Chapter 6:

Geologic Time
and Stratigraphy
 Introduction

• James Hutton was among the first to

recognize the enormity of geologic time
– Considered by some to be geology’s greatest
contribution to human thought
– An important implication is the large amount of
time for Earth’s systems to evolve
 Introduction

• Understanding the timing of events in Earth

history helps us understand cause and effect
relationships
 Introduction

• Age relations in geology are typically

established by the discipline of stratigraphy
– Stratigraphy is the study of stratified (layered)
rocks and their age relationships
– Sedimentary rocks are generally studied because
they are normally layered
 Relative Ages

• The easiest way to establish the age of

something is to establish its age relative to
something else
– Such ages are called relative ages
 Relative Ages

• Establishing relative ages involves recognizing

sequences of events (and therefore history)
– The Principle of Superposition states that younger
sedimentary rocks lie on top of older rocks
– The related Principle of Original Horizontality
states that sedimentary strata are deposited
initially in horizontal layers
 Absolute Ages

• Radiometric dates provide absolute ages (ages of

rocks in years)
– They not only provide the ages of rocks and fossils,
but also allow calculation of approximate rates of
processes (such as deposition, erosion, and uplift)
– Are derived from the decay of radioactive isotopes
(the same types of isotopes that generate Earth’s
internal heat)
 Absolute Ages

• Radiometric dates are based

on the concept of the half-life
– A half-life is the amount of time
it takes for one half of an
amount of a radioactive
(parent) isotope to decay to its
daughter product
– Radioactive isotopes vary
substantially in terms of their
half-lives
 Absolute Ages

• A number of factors can affect the use of

radiometric dates
– These include the blocking temperature of
minerals, closure of minerals to gain or loss of
patent or daughter, and weathering and leaching
– One way to determine the accuracy of dates is the
method of cross-checks (use of two different
isotopic pairs)
 Absolute Ages

• Radiometric dates
usually come from
igneous rocks
– In a sequence of
sedimentary rocks,
radiometric dates are
from igneous intrusions
– Carbon-14 is an exception
 Absolute Ages

• The Principle of Cross

Hoboken NJ. Figure 2-11(p. 20).

Data from: Levin, H. 2006. The Earth Through Time. 8th ed. John Wiley,
Cutting Relationships
states that rock bodies
cutting across others
must have come after
them
 Evolution of the Geologic Time Scale
• The earliest time scales were based on the
Principle of Superposition
– Rock type was equated with time interval on these
early time scales
– The term “primary” was used for all crystalline rock,
“secondary” for stratified rock with fossils, “tertiary”
for rock above secondary, capped by alluvium
– The significance of fossils was unknown, as was the
theory of evolution
Evolution of the Geologic Time Scale

Data from: Mintz, L.W. 1977. Historical Geology: The Science of a Dynamic Earth,
2nd ed. Charles E. Merrill, Columbus, Ohio. 588pp. (Figure 2.8, p. 14).
∗Workers and the date of recognition of the most commonly used modern units are indicated.
 Evolution of the Geologic Time Scale
• In 1815 William Smith proposed the Principle of Fossil
Succession
– He had noticed that fossil assemblages always occurred in
the same superpositional sequence
– He had developed and tested his hypothesis through his
work as a surveyor responsible for canal construction
– Smith’s principle is based on the fact that fossil biotas have
changed through time because of biologic evolution
 Evolution of the Geologic Time Scale

• The main subdivisions of the time scale are the

eons, eras, periods, and epochs
– The interval formerly called “primary” is now called
the Precambrian; its eons are the Hadean (which
refers to Earth’s early molten state), the Archean, and
the Proterozoic
– The former subdivisions called “secondary,”
“tertiary,” and “quaternary” are now placed in the
Phanerozoic Eon (in reference to abundant fossils)
Evolution of the Geologic Time Scale

– The Phanerozoic is divided into three eras based

on distinct groups of fossils: Paleozoic (“ancient
life”), Mesozoic (“middle life”) and Cenozoic
(“recent life”)
– Each era has its own distinct fossil assemblages
that are used to subdivide the eras into smaller
units called periods (which are further subdivided
into epochs)
Evolution of the Geologic Time Scale

Data derived mostly from Gradstein et al. A Geologic Time Scale. Cambridge University Press,
2004, and from Geologic Time Scale, available from http://www.stratigraphy.org, accessed
August 2012.
 Correlation

• Lithocorrelation – based

ed. John Wiley. Hoboken, NJ. Figure 6-38 (p. 105).

Data from Levin, H. 2006. The Earth Through Time, 8th
solely on lithology
– May be the only means
possible for correlation if
fossils are absent
– Distinctive rocks units
are assumed to be
contemporaneous
 Correlation

• In some cases, marker

Courtesy of USGS
beds (such as volcanic
ash layers) are used
– For subsurface rocks,
distinctive shifts in well
logs may be used for
correlation
 Correlation

• Another type of lithocorrelation uses oxygen

isotopes, which are also used to infer the past
behavior of the hydrologic cycle (such as ice
volume)
 Correlation

• The magnetic
properties of rocks
and Earth’s history of
magnetic polarity
reversals are used
for another
lithocorrelation
method (and may be
combined with
oxygen isotopes
studies)
Correlation
 Correlation

– Lithocorrelation is complicated by the fact that

unlike fossils, rocks repeat themselves through
time
 Correlation

• Formations and Facies

– Not only do the same kinds of rocks repeat
themselves through geologic time, but different
types of rocks can occur at the same time
– “Walther’s Law” refers to this aspect of
sedimentary rocks and the environments in which
they were deposited
 Correlation

– A formation is a mappable unit of rock that is

recognized based on its lithology; formations are
named based on a type locality
– The concept of facies recognizes that different
sedimentary rocks (and their depositional
environments) can exist at the same time, and
that the same rocks (and environments) have
existed at different times
Correlation
Correlation
 Correlation

• Biostratigraphy – the use of fossils to study

stratigraphic relationships in sedimentary
rocks
– Allows correlation over distances and avoids
erroneous reconstructions of Earth history
– Once formations have been identified and
mapped, they can be correlated using their
enclosed fossils
 Data from: Martin, T. 1998. One Long Experiment.
Columbia University Press, NY, NY. Figure 2.3 (p. 30).)
and Wicander, R. Monroe, J.S. 2000. Historical Geology:
Evolution of Earth and Life Through Time, 3rd ed.
Brooks/Cole, Pacific Grove, CA. Figure 3.31 (p. 64).
Correlation

correlation to be rapidly
allows biostratigraphic
(extinction) of species
Appearance Datums

Appearance Datums
(evolution) and Last
• Recognition of First

determined
 Correlation

– Species are not uniformly distributed over Earth’s

surface because of different environmental
tolerances; eurytopic species are best for
biostratigraphic correlation
– Index fossils are species that are easily identified,
widespread, and abundant and thus especially
useful for biostratigraphy
 Correlation

• Integrating Different

Hall. Upper Saddle River, NJ Figures 7-19 and 7-20 (p. 202).
Data from: Tarbuck, E. J. and Lutgens, F. K. 2000. Earth Science, 9th ed. Prentice-
Stratigraphic Datums
– The different types
of datums
(lithostratigraphic,
biostratigraphic, etc.)
are routinely
integrated into
standardized
chronostratigraphic
frameworks
 How Complete Is the Geologic Record?

• Unconformities and Diastems

– The geologic record is not complete and does not
record every event in Earth history
– Much of the geologic record is not represented by
sediment but by surfaces of erosion or non-
deposition called unconformities
How Complete Is the Geologic Record?

Data from: Monroe, J.S. and Wicander, R. 1997. The Changing Earth: Exploring
Geology and Evolution, 2nd ed. West/Wadsworth. Belmont CA. Figure 17.10 (p. 418).
How Complete Is the Geologic Record?

– Angular unconformities, disconformities, and

nonconformities are different types
– The time represented by the missing sediment is
called a hiatus
– Diastems are gaps in the stratigraphic record so
short that are virtually undetectable
 How Complete Is the Geologic Record?

• Sequence Stratigraphy
– Unconformities (especially disconformities) are
the basis for the discipline of sequence
stratigraphy
– The depositional sequence is the basic unit of
sequence stratigraphy; it consists of rocks or
sediments laid down relatively continuously
How Complete Is the Geologic Record?

Data from: Monroe, J. S. and Wicander, R. 1997. The Changing Earth: Exploring
Geology and Evolution, 2nd ed. West/Wadsworth. Belmont CA. Figure 21.5 (p. 533).
How Complete Is the Geologic Record?
– A depositional sequence is bounded above and below
by an unconformity; each unconformity represents a
sequence boundary
– These depositional sequences are normally first
recognized on seismic sections and later correlated to
well logs and biostratigraphic extinctions
How Complete Is the Geologic Record?
– Sea level changes (transgressions and regressions)
play a role in the development of depositional
sequences and sequence boundaries

Seismic data provided by TGS.

How Complete Is the Geologic Record?
 Why is Sea Level So Important?

• Sea level determines the broad patterns of

depositional environments and facies, which
record the history of Earth and life in rocks
and fossils
– Without the geologic record a great deal of
Earth’s history would be lost and our
understanding of the planet’s evolution more
fragmentary
 Why is Sea Level So Important?

• Sea level also reflects and interacts with

tectonics and climate to shape the Earth
– The relative importance of these processes varies
at different scales of time
Why is Sea Level So Important?