5 mass extinctions during the history of life on earth. (Wake, Vredenburg) And, the time the earth has existed has been divided up into eons, eras, periods, and epochs based on the geologic strata of that age. (Impey) There are two eons, the Pre-cambrian and the Phanerozoic. In the Pre-cambrian there are 3 eras, the Haydean, Archean, and the Proterozoic. In the Phanerozoic, there are the Paleozoic, Mesozoic, and Cenozoic Eras. In the Paleozoic, there are seven periods, the Cambrian, Ordovician, Silurian, Devonian, Mississippian, Pennsylvanian, and Permian. Then for Mesozoic there are three periods, Triassic, Jurassic, Cretaceous. In the

There have been five major extinctions during the 4.6 billion years of Earth’s history. The Ordovician, the late Devonian, the Permian, the Triassic-Jurassic, and then the K.T. Cretaceous-Tertiary, the one that killed all of the dinosaurs. Currently, we are living in the new epoch, called the Anthropocene, the age of man. Anthropocene is known as the time of humans, which is characterized by the impact of humans as a fossil record for the future. While the extinction that happened 65 million years ago, causing the dinosaurs to go extinct, occurred naturally when an asteroid struck, the sixth extinction event we are experiencing now is directly identifiable as caused by human activity, such as habitat destruction and over-fishing. Of the past five mass extinction events, although by different causes, they have one factor in common, a massive increase in carbon dioxide levels. More than half of Earth 's terrestrial surface has been altered due to human activity, resulting in drastic deforestation, erosion and loss of topsoil, biodiversity loss, and extinction (Marine Bio, 2016). Global warming is the biggest problem that Earth is facing at this moment. Some causes and effects of global warming are deforestation, ocean acidification, burning of fossil fuels, and greenhouse gas emissions.

As time passed, the Pleistocene period ended and the Holocene period began. Accompanying the shift to Holocene was high temperatures that were as much as 2°C (3.6°F) higher than present averages in some places. It may have been because of this climate change or because of human intervention, or both that large game perished with the coming of the Holocene. Lacking the rich game hunting economy that their Pleistocene predecessors had, small bands of American Indians focused on the killing of small game, feeding of aquaculture, and an ever increasing dependency on the collection of specific plant foods.

According to many scientists, it may no longer be accurate to consider our current time period as the Holocene epoch. Different sources say that due to the evidence that much of earth’s current state has been influenced by human activity, we should start considering a new name for this epoch. Anthropocene (meaning the age of humans), a term created by atmospheric chemist Dr. Paul Cruzen in 2000, is starting to gain some popularity amongst the science community and amongst the general population (Stromberg). While it is not officially accepted as the term for our most recent epoch, it still generates a buzz and has become a very popular word to describe it! Though popular, some scientists suggest that this relabeling is not necessarily the best idea. Scientifically, epochs are distinguished by the presence or absence of a certain organism/fossil within sedimentary rocks (Kolbert). Multiple stratigraphers say that there just is not enough data available to support a new distinction, and so far in examining the rock layers, no boundary has been exactly found that calls for a separation of the Holocene and the “Anthropocene” (Stromberg).

After many scientific studies about a sixth mass extinction on Earth, people have begun to doubt about our existence on Earth after this immeasurable extinction. Things like the possible beginning of a new epoch called Anthropocene, the high amount of lost species due to extinctions, climate change, deforestation and contamination could be the main reasons of this gigantic event which could lead to our disappearance on Earth.

The new epoch was said to begin around the year 1950. It was said to be defined by the radioactive elements dispersed by nuclear bomb tests, as well as plastic pollution, soot from power stations, concrete, and even the bones left by the global proliferation of the domestic chicken. The current geological period is known as the Holocene, which is marked by the period of 12,000 years of stable climate, but in recent events, it is shown that temperatures are quickly rising, as well as the sea levels and the extinction rate of many species. It suggests that we are in a period where the ‘collective’ actions of humans has dominated the planets natural process, and due to this ‘reckless’ behavior, our planet could reach its demise. Although the actions

Multicellular organisms appeared like worms, sponges, and trilobites. It took so long for life to be on Earth because the harmful UV rays of the sun. All of the carbon dioxide created by the volcanoes created the ozone layer, which is one of the reasons there is life on Earth today. The first four legged vertebrates were the tetrapods, which still have some descendants around today, and the first reptile was the hylonomus. The Permian extinction is the largest mass extinction and killed 96% of life in the oceans and 76% of life on land. 190 million years ago Pangea broke apart. Fish are returning to the oceans and dead fish start to layer the seafloor; over time these dead fish are covered with rock and the pressure from this created fossils and oil. 65 million years ago dinosaurs were thriving and didn’t have any threats on earth, but that didn’t last long. An asteroid was headed towards the Gulf of Mexico at very quick speed. As it hits the Earth, it destroys everything in its path. The land it hit is completely destroyed. Mammals survived by living in underground and eating almost everything. Eventually Earth becomes a peaceful place and everything is calm. 40 thousand years ago an ice wall was forming and the temperature was dropping drastically. The ice created a land bridge between Asia and what would later be Alaska. 14 thousand years ago the ice starts to make its way back to the Arctics and this formed the Great Lakes. 6 thousand years ago all of the ice is in the Arctics and now humans are fully evolved and so is our

While volcanic eruptions, polar shifts, meteor impacts, and other natural events are the causes of the “Big Five,” recent evidence has revealed that a sixth mass extinction is presently transpiring, caused by quasi-natural causes: a hairless species in the Hominidae family known as Homo sapiens. Since the Industrial Revolution, a plethora of biota have met an untimely demise due to overfishing, increased carbon emissions, and decayed oceanic pH levels; while extinction rates soar above the background norm, scientists seek for a way to solve the deadly problem with technology, a go-to scapegoat for skeptics, in order to save not only the environment, but humanity as

The sixth extinction in our known history is happening and most of don’t care or have very little knowledge of what’s going on. We are ignoring that animals are disappearing and its changing our ecosystem. “Unlike past mass extinctions, caused by events like asteroid strikes, volcanic eruptions, and natural climate

Throughout the Earth’s 4.6 billion years of existence, there have been multiple events that mark geographical changes as well as biological changes. Each massive event, (such as a mass extinction) marks the beginning of an eon. An example of an eon is the Hadean eon and the Archean eon. Next are eras, which represents smaller events such as the Paleozoic era. Next are periods which are even smaller such as the Cambrian period. Finally the epochs are the smallest time classifications which subdivide a period such as the Oligocene epoch.

Last but not least, global warming has caused the polar ice caps to melt. The melting of the polar ice caps will cause the sea levels to rise all over the world. If the sea levels rise just a metre

The sea levels as a result of melting of glaciers have risen from 0.35 mm to 0.4 mm. Scientists have warned in their reports that most of the glaciers will disappear within a period of 15 to 25 years. ("Science News )It will create problems of drinking water and food grains in most of the North American countries. India is not unaffected from it. The Himalayan glaciers have shrunk about 30 per cent after 1970. The rise in sea levels is a major cause of concern. A large number of cities located in coastal areas will submerge in the sea. Besides, many island countries will ultimately “lose their existence and will be washed away from the surface of the earth. The damage of rising sea levels is diverse. Buildings and roads close to the water could be flooded and they could suffer damage from hurricanes and tropical storms. Experts believe that global warming could increase the intensity of hurricanes by over 50 per cent. In addition, as the sea rises, beach erosion takes place, particularly on steep banks. ("Hurricane Intensity.")

Therefore Continuation of global warming, deforestation, polluting, overfishing and other forms of endangerment to animals may lead to a mass extinction. However, unlike natural mass extinctions like volcanic