Orosirian & Statherian Periods

 Orosirian Period

The 3rd geologic period in the Paleoproterozoic Era is the Orosirian Period, which loosely means ‘mountain range’. This period lasted from 2,050 to 1,800 million years ago.

The latter half of the period involved intense orogeny on virtually all continents. Orogeny is when 2 continental plates slam into each other and one is shoved down, while the other is shoved up, producing mountain ranges.

Other important events include 2 of the largest known impact events. At about 2,023 million years ago, a large asteroid collision created the Vredefort impact structure, located in what is now South Africa. Although most of the crater has eroded away, the impact dome at the center is still visible.

Towards the end of the period, about 1,850 million years ago, the Sudbury Basin was created by the impact of another asteroid in what is now Ontario Canada. I’m not sure if the article was saying the basin is in the city of Greater Sudbury, or the city is in the basin. It did state that the locals merely refer to it as ‘the valley’.

So, the Orosirian Period saw much happening to Earth’s crust, from holes being punched into it (craters) to mountains climbing towards the sky. I couldn’t find anything on life forms or what the environment was like, which is a bummer. I assume the lifeforms that existed at the beginning of this period mostly managed to survive, and possibly evolved.

 

Statherian Period

The final period in the Paleoproterozoic Era is the Stratherian Period, which roughly means ‘stable, firm’. It started at 1,800 million years ago and lasted to 1,600 million years ago.

This period was characterized by erosion and folding. Folding, as I understood the article was when the forces that created mountain ranges continued to deform the land around the mountains, forming foothills. In other places, erosion took place, sending sediment to a lower level, which formed new platforms of land extending out from what land already existed.

The oldest known eukaryotic fossil organism was found in Statherian beds in India, so life was carrying on. At that time, the oxygen level was 10-20% of our current level.

By the beginning of the Statherian Period, the supercontinent Columbia had assembled.

So there we have all the important highlights of the back half of the Paleoproterozoid Era. It almost sound like a livable place. Well, except the oxygen level would be a problem. And I’m not sure we have any earthworms yet to help fertilize the soil. Well, at least we’re getting closer to a livable planet!

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orosirian#:~:text=The%20Orosirian%20Period%20(%20%2F%CB%8C%C9%92r,these%20dates%20are%20defined%20chronometrically.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vredefort_crater

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sudbury_Basin

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Statherian

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Craton

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fold_and_thrust_belt