founders of historical geology
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Founders of Historical Geology. Charles Darwin 1809-1882 Evolution – organisms changed through time Individuals with variations most favorable in existing environment had best chance of survival Passed these traits on to next generation Natural Selection - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
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Founders of Historical Geology
Charles Darwin 1809-1882
Evolution – organisms changed through time
Individuals with variations most favorable in existingenvironment had best chance of survival
Passed these traits on to next generation
Natural SelectionAlso recognized by Alfred Russell Wallace
Neither knew the mechanism, do you?
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Founders of Historical Geology
Charles Darwin 1809-1882
Origin of Species – 1859
Documented two things:
1. Evolution occurred
2. Natural selection was active & how it worked
Organic evolution became theguiding principle of paleontological and biologicalresearch
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Founders of Historical Geology
North American NotablesWilliam McClure 1763-1840
Produced the first geologic map of the US
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Founders of Historical Geology
North American NotablesAmos Eaton 1776-1842
Taught “hands on” geology at Rensselaer School (RPI)Took long field tripsFather of American geologyStudied New England region
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Founders of Historical Geology
North American NotablesLouis Agassiz 1807-1873
Recognized that massive ice sheetsonce covered North America
First to hint at “ice ages”Stated that glacial deposits did notaccumulate during Biblical flood
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Founders of Historical Geology
North American NotablesJames Hall 1807-1873
First director of NY StateGeological Survey
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Founders of Historical Geology
North American NotablesJames D. Dana 1813-1895
Published Manual of GeologySystem of Mineralogy
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Founders of Historical Geology
North American NotablesJohn Wesley Powell 1834-1905
Director of USGSFirst to traverse Grand
Canyon by boat(1869)
Union officer in Civil WarLost arm at Shiloh
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Founders of Historical Geology
North American NotablesOthniel C. Marsh 1831-1899 YaleEdwin D. Cope 1850-1897 Penn
Both vertebrate paleontologists Exploited fossil beds of western
United States No cooperation between two
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Founders of Historical Geology
North American NotablesGeorge Otis Smith 1871-1944
Director of USGS 1907-1930Colby graduate, 1893
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Time and Geology
The fundamental interest in geology is to put rocks in order time wise
Geologists try to establish a GEOCHRONOLOGY
Steno, Hutton, Smith etctried by use of superposition, fossil succession
As science advanced we used radiometric techniques.
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Time and GeologySmith and contemporaries used
RELATIVE GEOLOGIC DATING techniques
In relative dating, no reference to actual time
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Time and Geology
ACTUAL OR NUMERICAL DATING tries to assignnumbers in terms of years to events.
Generally based on radiometric decay of unstable elements
Expresses actual age of rocks or events
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Time and Geology
GEOLOGIC TIME SCALE
Subdivisions of Time
EonsEras
PeriodsEpochs
None last equal intervals oftime.
Based on events.
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Time and Geology
Subdivisions of Time
EONLargest subdivision of Geologic Time Scale
Four Eons recognized
PhanerozoicProterozoicArcheanHadean
Precambrian
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Time and Geology
Subdivisions of Time
Phanerozoic Eon0.544 byBP – presentIncludes most sedimentary rocks and
history of lifeProterozoic Eon
2.5-0.544 byBPMostly crystalline rocks
Archean Eon3.9-2.5 byBPOldest preserved rocks
Hadean Eon4.6–3.9 billion years before present (byBP) No geologic record
Pre
cam
bri
an
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Time and Geology
Subdivisions of Time
Phanerozoic Eon
Three major subdivisions:
ERA
Cenozoic Era (recent life)65 myBP-present
Mesozoic Era (middle life)250-65 myBP
Paleozoic Era (ancient life)544-250 myBP
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Time and Geology
Subdivisions of Time
Paleozoic Era
7 major subdivisions:
PERIODS
PermianPennsylvanianMississippianDevonianSilurianOrdovicianCambrian
Carboniferous
PA
LE
OZ
OIC
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Time and Geology
Subdivisions of Time
EPOCH
Periods are subdivided intoEPOCHS
Quaternary PeriodHolocene EpochPleistocene Epoch
Tertiary PeriodPliocene EpochMiocene EpochOligocene EpochEocene EpochPaleocene Epoch
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Time and Geology
Subdivisions of Time
Units on the Geologic Time Scale represent actual incrementsof time = GEOCHRONOLOGIC UNITS
Actual rock units formed or deposited during these intervalsare CHRONOSTRATIGRAPHIC UNITS
Geochronologic Units Chronostratigraphic Units Eon Eonathem Era Erathem Period System Epoch Series Age Stage Chron Zone
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Time and Geology
Subdivisions of Time
Geochronologic units have the same names asChronostratigraphic units
Jurassic Period = Jurassic System
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Time and Geology
Subdivisions of Time
Geologic Time Scale
Organized using fossil succession, superposition
Then the units could be correlated
Resolution of Geologic Time Scale still taking place today