Second period of the Neoproterozoic Era, with major glaciation
Cryogenian
c.720 – c.635 Ma
Pha.
Proterozoic
Archean
Had.
A map of the world as it appeared at the start of the Cryogenian, c. 720 Ma
Chronology
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N e o p r o t e r o z o i c
Tonian
Cryogenian
Ediacaran
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Marinoan glaciation[1][2]
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Transition from cyanobacterial to algal dominated world.[3]
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Sturtian[1][2]
Major Glacial period
Events of the Cryogenian period Axis Scale: Millions of Years Ago (Ma).
Etymology
Name formality
Formal
Name ratified
1990
Usage information
Celestial body
Earth
Regional usage
Global (ICS)
Time scale(s) used
ICS Time Scale
Definition
Chronological unit
Period
Stratigraphic unit
System
Time span formality
Formal
Lower boundary definition
Defined chronometrically with an interim calibrated age of c. 720 Ma. GSSP is in progress.
Lower boundary definition candidates
The first appearance of widespread glaciation.[4]
Lower boundary GSSP candidate section(s)
To be determined
Upper boundary definition
Worldwide distinct cap carbonates.
Beginning of a distinctive pattern of secular changes in carbon isotopes.
Upper boundary GSSP
Enorama Creek section, Flinders Ranges, South Australia 31°19′53″S138°38′00″E / 31.3314°S 138.6334°E / -31.3314; 138.6334
Upper GSSP ratified
March 2004[5]
Atmospheric and climatic data
Mean atmospheric O2 content
c. 12 vol % (60 % of modern)
Mean atmospheric CO2 content
c. 1300 ppm (5 times pre-industrial)
Mean surface temperature
c. 5 °C (9 °C below modern)
Life timeline
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Water
Single-celled life
Photosynthesis
Eukaryotes
Multicellular life
P l a n t s
Arthropods Molluscs
Flowers
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Mammals
Birds
Primates
H a d e a n
A r c h e a n
P r o t e r o z o i c
P h a n e r o z o i c
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Earth formed
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Earliest water
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LUCA
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Earliest fossils
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LHB meteorites
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Earliest oxygen
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Pongola glaciation*
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Atmospheric oxygen
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Huronian glaciation*
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Sexual reproduction
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Earliest multicellular life
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Earliest fungi
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Earliest plants
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Earliest animals
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Cryogenian ice age*
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Ediacaran biota
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Cambrian explosion
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Andean glaciation*
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Earliest tetrapods
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Karoo ice age*
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Earliest apes / humans
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Quaternary ice age*
(million years ago)
*Ice Ages
The Cryogenian (from Ancient Greek: κρύος, romanized: krýos, meaning "cold" and γένεσις, romanized: génesis, meaning "birth") is a geologic period that lasted from 720 to 635 million years ago.[6] It forms the second geologic period of the Neoproterozoic Era, preceded by the Tonian Period and followed by the Ediacaran.
The Cryogenian was a time of drastic biosphere changes. After the previous Boring Billion years of stability, at the beginning of Cryogenian the severe Sturtian glaciation began, freezing the entire planet in a state known as a snowball Earth. After 70 million years it ended, but was quickly followed by the global Marinoan glaciation. There is controversy over whether these glaciations covered the entire planet, or if a band of open sea survived near the equator (slushball Earth).
^ abArnaud, Emmanuelle; Halverson, Galen P.; Shields-Zhou, Graham Anthony (30 November 2011). "Chapter 1 The geological record of Neoproterozoic ice ages". Memoirs. 36 (1). Geological Society of London: 1–16. doi:10.1144/M36.1.
^ abHoffman, Paul F.; Abbot, Dorian S.; Ashkenazy, Yosef; Benn, Douglas I.; Brocks, Jochen J.; Cohen, Phoebe A.; Cox, Grant M.; Creveling, Jessica R.; Donnadieu, Yannick; Erwin, Douglas H.; Fairchild, Ian J.; Ferreira, David; Goodman, Jason C.; Halverson, Galen P.; Jansen, Malte F. (2017-11-03). "Snowball Earth climate dynamics and Cryogenian geology-geobiology". Science Advances. 3 (11): e1600983. doi:10.1126/sciadv.1600983. ISSN 2375-2548. PMC 5677351. PMID 29134193.
^Brocks, Jochen J. (2018-09-28). Lyons, Timothy W.; Droser, Mary L.; Lau, Kimberly V.; Porter, Susannah M. (eds.). "The transition from a cyanobacterial to algal world and the emergence of animals". Emerging Topics in Life Sciences. 2 (2): 181–190. doi:10.1042/ETLS20180039. ISSN 2397-8554.
^Shields-Zhou, Graham A.; Porter, Susannah; Halverson, Galen P. (2016). "A new rock-based definition for the Cryogenian Period (circa 720 – 635 Ma)" (PDF). Episodes. 39 (1): 3–8. doi:10.18814/epiiugs/2016/v39i1/89231. ISSN 0705-3797.
^Knoll, Andrew H.; Walter, Malcolm R.; Narbonne, Guy M.; Christie-Black, Nicholas (3 March 2006). "The Ediacaran Period: a new addition to the geologic time scale" (PDF). Lethaia. 39: 13–30. doi:10.1080/00241160500409223. Retrieved 6 December 2020.
^Cite error: The named reference SG-20170113 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
The Cryogenian (from Ancient Greek: κρύος, romanized: krýos, meaning "cold" and γένεσις, romanized: génesis, meaning "birth") is a geologic period that...
Precambrian Supereon and the Proterozoic Eon; it is subdivided into the Tonian, Cryogenian, and Ediacaran periods. It is preceded by the Mesoproterozoic Era and...
Cretaceous and Paleogene systems/periods. For divisions prior to the Cryogenian, arbitrary numeric boundary definitions (Global Standard Stratigraphic...
glaciation is believed to have occurred sometime before 650 mya during the Cryogenian period. Proponents of the hypothesis argue that it best explains sedimentary...
within Bilateria. Animals first appear in the fossil record in the late Cryogenian period, and diversified in the subsequent Ediacaran. Earlier evidence...
demosponges may have appeared during the Precambrian deposits at the end of the Cryogenian "Snowball Earth" period. Their presence has been indirectly detected by...
the Paleoproterozoic) and the hypothesized Snowball Earth (during the Cryogenian period in the late Neoproterozoic); and the Ediacaran period (635 to 538...
(million years ago). It ended approximately 632.3 ± 5.9 Ma during the Cryogenian period. This glaciation possibly covered the entire planet, in an event...
the Neoproterozoic era that spans 96 million years from the end of the Cryogenian period at 635 Mya to the beginning of the Cambrian period at 538.8 Mya...
analysis has supported the view that before the Cambrian radiation, in the Cryogenian or Tonian, animals (metazoans) evolved monophyletically from a single...
by the Stenian Period of the Mesoproterozoic Era and followed by the Cryogenian. Rifting leading to the breakup of supercontinent Rodinia, which had formed...
global climate around 717–635 Ma (the so-called Snowball Earth of the Cryogenian period) and the rapid evolution of primitive life during the subsequent...
Hallmann C, Hoshino Y, Liyanage T (August 2017). "The rise of algae in Cryogenian oceans and the emergence of animals". Nature. 548 (7669): 578–581. Bibcode:2017Natur...
The Sturtian glaciation was a worldwide glaciation during the Cryogenian Period when the Earth experienced repeated large-scale glaciations. As of January 2023[update]...
Late Tonian, between the end of the Boring Billion and the onset of the Cryogenian “Snowball Earth”, marine deposits record a very significant positive carbon...
it from 538.8 to 635 Ma. In this period the Ediacaran biota appeared. Cryogenian: The middle period in the Neoproterozoic Era: 635-720 Ma. Tonian: the...
glaciations occurred. The most recent snowball Earth took place during the Cryogenian period and consisted of two global glaciation events known as the Sturtian...
Stenian. It would last into the Tonian period before breaking up in the Cryogenian. This period includes the formation of the Keweenawan Rift at about 1100...
have been at least five major ice ages in Earth's history (the Huronian, Cryogenian, Andean-Saharan, late Paleozoic, and the latest Quaternary Ice Age). Outside...
periods in Earth's climate history, which are known as the Huronian, Cryogenian, Andean-Saharan, Late Paleozoic, and Late Cenozoic glaciations. The main...
Phytoplankton | News | University of Bristol". "The rise of algae in Cryogenian oceans and the emergence of animals – ResearchGate". Jin, Xin; Shi, Zhiqiang;...
Invertebrates Temporal range: Cryogenian to Present, 665–0 Ma Pha. Proterozoic Archean Had. Left to right: Chrysaora fuscescens (Cnidaria), Fromia indica...
Varanger may refer to: Varanger Peninsula of Norway Cryogenian (also called Varanger glaciation) This disambiguation page lists articles associated with...
Kaigas formation was later determined to be non-glacial. c. 720 Ma – Cryogenian Period starts, during which Earth freezes over (Snowball Earth or Slushball...
Global Information