Lunar Geologic Timescale - Relationship To Earth's Geological Time Scale

Relationship To Earth's Geological Time Scale

The divisions of the lunar geological time scale are based on the recognition of a few convenient geomorphological markers. While these divisions are extremely useful for ordering geological events in a relative manner, it is important to realize that the boundaries do not imply any fundamental change of geological processes. Furthermore, as the oldest geological periods of the Moon are based exclusively on the times of individual impact events (in particular, Nectaris, Imbrium, and Orientale), these punctual events will most likely not correspond to any specific geological event on the other terrestrial planets, such as Mercury, Venus, Earth, or Mars.

Nevertheless, at least one notable scientific work has advocated using the lunar geological time scale to subdivide the Hadean eon of Earth's geological timescale (the Hadean eon is not officially recognized). In particular, it is sometimes found that the Hadean is subdivided into the Cryptic, Basin Groups 1-9, Nectarian, and Early Imbrian. This notation is not entirely consistent with the above lunar geological time scale in that the Cryptic and Basin Groups 1-9 (both of which are only informal terms that are not used in geological maps) comprise the Pre-Nectarian period.

Read more about this topic:  Lunar Geologic Timescale

Famous quotes containing the words relationship to, relationship, earth, geological, time and/or scale:

    Sometimes in our relationship to another human being the proper balance of friendship is restored when we put a few grains of impropriety onto our own side of the scale.
    Friedrich Nietzsche (1844–1900)

    In contrast with envy, which usually occurs between two people and is focused upon another person’s qualities or possessions, jealousy occurs when a third person becomes a threat to a dyad. Jealousy involves the loss or the impending loss of a relationship that one wants to hold onto, a relationship that is vital to personal fulfillment and claimed as one’s own.
    Carol S. Becker (b. 1942)

    Parched body, hollow eyes, some uncouth thing
    Made him appear, long since from earth exiled.
    William Drummond, of Hawthornden (1585–1649)

    The crystal sphere of thought is as concentrical as the geological structure of the globe. As our soils and rocks lie in strata, concentric strata, so do all men’s thinkings run laterally, never vertically.
    Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)

    If we are a metaphor of the universe, the human couple is the metaphor par excellence, the point of intersection of all forces and the seed of all forms. The couple is time recaptured, the return to the time before time.
    Octavio Paz (b. 1914)

    The most perfect political community must be amongst those who are in the middle rank, and those states are best instituted wherein these are a larger and more respectable part, if possible, than both the other; or, if that cannot be, at least than either of them separate, so that being thrown into the balance it may prevent either scale from preponderating.
    Aristotle (384–322 B.C.)