Lecture 2

Introduction to Earth History

I Components of GeologyA) Physical GeologyB) Historical Geology

II Founders of A) James UssherB) Nicolaus Steno

1) Superposition2) Original Horizontality3) Original Lateral Continuity

C) John StracheyD) Giovanni ArduinoE) Abraham Gottlob WernerF) James Hutton

1) Plutonism2) Uniformitarianism3) Hutton's Corollaries to Superposition

a) Cross-Cutting Relationshipsb) Inclusion

G) William SmithH) Charles LyellI) Charles Darwin

Outline

Geological Science

geology

physical geology

historical geology

the study of the planet Earth - the materialsof which it is made, the processes that act on these materials, the products formed, and the history of the planet and its life forms since its origin.a broad division of geology that concerns itself with the processes and forces involved in the inorganic evolution of the Earth and morphology, and with its constituent minerals, rocks, magmas, and core materials.a major branch of geology that is concerned with the evolution of the Earth and its life forms from its origins to the present day.

Catastrophism

James Ussher(1581-1656)

catastrophism the doctrine that sudden violent, short-lived, moreor less worldwide events outside our present experience or knowledge have greatly modified the Earth's crust accounting for its present configuration as well as for the observed distribution of life forms.

Founders of Historical GeologyNicolaus Steno (1638-1687)

fossil descriptions

first stratigrapher

Steno's Laws

Superposition

Original Horizontality

Original Lateral Continuity

Steno's LawsSuperposition

Steno's LawsOriginal Horizontality

Steno's LawsOriginal Lateral Continuity

Founders of Historical Geology John Strachey (1671-1743)

local stratigraphy of English coal beds

described first angular unconformity

an unconformity in whichyounger sediments rest upon the eroded surfaceof tilted or folded olderrocks.

Founders of Historical Geology Giovanni Arduino (1714-1795)

founder of stratigraphy

Italian mines specialist

Founders of Historical Geology Abraham Gottlob Werner (1749-1817)

neptunism the theory that the rocks of the Earth's crust allconsist of material deposited from, or crystallized out of, water.

Woodward (1733)

mining inspector and teacher

first to systematically classify minerals

Founders of Historical Geology Georges Leopold Cuvier (1769-1832)

founder of vertebrate paleontology

scientific catastrophism

Founders of Historical Geology William Smith (1769-1839)

first geologic map

Principle of Faunal Succession

Life on Earth has evolved through time.Therefore,

Like assemblages of fossils are of like age, and,The rocks containing them are of like age

Founders of Historical Geology James Hutton (1726-1797)

dynamic/cyclic concept of Earth history (rock cycle)

plutonism

deep time

uniformitarianism

recognized significance of unconformities

corollaries to superposition

Hutton's Rock Cycle

Plutonism

the concept of the formation of the Earth by solidification of a molten mass.

plutonism

Kircher (1655)

Deep Time

Uniformitarianism

the fundamental principle that geological processes and natural laws now operating to modify the Earth's crust have acted inmuch the same manner and with essentially the same intensity throughout geologic time, and that past geologic events can beexplained by forces observable today; "The present is the keyto the past."James Hutton (1726-1797)

Hutton's Unconformities

Hutton's CorollariesCross-cutting Relationships

Hutton's CorollariesInclusions

Founders of Historical Geology Charles Lyell (1797-1875)

first geologic time scale

relative time

Founders of Historical Geology Charles Darwin (1809-1882)

Evolution of Species through Natural Selection

Components of Historical Geology

geochronology

paleoclimatology

sea level

stratigraphy

plate tectonic movements

paleontology

General Patterns in Earth History

General Patterns in Earth HistoryHeat Flow

Heat production 4 billion years ago was 4 to 6 times as great as it is now

General Patterns in Earth HistoryMajor Trends

General Patterns in Earth HistoryAtmospheric Oxygen

General Patterns in Earth HistoryThe History of Life

MASS EXTINCTION

MASS EXTINCTION

MASS EXTINCTION

MASS EXTINCTION

Range of Global Biodiversity PeriodEra

CEN

OZ

OIC

MESO

ZO

ICP

ALEO

ZO

IC

QUATERNARY

TERTIARY

CRETACEOUS

JURASSIC

TRIASSIC

PERMIAN

CARBONIFEROUS

DEVONIAN

SILURIAN

ORDOVICIAN

CAMBRIAN

General Patterns in Earth HistoryBiodiversity in Earth History

MASS EXTINCTION

General Patterns in Earth HistoryPaleogeography (Tectonics)

600 million years ago

450 million years ago

300 million years ago

today

General Patterns in Earth HistoryClimate

General Patterns in Earth HistorySea Level

General Patterns in Earth HistorySummary