Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Dr. R. B. Schultz
Geologic Time
How do geologists determine how old rocks are?
Relative age dating -- determine whether the rock is older or younger than
other rocks relative to one another
Absolute age dating -- use radiometric dating techniques to determine how
old rock is in the exact number of years
Not all rocks can be dated absolutely, so combinations of techniques are used.
By examining layers of sedimentary rock, geologists developed a time scale for
dividing up earth history.
Early in the 20th century, radiometric-dating techniques allowed scientists to
put absolute dates on divisions in the geologic time scale.
In this segment, we will learn how geologists:
Determine the relative ages of rock units,
Determined and named the divisions of the geologic time scale, and
Use radiometric techniques can be used to date some rocks.
Original
Horizontality
Cross Cutting
Relations
Superposition
Correlation
Correlation is determining
that rocks are within the
same formation in a
different geographic
location (may mean rocks
are the same age)
James Hutton also noticed that not only were the rock layers that were
present important, but rock layers that were missing were also important.
Unconformities
Unconformities are surfaces in rock that represent periods of erosion or nondeposition.
In other words, time has been left out of the physical geologic rock record.
There are three (3) principal types of unconformities:
Angular Unconformity
Rocks above and below unconformity have different orientations.
Rocks are at an angle and truncate at a horizontal layer.
Easiest of the three types to recognize because the units are at an angle
truncated with the units above them.
Nonconformity
Rocks in a horizontal fashion were eroded down to igneous bedrock material
at which time subsequent deposition of sedimentary layers commenced.
Represents the greatest amount of time left out of the geologic rock record.
Disconformity
Rocks in a nearly horizontal fashion were eroded and an erosional profile
remains covered by subsequent sedimentary deposition.
Most difficult to recognize because the units are nearly horizontal and only a
small discontinuous layer can be observed (rubble zone or soil profile).
Represents the least amount of time left out of the geologic rock record.
Most recent
Ice Age
Humans
arrive
Major Mass
Extinction
Age of
Dinosaurs
Major Mass
Extinction
Age of Coal
Formation
Age of Fishes
First multicelled
organisms
Origin of the Earth
4.55 Billion years
Key Terminology
Relative age dating
Isotope
Half-life
Parent Material
James Hutton
Superposition
Original horizontality
Correlation
Angular unconformity
Nonconformity
Eon
Period
Mass extinction