El Cenozoic It is an era that is divided into two epochs known as Pleistocene y Holocene. The Holocene is the last time that is known since it is in which our planet is currently. It began approximately 12.000 years ago, exactly 10.000 BC and we are still in the Holocene today. In this period most of the development of humanity is covered even since the appearance of the Homo sapiens to the technologies we have today.
In this article we are going to tell you everything you need to know about the Holocene epoch.
General characteristics
During this period the planet has changed very little. Most of the changes that have been observed are in biodiversity since the action of the current man on thousands of species of plants and animals and causes extinction. Human beings have become the dominant species on the planet despite causing a lot of damage.
The Holocene has spanned more than 12.000 years approximately and is the one that encompasses the entire development of humanity. In this period, the establishment of the first social groups and the first human civilizations and the development of writing, exploration trips and great cultural, intellectual and technological advances, among others, can be covered.
During this time there has been a mass extinction of species that has been observed through a continuous and permanent process. These species of both animals and plants have been reduced in large numbers due to the action of humans. This entire process has been classified by specialists as one of the most serious extinction processes that have occurred on our planet. This is because the cause of extinction has not been due to the action of environmental factors but because of one of the species that inhabit the planet and that has become the dominant one.
During the Holocene it is considered that there is an interglacial epoch. That is, a time when intense cooling ends and there is less area covered with ice. It is expected that in the not too distant future another glaciation will take place since, due to the studies we have and the knowledge through fossil records, another glaciation epoch will begin soon or should begin.
Holocene Geology
As for geology, it is a time when there has been little significance since there have been no major changes in orogenic movements, either the configuration of the continents. Some fragments that belonged to the great continent known as Pangea have continued to move but at a slower rate than it did in ancient times. The distance that covers the continents from the beginning of this time to the present has been only one kilometer. However, it should be noted that the continental masses will never stop moving and it is to be expected that within a few million years they will collide again and form another supercontinent.
During this time there has also been an increase in sea level due to melting or glaciers. Many of the lands that today are submerged under water were originally found to form bridges between some regions. In this sense, it can be said that the thawing has not been caused after a gradual process but that there have been periods in which the thaw reached certain peaks causing the sea level to rise more abruptly.
Taking into account these data, it can be concluded that the sea level increased a total of 35 meters since the Holocene began. A worrying fact is that in the last 25 years the sea level has increased again at a rate of approximately 3mm per year, which is somewhat accelerated for what is the normal rate. This is due to an increase in the greenhouse effect that causes an increase in global temperatures and is caused by the action of some of the gases that are capable of retaining heat.
Holocene climate
The temperatures during this time are much milder than the previous times. This is because it is an interglacial age. The average temperatures were an increase or between 4 and 9 degrees approximately. The warming of the planet was not uniform, since in some regions it experienced a greater increase and in others a decrease of the same. The lands that have suffered the greatest cooling are those that were located further south.
In other regions where they have always had a desert climate, the rainfall regime began to increase.
Flora and fauna
The development of life during the Holocene epoch it has not given too many modifications from the evolutionary point of view. The most marked trend that can be represented during these years is that species have begun to disappear at a faster rate than ever. Many relate this decline in species to the appearance of humans. Extinction continues until the present time when there are a large number of endangered species.
The plants with the greatest distribution on a planetary level are angiosperms. The regions of the tropics closest to Ecuador are those where there are the greatest amount of humid forests that have an abundance of plants and a great biodiversity. In the areas closest to the poles the vegetation changes radically. The leafy plants and humidity of the jungle give way to other types of trees that are adapted to lower temperatures.
As for the fauna, the animals have not varied much during the Holocene. The species that it has managed to maintain throughout all this time have hardly undergone any changes or evolution. What has been accentuated and prolonged over time is the extinction of both terrestrial and marine animals. All this is caused by the action of the human being and his desire to conquer the planet.
I hope that with this information you can learn more about the Holocene.