CHARTING THE PAST:

The Earth’s Geologic History

What is his profession?

What is he doing?
Geology is an earth science comprising the study
of solid Earth, the rocks of which it is composed,
and the processes by which they change.
Branches of Geology

 Petrology
Deals with the origin, composition, structure & classification of rocks
 Stratigraphy
Study of rock layers and layering
 Paleontology
Study of fossils to understand how organisms evolved and interacted
with the environment
Measures of Geologic Time

 Relative Dating places events or rocks in their chronological

sequence without knowing their actual age.
 Principle of Superposition. It states that in an undisturbed succession of
sedimentary rock, the oldest layers are on the bottom.
 Principle of Original Horizontality. It states that due to the influence of
gravity all sediment is originally deposited horizontally.
Measures of Geologic Time

 Relative Dating places events or rocks in their chronological

sequence without knowing their actual age.
 Principle of Lateral Continuity. It allows us to assume that similar layers of
rock or sediment that are separated by a valley or other erosional feature
were once continuous.
 Principle of Cross-cutting relationships. It states that any geologic feature
that crosses other layers or rock must be younger then the material it cuts
across.
Measures of Geologic Time
 Absolute Dating places actual ages of rocks and events.

 The ratio of C-12 to C-14 at the moment of

death is the same as every other living
thing (C-14 half-life = 5,700 yrs).
 By looking at the ratio of C-12 to C-14 in the
sample and comparing it to the ratio in a
living organism, it is possible to determine
the age of a formerly living thing.
Measures of Geologic Time
 Absolute Dating places actual ages of rocks and events.
C-14 Dating Formula

t = [ ln (Nf/No) / (-0.693) ] x t1/2

t = age of the fossil

ln = natural logarithm
Nf/No = percent of C-14 in the sample compared
to the amount in living tissue
t1/2 = half-life of C-14
Measures of Geologic Time
 Absolute Dating places actual ages of rocks and events.

If you had a fossil that had 10% C-14 compared to

a living sample, then that fossil would be:

t = [ ln (0.10) / (-0.693) ] x 5,700 yrs

t = [ (-2.303) / (-0.693) ] x 5,700 yrs
t = [ 3.323 ] x 5,700 yrs
t = 18,940 yrs old
Fossils: Evidence of Past Life

 FOSSIL
Remnant or trace of organisms of a past geologic age
Classifications:
 Mold fossils
A fossilized impression made in the substrate (negative
image of the organism).
 Cast fossils
A 3-D example of an object of the past created when a mold
fills up with sediment like mud, sand or volcanic ash.
Fossils: Evidence of Past Life

 FOSSIL
Remnant or trace of organisms of a past geologic age
Classifications:
 True form fossils
Fossil of the actual animal or plant.
 Trace fossils (ichnofossils)
Impressions on rocks that showed various activities (footprints,
eggs, droppings, or nests of animals).
Identify which type of fossil
Six ways that organisms can turn into fossils:

 Unaltered preservation
Like insects or plant parts trapped in amber
 Permineralization (Petrification)
In which rock-like minerals seep in slowly and replace the original organic tissues
with silica, calcite or pyrite, forming a rock-like fossil
 Replacement
An organism's hard parts dissolve and are replaced by other minerals, like calcite
or silica
Six ways that organisms can turn into fossils:

 Carbonization (Coalification)
Only the carbon remains in the specimen. Other elements, like hydrogen, oxygen,
and nitrogen are removed
 Recrystalization
Hard parts either revert to more stable minerals or small crystals turn into larger
crystals
 Authigenic Preservation
Molds and casts of organisms that have been destroyed or dissolved
Geologic Time Scale:

A system of chronological measurement

that relates stratigraphy to time, and is
used by geologists, paleontologists, and
other Earth scientists to describe the timing
and relationships between events that
have occurred throughout Earth’s history.
Precambrian spans ~ 4.1 billion years in the geologic timeline

Hadean (chaotic eon).

 Lasted for 800 million years
 Earth’s surface was continually
bombarded by meteorites and the very
hot mantle caused severe volcanism
 Ocean and atmosphere were formed,
and the core, as well as the crust were
stabilized
Precambrian spans ~ 4.1 billion years in the geologic timeline

Archean eon.
 Lasted for 1.3 billion years
 Earth was warm and the atmosphere
contained mostly methane and little to
no oxygen
 Most of Earth was covered with ocean
 Continent formation began
Precambrian spans ~ 4.1 billion years in the geologic timeline

Proterozoic eon.
 Lasted for 1.9 billion years (longest
period that lasted almost half the age of
Earth)
 Atmosphere became oxygenated
 Eukaryotic life began and diversified
(multicellularity)
 Motion of continental drift
Phanerozoic eon characterized by significant events

Paleozoic era.
 Succession of marine organisms
(clams and fishes)
 Appearance of amphibians (the first
animal to succeed in adapting itself to
breathe air)
 Appearance of land plants and giant ferns
 Succession of reptiles
“Scientists believed that the remains of the
plants from this era formed the huge coal
deposits in many parts of the world.”
Phanerozoic eon characterized by significant events

Mesozoic era.
 Formation of several continents
 Age of the dinosaurs (believed to be
descendants of the primitive reptiles;
current theory suggests that they were
ancestors of birds)
 Existence of reptiles (first true
terrestrial vertebrates) flourished
Phanerozoic eon characterized by significant events

Cenozoic era.
 Mountains were uplifted and volcanic
activity was widespread
 Succession of warm-blooded animals
(kangaroo) and primitive mammals
 Development of the modern horse,
modern birds, and deciduous trees
 Era that marks the existence of man