Science & Technology

New geological era named the Meghalayan Age

By T.K. Randall
July 18, 2018

Image Credit: (PD) NASA via Wikimedia Commons The Meghalayan Age, which covers more than four millennia, began with a period of catastrophic drought which crippled several civilizations for the better part of two centuries.

It is thought that shifts in ocean and atmospheric circulation were to blame.

Each distinctive period of Earth's history stretching back 4.6 billion years has its own name. Most of these 'epochs' are also subdivided in to several smaller 'ages', of which the Meghalayan is one.Most of these subdivisions of our planet's past mark certain geological events and other disasters - such as asteroid strikes - which brought about significant change to life on Earth.

Our civilization exists within what is known as the Holocene Epoch which began 11,700 years ago.

Within the Holocene, the Meghalayan was preceded by the Northgrippian and Greenlandian ages.

The latest version of the International Chronostratigraphic Chart/Geologic Time Scale is now available! New #Holocene subdivisions: #Greenlandian (11,700 yr b2k)#Northgrippian (8326 yr b2k)#Meghalayan (4200 yr before 1950) https://t.co/IhvZHfHnWh#ChronostratigraphicChart208 pic.twitter.com/8Pf9Dnct7h

— IUGS (@theIUGS) July 13, 2018

Source: BBC News

Tags: Meghalayan