earth science

Miaolingian

Miaolingian is a earth science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Miaolingian rather than just read about it. In short: The Miaolingian or Mid-Late Cambrian is the third Series of the Cambrian Period, and was formally named in 2018. It lasted from about 506.5 to 497 million years ago and is divided in ascending order into 3 stages: the Wuliuan, Drumian, and Guzhangian.

Key takeaways

Miaolingian belongs to earth science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Miaolingian to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Miaolingian from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

The Miaolingian or Mid-Late Cambrian is the third Series of the Cambrian Period, and was formally named in 2018. It lasted from about 506.5 to 497 million years ago and is divided in ascending order into 3 stages: the Wuliuan, Drumian, and Guzhangian. The Miaolingian is preceded by the unnamed Cambrian Series 2 and succeeded by the Furongian series. It is named after the Miaoling Mountains in southeastern Guizhou Province, China.

Definition A number of proposals for fossils and type sections were made before it was formally ratified in 2018. The most promising fossil markers were seen to be the respective first appearances of either trilobite species Ovatoryctocara granulata or Oryctocephalus indicus, which both have an age close to 506.5 million years ago. After some deliberation, the FAD of Oryctocephalus indicus was chosen to be the lower boundary marker, and the GSSP was placed in the Kaili Formation, Wuliu-Zengjiayan, Guizhou, China. The Miaolingian-Furongian boundary has the same definition as the Paibian Stage. It is defined as the first appearance of Glyptagnostus reticulatus around 497 million years ago.

Subdivision The Miaolingian is subdivided into the following stages:

The Ordian stage, which is use in Australian chronostratigraphical scale, was originally supposed to be the lowest stage of the Miaolingian, but may belong to upper Series 2. As of 2024, the base of the Ordian is not defined yet.

Major events At the Cambrian Series 2–Miaolingian boundary, the first major trilobite extinction, known as the Olenellid Biomere boundary, occurred. In particular, trilobites of the families Ollenellidae and Redlichiidae have been extinct in Laurentia and South China, respectively. The first O. indicus appear after this global extinction, and in areas where O. indicus fossils are absent, the Series 2–Miaolingian boundary is determined by chemostratigraphic data.

Paleontology Benthic graptolites have reached a wide distribution in the Miaolingian. Encrusting colonies of the Rhabdopleuridae and erect growing branching colonies of the Dithecodendridae families evolved already at the beginning of the Miaolingian. The most common Wuliuan graptolite genus is Sphenoecium, whose robust colonies were found all over the world.

References

External links "Combined Image for Wuliuan Stage: GSSP of the Miaolingian Series and Wuliuan Stage in the Wului-Zengjiayan Section, Guizhou, China". Geologic Timescale Foundation. Archived from the original on 2022-05-26. Yuanlong Zhao; Jinliang Yuan; Loren E. Babcock; Qingjun Guo; Jin Peng; Leiming Yin; Xinglian Yang; Shanchi Peng; Chunjiang Wang; Robert R. Gaines; Jorge Esteve; Tongsu Tai; Ruidong Yang; Yue Wang; Haijing Sun; Yuning Yang (June 2019). "Global Standard Stratotype-Section and Point (GSSP) for the conterminous base of the Miaolingian Series and Wuliuan Stage (Cambrian) at Balang, Jianhe, Guizhou, China" (PDF). Episodes. 42 (2): 165–184. Bibcode:2019Episo..42..165Z. doi:10.18814/epiiugs/2019/019013. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2022-03-04. Retrieved 19 March 2024.

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Miaolingian

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Miaolingian claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In earth science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Miaolingian before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Miaolingian ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Miaolingian

In research: Miaolingian appears in earth science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Miaolingian in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Miaolingian is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Cambrian geochronology, Geological epochs, Miaolingian, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Miaolingian outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Miaolingian in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Miaolingian means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Miaolingian out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Miaolingian in simple terms?

Why does Miaolingian matter?

Because it connects several earth science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Miaolingian?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Miaolingian.