History of Earth

The chronology of Earth’s formation and development, including changes in its geology, atmosphere, climate, and life over about 4.54 billion years.

Plate tectonics: The theory that Earth’s outer shell consists of moving plates whose interactions reshape its surface. Plate movement builds continents, opens oceans, and drives much of Earth’s geological history.
Geological time scale: A system dividing Earth’s history into named eons, eras, periods, epochs, and ages. Its divisions organize the sequence of geological and biological events.
Solar nebula: The rotating cloud of gas and dust from which the Sun and Solar System formed. Earth formed from material orbiting the young Sun within this cloud.
Paleoclimatology: The study of climates that existed before instrumental weather measurements. Past climate records reveal natural variability and the sensitivity of Earth’s climate system.
Great Oxidation Event: A major rise in atmospheric oxygen roughly 2.4 billion years ago, driven largely by photosynthetic microbes. Oxygen accumulation transformed the atmosphere and opened new possibilities for complex life.
Radiometric dating: A method of determining age from predictable changes in radioactive isotopes. Isotope decay provides numerical ages for rocks and key events in Earth’s chronology.
Stratigraphy: The study of rock layers and their relationships in time and space. Layer order and correlation establish the relative sequence of events.
Accretion (astrophysics): The growth of a celestial body as gravity gathers smaller bodies and particles. Repeated collisions and mergers assembled the early Earth.
Paleogeography: The reconstruction of Earth’s geography at past geological times. Ancient maps of land and sea help explain changing climates and ecosystems.
Cambrian explosion: A geological interval when many major animal groups first appear in the fossil record. Its rapid diversification marks a conspicuous change in the record of complex life.

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