This is a list of official and unofficial names for time spans in the geologic timescale and units of chronostratigraphy. Since many of the smallest subdivisions of the geologic timescale were in the past defined on regional lithostratigraphic units, there are many alternative names that overlap. The body concerned with standardizing the names of geochronologic units is the International Commission on Stratigraphy (ICS). In 2008 however, even though the Phanerozoic eon is almost completely divided into internationally recognizable units, local subdivisions are often still preferred over the international ones. An official list of start dates as recognized by the ICS is also available.
List
See also Astronomical chronology Age of the Earth Age of the universe Chronological dating, archaeological chronology Absolute dating Relative dating Phase (archaeology) Archaeological association Geochronology Chronostratigraphy Future of the Earth Geologic time scale Geological history of Earth Plate reconstruction Plate tectonics Thermochronology Timeline of natural history General Consilience, evidence from independent, unrelated sources can "converge" on strong conclusions
References
Literature Basset, M. G.; Cocks, L. R. M.; Holland, C. H.; Rickards, R. B.; and Warren, P. T.; 1975: The type Wenlock series, Report of the Institute of Geological Sciences, 75(13), pp. 1–19. Cocks, L. R. M.; Holland, C. H.; Rickards, R. B.; and Strachan, I.; 1971: A correlation of Silurian rocks in the British Isles, Journal of the Geological Society 127(2), pp. 103–136. Gradstein, F. M.; Ogg, J. G.; and Smith, A. G.; 2004: A Geologic Time Scale 2004, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, ISBN 0-521-78142-6. Hoffmann, K.-H.; Condon, D. J.; Bowring, S. A.; and Crowley, J. L.; 2004: U-Pb zircon date from the Neoproterozoic Ghaub Formation, Namibia: Constraints on Marinoan glaciation, Geology 32(9), pp. 817–820. Holland, C. H.; Lawson, J. D.; Walmsley, V. G.; and White D. E.; 1980: Ludlow stages, Lethaia 13, p. 268, ISSN 0024-1164. Menning, M.; Alekseev, A. S.; Chuvashov, B. I.; Davydov, V. I.; Devuyst, F.-X.; Forke, H. C.; Grunt, T. A.; Hance, L.; Heckel, P. H.; Izokh, N. G.; Jin, Y.-G.; Jones, P. J.; Kotlyar, G. V.; Kozur, H. W.; Nemyrovska, T. I.; Schneider, J. W.; Wang, X.-D.; Weddige, K., Weyer, D.; and Work, D. M.; 2005: Global time scale and regional stratigraphic reference scales of Central and West Europe, East Europe, Tethys, South China, and North America as used in the Devonian–Carboniferous–Permian Correlation Chart 2003 (DCP 2003), Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 240, pp. 318–372. Rio, D.; Sprovieri, R.; Castradori, D.; and Di Stefano, E.; 1998: The Gelasian Stage (Upper Pliocene): a new unit of the global standard chronostratigraphic scale, Episodes 21(2), pp. 82–87.
