Quaternary period of the Cenozoic era: animals, plants, climate. Periods of the geological history of the Earth

The eras of the development of the Earth lasted for a different number of years. They included various periods. The Cenozoic era is the latest geological epoch. Its duration is 65 million years. The Cenozoic era is divided into three periods: Anthropogenic, Neogene and Paleogene. Each of them, in turn, is divided into eras.

The Cenozoic era continues today.

The Paleogene period includes the Oligocene, Eocene, Paleocene, Neogene - Pliocene and Miocene, Anthropogenic - Holocene and Pleistocene.

How was life in the Cenozoic era

The first epoch was the Paleocene. The Cenozoic era began with him. At that time, the continents continued to move, and Gondwana (the great mainland) continued to split. Completely cut off from the world

On land, mammals, early primates began to develop, insectivores and rodents appeared. Large representatives of both herbivores and predators appeared. New species of sharks and other predatory fish began to develop in sea waters.

Flowering species began to spread among plants.

The Eocene epoch began fifty-five million years ago. The main continents began to be located approximately as they are today. South America has ceased to be associated with Antarctica, while India has moved to Asia. Australia and Antarctica also began to diverge.

Lemurs appeared on land, the bats, large herbivores (ancestors of cows, horses, elephants, pigs and others). Other animal species also evolved.

Increased numbers of freshwater returned to the water.

Palm trees have begun to grow temperate latitudes, the forests of many parts of the Earth were distinguished by lush vegetation.

The Oligocene epoch began thirty-eight million years ago. The Australian continent and Antarctica completely separated, and India crossed the equatorial line. The climate on the planet has become cooler. An extensive ice sheet formed over south pole. This led to the expansion of the land area and a decrease in water volume. In connection with the cold snap, the vegetation has also changed. Instead, the steppes spread out.

Herbivorous mammals began to actively develop in the steppe territories. New rabbits, rhinoceroses appeared, the first representatives of ruminants appeared.

The Neogene period began twenty-five million years ago. It includes two eras.

During the Miocene, almost all continents continued to move. As a result of the collision of Africa with Europe and Asia, the Alps were formed. After the connection of India and Asia, the Himalayas were formed. At the same time, the Andes and the Rocky Mountains arose. At the same time, the Australian and South American continents remained isolated from the world. Each continent developed its own unique vegetation and animal world. The spread of the ice sheet to Antarctica provoked an even greater cooling.

During the Miocene, animals migrated from one continent to another.

The Pliocene began five million years ago.

The continents were located almost in the same places as today. The cooling and spreading of the steppes continued.

Mammals and herbivores actively developed. Evolved horse. The birthplace of this animal is From there, horses spread throughout the planet.

By the end of the Pliocene, North and South America became connected to each other. On the formed "land bridge" the movement of animals from one continent to another began. Researchers suggest that at this time there was an extinction of many species due to the intensified struggle for survival.

The Anthropogenic period began two million years ago.

The first epoch - the Pleistocene - is characterized by the spread of the ice sheet. At this time, periods of warming and cooling alternated, and the sea level fluctuated. It should be noted that this situation still persists.

Many animal species have adapted to the climate. The first people appeared.

About ten millennia ago, the Holocene began - the second epoch of the Anthropogenic period.

The climate was reminiscent of the modern one, with alternating periods of cooling and warming. Development has begun

The Cenozoic era (“the era of new life”) began 66 million years ago and continues to this day.

This era is the period immediately following the Mesozoic era. There is an assumption that it originates between the Melio - and Paleogene.

Just at this time, the second mass extinction animals and plants in connection with an unknown catastrophic event (according to one version, a meteorite fall).

Periods of the Cenozoic Era

• Paleogene (ancient). Duration - 42 million years. Epochs - Paleocene (66 million - 56 million years ago), Eocene (56 million - 34 million years ago), Oligocene (34 million - 23 million years ago)
• Neogene (new). Duration - 21 million years. Epochs - Miocene (23 million - 5 million years ago), Pliocene (5 million - 2.6 million years ago)
• Quaternary (Anthropogenic). Lasts even now. Epochs - Pleistocene (2.6 million - 12 thousand years ago), Holocene (12 thousand years ago and until today).

Processes of the Cenozoic Era

• Alpine tectogenesis, also called neotectonic, begins
• The mountains of the Mediterranean Sea, ridges and islands along the Pacific coast are being formed
• Block movements took place in the areas formed in previous periods.
• The climate is changing, becoming more severe
• Deposits of many minerals are being formed - from gas and oil to gold and platinum.

Characteristics of the Cenozoic era

• At the very beginning of the Cenozoic era, there were two zones of geosynclinal folding - the Mediterranean and the Pacific, within which sedimentary layers were deposited.
• The Gondwana mainland is breaking up.
• The North American continent and the Eurasian one stand out.
• In the middle of the Paleogene, the Tethys Ocean extends into part of modern Europe, Siberia, Central Asia, the Arabian Peninsula and the African continent.
• In the late Paleogene, the sea leaves these platforms.

Life in the Cenozoic Era

After the mass extinction of various species, life on Earth has changed dramatically. The place of lizards is occupied by mammals. Warm-blooded mammals showed the best adaptability to Cenozoic conditions. Arises new form life is a reasonable person.

Plants of the Cenozoic Era

At high latitudes, angiosperms and conifers begin to predominate. The equatorial zone was covered with rain wet forests(palms, sandalwood, ficuses). In the depths of the continental zones, savannahs and rare forests were common. Plants of a tropical type grew in the middle latitudes - breadfruit trees, tree ferns, banana trees, sandalwood.

The Arctic was covered with broad-leaved and coniferous trees. In the Neogene, the flora of the modern Mediterranean Sea begins to develop. There were almost no evergreens in the north. There are taiga, tundra and forest-steppe zones. In place of the savannas, deserts or semi-deserts appear.

Animals of the Cenozoic Era

At the beginning of the Cenozoic era, dominated by:

• small mammals
• proboscis
• Pig-like
• Indicotheric
• Ancestors of horses

The savannas were inhabited by diatryma birds - predators that could not fly. Lions and hyenas spread in the Neogene. The main mammals are:

Chiroptera, rodents, monkeys, cetaceans, etc.

The largest are rhinos, saber-toothed tigers, dinotherium and mastodon. Placental mammals begin to dominate. Periodic periods of cooling and glaciation lead to the fact that many species disappear.

Aromorphoses of the Cenozoic era

• Enlargement of the brain in a human ancestor (epimorphosis);
• Formation of a new geological shell of the earth - the noosphere;
• Distribution of angiosperms;
• Active development of invertebrates. Insects have a tracheal system, a cover of chitin, a central nervous system, unconditioned reflexes develop;
• Evolution of the circulatory system in vertebrates.

Climate of the Cenozoic Era

The climatic conditions of the Paleocene and Eocene were quite mild. In the equatorial zone average temperature air is about 28 0 C. At the latitude of the North Sea - about 22-26 0 C. In the area of ​​\u200b\u200bthe modern northern islands, the vegetation corresponded to modern subtropics. Remains of the same type of flora have been found in Antarctica.

A sharp cooling set in during the Oligocene. In the region of the poles, the air temperature dropped to +5 0 C. Signs of glaciation began to appear. Later, the ice sheet of Antarctica appeared. In the Neogene, climatic conditions were warm and humid. A zoning appears, which resembles the modern one.

• In the Cenozoic era, primates and the first man appear;
• The most recent glaciation was 20,000 years ago, i.e. relatively recently. total area there were more than 23 million km 2 of glaciers, and the ice thickness was almost 1.5 km;
• Many species of fauna and flora at the beginning and middle of the Cenozoic era are the ancestors of modern ones. At the end of the period, the outlines of the oceans and continents become similar to modern ones.

Results

Continents take on a modern look. The animal and plant world familiar to modern understanding is being formed. Dinosaurs are completely gone. Mammals (placental) develop and angiosperms spread. Animals develop a central nervous system. Alpine folding begins to form and the main mineral deposits appear.

The Quaternary period began 2.6 million years ago and continues to the present. It is one of three periods (66 million years ago - to the present) and follows (23-2.6 million years ago). Anthropogene is divided into two epochs:

• Pleistocene epoch, or Pleistocene (2.6 million - 11.7 thousand years ago);
• Holocene epoch, or Holocene (11.7 thousand years ago - up to the present).

Geography

Major geographic changes that occurred during this time period included the formation of the Bosporus and Skagerrak straits during the ice ages, which respectively turned the Black and Baltic Seas into seas, and then their flooding (and the return of salt water) by rising sea levels; periodic flooding of the English Channel, the creation of a land bridge between Great Britain and the European part of the world; the periodic appearance of the land-based Isthmus of Beringia, forming a bridge between Asia and North America; and periodic flash flooding of the skablende of the American northwest with glacial water.

The current extent of the Hudson Bay, the Great Lakes, and other large lakes of North America is a consequence of the rebuilding of the Canadian Shield since the last ice age; during the Quaternary, the coastlines were constantly changing.

Climate

Throughout the Quaternary period, the planet revolved around the Sun. Small shifts caused ice ages. About 800,000 years ago, a cyclic pattern emerged: an ice age lasted about 100,000 years, followed by warmer interglacials of 10,000 to 15,000 years each. The last ice age ended about 10,000 years ago. Sea levels rose rapidly and the continents reached their current outlines.

When temperatures dropped, ice sheets spread out from the poles and covered much of North America and Europe, parts of Asia and South America and all of Antarctica. With so much water locked up in glaciers, sea levels are dropping.

Animal world

Birds

AT Quaternary birds continued to evolve throughout the world and inhabited a variety of habitats. However, many giant flightless birds have become extinct, including the dodo, or Mauritian dodo. Large flying birds have also disappeared, including the teratornis merriama, which had a wingspan of more than 3.5 m and a weight of about 15 kg.

Reptiles and amphibians

Extinct reptiles, lizards, and turtles were larger than extant ones, and crocodiles were smaller, while snakes did not tend to a certain body size.

body size played difficult role in the extinction of the late Quaternary reptiles. More large species lizards and turtles have been clearly affected by extinction mechanisms such as overexploitation and the introduction of invasive species, leading to a predominance of large-sized animals among extinct taxa.

marine fauna

From the very beginning of the Quaternary, whales and sharks dominated the seas, and were at the top, above the otters, seals, dugongs, fish, squid, hedgehogs and microscopic plankton that fill the lower trophic level.

Human

In fact, the Quaternary is often considered the "age of the people". Homo erectus ( Homo erectus) appeared in Africa at the beginning of this period and developed larger brains and higher intelligence. The first modern humans evolved in Africa about 190,000 years ago and dispersed to Europe and Asia, and then to Australia and America. Our species has greatly changed land and sea life, and now, according to scientists, humanity is causing global climate change.

Vegetable world

Despite the significant climatic differences between the Pleistocene and Holocene epochs, most of it has not changed. The Pleistocene epoch had two main climatic conditions: glacial and interglacial. During the Ice Age, most of the land was covered with ice, and the vegetation was mostly tundra, which included mosses, sedges, shrubs, lichens, and stunted grasses; however, during the interglacial period, or the time when most of the soil was not covered by ice, woodlands and coniferous forests existed. The occurrence occurred during the beginning of the Holocene. This habitat has allowed many animals and plants to thrive. During this period, coniferous and deciduous forests developed, as well as savannahs, where herbivores grazed and flourished.

“General biology. Grade 11". V.B. Zakharov and others (gdz

Question 1. Describe the evolution of life in the Cenozoic era.
In the Quaternary period of the Cenozoic era, cold-resistant grass and shrub vegetation appears, in large areas the forests are replaced by steppe, semi-desert and desert. Modern plant communities are being formed.
The development of the animal world in the Cenozoic era is characterized by further differentiation of insects, intensive speciation in birds, and extremely rapid progressive development of mammals.
Mammals are represented by three subclasses: monotremes (platypus and echidna), marsupials and placentals. Monotremes originated independently of other mammals back in the Jurassic period from animal-like reptiles. Marsupials and placental mammals originated from a common ancestor in the Cretaceous and coexisted until the onset of the Cenozoic era, when there was an "explosion" in the evolution of placental mammals, as a result of which placental mammals displaced marsupials from most continents.
The most primitive were insectivorous mammals from which the first carnivores and primates originated. Ancient carnivores gave rise to ungulates. By the end of the Neogene and Paleogene, all modern families of mammals are already found. One of the groups of monkeys - Australopithecus - gave rise to a branch leading to the genus man.

Question 2. What impact did extensive glaciation have on the development of plants and animals in the Cenozoic?
In the Quaternary period of the Cenozoic era (2-3 million years ago), glaciation of a significant part of the Earth began. Heat-loving vegetation recedes to the south or dies out, cold-resistant grass and shrub vegetation appears, in large areas forests are replaced by steppe, semi-desert and desert. Modern plant communities are being formed.
Mammoths, woolly rhinos, reindeer, arctic foxes, polar partridges were found in the North Caucasus and Crimea.

Question 3. How can you explain the similarities between the fauna and flora of Eurasia and North America?
The formation of large masses of ice during the glaciation of the Quaternary period caused a decrease in the level of the World Ocean. This decrease was 85-120 m compared to the current level. As a result, the continental shoals of North America and Northern Eurasia were exposed and land "bridges" appeared connecting the North American and Eurasian continents (in the place of the Bering Strait). On such "bridges" the migration of species occurred, which led to the formation of the modern fauna of the continents.

Paleogene

In the Paleogene, the climate was warm and humid, as a result of which tropical and subtropical plants became widespread. Representatives of the marsupial subclass were widespread here.

Neogene

see Hipparion fauna

By the beginning of the Neogene, the climate became dry and temperate, and by the end of it, a sharp cooling began.

These climate changes led to the reduction of forests, the emergence and wide distribution of herbaceous plants.

The class of insects developed intensively. Among them, highly organized species arose that contributed to the cross-pollination of flowering plants and fed on plant nectar.

The number of reptiles has decreased. Birds and mammals lived on land and in the air, fish lived in the water, as well as mammals that re-adapted to life in the water. During the Neogene period, many genera of currently known birds appeared.

At the end of the Neogene, marsupials gave way to placental mammals in the struggle for existence. The oldest placental mammals are representatives of the order of insectivores, from which other orders of placental animals, including primates, originated during the Neogene.

In the middle of the Neogene, apes developed.

Due to the reduction of forests, some of them were forced to live in open areas. Subsequently, primitive people descended from them. They were few in number and constantly fought with natural disasters, defended themselves against large predatory animals.

Quaternary (Anthropogenic)

great glaciation

great glaciation

In the Quaternary period, there was a repeated shift of the ice of the Arctic Ocean to the south and back, which was accompanied by cooling and the movement of many heat-loving plants to the south.

With the retreat of the ice, they moved to their former places.

29. Development of life in the Cenozoic era.

Such repeated migration (from Latin migratio - relocation) of plants led to the mixing of populations, the extinction of species that were not adapted to the changed conditions, and contributed to the emergence of other, adapted species.

human evolution

see Human evolution Material from the site http://wikiwhat.ru

By the beginning of the Quaternary period, the evolution of man is accelerating. The methods of manufacturing tools and their use are being significantly improved. People start to change environment learn to create favorable conditions for themselves.

The increase in the number and wide distribution of people began to influence the flora and fauna. Hunting by primitive people leads to a gradual reduction in the number of wild herbivores. The extermination of large herbivores has led to a sharp decrease in the number of cave lions, bears and other large predatory animals that feed on them.

Trees were cut down and many forests turned into pastures.

On this page, material on the topics:

• Cenozoic era brief description

• Cenozoic era third period climate

• Cambrian briefly

• Rjqyjpjq

• Neogene in a nutshell

Questions for this article:

• Name the periods of the Cenozoic era.

• What changes occurred in the plant and animal world in the Cenozoic era?

• In what period did the main orders of mammals appear?

• Name the period in which the great apes developed.

Material from the site http://WikiWhat.ru

CENOSIOIC ERATEM (ERA), Cenozoic (from the Greek kainos - new and zoe - life * a. Cainozoic, Cenozoic, Kainozoic era; n. Kanozoikum, kanonisches Arathem; f. erateme cenozoique; and. eratema cenozoiso), - the uppermost ( young) erathema (group) of the general stratigraphic scale of the layers of the earth's crust and the latest era of the geological history of the Earth corresponding to it.

It began 67 million years ago and continues to this day. The name was proposed by the English geologist J. Phillips in 1861. It is divided into the Paleogene, Neogene and Quaternary (Anthropogenic) systems (periods). The first two until 1960 were combined into a tertiary system (period).

general characteristics. By the beginning of the Cenozoic, there were the Pacific and Mediterranean geosynclinal belts, within which thick strata of geosynclinal sediments accumulated in the Paleogene and almost throughout the entire Neogene.

The modern distribution of continents and oceans is taking shape. The disintegration of the previously unified southern continental massif of Gondwana, which took place during the Mesozoic era, is coming to an end. By the beginning of the Cenozoic in the Northern Hemisphere of the Earth, two large platform continents stood out - Eurasian and North American, separated by the not yet fully formed northern depression Atlantic Ocean.

By the middle of the Cenozoic era, Eurasia and Africa formed the continental massif of the Old World, soldered by mountain structures of the Mediterranean geosynclinal belt. In the Paleogene, the site of the latter was occupied by the vast Tethys marine basin that had existed since the Mesozoic, stretching from Gibraltar to the Himalayas and Indonesia.

In the middle of the Paleogene, the sea penetrated from the Tethys and to neighboring platforms, flooding vast areas within modern Western Europe, the south of the European part of the CCCP, in Western Siberia, Central Asia, North Africa and Arabia. Starting from the Late Paleogene, these territories gradually freed themselves from the sea.

In the Mediterranean belt, as a result of Alpine tectogenesis, by the end of the Neogene, a system of young folded mountains was formed, including the Atlas, Andalusian Mountains, Pyrenees, Alps, Apennines, Dinaric Mountains, Stara Planina, Carpathians, Caucasus, Hindu Kush, Pamir, Himalayas, mountains of Asia Minor, Iran , Burma and Indonesia.

Tethys began to gradually break up into parts, the long evolution of which led to the formation of a system of depressions of the Mediterranean, Black and Caspian Seas. The Pacific geosynclinal belt in the Paleogene (as well as in the Neogene) consisted of several geosynclinal regions stretching for thousands of kilometers along the periphery of the Pacific Ocean floor.

The largest geosynclines: East Asian, New Guinea-New Zealand (encircles Australia from the east), Andean and California. The thickness of terrigenous (clays, sands, diatomites) and volcanogenic (andesite-basalts, rare-acid volcanic rocks and their tuffs) strata in them reaches 14 km. Denudation dominated in the area of ​​mesozoid development (Verkhoyansk-Chukotka and Cordillera folded regions), highly elevated in the Paleogene. Sediments accumulated only in graben-like depressions (coal-bearing strata of small thickness).

From the middle of the Miocene, the Verkhoyansk-Chukotka region experienced epiplatform orogeny with a range of movements (Verkhoyansky, Chersky and other ranges) of 3-4 km.

The area of ​​the Bering Sea dried up, connecting Asia and North America.

AT North America uplifts were sometimes accompanied by massive outpourings of lavas. The bloc movements captured here the outskirts of the adjacent ancient North American (Canadian) platform, creating a chain of blocky Rocky Mountains parallel to the Cordillera.

The development of life in the Cenozoic era and its current stage

In Eurasia, arched uplifts and block displacements along faults covered even larger areas of folded structures of various ages, causing the formation of mountainous relief in spaces that had previously been strongly leveled by long-term denudation (Tien Shan, Altai, Sayans, Yablonovy and Stanovoy Ranges, mountains of Central Asia and Tibet). , the Scandinavian Peninsula and the Urals).

Along with this, long-range fault systems are formed, accompanied by linearly elongated rifts, expressed in the relief in the form of deep valley-like depressions, in which large reservoirs are often located (the East African rift system, the Baikal rift system).

Within the folded epipaleozoic Atlantic folded geosynclinal belt, the depression of the Atlantic Ocean developed and took shape.

The Quaternary period is a typical theocratic era. The land area increased significantly by the end of the Neogene. By the beginning of the Quaternary period, two geosynclinal belts remained on the surface of the Earth - the Pacific and the Mediterranean. In the Early Quaternary, in connection with a major regression, Europe and North America united through Iceland, Asia - with Alaska, Europe - with Africa. The Aegean Sea, the Dardanelles, the Bosporus did not yet exist; in their place was land, connecting Europe with Asia Minor.

During the Quaternary period, the seas repeatedly changed their outlines. Anteclises and syneclises, which have existed since the Paleozoic, continue to develop on the platforms. Folded mountain structures still rise in the mountain belts (the Alps, the Balkans, the Carpathians, the Caucasus, the Pamirs, the Himalayas, the Western Cordillera, the Andes, and others), and the intermountain and foothill depressions are filled with molasses.

Volcanic eruptions are associated with young faults.

The climate of the Earth during the Paleogene was much warmer than today, but it was characterized by multiple fluctuations with a general trend towards relative cooling (from the Paleogene to the Quaternary period).

Even within the Arctic grew mixed forests, and in most of Europe, North Asia and North America, the vegetation had a tropical and subtropical appearance. Extensive uplifts of the continents in the 2nd half of the Cenozoic era caused the drainage of a significant part of the shelf of Northern Eurasia and North America. The contrasts between climatic zones increased, a general cooling set in, accompanied by powerful continental glaciations in Europe, Asia and North America.

In the Southern Hemisphere, the glaciers of the Andes and New Zealand have increased dramatically in size; Tasmania was also subjected to glaciation. Glaciation of Antarctica began at the end of the Paleogene, and in the Northern Hemisphere (Iceland) - from the end of the Neogene. The recurrence of Quaternary glacial and interglacial epochs caused rhythmic changes in all natural processes in the Northern Hemisphere, incl. and in sedimentation. The last ice sheet in North America and Europe disappeared 10-12 thousand years ago, see Fig.

Quaternary system (period). In the modern era, 94% of the volume of ice is concentrated in the southern hemisphere of the Earth. In the Quaternary period, under the influence of tectonic (endogenous) and exogenous processes, the modern relief of the Earth's surface and the bottom of the oceans was formed. In general, the Cenozoic era is characterized by repeated changes in the level of the World Ocean.

organic world. At the turn of the Mesozoic and Cenozoic, the groups of reptiles that dominated the Mesozoic die out and their place in the terrestrial animal world is occupied by mammals, which, together with birds, make up most of the terrestrial vertebrates of the Cenozoic era. On the continents, higher placental mammals predominate, and only in Australia does a peculiar fauna of marsupials and partly monotremes develop.

From the middle of the Paleogene, almost all existing orders appear. Part of the mammals for the second time passes to living in the aquatic environment (cetaceans, pinnipeds). From the beginning of the Cenozoic era, a detachment of primates appeared, the long evolution of which led to the appearance in the Neogene of higher anthropoid apes, and at the beginning of the Quaternary period, the first primitive people.

The invertebrate fauna of the Cenozoic era differs less sharply from that of the Mesozoic. Ammonites and belemnites are completely dying out, bivalves and gastropods, sea urchins, six-pointed corals etc. Nummulites (large foraminifera) develop rapidly, making up thick limestone strata in the Paleogene. In terrestrial vegetation, angiosperms (flowering plants) continued to dominate. Starting from the middle of the Paleogene, herbaceous formations such as savannahs and steppes appear, from the end of the Neogene - formations coniferous forests taiga type, and then forest-tundra and tundra.

Minerals. Approximately 25% of all known oil and gas reserves are confined to Cenozoic deposits, the deposits of which are concentrated mainly in marginal troughs and intermountain depressions framing alpine folded structures.

In the USSR, these include the deposits of the Pre-Carpathian oil and gas region, the North Caucasian-Mangyshlak oil and gas province, the South Caspian oil and gas province, and the Fergana oil and gas region. Significant oil and gas reserves are concentrated in oil and gas basins: Great Britain (North Sea oil and gas region), Iraq (Kirkuk field), Iran (Gechsaran, Marun, Ahvaz, etc.), USA (California oil and gas basins), Venezuela (Maracaib oil and gas basin), Egypt and Libya (Sahara-Libyan oil and gas basin), Southeast Asia.

About 15% of coal reserves (mainly brown) are associated with the deposits of the Cenozoic era. Significant reserves of brown coal of the Cenozoic era are concentrated in Europe (CCCP - Transcarpathia, Carpathians, Transnistria, Dnieper coal basin; East Germany, Germany, Romania, Bulgaria, Italy, Spain), in Asia (CCCP - South Urals, Caucasus, Lena coal basin, island Sakhalin, Kamchatka, etc.; Turkey - Anatolian lignite basin; Afghanistan, India, Nepal, countries of the Indochinese Peninsula, China, Korea, Japan, Indonesia), North America (Canada - Alberta and Saskatchewan basins; USA - Green River, Mississippi, Texas), in South America (Colombia - Antioquia basins, etc.; Bolivia, Argentina, Brazil - Alta Amazonas basins).

In Australia (Victoria), the coal-bearing Paleogene is characterized by a unique coal accumulation for the entire globe - the total thickness of adjacent seams is 100-165 m, and at their confluence 310-340 m (Latrobe Valley basin).

Sedimentary strata of the Cenozoic also contain large deposits of oolitic iron ores(Kerch iron ore basin), manganese ores (Chiatura deposit, Nikopol manganese ore basin), rock and potassium salts in the CCCP (Carpathian potassium basin), Italy (Sicily), France (Alsace), Romania, Iran, Israel, Jordan and other countries.

Large reserves of bauxites (Mediterranean bauxite-bearing province), phosphorites (Arabian-African phosphorite-bearing province), diatomites, and various non-metallic building materials are associated with the Cenozoic strata.

Cenozoic era

The Cenozoic era is the current era that began 66 million years ago, immediately after the Mesozoic era. Specifically, it originates at the border Cretaceous period and the Paleogene, when the second largest catastrophic extinction of species occurred on Earth. The Cenozoic era is significant for the development of mammals that replaced dinosaurs and other reptiles, which almost completely died out at the turn of these eras.

In the process of development of mammals, a genus of primates stood out, from which, according to Darwin's theory, humans later arose. "Cenozoic" is translated from Greek as "New Life".

Geography and climate of the Cenozoic period

During the Cenozoic era, the geographic outlines of the continents acquired the form that exists today.

The North American continent moved further and further away from the remaining Laurasian, and now the Eurasian part of the global northern continent, and the South American segment moved further and further away from the African segment of southern Gondwana. Australia and Antarctica retreated more and more to the south, while the Indian segment was more and more “squeezed out” to the north, until, finally, it joined the South Asian part of the future Eurasia, causing the rise of the Caucasian mainland, and also largely contributing to the rise from water and the rest of the current part of the European continent.

The climate of the Cenozoic era gradually became more severe.

The cooling was not absolutely sharp, but still not all groups of animal and plant species had time to get used to it. It was during the Cenozoic that the upper and southern ice caps were formed in the region of the poles, and the climatic map of the earth acquired the zonation that we have today.

It is a pronounced equatorial belt along the earth's equator, and further in order of distance to the poles - subequatorial, tropical, subtropical, temperate, and beyond the polar circles, respectively, the arctic and antarctic climatic zones.

Let's take a closer look at the periods of the Cenozoic era.

Paleogene

Throughout almost the entire Paleogene period of the Cenozoic era, the climate was warm and humid, although a constant trend towards cooling was traced throughout it.

The average temperature in the North Sea area was kept within 22-26°C. But by the end of the Paleogene, it began to get colder and sharper, and at the turn of the Neogene, the northern and southern ice caps were already formed. And if in the case of the northern sea these were separate areas of alternately forming and melting wandering ice, then in the case of Antarctica, a persistent ice sheet began to form here, which still exists today.

Medium annual temperature in the region of the current polar circles dropped to 5 ° C.

But until the first frosts hit the poles, renewed life both in the sea and ocean depths and on the continents flourished. Due to the extinction of dinosaurs, mammals completely populated all continental spaces.

During the first two Paleogene divisions, mammals diverged and evolved into many different forms.

Many different proboscis animals arose, indicothere (rhino), tapir and pig-like. Most of them were chained to some kind of water bodies, but many species of rodents also appeared, which also felt excellent in the depths of the continents. Some of them gave rise to the first ancestors of horses and other one and artiodactyls. The first predators (creodonts) began to appear. New species of birds arose, and vast areas of the savannas were inhabited by diatryms - a variety of flightless bird varieties.

Insects multiplied unusually.

In the seas, cephalopods and bivalve molluscs multiplied everywhere. Corals grew very strongly, new varieties of crustaceans appeared, but bony fish received the greatest flourishing.

The most widespread in the Paleogene were such plants of the Cenozoic era as tree-like ferns, various sandalwood, banana and breadfruit trees.

Closer to the equator, chestnut, laurel, oak, sequoia, araucaria, cypress, and myrtle trees grew. In the first period of the Cenozoic, dense vegetation was also widespread far beyond the polar circles. These were mostly mixed forests, but coniferous and deciduous broad-leaved plants prevailed here, the prosperity of which was absolutely no obstacle to the polar nights.

Neogene

On the initial stage In the Neogene, the climate was still relatively warm, but a slow trend towards cooling still persisted.

Ice piles northern seas began to melt more and more slowly, until the upper northern shield began to form.

The climate, due to cooling, began to acquire an increasingly pronounced continental color. It was during this period of the Cenozoic era that the continents became most similar to modern ones. South America merged with North America, and just at that time, climatic zoning acquired similar features to modern ones.

By the end of the Neogene in the Pliocene, the second wave of sharp cooling hit the globe.

Despite the fact that the Neogene was two times shorter than the Paleogene, it was he who was marked by explosive evolution among mammals. It was placental varieties that dominated everywhere.

The main mass of mammals was divided into anchitheria, the ancestors of horse-like and hipparion, also horse-like and three-toed, but gave rise to hyenas, lions and other modern predators.

All kinds of rodents were diverse at that time of the Cenozoic era, the first distinct ostrich-like ones began to appear.

Due to the cooling and the fact that the climate began to acquire an increasingly continental color, areas of ancient steppes, savannahs and light forests expanded, where the ancestors of modern bison, giraffe-like, deer-like, pigs and other mammals grazed in large numbers, which were constantly hunted by the ancient Cenozoic predators.

It was at the end of the Neogene that the first ancestors of humanoid primates began to appear in the forests.

Despite the winters of the polar latitudes, in equatorial belt the land was still teeming with tropical vegetation. Broad-leaved woody plants were the most diverse. Consisting of them, as a rule, evergreen forests interspersed and bordered on savannas and shrubs of other woodlands, subsequently it was they who gave diversity to the modern Mediterranean flora, namely olive, plane trees, walnuts, boxwood, southern pine and cedar.

The northern forests were also varied.

There were no evergreens here, but in the majority chestnut, sequoia and other coniferous-broad-leaved and deciduous trees grew and took root. Later, in connection with the second sharp cooling, vast areas of tundra and forest-steppes formed in the north.

Tundra filled all zones with the current temperate climate, and the places where until recently grew wildly rainforests turned into deserts and semi-deserts.

Anthropogene (Quaternary period)

In the Anthropogenic period, unexpected warmings alternated with equally sharp cold snaps.

The boundaries of the glacial zone of the Anthropogen sometimes reached 40° northern latitudes.

Cenozoic era (Cenozoic)

Under the northern ice cap were North America, Europe up to the Alps, the Scandinavian Peninsula, the Northern Urals, Eastern Siberia.

Also, in connection with glaciation and the melting of ice caps, there was either a decline or a re-advance of the sea to land. The periods between glaciations were accompanied by marine regression and a mild climate.

At the moment, one of these intervals is taking place, which should be replaced no later than in the next 1000 years by the next stage of icing.

It will last approximately 20 thousand years, until it is again replaced by another period of warming. Here it is worth noting that the alternation of intervals can occur much faster, or it can be completely disturbed due to human intervention in earthly natural processes.

It is likely that the Cenozoic era could be ended by a global ecological catastrophe similar to the one that caused the death of many species in the Permian and Cretaceous periods.

Animals of the Cenozoic era during the Anthropogenic period, together with vegetation, were pushed southward by alternately advancing ice from the north. The main role still belonged to mammals, which showed truly miracles of adaptability. With the onset of cold weather, massive woolly animals appeared, such as mammoths, megaloceros, rhinos, etc.

All kinds of bears, wolves, deer, lynxes also bred strongly. Due to alternating waves of cooling and warming, animals were forced to constantly migrate. extinct great amount species that did not have time to adapt to the onset of cooling.

Against the background of these processes of the Cenozoic era, humanoid primates also developed.

They increasingly improved their skills in the possession of all kinds of useful objects and tools. At some point, they began to use these tools for hunting purposes, that is, for the first time, tools of labor acquired the status of weapons.

And from now on various types Animals are in real danger of extinction. And many animals, such as mammoths, giant sloths, North American horses, which were considered by primitive people to be commercial, were completely destroyed.

In the zone of alternating glaciations, the tundra and taiga regions alternated with forest-steppe, and tropical and subtropical forests were strongly pushed to the south, but despite this, most plant species survived and adapted to modern conditions.

The dominant forests between periods of icing were broad-leaved and coniferous.

At the present moment of the Cenozoic era, man reigns everywhere on the planet. He randomly interferes in all sorts of earthly and natural processes. Per last century a huge amount of substances were released into the earth's atmosphere, contributing to the formation greenhouse effect and, consequently, faster warming.

It is worth noting that the more rapid melting of ice and the rise in the level of the world ocean contributes to the disruption of the general picture of the climatic development of the earth.

Due to upcoming changes, undercurrents may be disrupted, and, as a result, the general planetary intra-atmospheric heat exchange, which may lead to even more massive icing of the planet following the warming that has begun at the moment.

It is becoming more and more clear that how long the Cenozoic era will be, and how it will eventually end, will no longer depend on natural and other natural forces, namely from the depth and arrogance of human intervention in global natural processes.

To the table of the Phanerozoic eon

Cenozoic (Cenozoic era) - the latest era in the geological history of the Earth with a length of 65.5 million years, starting with the great extinction of species at the end of the Cretaceous period. The Cenozoic era is still going on.

Cenozoic era

Translated from Greek as "new life" (καινός = new + ζωή = life). The Cenozoic is divided into the Paleogene, Neogene and Quaternary period (anthropogen).

Historically, the Cenozoic was divided into periods - Tertiary (from Paleocene to Pliocene) and Quaternary (Pleistocene and Holocene), although most geologists no longer recognize such a division.

period 3: Paleogene, Neogene and Quaternary

Cenozoic (Cenozoic era) - the latest era in the geological history of the Earth with a length of 65.5 million years, starting with the great extinction of species at the end of the Cretaceous period.

The Cenozoic era is still going on. Translated from Greek as "new life" (καινός = new + ζωή = life). The Cenozoic is divided into the Paleogene, Neogene and Quaternary period (anthropogen). Historically, the Cenozoic was subdivided into periods - TERTIARY (FROM PALEOCENE TO PLIOCEN) and QUARTER (PLEISTOCENE AND HOLOCENE), although most geologists no longer recognize such a division.

http://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cenozoic_era

The Cenozoic era is subdivided into the Paleogene (67 - 25 million years), Neogene (25 - 1 million years).

The Cenozoic era is divided into three periods: Paleogene (lower tertiary), Neogene (higher tertiary), Anthropogen (quaternary)

Cenozoic era The last stage in the development of life on Earth is known as the Cenozoic era. It lasted about 65 million years.

years and is of fundamental importance from our point of view, since it was at this time that primates developed from insectivores, from which man descends. At the beginning of the Cenozoic, the processes of Alpine folding reach their climax; in subsequent epochs, the earth's surface gradually acquires its modern outlines.

Geologists divide the Cenozoic into two periods: Tertiary and Quaternary. Of these, the first is much longer than the second, but the second - Quaternary - has a series unique features; this is the time of the ice ages and the final formation of the modern face of the Earth. The development of life in the Cenozoic era reached its peak in the history of the Earth. This is especially true for marine, flying and terrestrial species.

From a geological point of view, it was during this period that our planet acquired its modern appearance. In this way, New Guinea and Australia are now independent, although previously annexed to Gondwana.

These two territories have shifted closer to Asia. Antarctica, as it has become in its place, and remains on it to this day. The territories of North and South America were connected, but nevertheless today they are divided into two separate continents.

Paleogene, Neogene and Quaternary

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About 2 million years ago, the most short period in the history of the Earth - the Quaternary, or Anthropogenic, period. Quaternary period geologists, in turn, are divided into Pleistocene and Holocene. The Holocene covers the last 10,000 years of the Earth's history, which is why it is often called modern time.

The Quaternary, or anthropogenic, period is characterized by a strong cooling of the climate, which left its mark both on the terrain and on biological forms, which distinguishes it from previous geological eras.

It was in the Anthropogene that the process of cooling, which began at the end of the Tertiary period, continued with increased intensity. As the temperature dropped, snowfields and glaciers formed on elevated places, which did not have time to melt in the summer. Under their own weight, they slid down the mountains into the valleys, and over time, vast areas of the northern and southern hemispheres were under ice. At certain moments, more than 45 million square kilometers of land were covered with ice. At this time in Europe, glaciation reached southern England, Holland, the Harz and the Carpathians, in Central Russia up to 44 degrees north latitude along the Don and Dnieper valleys. In North America, ice fields extended to 40 degrees north latitude, where the cities of St. Louis and Philadelphia are now located.

In the Quaternary period, glaciations alternated with interglacial periods, when the ice receded and a temperate climate temporarily reigned on the earth. Studies have shown that there have been at least six ice and interglacial periods in the last million years. But at the same time, the Quaternary period as a whole was colder than previous geological epochs. But it was the cooling that led to the formation of distinctly isolated regions on the planet. climatic zones passing through all continents: arctic, temperate and tropical. At the same time, the boundaries of individual climatic zones were mobile and depended on the movement to the south or retreat to the north of the glaciers.

In the intervals between glaciations, a humid and warm climate, close to modern, was established in most of Europe. During these interglacial epochs, vast areas in the north and east of the continent were overgrown with deciduous forests or turned into impassable swamps. Increased precipitation dramatically raised the water level in the rivers. Their erosive activity also increased as a result of isostatic mountain-building processes in the deep regions of the northern continents. Therefore, the Quaternary period is characterized by strong erosion of ancient deposits by rivers. During the ice ages, the processes of mechanical weathering prevailed. The valleys were filled with gravel and other large debris. During the interglacial periods, the vegetation cover was restored, protecting the soil from erosion and weathering. The high-water rivers again cleared the valleys covered with gravel and deepened them even more. The climate also changed a lot in the southern regions, remote from the glaciers. So, the Sahara in the interglacial periods was a country rich in moisture and vegetation. According to climate fluctuations, fauna and flora migrated either south or north. Many heat-loving plants of the end of the Tertiary period nevertheless died out in the Quaternary period.

In swamps, as well as along the banks of rivers and lakes, in old caves, we find a few objects related to various cultures of people of the Stone Age. Often bones of dead animals, grain, snail shells and other materials are found next to them. All these finds allow us to restore the picture of the world in which these people lived, and to imagine their way of life. The climatic upheavals of the Pleistocene had a depressing effect on the flora and fauna of the northern continents. As the glaciers advanced, the climatic barrier of life moved south (sometimes dropping to 40 N and below), so the vegetation also retreated to the south. These processes continued for tens of millions of years, and with each retreat of the ice, the forests returned to their original territories. True, in Europe and Western Asia, which were the scene of the most intense and frequent climatic changes, the return of vegetation was often blocked by mountain ranges or the Mediterranean Sea. As a result, many plants of the temperate zone of the Old World that appeared in the Tertiary period were condemned to extinction. Many European and Asian animal species, directly or indirectly dependent on certain types of vegetation, were forced to share the deplorable fate of plants: to emigrate to southern countries or die with them.

A warm air current from the Atlantic Ocean, turned southward by the ice front of Central Europe, caused heavy rainfall and high humidity in those areas where waterless deserts extend today; flora and fauna of the Mediterranean type flourished there.

Glaciation had a huge impact on the development of life, and it is with it that the rapid evolution of primates and the appearance of man on the arena coincide in time. Due to the important role played by human activity during this period, the entire Quaternary period was also called the Anthropogen - that is, the "age of man." Therefore, archaeological concepts are often used to divide the Anthropogen into parts: the European Pleistocene is usually called the Paleolithic (Old Stone Age), and the Holocene is divided into the Mesolithic (Middle Stone Age) and Neolithic (New Stone Age).

It is interesting to note that individual stages of human cultural development, such as the Paleolithic and others, did not develop simultaneously throughout the world. Australian aborigines still live today or lived until recently - in the ancient Stone Age, that is, in the Paleolithic. The rather highly developed peoples of Central and South America, in all likelihood, did not know how to work metals (and in any case did not know iron) and remained in the Neolithic until the 16th century, that is, until the beginning of Spanish colonization. Therefore, archaeologists cannot be guided by the age of geological layers when determining the cultural affiliation of traces of human activity - for this purpose, the age of the so-called "cultural layer" is determined.