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Lecture 2 Introduction to Earth History Outline I II Components of Geology A) B) Physical Geology Historical Geology A) B) James Ussher Nicolaus Steno Founders of C) D) E) F) G) H) I) 1) 2) 3) Superposition Original Horizontality Original Lateral Continuity 1) 2) 3) Plutonism Uniformitarianism Hutton's Corollaries to Superposition John Strachey Giovanni Arduino Abraham Gottlob Werner James Hutton a) b) Cross-Cutting Relationships Inclusion William Smith Charles Lyell Charles Darwin geology Geological Science the study of the planet Earth - the materials of which it is made, the processes that act on these materials, the products formed, and the history of the planet and its life forms since its origin. physical geology a broad division of geology that concerns itself with the processes and forces involved in the inorganic evolution of the Earth and morphology, and with its constituent minerals, rocks, magmas, and core materials. historical geology a major branch of geology that is concerned with the evolution of the Earth and its life forms from its origins to the present day. Catastrophism catastrophism the doctrine that sudden violent, short-lived, more or less worldwide events outside our present experience or knowledge have greatly modified the Earth's crust accounting for its present configuration as well as for the observed distribution of life forms. James Ussher (1581-1656) Founders of Historical Geology Nicolaus Steno (1638-1687) fossil descriptions first stratigrapher Steno's Laws Superposition Original Horizontality Original Lateral Continuity Steno's Laws Superposition Steno's Laws Original Horizontality Steno's Laws Original Lateral Continuity Founders of Historical Geology John Strachey (1671-1743) local stratigraphy of English coal beds described first angular unconformity an unconformity in which younger sediments rest upon the eroded surface of tilted or folded older rocks. Founders of Historical Geology Giovanni Arduino (1714-1795) founder of stratigraphy Italian mines specialist Founders of Historical Geology Abraham Gottlob Werner (1749-1817) mining inspector and teacher first to systematically classify minerals Woodward (1733) neptunism the theory that the rocks of the Earth's crust all consist of material deposited from, or crystallized out of, water. Founders of Historical Geology Georges Leopold Cuvier (1769-1832) founder of vertebrate paleontology scientific catastrophism Founders of Historical Geology William Smith (1769-1839) first geologic map Principle of Faunal Succession Life on Earth has evolved through time. Therefore, Like assemblages of fossils are of like age, and, The rocks containing them are of like age Founders of Historical Geology James Hutton (1726-1797) dynamic/cyclic concept of Earth history (rock cycle) plutonism deep time uniformitarianism recognized significance of unconformities corollaries to superposition Hutton's Rock Cycle Plutonism plutonism the concept of the formation of the Earth by solidification of a molten mass. Kircher (1655) Deep Time Uniformitarianism the fundamental principle that geological processes and natural laws now operating to modify the Earth's crust have acted in much the same manner and with essentially the same intensity throughout geologic time, and that past geologic events can be explained by forces observable today; "The present is the key to the past." James Hutton (1726-1797) Hutton's Unconformities Hutton's Corollaries Cross-cutting Relationships Hutton's Corollaries Inclusions Founders of Historical Geology Charles Lyell (1797-1875) first geologic time scale relative time Founders of Historical Geology Charles Darwin (1809-1882) Evolution of Species through Natural Selection Components of Historical Geology geochronology paleoclimatology sea level stratigraphy plate tectonic movements paleontology General Patterns in Earth History General Patterns in Earth History Heat Flow Heat production 4 billion years ago was 4 to 6 times as great as it is now General Patterns in Earth History Major Trends General Patterns in Earth History Atmospheric Oxygen General Patterns in Earth History The History of Life General Patterns in Earth History Biodiversity in Earth History CENOZOIC Era Period Range of Global Biodiversity QUATERNARY TERTIARY MASS EXTINCTION MESOZOIC CRETACEOUS JURASSIC MASS EXTINCTION TRIASSIC PERMIAN PALEOZOIC CARBONIFEROUS MASS EXTINCTION MASS EXTINCTION DEVONIAN SILURIAN ORDOVICIAN CAMBRIAN MASS EXTINCTION General Patterns in Earth History Paleogeography (Tectonics) 600 million years ago 450 million years ago 300 million years ago today General Patterns in Earth History Climate General Patterns in Earth History Sea Level General Patterns in Earth History Summary