Earth Science, Geologic Time & Fossils, CON-DIA
Planet Earth has billions of years of history, from the time when it was an inhospitable ball of hot magma to when its surface stabilized into a variety of diverse zones capable of supporting many life-forms. Many are the species that lived through the various geologic eras and left a trace of their existence in the fossils that we study today. But Earth is never done settling, as we can see from the earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanic eruptions, and other phenomena manifested in Earth’s crust, oceans, and atmosphere.
Earth Science, Geologic Time & Fossils Encyclopedia Articles By Title
continental drift
continental drift, large-scale horizontal movements of continents relative to one another and to the ocean basins......
Continental subarctic climate
Continental subarctic climate, major climate type of the Köppen classification dominated by the winter season,......
Continentality
Continentality, a measure of the difference between continental and marine climates characterized by the increased......
contrail
contrail, streamer of cloud sometimes observed behind an airplane flying in clear, cold, humid air. A contrail......
Conybeare, William Daniel
William Daniel Conybeare was an English geologist and paleontologist, known for his classic work on the stratigraphy......
Cope, Edward Drinker
Edward Drinker Cope was a paleontologist who discovered approximately a thousand species of extinct vertebrates......
Copernicus, Nicolaus
Nicolaus Copernicus Polish astronomer who proposed that the planets have the Sun as the fixed point to which their......
copper
copper (Cu), chemical element, a reddish, extremely ductile metal of Group 11 (Ib) of the periodic table that is......
coprolite
coprolite, the fossilized excrement of animals. The English geologist William Buckland coined the term in 1835......
Cordaitales
Cordaitales, an order of coniferophytes (phylum, sometimes division, Coniferophyta), fossil plants dominant during......
Cordaites
Cordaites, extinct genus of seed plants with leathery, strap-shaped leaves from the Pennsylvanian Subperiod (318......
cordierite
cordierite, blue silicate mineral that occurs as crystals or grains in igneous rocks. It typically occurs in thermally......
Cordilleran Geosyncline
Cordilleran Geosyncline, a linear trough in the Earth’s crust in which rocks of Late Precambrian to Mesozoic age......
Coryphodon
Coryphodon, genus of extinct primitive hoofed mammals known from Late Paleocene and Early Eocene deposits (those......
Cosmas
Cosmas was a merchant, traveler, theologian, and geographer whose treatise Topographia Christiana (c. 535–547;......
Could We Lose All the Soil on Earth?
Soil—a complicated medium, formed slowly by both biological and geological processes—exists as a thin barrier on......
covellite
covellite, a sulfide mineral that is a copper ore, cupric sulfide (CuS). It typically occurs as an alteration product......
Creodonta
Creodonta, order of extinct carnivorous mammals first found as fossils in North American deposits of the Paleocene......
Crepicephalus
Crepicephalus, genus of trilobites (extinct arthropods) useful as an index fossil for Upper Cambrian rocks in North......
crepuscular rays
crepuscular rays, shafts of light which are seen just after the sun has set and which extend over the western sky......
Cretaceous Period
Cretaceous Period, in geologic time, the last of the three periods of the Mesozoic Era. The Cretaceous began 145.0......
Cro-Magnon
Cro-Magnon, population of early Homo sapiens dating from the Upper Paleolithic Period (c. 40,000 to c. 10,000 years......
crocoite
crocoite, mineral consisting of lead chromate, PbCrO4, that is identical in composition to chrome yellow, the artificial......
Cronstedt, Axel Fredrik
Axel Fredrik Cronstedt was a Swedish mineralogist and chemist noted for his work on the chemistry of metallic elements......
crust–mantle model
crust–mantle model, postulation of conditions that would explain the phenomena observed about the crust, the mantle,......
Crutzen, Paul
Paul Crutzen was a Dutch chemist who received the 1995 Nobel Prize for Chemistry for demonstrating, in 1970, that......
cryolite
cryolite, colourless to white halide mineral, sodium aluminum fluoride (Na3AlF6). It occurs in a large deposit......
CryoSat
CryoSat, European Space Agency satellite designed to study the effect of climate change on ice in Earth’s polar......
cryoseism
cryoseism, the sudden fracturing of soil or rock caused by rapid freezing of water in saturated ground. Such seismic......
Cryosol
Cryosol, one of the 30 soil groups in the classification system of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).......
Cryptoblastus
Cryptoblastus, extinct genus of blastoids, a primitive group of echinoderms related to the modern sea lilies, found......
Cryptolithus
Cryptolithus, genus of trilobites (extinct arthropods) found as fossils in Europe and North America in the Ordovician......
Cryptostomata
Cryptostomata, order of bryozoans (small colonial animals) found as fossils in rocks of Ordovician to Permian age......
crystalline rock
crystalline rock, any rock composed entirely of crystallized minerals without glassy matter. Intrusive igneous......
crystallite
crystallite, any of a type of microscopic body occurring in such glassy igneous rocks as obsidian and pitchstone.......
crystallography
crystallography, branch of science that deals with discerning the arrangement and bonding of atoms in crystalline......
cubanite
cubanite, a copper and iron sulfide mineral (CuFe2S3) that characteristically occurs with chalcopyrite or pyrrhotite......
cummingtonite
cummingtonite, an amphibole mineral, an iron and magnesium silicate that occurs in metamorphic rocks. For chemical......
cuprite
cuprite, soft, heavy, red oxide mineral (Cu2O) that is an important ore of copper. A secondary mineral often formed......
Current and Historical Droughts Around the World
Drought is an extended period of rainless weather that causes a considerable water imbalance. This infographic......
Cushman, Joseph Augustine
Joseph Augustine Cushman was a U.S. paleontologist known for his work on paleoecology as shown by Foraminifera......
Cuvier, Georges
Georges Cuvier was a French zoologist and statesman, who established the sciences of comparative anatomy and paleontology.......
Cyathocrinites
Cyathocrinites, extinct genus of crinoids, or sea lilies, found as fossils in Silurian to Permian marine rocks......
Cycadeoidea
Cycadeoidea, a genus of extinct seed plants that was common worldwide during the Early Cretaceous Epoch (145 million......
Cycadeoidophyta
Cycadeoidophyta, an extinct division of plants with certain features in common with cycads (division Pinophyta)......
Cyclogenesis
Cyclogenesis, in meteorology, the process of extratropical cyclone development and intensification. Cyclogenesis......
Cyclolysis
Cyclolysis, in meteorology, the process by which a cyclone weakens and deteriorates. The decay of an extratropical......
Cyclone
Cyclone, any large system of winds that circulates about a centre of low atmospheric pressure in a counterclockwise......
cyclosilicate
cyclosilicate, compound with a structure in which silicate tetrahedrons (each of which consists of a central silicon......
Cyclostrophic wind
Cyclostrophic wind, wind circulation that results from a balance between the local atmospheric pressure gradient......
cyclothem
cyclothem, complex, repetitive stratigraphic succession of marine and nonmarine strata that are indicative of cyclic......
Cynognathus
Cynognathus, genus of extinct advanced therapsids (mammals and their relatives) found as fossils in Lower Triassic......
Cystiphyllum
Cystiphyllum, extinct genus of solitary corals found as fossils in Silurian and Devonian marine rocks (the Silurian......
cystoid
cystoid, any member of an extinct class (Cystoidea) of primitive echinoderms (animals with a hard, calcareous external......
D region
D region, lowest ionospheric region, at altitudes of about 70 to 90 km (40 to 55 miles). The D region differs from......
dacite
dacite, volcanic rock that may be considered a quartz-bearing variety of andesite. Dacite is primarily associated......
Dalgaranga Crater
Dalgaranga Crater, small meteorite crater near Dalgaranga, Western Australia. Known earlier but not attributed......
Dalrymple, Alexander
Alexander Dalrymple was a Scottish geographer, the first hydrographer of the British Admiralty and proponent of......
Dalton, John
John Dalton was an English meteorologist and chemist, a pioneer in the development of modern atomic theory. Dalton......
Daly, Reginald Aldworth
Reginald Aldworth Daly was a Canadian-American geologist who independently developed the theory of magmatic stoping,......
Dana, James D.
James D. Dana was an American geologist, mineralogist, and naturalist who, in explorations of the South Pacific,......
Daniell, John Frederic
John Frederic Daniell was a British chemist and meteorologist who invented the Daniell cell, which was a great......
Danjon, André-Louis
André-Louis Danjon was a French astronomer noted for his important developments in astronomical instruments and......
Dansgaard-Oeschger event
Dansgaard-Oeschger event, any of several dramatic but fleeting global climatic swings characterized by a period......
Daonella
Daonella, genus of extinct pelecypods (clams) useful as a guide, or index, fossil in Triassic rocks. The shell......
Darwin, Charles
Charles Darwin was an English naturalist whose scientific theory of evolution by natural selection became the foundation......
dating
dating, in geology, determining a chronology or calendar of events in the history of Earth, using to a large degree......
- Introduction
- Geochronology, Tectonic Rock, Cycle
- Sequence, Stratigraphy, Radiometric
- Correlation, Stratigraphy, Radiometric
- Geochronology, Geologic Column, Time Scale
- Isotopic, Geochronology, Principles
- Evaluation, Presentation, Schemes
- Isochron, Geochronology, Radiometric
- Model Ages, Geochronology, Radiometric
- Instruments, Procedures, Geochronology
- Isotopic, Geochronology, Methods
- Zircon, Uranium-Lead, Geochronology
- Rubidium-Strontium, Geochronology, Method
- Metamorphic Rocks, Geochronology, Age Estimation
- Rhenium-Osmium, Geochronology, Method
- Fission Track, Geochronology, Radioactive Decay
- Carbon-14, Cosmogenic, Geochronology
- Uranium Series, Disequilibrium, Geochronology
datolite
datolite, an uncommon mineral, calcium borosilicate, CaBSiO4(OH), that occurs as white or colourless veins and......
Daubenton, Louis-Jean-Marie
Louis-Jean-Marie Daubenton was a French naturalist who was a pioneer in the fields of comparative anatomy and paleontology.......
Daubrée, Gabriel-Auguste
Gabriel-Auguste Daubrée was a French geochemist and a pioneer in the application of experimental methods to the......
David, Sir T.W. Edgeworth
Sir T.W. Edgeworth David was a geologist noted for his monumental study of the geology of Australia. David served......
Davidson, Thomas
Thomas Davidson was a Scottish naturalist and paleontologist who became known as an authority on lamp shells, a......
Davis, William Morris
William Morris Davis was a U.S. geographer, geologist, and meteorologist who founded the science of geomorphology,......
Dawson, Sir John William
Sir John William Dawson was a Canadian geologist who made numerous contributions to paleobotany and extended the......
dawsonite
dawsonite, a carbonate mineral, NaAlCO3 (OH)2, that is probably formed by the decomposition of aluminous silicates.......
Day, Arthur L.
Arthur L. Day was a U.S. geophysicist known for his studies of the properties of rocks and minerals at very high......
De Geer, Gerhard, Friherre
Gerhard, Baron De Geer was a Swedish geologist, originator of the varve-counting method used in geochronology.......
deep-sea vent
deep-sea vent, hydrothermal (hot-water) vent formed on the ocean floor when seawater circulates through hot volcanic......
Deiphon
Deiphon, genus of trilobites (extinct arthropods) easily recognized in fossil form in Silurian rocks in North America......
delafossite
delafossite, metallic, black copper and iron oxide (CuFeO2) that is found as a secondary mineral associated with......
Deltatheridium
Deltatheridium, a genus of extinct mammals found as fossils in rocks from Upper Cretaceous times (about 100–65.5......
Deluc, Jean André
Jean André Deluc was a Swiss-born British geologist and meteorologist whose theoretical work was influential on......
dendrochronology
dendrochronology, the scientific discipline concerned with dating and interpreting past events, particularly paleoclimates......
Denisova Cave
Denisova Cave, site of paleoanthropological excavations in the Anui River valley roughly 60 miles (100 km) south......
Denisovan
Denisovan, member of a group of archaic humans who emerged about 370,000 years ago during the Pleistocene Epoch......
denticle
denticle, part of a conodont, a small toothlike fossil found in marine rocks representative of a long span of geologic......
descloizite
descloizite, vanadate mineral containing lead, copper, and zinc that usually forms brownish red to blackish brown......
desert varnish
desert varnish, thin, dark red to black mineral coating (generally iron and manganese oxides and silica) deposited......
Desmarest, Nicolas
Nicolas Desmarest was a French geologist whose discovery of the volcanic origin of basalt disproved the Neptunist......
devitrification
devitrification, process by which glassy substances change their structure into that of crystalline solids. Most......
Devonian Period
Devonian Period, in geologic time, an interval of the Paleozoic Era that follows the Silurian Period and precedes......
Dew
Dew, deposit of waterdrops formed at night by the condensation of water vapour from the air onto the surfaces of......
Dew point
Dew point, the temperature at which the atmosphere is saturated with water vapour, when it is cooled without changing......
diabase
diabase, fine- to medium-grained, dark gray to black intrusive igneous rock. It is extremely hard and tough and......
Diadectes
Diadectes, extinct genus of tetrapods closely related to the first amniotes (mammals, birds, reptiles, and their......
diagenesis
diagenesis, sum of all processes, chiefly chemical, by which changes in a sediment are brought about after its......
diamond
diamond, a mineral composed of pure carbon. It is the hardest naturally occurring substance known; it is also the......
diapir
diapir, (from Greek diapeirein, “to pierce”), geological structure consisting of mobile material that was forced......
Diarthrognathus
Diarthrognathus, genus of extinct, advanced mammal-like reptiles found as fossils in Early Jurassic terrestrial......
diaspore
diaspore, white or grayish, hard, glassy aluminum oxide mineral (HAlO2) that is associated with corundum in emery......