What is the Proterozoic eon?
Q: What is the Proterozoic eon?
A: The Proterozoic eon is a period before the first abundant complex life on Earth. It extended from 2500 million years ago to 541 million years ago and was part of the former Precambrian.
Q: What are the three geologic eras that make up the Proterozoic Eon?
A: The three geologic eras that make up the Proterozoic Eon are Palaeoproterozoic (2500 to 1600 million years ago), Mesoproterozoic (1600 to 1000 mya), and Neoproterozoic (1000 to 542 mya).
Q: What events occurred during this time period?
A: During this time period, several glaciations occurred, including Snowball Earth during the Cryogenian period in the late Neoproterozoic. There was rapid crustal segmentation into continents, formation of supercontinents Laurentia and Rodinia, early plate tectonics, oxygenation of atmosphere with Great Oxygenation Event, clean sand and carbonate deposits for first time, and first eukaryote fossil at 2.1 billion years. Additionally, there was an Ediacaran period characterized by evolution of abundant soft-bodied multicellular organisms as well as massive continental accretion, supercontinent cycles, and mountain building.
Q: When did the Proterozoic Eon occur?
A: The Proterozoic Eon occurred from 2500 million years ago to 541 million years ago.
Q: What does "Proterzoic" mean?
A: The name "Proterzoic" comes from Greek meaning "earlier life".
Q: How long did it take for oxygen levels in atmosphere to increase during this time period?
A: During this time period there was a Great Oxygenation Event which increased oxygen levels in atmosphere but it is not known how long it took for these levels to increase.
