After the reign of the dinosaurs throughout the Mesozoic Era the age of mammals arrives with the Paleogen Period of the Cenozoic Era. The first grasses appear, along with placental mammals. Orogrny, mountain building, starts in Laramidia, the western half of North America, resulting in the formation of the Rocky Mountains. Volcanic eruptions lessen. India … Continue reading A Brief History of the Earth and its Climate – Part Four

The Permian Period ended with an increase in the Earth’s temperature following the end of the Karoo Ice Age and the forming of the single supercontinent of Pangea. The Triassic Period, the first of the three geological periods that make up the Mesozoic Era, begins with a period of recovery. There is no polar ice, … Continue reading A Brief History of the Earth and its Climate – Part Three

In my previous post I looked at the Earth’s history through the Hadean, the Archean, and the Proterozoic Eons, covering a length of time from 4.6 billion to 541 million years ago. We now move into the Phanerozoic Eon, which ranges from 541 million years ago to the present day. In particular, I will be … Continue reading A Brief History of the Earth and its Climate – Part Two

My understanding of climate change is that it is the consequence of a complex system of physical interactions influenced by everything that exists. The radiation from the sun, the movement of the planet on its axis, plate tectonics, volcanic activity, glacial activity, meteor impacts, changes in the level of the sea and its chemical composition, … Continue reading A Brief History of the Earth and its Climate – Part One