earth science

Thanetian

Thanetian 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 Thanetian rather than just read about it. In short: The Thanetian is, in the ICS Geologic timescale, the latest age or uppermost stratigraphic stage of the Paleocene Epoch or Series. It spans the time between 59.24 and 56 Ma.

Key takeaways

Thanetian 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 Thanetian to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Thanetian from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

The Thanetian is, in the ICS Geologic timescale, the latest age or uppermost stratigraphic stage of the Paleocene Epoch or Series. It spans the time between 59.24 and 56 Ma. The Thanetian is preceded by the Selandian Age and followed by the Ypresian Age (part of the Eocene). The Thanetian is sometimes referred to as the Late Paleocene.

Stratigraphic definition The Thanetian was established by Swiss geologist Eugène Renevier in 1873. The Thanetian is named after the Thanet Formation, the oldest Cenozoic deposit of the London Basin, which was first identified in the area of Kent (southern England) known as the Isle of Thanet. The base of the Thanetian Stage is laid at the base of magnetic chronozone C26n. The references profile (Global Boundary Stratotype Section and Point) is in the Zumaia section (43° 18'N, 2° 16'W) at the beach of Itzurun, Pais Vasco, northern Spain. Fossils of the unicellular planktonic marine coccolithophore Areoligeria gippingensis make their first appearance at the base of the Thanetian, and help define its lowest stratigraphic boundary. The top of the Thanetian Stage (the base of the Ypresian) is defined at a strong negative anomaly in δ13C values at the global thermal maximum at the Paleocene-Eocene boundary. The Thanetian Stage is coeval the lower Neustrian European land mammal age (it spans the Mammal Paleogene zone 6 and part of zones 1 through 5.), the upper Tiffanian and Clarkforkian North American land mammal ages, the Riochican and part of the Itaboraian South American land mammal ages and the upper Nongshanian and Gashatan Asian land mammal ages. The Thanetian is contemporary with the middle Wangerripian regional stage of Australia and the upper Ynezian regional stage of California. It overlaps the obsolete regional stages Landenian and Heersian of Belgium.

Palaeontology The Sézanne flora is a fossil assemblage preserved in freshwater limestone deposits at Sézanne, laid down during the Thanetian Age, when Europe enjoyed a tropical climate. In the lagerstätte, leaves, entire flowers and seeds are minutely preserved. Also, the first representatives of Proboscidea appeared, Eritherium.

Climate This period was characterized by temperatures warmer than those of today. Global sea level fluctuations were governed by the 1.2 Myr obliquity modulation cycle.

See also Paleocene–Eocene Thermal Maximum

References

Literature

Dinarès-Turell, J.; Baceta, J. I.; Bernaola, G.; Orue-Etxebarria, X. & Pujalte, V.; 2007: Closing the Mid-Palaeocene gap: Toward a complete astronomically tuned Palaeocene Epoch and Selandian and Thanetian GSSPs at Zumaia (Basque Basin, W. Pyrenees), Earth and Planetary Science Letters 262: pp 450–467. Gradstein, F.M.; Ogg, J.G. & Smith, A.G.; 2004: A Geologic Time Scale 2004, Cambridge University Press. Renevier, E.; 1873: Tableau des terrains sédimentaires formés pendant les époques de la phase organique du globe terrestre, Bulletin de la Société Vaudoise des Sciences Naturelles (Lausanne) 12: pp 218–252.

External links GeoWhen Database - Thanetian Paleogene timescale, at the website of the subcommission for stratigraphic information of the ICS Stratigraphic chart of the Paleogene, at the website of Norges Network of offshore records of geology and stratigraphy

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Thanetian

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Thanetian 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 Thanetian 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 Thanetian 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 Thanetian

In research: Thanetian 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 Thanetian 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: Thanetian is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Geological ages, Paleocene geochronology, Thanetian, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Thanetian 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 Thanetian in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Thanetian 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 Thanetian out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Thanetian in simple terms?

The Thanetian is, in the ICS Geologic timescale, the latest age or uppermost stratigraphic stage of the Paleocene Epoch or Series. It spans the time between 59.24 and 56 Ma.

Why does Thanetian 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 Thanetian?

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 Thanetian.