Geologic

Time

Geologic Time
geologic age
of Earth about 4.6
billion years

Geologic Time
very difficult to appreciate from our human perspective
necessary to understand history
of Earth
two basic ways to make sense
of geologic time:

Relative Ages
Absolute Ages

Geologic Time
Relative Dating
placing geologic events in
sequential order as
determined by their position
in geologic record

has resulted in

Geologic Time Scale

Geologic Time
Absolute Dating
gives specific dates for events
and materials expressed in
years before present

radiometric dating most

common method used to
obtain absolute dates

Early Estimates of Earths Age

Archbishop James Ussher (1664)

through genealogies and history recorded in Bible, determined

date of Earth creation at 4004 BC
required the Earth and all its features to be no more than
about 6,000 years old
ideas dominated Western thinking about Earth history before
18th century

Early Estimates of Earths Age

Georges Louis de Buffon (mid-1700s)

assumed Earth originally molten and used a rapid

cooling rate and Earth's present temperature
calculated age to be at least 75,000 years

Early Estimates of Earths Age

John Joly (1800s)
calculated age from current salinity of ocean
assumed originally pure water and salt derived from
erosion of continents
erosion rate is not constant, loss and recycling of salt
not considered, and salt not only obtained from
continents
got an age of 90 million years

Early Estimates of Earths Age

Rate of Sedimentation

attempts to calculate age from deposition rate of

sediments and thickness of sediments in Earth's crust
deposition rate is not uniform; sediment removed by
erosion, modified by compaction, or not deposited
complete record of sedimentation does not exist
gives ages from 3 million to 1.5 billion years

Early Estimates of Earths Age

Lord Kelvin (1866)

most influential physicist assumed originally molten

Earth and conventional heat sources for Earth and Sun
calculations indicated Earth could be no more than
100 million years or younger than 20 million years old

Relative Dating Methods

Principle of Uniformitarianism

Present-dav processes have operated throughout

geologic time, and with enough time, small changes
can have tremendous effects.

proposed by James Hutton (mid-1700s) and popularized

by Charles Lyell's book, Principles of Geology (1830)

Uniformitarianism

Relative
Dating
Methods

Relative Dating Methods

chronological sequence of rock units determined
using six fundamental principles:
Principle (Law) of Superposition
Principle of Original Horizontality
Principle of Lateral Continuity
Law of Cross-Cutting Relationships
Principle of Inclusion
Principle of Faunal Succession

Relative Dating Methods

Principle (Law) of Superposition
In an undeformed sequence of sedimentary rocks,
the youngest beds are at the top and the oldest
beds are at the bottom (also applies to volcanic
rocks).

no place on earth where entire history of sedimentation

preserved

Superposition

Relative Dating Methods

Principle of Original Horizontality
Sediment particles deposited from water under
the influence of gravity form essentially horizontal
layers.

Original Horizontality

Original Horizontality

Relative Dating Methods

Principle of Lateral Continuity
Most rock layers (sediments) extend laterally in all
directions until they thin, pinch out, or terminate
against the edge of the depositional basin.

applicable to sedimentary but not volcanic rocks

Lateral Continuity

Relative Dating Methods

Law of Cross-Cutting Relationships
An intrusion or fault that cuts through another
rock is younger than the rock it cuts.

Cross-Cutting Relationships
B
A

B C

C
A

Cross-Cutting Relationships

Cross-Cutting Relationships

sills vs buried lava flow - must look for heat effects

Relative Dating Methods

Principle of Inclusion

Inclusions are older than the rock that contains

them.

applies to both inclusions in igneous rocks and rock

clasts in sedimentary rocks

Inclusion

Inclusion

Inclusion

Inclusion

Inclusion

Inclusion

Relative Dating Methods

Principle of Faunal Succession
Fossil organisms succeed one another in a
definite and determinable order, so any time
period can be recognized by its fossil content.

general pattern of development is from simple to

complex organisms

Faunal Succession

 studies using these

principals have demonstrated
that some rock sequences may
not represent continuous
depositions, but rather are
characterized by distinct
breaks in the geologic record

Unconformities

Unconformities
surfaces of non-deposition or
erosion that separate younger
strata from older rocks

Unconformities
time gap in
rock record,
known as
hiatus, result
in incomplete
rock records

Unconformities
three types of unconformities:

disconformity
angular unconformity
nonconformity

Disconformities

Disconformities
surface of nondeposition or
erosion between
parallel layers of
older and
younger rocks

Disconformities

Disconformities
may
look like
bedding
plane

Disconformities
fossils must
be used to
determine
length of
break in
deposition

Angular
Unconformities

Angular Unconformities

surface of erosion between nonparallel layers of older

and younger rocks
older rocks have been tilted (folded or faulted) and
eroded prior to deposition of younger strata

Angular Unconformities

Angular Unconformities

Angular Unconformities

Angular Unconformities

Angular Unconformities

Angular Unconformities

Angular Unconformities

Nonconformities

Nonconformities

surface of erosion between older igneous or

metamorphic and younger sedimentary rocks

Nonconformities
may look like
intrusive
contact, but
no heat
effects
inclusions
may be useful
in
distinguishing
nonconformity

Applications
... so how do we make
use of these principles
and relationships to to
interpret rock
sequences

Applications
stratigraphy
- study of
layered
sequences

Applications
seek to establish equivalency of rock units
in different areas in order to interpret the
Earths history
interpretations involve making correlations
between rock exposures

Correlation of Strata
correlation - demonstration of time equivalency

Correlation of Strata
correlation by:

Rock Type or Mineralogy - distinctive rocks may allow

correlation (e.g. volcanic ash layer etc...)
Position in Sequence - distinct sequences of lithologic
changes can be correlated
Geophysical Responses - magnetic character,
conductivity, etc... from surface or wells

Correlation of Strata

tracing beds (key beds or marker horizons) - good for

small areas that are well-exposed

Correlation of Strata

Magnetic Correlations

Fossil Correlation

correlations based on fossils - better resolution of time

equivalence over widespread areas

Fossil Correlation
guide or index fossils - remains of organisms
that were geographically widespread, but lived
for a short time

forminifera
fusilinids

Fossil Correlation

Fossil Correlation
assemblage zones
- overlapping ranges
of fossils

Fossil Correlation
assemblage
zones - can

produce better
temporal
resolution than
one fossil

Fossil Correlation

Correlation of Strata
application of these
principals and methods
allows geologists to
recognized and construct
the history of geological
development of an area

The Grand Canyon

such an approach can
be applied to
understanding the rock
sequence within the
Grand Canyon of the
Colorado River in
Arizona

The Grand Canyon

Early
Precambrian

The Grand Canyon

Early
Precambrian

The Grand Canyon

The Grand Canyon

Early
Precambrian

The Grand Canyon

Late
Precambrian

The Grand Canyon

Late
Precambrian

The Grand Canyon

Late
Precambrian

The Grand Canyon

The Grand Canyon

Cambrian

The Grand Canyon

The Grand Canyon

PermianMississippian

The Grand Canyon

The Grand Canyon

MesozoicHolocene

The Grand Canyon

The Grand Canyon

MesozoicHolocene

The Grand Canyon

The Grand Canyon

Absolute
Dating
Methods

Absolute Dating Methods

specific dates for
events and materials
expressed in years
before present based
on radiometric
methods

Absolute Dating Methods

atoms

small particles comprised of a nucleus [protons and

neutrons] surrounded by electrons

elements

atoms have variable numbers of protons [atomic or Z

number] and an equal number of electrons [when
neutral]
each stable configuration is an element

Absolute Dating Methods

isotopes

not all atoms of an element have same

number of neutrons in the nucleus
atoms with the same Z, but different
numbers of neutrons are isotopes

Radioactive Decay
process by which an atomic nucleus
spontaneously decays into a nucleus
of a different element

Radioactive Decay
parent -the unstable

isotope

daughter - the

product of decay
of an unstable
isotope

Radioactive Decay
decay can result from:

alpha decay
beta emission
electron capture

Radioactive Decay

alpha decay: Z = -2, AMU = -4

Radioactive Decay

beta emission: Z = +1, AMU = 0

Radioactive Decay

electron capture: Z = -1, AMU = 0

Radioactive Decay
the amount of
time required
for 1/2 of the
parent atoms to
decay

half-life

Some Radioactive Isotopes

parent

daughter

half-life

Uranium238

Lead 206

4.5 b.y

Some Radioactive Isotopes

Some Radioactive Isotopes

Some Radioactive Isotopes

parent

daughter

half-life.

Uranium238
235
Uranium
232
Thorium
147
Samarium
87
Rubidium
40
Potassium

Lead 206
207
Lead
208
Lead
143
Neodymium
87
Strontium
40
Argon

4.5 b.y
0.7 b.y
14 b.y
106 b.y.
48.8 b.y
1.3 b.y.

Applications
sedimentary rock radiometric dates generally
meaningless because minerals making up rock
are parts of other, preexisting rocks
metamorphism can affect the parent/daughter
ratio
most accurate dates obtained from igneous
rocks

Absolute Dating Methods

Absolute Dating Methods

Absolute Dating Methods

Applying Absolute Dating

other geochronologic
methods

Radiocarbon Dating
Carbon 14

radioactive C14 produced from N14 in atmosphere

by interaction of cosmic radiation

C14 has a half life of 5,730 y

useful for dating
materials
less than 70,000 years old

Radiocarbon Dating
Carbon 14

plants and animals

absorb C14 while
living
after death, ratio of
C isotopes change
due to decay of C14

Radiocarbon Dating

Fission Track Dating

Uranium238 spontaneously
decays by fission
particles from nucleus make
tracks in minerals
counted and tied to number
of years
has largest useful age range
of any radiometric method
(40,000 to 1 million years)

Radiometric Dating
has allowed dates to be placed on geologic events
and ages to be placed on formation of geologic
materials
oldest evidence for life about 3.6 billion years
oldest rocks found on Earth (Australia) are 3.96
billion years old

Radiometric Dating

meteorites date from 4.5 to 4.8 billion years old

Radiometric Dating
Earth
about
4.6
billion
years
old