The Statherian Period ( /stəˈθɪəriən/; Ancient Greek: σταθερός, romanizedstatherós, meaning "stable, firm") is the final geologic period in the Paleoproterozoic era and lasted from 1800 Mya to 1600 Mya (million years ago). Instead of being based on stratigraphy, these dates are defined chronometrically.[2][3]

Statherian
1800 – 1600 Ma
Map of Earth during the Statherian, c. 1740 Ma[citation needed]
Chronology
Etymology
Name formalityFormal
Usage information
Celestial bodyEarth
Regional usageGlobal (ICS)
Time scale(s) usedICS Time Scale
Definition
Chronological unitPeriod
Stratigraphic unitSystem
Time span formalityFormal
Lower boundary definitionDefined chronometrically
Lower GSSA ratified1991[1]
Upper boundary definitionDefined chronometrically
Upper GSSA ratified1991[1]

The period was characterized on most continents by either new platforms or final cratonization of fold belts. Oxygen levels were 10% to 20% of current values.[4]

Rafatazmia, controversially[5] claimed to be present in Statherian beds in India, may be the oldest known confirmably eukaryotic fossil organism.[6]

By the beginning of the Statherian, the supercontinent Columbia had assembled.[7]

Approximately 1.7 billion years ago, natural nuclear fission reactors were generating power in what is now Oklo, Gabon.[8]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b Plumb, K. A. (June 1, 1991). "New Precambrian time scale". Episodes. 14 (2): 139–140. doi:10.18814/epiiugs/1991/v14i2/005.
  2. ^ "Statherian Period". GeoWhen Database. Archived from the original on May 12, 2006. Retrieved January 5, 2006.
  3. ^ James G. Ogg (2004). "Status on Divisions of the International Geologic Time Scale". Lethaia. 37 (2): 183–199. doi:10.1080/00241160410006492.
  4. ^ Holland, Heinrich D. (2006). "The oxygenation of the atmosphere and oceans" (PDF). Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society: Biological Sciences. 361 (1470): 903–915. doi:10.1098/rstb.2006.1838. PMC 1578726. PMID 16754606.
  5. ^ Kumar, S. (2009). "Controversy concerning 'Cambrian' fossils from the Vindhyan sediments: a re-assessment" (PDF). Journal of the Palaeontological Society of India. 54 (1): 115–117.
  6. ^ Bengtson, Stefan; Sallstedt, Therese; Belivanova, Veneta; Whitehouse, Martin (2017). "Three-dimensional preservation of cellular and subcellular structures suggests 1.6 billion-year-old crown-group red algae". PLOS Biology. 15 (3): e2000735. doi:10.1371/journal.pbio.2000735. PMC 5349422. PMID 28291791.
  7. ^ Zhao, Guochun; Cawood, Peter A; Wilde, Simon A; Sun, Min (November 2002). "Review of global 2.1–1.8 Ga orogens: implications for a pre-Rodinia supercontinent". Earth-Science Reviews. 59 (1–4): 125–162. Bibcode:2002ESRv...59..125Z. doi:10.1016/S0012-8252(02)00073-9.
  8. ^ Davis, E. D.; Gould, C. R.; Sharapov, E. I. (1 April 2014). "Oklo reactors and implications for nuclear science". International Journal of Modern Physics E. 23 (4): 1430007–1430236. arXiv:1404.4948. Bibcode:2014IJMPE..2330007D. doi:10.1142/S0218301314300070. S2CID 118394767.