boring billion

American  

[bawr-ing bil-yuhn] / ˈbɔr ɪŋ ˈbɪl yən /

noun

1. a period in the earth's development occurring between 1,800 and 800 million years ago that is characterized by relative geological and climatic stability, slow evolutionary development, and low levels of atmospheric oxygen.

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Etymology

Origin of boring billion

First recorded in 2005–10

Example Sentences

Published in Earth and Planetary Science Letters, the study overturns the traditional view of the "Boring Billion," a supposedly uneventful period of Earth's history marked by little biological or geological activity.

From Science Daily

Together, these results offer a comprehensive framework connecting the motion of Earth's plates to the conditions that made the planet habitable -- revealing that even in its so-called "boring" billion years, Earth was quietly preparing for life's greatest transformation.

From Science Daily

Both Mills and Purdue University astrobiologist Stephanie Olson, who was also not involved in the study, were impressed by how well the new results match the history of atmospheric oxygenation, including the famous two-step rise and the intervening “boring billion” years—when oxygen levels flat-lined, and day length also stalled at 21 hours.

From Scientific American

The evolutionary step from a single-celled eukaryote to the emergence of multicellular life took a long, long time—about a billion or so years, during which so little changed on Earth that it's been called the "boring billion."

From Salon

The team suggests that this slowdown resulted from changes in how heat was distributed on Earth's surface during the boring billion, when the continents largely clustered in a single supercontinent.

From National Geographic