Which eon do we live in

Not only did this drought alter human civilization, it even left an imprint in the rock record. The drought can be seen in stalagmites in India, where the lower monsoon levels are represented by changes in oxygen isotopes.

The global nature of the drought, the permanent record visible in rock layers, and the lasting effects to life on Earth mean that this moment in history is enough to qualify as the beginning of a new age. The Meghalayan isn't the only new age identified by the International Commission on Stratigraphy. They also named the Greenlandian as the first age of the Holocene, ranging from 11, years ago to 8, years ago. This age ended when the planet abruptly cooled from melting glacial water flowing into the North Atlantic.

These new divisions of geologic time will likely bring some order and clarity to an era defined by monumental change, but not all scientists agree that the new ages are the best way to reclassify recent history. We have lots of new definitions that perhaps now contradict the Anthropocene Working Group and go against what most scientists perceive to be the most important change on Earth in the last 10, years.

But it may be possible for both the Anthropocene and the Meghalayan to exist at the same time. And regardless, the Anthropocene is tough to define precisely—plenty of very smart people are struggling with the definition.

It's hard to say how this geologic debate will play out. When did modern humans first appear? Are we in a new epoch? What causes a new epoch? What era do we live in ? Which era is the oldest? What is the next era called? How long is a era? What is our era called in England? What are the 4 periods of history? What age came after the Stone Age? The other two ages are the Greenlandian 11, years to 8, years ago and the Northgrippian 8, years to 4, years ago , the IUGS said. Geologists have systematically divided up, and named, all of Earth's roughly 4.

From the longest to shortest, these lengths of time are known as eons, eras, periods and ages. Currently, we're in the Phanerozoic eon, Cenozoic era , Quaternary period , Holocene epoch and as mentioned the Meghalayan age. The IUGS shared an image of the newly named ages in a tweet. However, the group later issued a correction about the Meghalayan's length. That age goes to the present, not to as the IUGS mistakenly tweeted. You can see a larger version of the newly updated chart also called the International Chronostratigraphic Chart here.

To determine the beginning time for each age, scientists looked at the unique chemical signatures found in rock samples from that time; each signature relates to a big climatic event, the IUGS said in a statement.