Modern Soil
Stockton Sandstone
Cambrian
Geologic Time
Quaternary
Triassic
Ledger Dolomite
The Scale of Geologic Time
Nicolaus Steno
(1638-1686)
Relative Age
Principle of Original Horizontality
Principle of Superposition
Uniformitarianism – The laws of
nature do not change with time.
James Hutton
(1726-1797)
Age of Enlightenment
Catastrophism – Large-scale Geologic change is
the result of major catastrophes
Relative Age
Principle of Faunal Succession
Relative Age
Principle of Inclusion
Relative Age
Principle of Cross-Cutting Relations
Angular Unconformity
Relative Age
Nonconformity
Disconformity
Geologic Column
Geologic Column
Geologic Column
Periodic Table of the Elements
# of Protons
(mass)
# of Protons + Neutrons
Isotopes
Two or more substances of different
mass (atomic mass) but occupying
the same place in the periodic table
(atomic number).
Radioactive decay
Processes by which an atom
spontaneously changes into
another kind of atom
Parent vs. Daughter
Radiometric Dating
Half - Life
Half - Life
Mass Spectrometer
Varves –
thin layers of clay that show
rhythmic changes in lucustrine -environments
Ice Layers –
seasonal changes in snowfall
and subsequent snowmelt
- Thickness
- Isotopic composition
Tree Rings