What events can be used as benchmarks to mark the beginning or ending of specific periods of time?

Question

Group of answer choices

an species extinction event

tectonic plate movements

supervolcano eruption

solar system shifts

Answer 1

Among the options provided, the following events can be used as benchmarks to mark the beginning or ending of specific periods of time:

1. A species extinction event - Extinction events, such as the Cretaceous-Paleogene extinction event that marked the end of the dinosaurs, are often used to define the boundaries between different geological epochs.

2. Supervolcano eruption - Significant volcanic eruptions can have major impacts on climate and biodiversity and have been used as markers in geological time, such as the Toba eruption around 74,000 years ago.

The other two options, tectonic plate movements and solar system shifts, are generally more gradual processes and are not typically used as specific benchmarks for defining periods of geological time in the same way that extinction events and significant eruptions are.

So, the most appropriate choices are a species extinction event and supervolcano eruption.