Siderian

Siderian Period 2500–2300 million years ago PreЄ Є O S D C P T J K Pg N

Banded iron formations were very common in this period.

The Siderian Period (pronunciation: /saɪˈdɪəriən/; Greek: sideros, meaning "iron") is the first geologic period in the Paleoproterozoic Era and lasted from 2500 Ma to 2300 Ma (million years ago). Instead of being based on stratigraphy, these dates are defined chronometrically.

The laying down of the banded iron formations (BIFs) peaked early this period. BIFs were formed as anaerobic algae produced waste oxygen that combined with iron, forming magnetite (Fe₃O₄, an iron oxide). This process cleared iron from the oceans, presumably turning greenish seas clear. Eventually, without an oxygen sink in the oceans, the process allowed the build up of an oxygen-rich atmosphere. This event is known as the oxygen catastrophe, which according to some geologists triggered the Huronian glaciation.^[1]^[2]

References

"Siderian Period". GeoWhen Database. Retrieved May 24, 2015.
"The Siderian". Dinosaurfact.net. Retrieved May 24, 2015.

Notes

↑ Paleoclimates: The First Two Billion Years - James F. Kasting & Shuehi Ono, 2006 http://www.jstor.org/stable/20209693
↑ The Paleoproterozoic Snowball Earth: A climate disaster triggered by the evolution of oxygenic photosynthesis - Kopp et al. http://www.pnas.org/content/102/32/11131.full.pdf+html

Proterozoic Eon

Preceded by Archean Eon

Paleoproterozoic Era	Siderian Rhyacian Orosirian Statherian

Mesoproterozoic Era	Calymmian Ectasian Stenian

Neoproterozoic Era	Tonian Cryogenian Ediacaran

Followed by Phanerozoic Eon

Geologic history of Earth

Cenozoic era
(present–66.0 Mya)

Quaternary (present–2.58 Mya)	Holocene (present–11.7 kya) Pleistocene (11.7 kya–2.58 Mya)

Neogene (2.58–23.03 Mya)	Pliocene (2.58–5.333 Mya) Miocene (5.333–23.03 Mya)

Paleogene (23.03–66.0 Mya)	Oligocene (23.03–33.9 Mya) Eocene (33.9–56.0 Mya) Paleocene (56.0–66.0 Mya)

Mesozoic era
(66.0–252.17 Mya)

Cretaceous (66.0–145.0 Mya)	Late (66.0–100.5 Mya) Early (100.5–145.0 Mya)

Jurassic (145.0–201.3 Mya)	Late (145.0–163.5 Mya) Middle (163.5–174.1 Mya) Early (174.1–201.3 Mya)

Triassic (201.3–252.17 Mya)	Late (201.3–237 Mya) Middle (237–247.2 Mya) Early (247.2–252.17 Mya)

Paleozoic era
(252.17–541.0 Mya)

Permian (252.17–298.9 Mya)	Lopingian (252.17–259.8 Mya) Guadalupian (259.8–272.3 Mya) Cisuralian (272.3–298.9 Mya)

Carboniferous (298.9–358.9 Mya)	Pennsylvanian (298.9–323.2 Mya) Mississippian (323.2–358.9 Mya)

Devonian (358.9–419.2 Mya)	Late (358.9–382.7 Mya) Middle (382.7–393.3 Mya) Early (393.3–419.2 Mya)

Silurian (419.2–443.8 Mya)	Pridoli (419.2–423.0 Mya) Ludlow (423.0–427.4 Mya) Wenlock (427.4–433.4 Mya) Llandovery (433.4–443.8 Mya)

Ordovician (443.8–485.4 Mya)	Late (443.8–458.4 Mya) Middle (458.4–470.0 Mya) Early (470.0–485.4 Mya)

Cambrian (485.4–541.0 Mya)	Furongian (485.4–497 Mya) Series 3 (497–509 Mya) Series 2 (509–521 Mya) Terreneuvian (521–541.0 Mya)

Precambrian supereon
(541.0 Mya–4.567 Gya)

Proterozoic (541.0 Mya–2.5 Gya)	Neoproterozoic (541.0 Mya–1 Gya) Mesoproterozoic (1–1.6 Gya) Paleoproterozoic (1.6–2.5 Gya)

Archean (2.5–4 Gya)	Neoarchean (2.5–2.8 Gya) Mesoarchean (2.8–3.2 Gya) Paleoarchean (3.2–3.6 Gya) Eoarchean (3.6–4 Gya)

Hadean (4–4.567 Gya)	Neohadean (4–4.1 Gya) Mesohadean (4.1–4.3 Gya) Paleohadean (4.3–4.567 Gya)

kya = thousands years ago. Mya = millions years ago. Gya = billions years ago.
Source: (2015/01). International Commission on Stratigraphy. Retrieved 13 July 2015. Divisions of Geologic Time—Major Chronostratigraphic and Geochronologic Units USGS Retrieved 10 March 2013.

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