Era Of Photosynthesis Essay

Earth has experienced many eras with different climates. Earth’s climate continually cycles through ice age periods and interglacial periods, due to its orbit, the varying energy produced by the sun, and natural disasters like volcanic eruptions. According to the UXL Encyclopedia of Weather and Natural Disasters, the history of Earth’s forever changing climate is separated into six main time periods: the Hadean, Archaean, Proterozoic, Paleozoic, Mesozoic, and Cenozoic eras. The first three eras are combined into the more commonly known era, the Precambrian Era. The period began at the start of the Earth’s life, when it was just a ball of molten rock, to about 570 million years ago, where life began to sprout all over Earth’s surface. Early on in the

Archaeans thrived, however, due to their ability to live in extreme conditions. As time went on, oxygen began to accumulate in the atmosphere due to the process of photosynthesis from photosynthesizing organisms. The end of the Precambrian Era transitioned into the beginning of Paleozoic Era. The Paleozoic Era had drastic effects on the overall climate of the planet. For some of the time period, the Earth was warmer than the Precambrian Era. On the contrary, two glacial periods happened in this era, completely changing the climate of Earth. The first of these glacial periods was relatively short and happened towards the beginning of this era. The second glacial period lasted more than one hundred million years, leading Earth into its third era, the Mesozoic Era. This era is commonly referred to as the “age of the dinosaurs.” During this time period, average temperatures were about ten to twenty degrees (Fahrenheit) higher than our average temperatures today. Similar to the other eras, the Mesozoic Era had its fair share of temperature