120,000,000 years of Earth’s history discovered in one location

Our planet is still filled with mysteries from end to end, as scientists continue to “uncover” what we don’t know.

Somehow, a group of researchers from Stanford University have managed to piece together a huge chunk of Earth’s history in one of the most inaccessible locations on the planet.

In particular, it is a site on the banks of the Peel River in Canada, which alone preserves 120 million years of Earth’s history, giving a unique insight into life on our planet.

The Bell River site begins in the Upper Cambrian, a time when oxygen levels were incredibly low and animal life was therefore sparse.

The site spans a long period of time, from the Ordovician and Silurian periods, ending in the Middle Devonian, when fish became the dominant marine organisms.

“It’s unprecedented to have so much Earth history in one place,” said study lead author Eric Sperling of the site. “There’s no other place in the world that I know of where you can study so much Earth history.”

The core of Sperling’s research focuses on the rise of oxygen on Earth and the changes it has brought.

The research shows that the atmosphere did not approach its current state until much later than many scientists initially thought in chronological order.

“Early animals were still living in a low-oxygen world,” Sperling added.

“To make comparisons across these vast areas of our history and understand long-term trends, you need a continuous record.”