Seismologists study geologic events and geological time.
"In geological time, it's a nanosecond".
The geological processes and timing of both geological and hydrological events across this region are relatively well known, the lower reaches of rivers have been inundated by fluctuating sea levels, and multiple species inhabit coastal areas [ 4].
However, our estimates indicate that this basal cladogenic event in the phylogeny is likely to have occurred some time during the Late Early to Middle Miocene, which is supported by geological estimates of the timing of the closure of the Tethyan Seaway [ 33- 36].
Also, our appreciation of the timing of geological phenomena (soil formation, seafloor spreading, mountain building, rock erosion, lake succession, etc).
Although the distributional patterns associated with vicariance may not be always distinct from those caused by dispersal, this can be tested by comparing selected scenarios of evolutionary relationships among disjunct and other lineages, molecular dating of lineage-splitting events, timing of geological processes or tectonic movements, as well as dispersal ability of the organisms of interest.
More sophisticated research on paleoclimates relies on the detection of changing patterns in the amounts of isotopic oxygen, carbon, and strontium retained in limestone samples to correlate the timing of different geological events.
However, the scheme is expanded to include information on the geological setting, age and relative timing of mineralisation, and preservation of mineral systems.
For example, historical biogeographers study speciation by examining the relationship between phylogenetic (species relationships) and geological patterns (e.g., the timing of mountain upheavals, the birth of islands, the formation of an isthmus).
Consequently, the radioactive decay of U and Th to various isotopes of Pb provides a valuable geochronological tool that provides constraints on a range of geological processes, for example the timing of melt crystallization or high temperature metamorphism.
