Rhyacian

The Rhyacian is the second geologic period in the Paleoproterozoic Era. It spans 250 million years and lasted from to million years ago, following the Siderian Period and preceding the Orosirian Period. Instead of being based on stratigraphy, these dates are defined chronometrically.

Etymology and history

The name Rhyacian is derived from the Greek word rhyas, meaning "stream of lava", and refers to the layered intrusions of the Bushfeld Complex in South Africa. The term was proposed by the Subcommission on Precambrian Stratigraphy as a subdivision of the Proterozoic Eon, and was ratified by the International Union of Geological Sciences in 1990. In 2012, there have been suggestions to replace the Rhyacian with an alternate name, bearing a time interval of 2250 to 2060 Ma, and decided on the basis of its stratigraphy. The name Jatulian was proposed in reference to the Lomagundi-Jatuli [Carbon Isotope Excursion|Lomagundi-Jatuli excursion] event, while the term Eukaryian was chosen due to the period's existing signs of the earliest eukaryotic fossils., a replacement for the Rhyacian has not been officially adopted by the IUGS. The term Jatulian, however, has been used in the regional stratigraphy of Fennoscandia.

The Bushveld Igneous Complex and some other similar intrusions formed during this period.

The Huronian global glaciation began at the start of the Rhyacian and lasted 100 million years. It lasted about 80% of this period.

This period is when the eukaryotes are thought to have originated from the symbiosis between asgardarchaea and alphaproteobacteria, as well as the sexual reproduction found within the eukaryotes only, thus the alternative name Eukaryian. Possible signs of Macroscopic life have been found in Rhyacian aged rocks, although these are heavily disputed due their age and probable abiotic origins.