Evolution

Stratigraphy is a branch of geology concerned with the study of rock layers (strata) and layering
(stratification). The notion that layers of rock are an archive of past Earth conditions or, is
fundamental to the science of geology. Images of layer-upon-layer of hardened mud, silt, and sand
are often used to illustrate the basic, and quite intuitive, principle that layers of sedimentary rock
are successively younger upward.
Like a stack of newspapers that have accumulated on your front porch while you were on
vacation you’ll find the oldest one on the bottom.

When referring to the stratigraphic record, there is a lot of time “missing” or that there is “more
gap than record”. That is, in any given section of strata the proportion of time represented by
physical material (sediments or sedimentary rock) is very low. But, these so-called gaps, called
hiatuses, are part of the record. The duration of time recorded as surface can vary significantly –
from mere seconds to millions of years. Hiatuses recording many millions of years (known as
unconformities) are beloved by geologists and cited often to illustrate the depths of geologic time.
There is a lot of attention paid to these longer and typically more extensive hiatuses because of
their geologic significance.
The process of recording time in rock is the time it takes for the deposition of sediment to
occur (or to not occur). These processes are unsteady and non-uniform – that is, they vary in time
and space. In some cases, a hundred feet of sediment might be deposited in less than a year, and
in another case it might take 10 million years to deposit the same amount. The complexity of where
erosion, deposition, or non-deposition occurs is apparent just looking at the surface of the Earth
right now.
The geologic time scale is a chronologic schema (or idealized model) relating stratigraphy
to time that is used by geologists and other earth scientists to describe the timing and relationships
between events that have occurred during the history of the Earth. Evidence from radiometric
dating indicates that the Earth is about 4.570 billion years old. The geological time of Earth's past
has been organized into various units according to events which took place in each period.
Different spans of time on the time scale are usually delimited by major geological events, such as
mass extinctions. For example, the boundary between the Cretaceous period and the Paleogene
period is defined by the Cretaceous–Tertiary extinction event, which marked the demise of the
dinosaurs and of many marine species. Older periods which predate the reliable fossil record are
defined by absolute age. Each era on the scale is separated by a major changing event.
The largest defined unit of time is the supereon, composed of eons. Eons are divided into eras,
which are in turn divided into periods, epochs and ages. The terms eonothem, erathem, system,
 series, and stage are used to refer to the layers of rock that correspond to these periods of
geologic time.

Geochronology:
Geochronology is the science of determining the absolute ages of rocks, fossils, and sediments
found on Earth. This field of science relies on a variety of dating methods, including those that are
classified under the larger groupings of radiometric dating, luminescence dating, and incremental
dating. Various dating methods are used in geochronology. Each method has a certain degree of
uncertainty, but the reliability of the results can be enhanced by using several techniques.

1. Radiometric dating: By measuring the amount of Radioactive decay of a radioactive isotope

with a known half-life, geologists can establish the absolute age of the parent material. A number
of radioactive isotopes are used for this purpose, and depending on the rate of decay, are used for
dating different geological periods. With the exception of the radiocarbon method, most of these
techniques are actually based on measuring an increase in the abundance of a radiogenic isotope,
which is the decay-product of the radioactive parent isotope.
If the decay rate is equal to 𝜆, then in a short time- interval dt the probability that a given nucleus
will decay is 𝜆 dt; if at any time we have P parent nuclei the number that decay in the following
interval dt is P(𝜆 dt). The change dP in the number of P parent nuclei in a time interval dt due to
spontaneous decays is
"#
= −𝜆𝑃 (1)
"$

By integrating equation (1) w.r.t t we get.

𝑃 = 𝑃) 𝑒 +,$ (2)

While the number of parent nuclides diminishes, the number of daughter nuclides D increases.
Therefore, D is the difference between P and 𝑃) and so is given by

𝐷 = 𝑃. − 𝑃 = 𝑃) (1 − 𝑒 +,$ ) (3)

Using eq. (2) and (3) to eliminate 𝑃) we get:

𝐷 = 𝑃 ( 𝑒 ,$ − 1) (4) <-----IMPORTANT

The activity A at any given time is

"#
A= = −𝜆𝑃) 𝑒 +,$ = 𝐴) 𝑒 +,$ (5)
"$

where 𝐴) = −𝜆𝑃) is the initial activity

Hence Half-life period may be expressed as
67 5
𝑡4 = (6)
5 ,
Some commonly used radiometric dating techniques are given below.

(a) Radiocarbon dating: This technique measures the decay of carbon-14 in organic material for
example, plant macrofossils), and can be applied to samples younger than about 50,000 years
)
𝐶94: = 𝑁<4: + 𝑒+4 + 𝜗?
Half-life of C-14 is 5730 years. The remaining proportion P of 14C is measured by counting the
current rate of 𝛽-particle activity, which is proportional to P. This is compared to the original
equilibrium concentration P0. The time since the onset of decay is calculated by solving Eq. (2)
-1
using the decay rate for 14C (𝜆= 1.2x10 4 yr ).

(b) Uranium-lead dating: This technique measures the ratio of two lead isotopes (lead-206 and
lead-207) to the amount of uranium in a mineral or rock. Often applied to the trace mineral zircon
in igneous rocks, this method is one of the two most commonly used (along with argon-argon
dating) for geologic dating
Uranium-lead dating is applied to samples older than about 1 million years.
5CD 5)9 )
𝑈B5 = 𝑃𝑏D5 + 8 𝐻𝑒5: + 6 𝑒+4 + 51.7 𝑀𝑒𝑉/𝑎𝑡𝑜𝑚
5CR 5)< )
𝑈B5 = 𝑃𝑏D5 + 7 𝐻𝑒5: + 4 𝑒+4 + 46.4 𝑀𝑒𝑉/𝑎𝑡𝑜𝑚
The decay equations may be expressed as :
VWX
#TUV VW\
#TUV
V[U = (𝑒 ,V[U $ − 1) and V[] = (𝑒 ,V[] $ − 1)
YZV YZV

The 235U and 238U isotopes have well known decay constants: 𝜆5CR = 9.8485 x 10-10 yr -1, 𝜆5CR
= 1.55125 x 10-10 yr -1. A graph of the 206Pb/238U ratio against the 207Pb/235U ratio is a curve,
called the concordia line has a curved shape because the decay rates of the uranium isotopes, 𝜆5CR
and 𝜆5CR respectively, are different. This line corresponds to points that do not agree with the
concordia curve; it is called the discordia line.

(c) Uranium-thorium dating: While radiocarbon dating is limited to about <50 000 y and the 40K
40
Ar dating method is limited to volcanic material and also used to be limited to samples of more
than 100 000 y of age, the Uranium Thorium method is an alternative approach to extend the
radiocarbon dating range to 1 000 000 y in time. This technique is used to date speleothems, corals,
carbonates, and fossil bones.
5CD 5C: 5C: ) 5C)
𝑈B5 = 𝑇ℎB) + 𝐻𝑒5: = 𝑈B5 + 2 𝑒+4 = 𝑇ℎB) + 𝐻𝑒5:
overall equation becomes:
5CD 5)9 )
𝑈B5 = 𝑃𝑏D5 + 8 𝐻𝑒5: + 6 𝑒+4
Uranium-Thorium dating is an absolute dating technique which uses the properties of the radio-
active half-life of the two alpha emitters 238U and 230Th. The half-life of 238U is T1/2 = 4.47 x 109 y.
The half-life of 230Th is comparably short, only T1/2=75,380 y. When the amounts of uranium and
thorium are compared an accurate estimation of the age of an object can be obtained. This method
can only be applied to objects which initially had no 230Th content.

𝑇ℎ5C) +,V[W $
𝜆5C) 𝑈 5C:
= (1 − 𝑒 ) + ( − 1). (1 − 𝑒 ,V[W +,V[a )$
𝑈 5CD 𝜆5C) − 𝜆5C) 𝑈 5CD

(d) Potassium-argon dating: These techniques date metamorphic, igneous and volcanic rocks.
They are also used to date volcanic ash layers within or overlying paleoanthropological sites. The
younger limit of the argon-argon method is a few thousand years. The parent isotope,
potassium, is common in rocks and minerals, while the daughter isotope, argon, is an inert gas that
does not combine with other elements. The half-life of 1250 Ma (1.25 Ga) is very convenient. On
the one hand, the Earth’s age is equal to only a few half- lives, so radiogenic 40K is still present in
the oldest rocks; on the other hand, enough of the daughter isotope 40Ar accumulates in 104 yr or
so to give fine resolution. Radioactive 40K constitutes only 0.01167% of the K in rocks.
 :) :) )
𝐾4B = 𝐶𝑎5) + 𝑒+4 (89.1 %) (with 𝜆cd = 4.962 x 10-10 yr
-1
)

:) ) :)
𝐾4B + 𝑒+4 = 𝐴𝑟4D (10.9 %) (with 𝜆fg = 0.581 x 10-10 yr )
-1

The combined decay constant = 𝜆cd + 𝜆fg = 5.543 x 10-10 yr

-1

The ratio of electron capture to 𝛽--particle decay, 𝜆fg / 𝜆cd , is called the branching ratio; it
𝜆
equals 0.117. Thus, only the fraction 𝐴𝑟 𝜆 + 𝜆 or 10.5%, of the initial radioacative
𝐶𝑎 𝐴𝑟
potassium decays to argon. Using eq. (4) with 40Ar for the accumulated amount of the
daughter product D and 40K for the residual amount of the parent product P:
𝜆𝐴𝑟
𝐴𝑟 :) = 𝐾 :) ( 𝑒𝜆𝑡 − 1) = 0.1048 𝐾 :) ( 𝑒𝜆𝑡 − 1)
𝜆𝐶𝑎 + 𝜆𝐴𝑟

fg aW fg aW
𝑒 ,$ = 1 + 9.54 gives 𝑡 = 1.804 𝑥 10B 𝑙𝑛(1 + 9.54 )
k aW k aW

(e) Argon-argon dating: Some uncertainties related to post-formational heating of a rock are
overcome in a modification of the K–Ar method that uses the 40Ar/39Ar isotopic ratio. The
method requires conversion of the 39K in the rock to 39Ar. This is achieved by irradiating
the sample with fast neutrons in an atomic reactor
CB CB )
𝐾4B + 𝑛4) = 𝐴𝑟4B + 𝐻44 + 𝑒+4
The age equation is similar to the K–Ar method. However, 39Ar replaces 40K and an
fg aW
empirical constant J replaces the constant 9.54. The fg [Z age equation is

B
𝐴𝑟 :)
𝑡 = 1.804 𝑥 10 𝑙𝑛(1 + 𝐽 )
𝐴𝑟 CB

2. Luminescence dating: Luminescence dating techniques observe 'light' emitted from

materials such as quartz, diamond, feldspar, and calcite. Many types of luminescence techniques
are utilized in geology, including optically stimulated luminescence (OSL), cathodoluminescence
(CL), and thermoluminescence (TL). Thermoluminescence and optically stimulated
luminescence are used in archaeology to date "fired" objects such as pottery or cooking stones,
and can be used to observe sand migration.

3. Incremental dating: Incremental dating techniques allow the construction of year-by-year

annual chronologies, which can be fixed (that is, linked to the present day and thus calendar or
sidereal time) or floating.
a. Dendrochronology (tree ring dating): upto 9000 yr
b. Ice cores (annual layer in upper layer of ice): upto 3.2 km depth and 800,000 yr.
c. Lichenometry (fungus) : upto 4000 to 5000 yr (very useful for less than 500 yr)
d. Varves (annual sedimentary layer) : upto 14000 yr.
 sediments such as clay,slit,sand,gravel and other loose deposits

4. Cosmogenic nuclide geochronology: (1,000-

10,000,000 years) A series of related techniques for
determining the age at which a geomorphic surface was
created or at which formerly surficial materials were
buried. Exposure dating uses the concentration of
exotic nuclides (e.g. 10Be, 26Al, 36Cl) produced by
cosmic rays interacting with Earth materials as a proxy
for the age at which a surface, such as an alluvial fan,
was created. Burial dating uses the differential
radioactive decay of 2 cosmogenic elements as a proxy for the age at which a sediment was
screened by burial from further cosmic ray exposure.
enormous

6. Paleomagnetic dating (Magnetostratigraphy):

The Earth is like a gigantic magnet. It has a magnetic north and south pole and its magnetic field is
everywhere. Just as the magnetic needle in a compass will point toward magnetic north, small
magnetic minerals that occur naturally in rocks point toward magnetic north, approximately parallel
to the Earth's magnetic field. Because of this, magnetic minerals in rocks are excellent recorders of
the orientation, or polarity, of the Earth's magnetic field.
Through geologic time, the polarity of the Earth's magnetic field has switched,
causing reversals in polarity. The Earth's magnetic field is generated by electrical currents that are
produced by convection in the Earth's core. During magnetic reversals, there are probably changes
in convection in the Earth's core leading to changes in the magnetic field. The Earth's magnetic
field has reversed many times during its history. When the magnetic north pole is close to the
geographic north pole (as it is today), it is called normal polarity. Reversed polarity is when the
magnetic "north" is near the geographic south pole. Using radiometric dates and measurements of
the ancient magnetic polarity in volcanic and sedimentary rocks (termed paleomagnetism),
geologists have been able to determine precisely when magnetic reversals occurred in the past.
Combined observations of this type have led to the development of the geomagnetic polarity time
scale (GPTS). The GPTS is divided into periods of normal polarity and reversed polarity.
Geologists can measure the paleomagnetism of rocks at
a site to reveal its record of ancient magnetic reversals.
Every reversal looks the same in the rock record, so
other lines of evidence are needed to correlate the site
to the GPTS. Information such as index fossils or
radiometric dates can be used to correlate a
paleomagnetic reversal to a known reversal in the
GPTS. Once one reversal has been related to the GPTS,
the numerical age of the entire sequence can be
determined. it is then possible to reconstruct the motion
of the continents relative to the magnetic poles.
The apparent polar wander is the path that the
magnetic pole appears to take according to the data on a continent. Two methods of paleomagnetic
dating have been suggested
(1) Angular method and (2) Rotation method. First method is used for paleomagnetic dating of
rocks inside of the same continental block. Second method is used for the folded areas where
tectonic rotations are possible.

Magnetostratigraphy refers to the dating of a rock sequence by using the unique reversal pattern of
the Earth's magnetic field. It has become a standard tool in various fields of Earth sciences,
 especially because it can be applied to a wide variety of rock types (volcanic, sedimentary) and in
different kinds of environments (continental, lacustrine, marine). Crucial for Magnetostratigraphy
is that rocks faithfully record the ancient magnetic field at the time of their formation, an
assumption that must be confirmed by paleomagnetic and rock magnetic techniques. The
application--->
magnetostratigraphic dating tool has a wide range of tectonic applications including estimating
deformation phases through variations in accumulation rates. Magnetostratigraphic dating can also
be combined with detrital thermo chronology to determine the lag time between exhumation age
and depositional age. It is also the best tool for precise correlation of environmental records with
tectonics and/or global climate variations in order to decipher tectonic from climate forcing. These
applications are illustrated here by several case studies.
Magnetostratigraphy determines age from the pattern of magnetic polarity zones in a series of
bedded sedimentary and/or volcanic rocks by comparison to the magnetic polarity timescale.

7. Uniformitarianism: The term uniformitarianism was first used in 1832 by William

Whewell to present an alternative explanation for the origin of the Earth. the theory of
uniformitarianism suggested that the landscape developed over long periods of time through a
variety of slow geologic and geomorphic processes. Uniformitarianism, is the assumption that the
same natural laws and processes that operate in our present-day scientific observations have always
operated in the universe in the past and apply everywhere in the universe. He also suggested that
supernatural theories were not needed to explain the
geologic history of the Earth. The theory of
uniformitarianism was also important in shaping the
development of ideas in other disciplines. The theory of
evolution is based on the principle that the diversity
seen in the Earth's species can be explained by the
uniform modification of genetic traits over long periods
of time. Thus, uniformitarianism suggests that the
continuing uniformity of existing processes should be
used as the framework for understanding the
geomorphic and geologic history of the Earth. Today,
most theories of landscape evolution use the concept of
uniformitarianism to describe how the various landforms of the Earth came to be.

8. Catastrophism: Catastrophism was the theory that the Earth had largely been shaped
by sudden, short-lived, violent events, possibly worldwide in scope. According to this theory
sudden, violent and widespread events caused by supernatural forces formed most of the rocks
visible at the earth's surface. This theory contrasted with uniformitarianism (sometimes described as
gradualism), in which slow incremental changes, such as erosion, created all the Earth's geological
features. In terms of modern geoscience, strict catastrophism finds little evidence or support.
Catastrophism developed in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries when, by tradition and even
by law, scientists used the Bible and other religious documents as a scientific document.

9. Neptunism: Neptunism, a scientific theory of geology proposed by Abraham Gottlob

Werner (1749-1817) in the late 18th century, proposed rocks formed from the crystallization of
minerals in the early Earth's oceans. The theory took its name from Neptune, the ancient Roman
god of the sea.
Neptunism states that the Earth was once completely covered by an ocean. Then, as this ocean receded,
all of the rocks observable at Earth’s surface were precipitated out of the ocean in a definite order to
form the current landscape. The rock types were differentiated by the period of time in which they
precipitated out of the ocean.
According to Werner’s theory the ocean floor was an originally uneven surface on which the oldest
rocks precipitated during the primitive period. The primitive period was characterized by very
deep, calm water conditions. Werner attributed the formation of crystalline rocks, such as granite,
to these conditions. The next period of Werner’s geologic timescale was the floetz period. This
period was characterized as alternating between a shallow stormy ocean and a deep calm sea. This
alteration between depositional environments apparently represented rocks with inconsistent or
broken stratification. These rocks as well as volcanic and alluvial rocks are concurrent but are the
result of different forces. For example, floetz were precipitated out of a universal ocean while
basalts were believed to form by the burning of underground coal deposits.
Werner eventually realized that some of his primitive rocks contained fossils, so the transitional
period was created to account for this discrepancy. The transitional period marks the slow transition
from calm ocean conditions to stormy conditions that caused the extinction of fossils found in the
transitional period.
It must be noted that Werner never traveled much. His interpretations of the landscape only
pertained to the area where he taught. His assumption that the rocks he was observing must be the
same everywhere else was his fundamental error. Werner’s theory of Neptunism is a perfect
example that assumptions in science are toxic to a well-developed understanding of the world.
Geological Principle:
In the beginning of 16th centaury, with the renaissance of scientific investigations, geologist
began to investigate rock layers that were present on earth. Their early observations proved true
and described as Principles. The main principles as described as:

1. Law of superposition: Nicolaus Steno, a Danish geologist (1636-1686) observed the changes in the
sequence of rock layers in the mountains of Italy. The law of
superposition states that in a sequence of sedimentary
rock layers, each layer of the rock is older than the rock above
it and younger than rock layer below it. The law of
superposition also applied to other geological events on the
surface of earth such as lava flows and ash layers form
volcanic eruptions. This is important to stratigraphic
dating, which assumes that the law of superposition
holds true and that an object cannot be older than the
materials of which it is composed.
So the oldest rocks are found at the bottom while
youngest at the surface.

2. Law of Crosscut relationship: Described

by Scotsman James Hutton a Scottish geologist
(1726-1797), this law states that if a fault or
other body of the rock cut through another
body of the rock then it must be younger in age
than the rock through which it cuts and
displaces.
In the figure, the Dike is igneous rock cut
through four layers of previously deposited
sedimentary rocks. So Dike is youngest among
all.

3. Law of Inclusions: This law was also

described by James Hutton and stated that if a
rock body (Rock B) contains fragments of
another rock body (Rock A), it must be younger
than the fragments of rock it contains. The
intruding rock (Rock A) must have been there
first to provide the fragments.

4. Law of faunal succession: In 1790, William Smith observed that fossils of invertebrate animals
found in the sedimentary rock layers appeared in a well-defined predictable sequence. The principle of
faunal succession is derived from these observations. It that sedimentary rock strata contain
fossilized flora and fauna, and that these fossils succeed each other vertically in a specific,
reliable order that can be identified over wide horizontal distances.
 From the image it is clear that
remains of living things are
present in the rock layers at
definite intervals and exist within a
discrete period of time.

study of physical features of the surface of the earth and their relation to its
geological structures.

Geology and Geomorphology of Indian Subcontinent: Most of the geologists

believe that the Indian peninsula, the oldest of the three geological formations, was a part of the
global Gondwanaland (continent), which drifted northwards and striking with the Central Asiatic
plates raised up to form the high Himalayas out of the Tethys sea.

India is a land of physical diversities. Almost all types of picturesque and breath taking landforms
are found here. According to an estimate 29.3 % area of India is occupied by mountains and hills,
27.7 % by plateaus and remaining 43% by plains. The present physical form of the Indian
subcontinent is the result of a vast geological formation. India is mainly composed of three
geological units:

1. The Great Northern Mountains,

2. The Indo Gangetic plains and
3. The peninsular plateaus.

1. The Great Northern Mountains: They include mountains and plateaus of northern
Kashmir, the Himalayas and the hills of north-eastern India. They are further divided into
three groups
(I) The Himalayas: This is the highest mountain range of the world. It extends in the shape
of an arc for more than 2500 km from west to east along northern boundary of India
between the Indus gorge in Jammu and Kashmir in the west and Brahmaputra gorge in
 Arunachal Pradesh in the east. Its areal extent is 5 lakh square km. Three parallel ranges
can be identified in the Himalayas, (i) Himadri (ii) Himachal (iii) Sivalik.
(i) Himadri: This is the highest range of the Himalayas. The core of this range is made
up of granite rocks and flanked by metamorphic and sedimentary rocks. The extent of
this range is between the Nanga Parbat peak (8126 m.) in the west and Namcha Barva
peak (7756 m.) in the east. Over 100 peaks have a height of more than the average height
of the range. The highest peak of the world, Mount Everest, (8848 m) is situated in this
range. Kanchenjunga is the highest peak of Himalayas in India.
(ii)

Himachal (Lesser or Middle Himalaya): It is located southwards of Himadri. The breadth of

Himachal range is 60 to 80 km and the height varies from 1000 m to 4500 m. This range mainly
consists of metamorphosed rocks.
(iii) Siwalik (Outer Himalaya): The southernmost range of Himalayas is known as Siwalik. The
average height of the Siwalik range is very low, about 60 m only.

(II) The Trans-Himalayan ranges: Trans Himalaya is created due to the collision with the
Eurasian plate. This Zone is the Northern most area in the country. It is an extension of Tibetan
plateau around the Himalayas. The Main Himalayan Ranges are as follows:
(i) Pir Panjal Range , (ii) Dhaula Dhar Range,
(iii) Zaskar Range, (iv) Ladakh Range,
(v) East Korakoram Range (vi) Mahabharata range.

(III) Purvanchal: Purvachal is the name

given to all the hills of north east
India beyond Brahmaputra gorge.
Mishmi, Patkoi Bum, Naga,
Manipur, Mizo, Tripur etc. are the
hill ranges of Purvachal.
2. The Indo Gangetic plains: This plain extends from west to east, between Himalayas in the north and
Great Indian Plateau in the south. The plain extends from the arid and semi-arid areas of Rajasthan in the
west to Brahmputra valley in the east. The area of this plain is more than 7 lakh square km and is very
fertile. This plain is made up of the soils brought down and deposited by the rivers flowing from the
Himalayas in the North and the Great Indian plateau in the South.
The great Northern Plain can be divided into four parts:

(i) Western Plain: This region includes the Rajasthan desert and bangar region lying to the west
of Aravali ranges. The desert is partly rocky and partly sandy. In the ancient period, the
perennial streams - Saraswati and Drishadvati flowed through this region.

(ii) North Central Plain: This

plain extends over Punjab,
Haryana and Uttar Pradesh.
The part of this plain
extending into Punjab and
Haryana has been formed by
the alluvium brought by rivers
Satluj, Beas and Ravi whereas
that lying in Uttar Pradesh is
made up of the deposits laid
down by the rivers Ganga,
Yamuna, Ramganga, Gomati,
Ghagra and Gandak. This part of plain is highly fertile and has been the cradle of Indian
civilization and culture. breeding place

(iii) Eastern Plain: This part of the

great plains covers the middle and
the lower Ganga valley lying in
the states of Bihar and West
Bengal. This part of the plain is
indeed very fertile and more rainy.

(iv) Brahmputra Plain: The

northeastern part of the Great
Indian Plain extends into Assam.
This plain has been formed by
deposition of alluvium brought
down by river Brahmputra and its
tributaries.

3. The Peninsular Plateaus: The Peninsular (Great Indian) Plateau lies to the South of the Great
Northern Plains. This is the largest physiographic division covering an area of about 16 lakh square km, i.e.,
about half of the total area of the country. It is a tableland composed of the oldest rocks as it was formed
from the drifted part of Gondwanaland.
Broad and shallow valleys and rounded hills are its characteristic features. Chambal, Narmada, Tapi,
Mahanadi, Godavari, Krishna and Kaveri are the major rivers of the Great Plateau.

It can be divided into two major parts:

(i) The Central Highlands: It extends between river Narmada and Great Northern Plains. The Aravallis
form the west-northwestern edge of the Central Highlands.
(ii) The Peninsular Plateau (Deccan Plateau): This physiographic division is the largest region of the
Great Indian Plateau. The shape of this plateau is triangular. One of the sides of this triangle is marked by
the line joining Kanya Kumari with Rajmahal Hills and this line passes through the Eastern Ghats.

Role of Biosphere in Shaping the Environment

Biosphere: The biosphere, (from Greek bios = life, sphaira, sphere) is the layer of the planet
Earth where life exists. This layer ranges from heights of up to ten kilometres above sea level, to
depths of the ocean at more than 8 kilometres deep. These are the extremes; however, in general
the layer of the Earth containing life is thin: the upper atmosphere has little oxygen and very low
temperatures, while ocean depths greater than 1000 m are dark and cold.

The importance of the biosphere: The continued functioning of the biosphere is dependent
not only on the maintenance of the intimate interactions among the myriad species within local
communities but also on the interactions of all species and communities around the globe. The
Earth is blanketed with so many species and so many different kinds of biological communities
because populations have been able to adapt to almost any kind of environment on Earth through
natural selection. Life-forms have evolved that are able to survive in the ocean depths, the frigid
conditions of Antarctica, and the near-boiling temperatures of geysers. The great richness of
adaptations found among different populations and species of living organisms is the Earth’s
greatest resource. It is a richness that has evolved over millions of years and is irreplaceable.
The need to understand how the biosphere functions has never been greater. When human
population levels were low and technological abilities crude, societies’ impact on the biosphere
was relatively small. The increase in human population levels and the harvesting of more of the
Earth’s natural resources has altered this situation, especially in recent decades. Human activities
are causing major alterations to the patterns of energy flow and nutrient cycling through
ecosystems, and these activities are eliminating populations and species that have not even been
described but which might have been of central importance to the maintenance of ecosystems.
It is therefore startling to realize that our inventory of the Earth’s diversity is still so incomplete
that the total number of living species cannot be estimated more closely than between3 and 30
million species. Decades of continuous research must be carried out by systematists, ecologists,
and geneticists before the inventory of biodiversity provides a more accurate count. The research
has been slow. Only recently, as the extinction rate of species has been increasing rapidly, have
societies begun to realize the interdependence of species. To sustain life on Earth, more than the
few animal and plant species used by humans must be preserved. The flow of energy and the
cycling of nutrients through ecosystems, the regulation of populations, and the stability of
biological communities, all of which support the continued maintenance of life, rely on the
diversity of species, their adaptations to local physical conditions, and their co-evolved
relationships.

The flow of energy (Photosynthesis): Life on Earth depends on the harnessing of solar
energy by the process of photosynthesis. Photosynthetic plants convert solar energy into the
chemical energy of living tissue, and that stored chemical energy flows into herbivores, predators,
parasites, decomposers, and all other forms of life.

Environmental conditions: Most organisms are limited to either a terrestrial or an aquatic

environment. An organism’s ability to tolerate local conditions within its environment further
restricts its distribution. One parameter, such as temperature tolerance, may be important in
determining the limits of distribution, but often a combination of variables, such as temperature
tolerance and water requirements, is important. Extreme environmental variables can evoke
physiological and behavioral responses from organisms. The physiological response helps the
organism maintain a constant internal environment

Nutrient cycling: The cells of all organisms are made up primarily of six major elements that
occur in similar proportions in all life-forms. These elements—hydrogen, oxygen, carbon,
nitrogen, phosphorus, and sulfur—form the core protoplasm of organisms, and the first four of
these elements make up about 99 percent of the mass of most cells. Additional elements,
however, are also essential to the growth of organisms. Calcium and other elements help to form
cellular support structures such as shells, internal or external skeletons, and cell walls.
Chlorophyll molecules, which allow photosynthetic plants to convert solar energy into chemical
energy, are chains of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen compounds built around a magnesium ion.
Altogether, 16 elements are found in all organisms; another eight elements are found in some
organisms but not in others.
These bio elements combine with one another to form a wide variety of chemical
compounds. They occur in organisms in higher proportions than they do in the environment
because organisms capture them, concentrating and combining them in various ways in their
cells, and release them during metabolism and death. As a result, these essential nutrients
alternate between inorganic and organic states as they rotate through their respective
biogeochemical cycles. These cycles can include all or part of the following: the atmosphere,
which is made up largely of gases including water vapour; the lithosphere, which encompasses
the soil and the entire solid crust of the Earth; and the hydrosphere, which includes lakes, rivers,
and oceans. A portion of the elements are bound up in limestone and in the minerals of other
rocks and are unavailable to organisms. The slow processes of weathering and erosion eventually
release these elements to enter the cycle.
 Origin of Life on Earth
The origin of life is one of the great mysteries in the Universe. We know that life began at least
3.5 billion years ago, because that is the age of the oldest rocks with fossil evidence of life on
earth. These rocks are rare because subsequent geologic processes have reshaped the surface of
our planet, often destroying older rocks while making new ones. Nonetheless, 3.5 billion year
old rocks with fossils can be found in Africa and Australia. Stromatolites first appear in the
geologic record about 3.5 billion years ago, and already they contain fossilized cells. But what
kinds of cells were they? Were they photosynthesizing bacteria, like the ones that form
stromatolites today? Or did some other kind of organism form these early stromatolites?
Primitive Earth was very different than the way things are now. There were probably many oceans
and seas with many hot vents at the bottom of these waters and quite a bit of volcanic activity on
land. The atmosphere most likely contained water, methane, ammonia, and hydrogen, unlike our
current atmosphere, which is mostly nitrogen and oxygen. Earth's early atmosphere was very
reactive and, along with lightning and UV radiation, was able to reduce substances. reducing
substances is a phenomenon of adding electrons to molecules. Along with this highly reactive
atmosphere, the early oceans contained an organically rich solution. This solution containing many
essential elements and compounds is commonly referred to as a primordial soup. Based on this,
we generally consider that early life on Earth formed through a series of reactions that made simple
compounds gradually more complex. The first step is that small organic molecules - such as
amino acids that make proteins and nucleotides that make DNA - were made. While these organic
molecules are found in living things, they aren't actually living things themselves, but are really
just specific combinations of elements.
The second step is that these small organic molecules joined together to form larger molecules.
The small molecules are called monomers since they are made of just one unit. However, when
they join together, they create polymers that have many repeating units.
The third step of early life on Earth, the polymers that were formed from the monomers grouped
together to form protobionts. The name protobionts literally means 'early form of life,' but they
are basically small droplets with membranes that are able to maintain a stable internal environment.
They are similar to the cells with which we are familiar in that they can reproduce, metabolize,
and even respond to their environments.
The fourth step is that these simple protobionts evolved to pass on genetic information. Protobionts
are capable of replicating - that is, they can make new protobionts. However, cells, which are the
basic unit of life, are unique in that they can reproduce and pass on genetic information from one
generation to the next, metabolize matter and energy, and can evolve. These simple cells were
created from complex molecules that were created from simple molecules, then continued to
evolve into a wide variety of life forms.
Oparin-Haldane hypothesis:
In the 1920s, Russian scientist Aleksandr Oparin and English scientist J. B. S. Haldane both
separately proposed what's now called the Oparin-Haldane hypothesis: that life on Earth could
have arisen step-by-step from non-living matter through a process of “gradual chemical evolution.”
Oparin and Haldane thought that the early Earth had a reducing atmosphere, meaning an oxygen-
poor atmosphere in which molecules tend to donate electrons. Under these conditions, they
suggested that:
• Simple inorganic molecules could have reacted (with energy from lightning or the sun) to
form building blocks like amino acids and nucleotides, which could have accumulated in
the oceans, making a "primordial soup."
• The building blocks could have combined in further reactions, forming larger, more
complex molecules (polymers) like proteins and nucleic acids, perhaps in pools at the
water's edge.
• The polymers could have assembled into units or structures that were capable of sustaining
and replicating themselves.
• Oparin thought these might have been “colonies” of proteins clustered together to carry out
metabolism, while Haldane suggested that macromolecules became enclosed in membranes
to make cell-like structures
• The details of this model are probably not quite correct. For instance, geologists now think
the early atmosphere was not reducing, and it's unclear whether pools at the edge of the
ocean are a likely site for life's first appearance. But the basic idea – a stepwise,
spontaneous formation of simple, then more complex, then self-sustaining biological
molecules or assemblies – is still at the core of most origins-of-life hypotheses today.

Miller–Urey experiment:
[Link]
urey_experiment.html

Stanley L. Muller and Harold C. Urey (1952) conducted an experiment to explain the origin of life
on earth. They believed that the early earth’s atmosphere was capable of producing amino acids
from inorganic substances. The two biologists used water, methane, ammonia, and hydrogen which
they believed were present in the early earth’s atmosphere. The chemicals were sealed inside sterile
glass tubes and flasks connected together in a loop and circulated inside the apparatus.
One flask is half-filled with water and the other flask contains a pair of electrodes. The water
vapour was heated and the vapour released was added to the chemical mixture. The released gases
circulated around the apparatus imitating the earth’s atmosphere. The water in the flask represents
the water on the earth’s surface and the water vapour is just like the water evaporating from lakes,
and seas. The electrodes were used to spark the fire to imitate lightning and storm through water
vapour and geothermal heat.
The vapours were cooled and the water condensed. This condensed water trickles back in the first
water flask in a continuous cycle. After a week Miller and Urey analyzed the cooled water and
observed that 10-15% of the carbon was in the form of organic compounds. 2% of carbon had
formed 20 amino acids.

Criticism of the Miller Urey Experiment

The experiment failed to explain how proteins were responsible for the formation of amino acids. A
few scientists have contradicted that the gases used by Miller and Urey are not as abundant as
shown in the experiment. They were of the notion that the gases released by the volcanic eruptions
such as oxygen, nitrogen, and carbon dioxide make up the atmosphere. Therefore, the results are
not reliable.
Future of Evolution of Earth and Solar System: Death of Earth

It took 13.8 billion years of cosmic evolution to bring us here. Generations of stars had to live and
die to create the heavy elements; small proto-galaxies had to merge together to create the Milky
Way;; biological evolution -- and natural disasters -- underwent a very particular path, finally
culminating in the emergence of human beings just a few hundred thousand years ago. Over the
past 12,000 years or so, we developed agriculture, science, nations and all of modern civilization as
we know it today. After about 60,000 years, the Sun and stars will have moved enough that the
current constellations will be scrambled and vastly different from how we see them today. Another
100,000 years after that, we're probably looking at
the next ice age, thanks to factors that have nothing
to do with human influence. And before the next
million years is out, the Yellowstone Super volcano
will likely blow, changing the landscape of Earth
forever.

Starting in a little under four billion years, the

Andromeda Galaxy will merge with our own Milky
Way, causing a spectacular change to our galaxy’s
structure. Currently 2.5 million light years away
but moving towards us at 43 km/sec, our best
simulations indicate that the first collision and burst
of star formation (panel 4, above) will happen in
3.8 billion years, and that merger will be complete
(panel 8) after 5.5 billion years. Gravitation will cause the entire local group to eventually merge
with us, forming one giant elliptical galaxy: Milkdromeda, of which our Solar System will still be a
part. On larger cosmic scales, all the other galaxies will continue to accelerate away from us,
eventually -- after perhaps 100 billion years -- receding from our view entirely.

But our Solar System will remain intact through it

all, even though it won't look quite like it does
today. The Sun will continue to get hotter as it ages,
boiling our oceans in approximately 1-2 billion
years and ending life-on-Earth as we know it.
Eventually, about 5-7 billion years down the line,
we’ll run out of nuclear fuel in the Sun’s core,
which will cause our parent star to become a Red
Giant, swallowing Mercury and Venus in the
process. Due to the particulars of stellar evolution,
the Earth/Moon system will probably be pushed
outwards, and be spared the fiery fate of our inner
neighbors.

After burning through its remaining nuclear fuel — mostly the helium in its core — the Sun expels
its outer layers to form a planetary nebula, and the core of our star will contract to become a white
dwarf. This is the eventual fate of nearly all stars in our Universe. But the planets will still be here,
orbiting our cold, dim stellar remnant, and this process will complete around 9.5 billion years from
today. During all this time, however, the Earth continues to orbit the Sun while the Moon continues
to pull gravitationally on it. This causes the Moon to move farther away from the Earth while
simultaneously causing the Earth’s rotation to slow down. The Earth’s rotation slows (and hence
the day lengthens) by a mere 1.4 milliseconds per century.
After about 50 billion years pass, the Moon’s orbital period will be more like 47 days (as compared
to the present 27.3 days), and 47 of today’s days will make just one day on the 50-billion-year-in-
the-future Earth’s day. At this point, the Moon and Earth will be tidally locked, so that the Earth
and Moon always appear in the exact same position in one another’s skies.

Even the longest-lived stars will last for only around 100 trillion years (10^14 years), and after that
star formation will cease entirely. Eventually,
white dwarf stars will go black, as they cool and
radiate their energy away. This will take about a
million times the present age of the Universe. The
atoms will still be there, but they’ll be just a few
degrees above absolute zero. At this point, the
entire night sky will be truly dark and black, with
no
visible
light at
all, as all
the stars
in our local group will have burned out. In this chaotic
system, a typical star system may go a very, very long time
without colliding with anything else. After
approximately 10^21 years, the now-black dwarf at the
center of our Solar System will randomly collide with
another black dwarf, producing a Type Ia Supernova
explosion, and effectively destroying what’s left of our Solar System.

There's another competing process that is more efficient, and therefore more likely to happen to us:
gravitational ejection from the local group due to a process called violent relaxation! When there
are multiple bodies in a gravitationally chaotic orbit, sometimes one will get ejected, leaving the
rest even more tightly bound. This is what happens in globular clusters over time, and explains both
why they’re so compact and older stars which have merged together.

Gravitational ejection is about 100 times more likely than a random merger, meaning our star and
the remaining bound planets will probably be ejected into the abyss of now-empty space after
around 10^19 years. But even at that, with Earth orbiting our stellar remnant and with nothing else
around, things won't last forever. Every orbit will very, very slowly decay over time. It might take
an exceptionally long time, some 10^150 years, but eventually, the Earth (and all the planets, after
enough time) will have their orbits decay, and will spiral into the central mass of our Solar System.
That's our fate if we're ejected.
But if we remain in the giant galaxy that Milkdromeda evolves into, spiraling into our galaxy's
central black hole won't be our fate. It would take 10^200 years for that to happen, but black holes
can't live that long. According to General Relativity and quantum physics, black holes will lose
mass and evaporate over time via a process known as Hawking radiation after its discoverer:
Stephen Hawking. This radiative decay will take out even the most supermassive black holes in the
Universe after only some 10^100 years, and a solar-mass black hole in a meager 10^67 years.

After the black hole decays, only dark matter will remain, meaning Earth will spiral into black
dwarf that was once our Sun after all. The only thing that can avoid it is if a collision or close
gravitational interaction knocks Earth out of our Sun's orbit, freeing us to be released into the
depths of empty space. No matter how many times our world ends in fire, our ultimate fate is to
freeze in a cold, empty Universe.

Time line of major geological and biological events

Eons Era Period Life Forms

Proterozoic 570 - 2,500 MYA Soft-bodied
arthropods
Archean Pre- Cambrian 2,500 - 3,800 MYA
570 - 4800 Blue Green Algae:
Hadean Unicellular bacteria
Million year ago 3,800 - 4,800 MYA
(MYA) Oceans and Continents
form – Ocean and
Atmosphere are rich
in Carbon dioxide
Origin of 5000 MYA Origin of the sun
Stars
5000 – 13700 MYA
Supernova 12000 MYA Origin of the universe
Big Bang
13700 MYA

1. Paleozoic Era
Period MYA* Life Forms
Cambrian 600-500 Algae and simple invertebrates, like jellyfish & worms.
Arthropods, brachiopods, & trilobites.
Ordovician 500-440 Graptolites, orthocerous, & primitive fish. The first
vertebrates begin to appear.
Silurian 440-395 The first true plants appear. Crinoids & eurypterids are
abundant. The first air breathers.
Devonian 395-345 Fish evolve into more complex animals. Sharks and
amphibians multiply.
Carboniferous 345-280 Plentiful ferns. Reptiles evolve. Spiders, cockroaches, &
scorpions appear. Life on dry land.
Permian 280-225 Reptiles become abundant. Pine-like trees develop.
Trilobites become extinct.

2. Mesozoic Era
Period MYA Life Forms
Triassic 225-190 The beginning of the dinosaurs. Plant eaters, meat eaters,
flying reptiles, and crocodiles.
Jurassic 190-136 Giant dinosaurs develop. Abundant plant life & shellfish,
like ammonites, lobsters, and shrimp.
Cretaceous 136-65 The peak of development. Downfall of the great dinosaurs,
like triceratops, t-rex, & pterodactyls. Deciduous trees
develop.

3. Cenozoic Era
Period MYA Life Forms
Tertiary 65-2 Mammals develop, such as camels, bears, cats, monkeys,
rodents, and dogs. Grasses & fruit like todays appear.
Quaternary 2-Present More mammals develop, like the saber-toothed tiger and
mastodon. Modern man appears.
 Geologic Time Scale

MILLIONS
EON ERA PERIOD EPOCH OF YRS MAJOR BIOLOGICAL EVENTS
AGO

Rise of civilization and agriculture. Extinction of large mammals in

Holocene .01
northern hemisphere.
Quaternary
Modern humans appear. Four major glaciations cause rapid shifts in
Pleistocene 1.8
ecological communities.

C Extensive radiation of flowering plants and mammals. First

E Pliocene 5
hominids appear.
N Neogene
O
Z Miocene 23 Coevolution of insects and flowering plants. Dogs and bears appear.
O
I
C Worldwide tropical rainforests. Pigs, cats, and rhinos appear.
Tertiary Oligocene 38
Dominence of snails and bivalves in the oceans.

Paleogene Early mammals abundant. Rodents, primitive whales and grasses

Eocene 54
appear.

Paleocene 65 Early placental mammals appear; first primates; modern birds.

Marsupials, ants, bees, butterflies, flowering plants appear. Mass

M Cretaceous 146
P extinction of most large animals and many plants.
H E
A S
N O Dinosaurs and gymnosperms dominate the land; feathered dinosaurs
Z Jurassic 208
E and birds appear. Radiation of marine reptiles.
R O
O I
Z C Origin of mammals, dinosaurs and true flies. Less diverse marine
Triassic 245
O fauna.
I
C
Gymnosperms, amphibians dominant. Beetles, stoneflies appear.
Permian 286 Major extinction of 95% of marine species and 50% of all animal
families.

First reptiles, cockroaches and mayflies appear. Extensive coal

Pennsylvanian 325
swamp forests. Sponge reefs.
Carboniferous
P Echinoderms, bryozoans dominant in oceans. Early winged insects.
A Missippian 360
First coal swamp forests.
L
E
O First amphibians. Extensive radiation of fish, land plants. Many
Z Devonian 410
corals, brachiopods and echinoderms.
O
I
C First spiders, scorpions, centipedes, early insects, vascular plants,
Silurian 440
jawed fish and large reefs appear.

First land plants, primitive fungi, sea weed appear. Diverse marine
Ordovician 505
life: corals, molluscs, bivalves, echinoderms, etc.

Rise of all major animal groups. Metazoan life abundant; trilobites

Cambrian 543
dominant. First fish. No known terrestrial life.

Origin of multicelled organisms. First sponges, colonial algae and

PROTEROZOIC EON 570
soft-bodied invertebrates.

Oxygen levels rise as a result of photosynthetic organisms.

ARCHEAN EON 2,500
First eukaryotes (single-celled algae): 1.4 billion years old.
 Earliest life, anaerobic prokaryotes (bacteria, archaeans) originate
3.5 billion years ago.

3,800-
HADEAN EON No life known. Cooling and solidifying of Earth's crust.
4,600