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Obviously, this is an overview article, and we cannot mention all events. What am I missing? Any other suggestions? — ] ] 03:20, 16 April 2006 (UTC) Obviously, this is an overview article, and we cannot mention all events. What am I missing? Any other suggestions? — ] ] 03:20, 16 April 2006 (UTC)


:I was going to make the same suggestion. I think one good way to include geology and clima
:I was going to make the same suggestion. I think one good way to include geology and climate would be to structure the article around the global ]s, especially the last three: ], ], and ]. Climate and geology are intertwined, and the supercontinents exhibit that connection to the extreme. In Earth's history, the formation and destruction of supercontinents (the ]) are probably some of the most significant and most salient events. Other important climatic and geologic events are related to the "big five" mass extinctions (], ], ], ], ]), which is another topic you could structure around. The P-T extinction is particularly intriguing; I would at least mention the ]. ] ] 04:38, 16 April 2006 (UTC)
:I should also mention , who has good information for a general overview and perspective. ] ] 04:46, 16 April 2006 (UTC)

::Thanks for the feedback. I'm not sure what you mean about re-structuring the article—those three supercontinents form only a part of Earth's history; all fall within the "Colonization of land" section unless I am misunderstanding something. I'm trying not to overemphasize any period of Earth's history; I know that I have followed the progression of life for the most part but the time from the assembly of Rodinia to the breakup of Pangaea only cover a fifth of Earth's lifetime. Still, I will try to include some more information about accompanying climate changes; it is a bit difficult for me since my grasp of those details is not as good. I did try to mention each of the extinction events, but I didn't realize that the causes for them were so well-established. I don't want to get into too much detail since that section is already quite long, but I will look to expand it. I definitely ''do'' want to include more information about climate changes; hopefully you can keep an eye on my progress and suggest any material I haven't already included. — ] ] 06:08, 17 April 2006 (UTC)

:::You're right: the restructuring would be only that one section. I think the supercontinents and/or mass extinctions form a logical chronology to work around; but restructuring might be more work than it's worth, and the switch from biology-focused to geology-focused for one section might seem strange, anyway. Finding references could also be a problem. If I have some time, maybe I'll write an alternative version of that section, and we can compare. ] ] 12:31, 17 April 2006 (UTC)

== Future history? ==

I was wondering if a final section on the future of the earth would appropriate, such as the end of the world as the sun expands. I have not seen any real discussion of it on Misplaced Pages, other than perhaps ]. --] 03:14, 17 April 2006 (UTC)

:It's a good idea, but I'm not sure how it would fit the flow of the article—it seems a bit out of place in a history article. I'm not even sure how much we could write without getting into too much speculation. Probably not more than a couple sentences: "''<u>Future</u>'': In five billion years, the Sun will likely expand into a ], destroying Earth or rendering it uninhabitable" or something like that. I think it's appropriate in the "See also", but I just don't think it fits here. See ]. What do others think? — ] ] 06:12, 17 April 2006 (UTC)

::I've seen standard narratives of this nature, talking about when the oceans boil off, when life ends, etc.. laying out the general stages of how the planet will come to an end. I don't think it should discuss the future of humanity or civilization, which are covered in other articles. -- ] 13:56, 17 April 2006 (UTC)

::This article is about Earth's history and should not include speculation on the future, especially since it's long already. I think ] would make an interesting article though. ] ] 15:53, 17 April 2006 (UTC)

== Mass Extinctions and Large Igneous Provinces ==

KS: To head off a request for a reference on the recently inserted link between the Permo-Triassic extinction and flood basalt volcanic activity in Siberia I will put one here if you need it (Grard et al, 2005). I'd be happy to forward any pdfs to you if you think you would find them useful…the intro to the Siberian Traps paper has some well referenced data that you might like. In addition, if links between LIPs/flood basalts and extinctions are mentioned for one mass extinction, they should be mentioned for others. This should include links between Deccan Traps (India) basaltic activity and the K-T extinction, reference below (Wingall, 2001). There may be others...I'm not knowledgeable enough to know which are "good" correlations and which are not.

:Grard, A., Francois, L.M., Dessert, C., Dupre, B., Godderis, Y. 2005. Basaltic volcanism and mass extinction at the Permo-Triassic boundary: Environmental impact and modeling of the global carbon cycle. Earth and Planetary Science Letters v.234 (1-2) 207-221. doi:10.1016/j.epsl.2005.02.027

:Wingall, P.B. 2001. Large igneous provinces and mass extinctions. Earth-Science Reviews v.53 (1-2) 1-33. doi:10.1016/S0012-8252(00)00037-4

] 04:10, 17 April 2006 (UTC)

:Rickert, that's very helpful; I'll use it when I incorporate Bcasterline's suggestions above. — ] ] 06:13, 17 April 2006 (UTC)

== Civilisation section ==

Couple issues there
* "''As intelligence increased and language became more complex''" - is there any evidence to suggest that human intelligence (whoever measured) has increased during the lifespan of ''Homo sapiens''?
* The article seems to suggest that sedentary lifestyles ''followed'' the beginnings of agriculutre - weren't the ] sedentary H-G? ] 12:50, 17 April 2006 (UTC)

:Thanks, Guettarda. I removed the offending statement—I think it's left over from a previous version of the paragraph which I subsequently rewrote. If you can think of anything to add to the statement, feel free. I'll poke a bit into the agriculture/nomadic relationship, but the ] article notes that they were unusual in founding permanent settlements prior to developing agriculture. Or am I misunderstanding? — ] ] 07:00, 13 May 2006 (UTC)

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  1. January 2006 – April 2006

Note: Now that I've finished writing the inital drafts, I'm trying to make this article extremely well-referenced. However, I am an amateur, and am not up-to-date on the latest research in the many fields this article spans. If you have additional references, or can improve on the ones I've selected, please make the appropriate changes or leave a note on this talk page. Thanks! — Knowledge Seeker দ 07:14, 3 April 2006 (UTC)

Specific reference requests

I've had relatively good success in finding appropriate references, but there are some that have me stymied. — Knowledge Seeker দ 07:18, 3 April 2006 (UTC)

Geology & climate

In response to my request for feedback on this article, I received a helpful reply. Guettarda suggested that there is perhaps an overemphasis on biology, especially once life evolves I tend to abandon geology and such. This reflects my bias as well as my knowledge state; and I've had more trouble finding information on the geologic events. As he points out, I would like to put more information on some major geologic events and climate changes, but I know little about these areas. Perhaps others can assist me with this or at least point out areas that should be included. Some that come to mind offhand are as follows:

  • Late Heavy Bombardment
  • Snowball Earth?
  • More about ice ages
  • More about continent movements such as Gondwana and Laurasia, more if I can find references
  • How climate changes might have contributed to major evolutionary events
  • Origin of some major mountain ranges, like the Himalayas

Obviously, this is an overview article, and we cannot mention all events. What am I missing? Any other suggestions? — Knowledge Seeker দ 03:20, 16 April 2006 (UTC)

I was going to make the same suggestion. I think one good way to include geology and clima
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