Mastodons Were Big at the Time: Pliocene Epoch; First Notes

 The Pliocene is the epoch in geologic time-scale which extends from 5,333,000 BP  to 2,580,000 BP: That's about 5.30 Mya to  2.58 Mya.
                   

                    "Mya" stands for "millions of years ago." "BP" stands for "before the present." "Epoch" is a time in the geologic time-scale. The geologic time scale is a way of organizing the immensity of geologic time and correlating geologic events on a worldwide scale.

                    The Pliocene epoch follows the Miocene epoch. It is the second most recent epoch of the Neogene period in the Cenozoic Era. The Pliocene is the uppermost subdivision of the long Tertiary period which began 64 Mya; it represents the final stages of a global cooling, several degrees higher then at present. Don't let me confuse you. I am just beginning to learn about this geologic times scale. We have to begin somewhere.

                    Our knowledge of the Pliocene is helping some of us to better understand our present climate situation and to, perhaps, better predict the future effects of our present activity on our climate.

Life, Including Animals

                    Mastodons, elephant-like animals, underwent a great evolutionary diversification during the Pliocene, and many variant forms developed, adapting to varying ecological environments. Grasslands and savanna spread across most continents in this epoch.

                    During the Pliocene, ice accumulated at the poles, which may have led to the extinction of most species there. The polar icecification lead to the advance of glaciers and the ice ages of the Late Pliocene and the following Pleistocene.

                    This epoch was marked by a number of significant tectonic events which created the landscape we know today. One such event was the joining of the plates of North and South America. This joining was brought about by the shift of the Caribbean Plate, which moved slightly eastward and formed the land bridge. This effected the movement of flora and fauna between what are now North and South America. It lead to the migration of armadillo, ground sloth, opossum, and porcupine from South to North America and an invasion of dogs, cats, bears, and horses in the opposite direction.

A Reminder of Our Learning

                    The mid-Pliocene warm period has been studied a great deal and brought us to a better understanding of climate change, including our own and we are gaining in our ability to make some predictions of future climate change. So it seems that there may be a good chance of there being  future.

                    The significance of this is that the expected departure of future climates from those experienced in human history challenges our ability to adapt. and we are beginning to better understand our present situation and to consider our options for adapting. In considering my own options, I see fewer options for co-operation than I would like. 

                    Experts in the field are saying that the Pliocene and Eocene provide the best analogies for our near future climates. I wonder if we have any common intentions. We do not have geologic time to think it over.

                    Thank you for reading

                                                                                                        RCS