Introduction to Geology
Geology 209
Fall 2002
“ And some rin up hill and down dale,
Knapping the chucky stanes to pieces wi’ hammers,
Like sae mony road-makers ron daft.
They say ‘tis to see how the world was made.”
- Sir Walter Scott
Geologic time
relative age = the age of an object/event relative to the age of
other objects/events not given in time units.
absolute age = the age of an object/event in years.
Basic principles of relative ages:
•Observing physical relationships of rock layers;
•Fossils: physical evidence of past life preserved in rocks;
•Faunal Succession: fossils succeed one another in definite
and recognizable order.
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Geologic Time - Relative Ages
•Observing physical relationships of rock layers;
•Fossils: physical evidence of past life preserved in rocks,
e.g. bones, shells, imprints or traces of plants and animals;
Why are fossils important?
A. many plants and animals were distributed worldwide;
B. fossils have approx. the same age as sedimentary layers;
C. the principle of superposition is also valid for fossils;
A-C would still be not helpful if we find the
same fossils in all layers. But this is not the case!
•Faunal Succession: fossils succeed one another in definite
and recognizable order.
Geologic Time - Absolute Ages
In the early 20th century, geologists are able to
determine the absolute age of rocks by
Radiometric Dating Techniques
parent daughter
100/0 50/50 25/75 12.5/87.5 6.25/93.75
Half-life intervals: 1 2 3 4
- based on decay of “unstable” radioactive atoms in rocks;
- measurement of amount of ‘parent’ versus ‘daughter’;
- since the rate of decay is constant we can determine the
time span since rocks were formed.
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Cenozoic 1%
66.4 MY
Mesozoic 4%
245 MY
Paleozoic 7%
570 MY
Precambrian 88%
4600 MY
Compress the Events of Earth’s History
into one Calendar Year
Dec. 31, 23:59 and 57 secs. Columbus
arrived in North America
December
Dec. 26, Rocky Mountains began to form
November
Dinosaurs (Dec. 15-26)
October
September First Land Plants
August
First (hard-shelled) fossils
July
June
May
April
March First Evidence of Life (Bacteria)
February Oldest Rocks
January
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The Earth ‘Machine’
• Earth a dynamic system with cycles
moving material around and changing its
form BUT matter cannot be created or
destroyed (= closed system)
• 1 Hydrological Cycle - since atmosphere
formed (4600 million years ago!), the total
amount of water on earth has remained
constant
• 2 Rock Cycle – rock materials constantly
recycled
1 The Hydrologic Cycle
= continuous circulation of water as a result of:
evaporation, predominantly over the oceans, and
atmospheric precipitation (rainfall & snowfall)
over both continents and oceans
This creates a “surplus” of water on the continents, which
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1 The Hydrologic Cycle
= continuous circulation of water as a result of:
evaporation, predominantly over the oceans, and
atmospheric precipitation (rainfall & snowfall)
over both continents and oceans
This creates a “surplus” of water on the continents, which
• evaporates back into the atmosphere,
• is subject to uptake by the vegetation,
• generates surface runoff (rivers, streams etc.),
• infiltrates into the groundwater,
• or is stored as ice in the glaciers.
1 The Hydrologic Cycle
and its water play a key role in the rock cycle.
Weathering = physical and chemical altering of exposed
rocks on the earth’s surface.
Erosion = the wearing down of rocks and soils by
weathering, water, wind, and ice.
Deposition = the gravitational settling of rock-forming
materials out of water, wind, and ice.
Mass Wasting = the gravitational downslope movement
of soil and rock material.
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2 The Rock Cycle
Molten rock material is called magma. Rocks that
have formed by cooling from the molten state are
Igneous Rocks.
Sediments are produced by weathering and erosion,
transport (water, wind, ice), and deposition. The
process of lithification converts sediments into
Sedimentary Rocks.
Metamorphic Rocks
are generated if rocks experience structural and
mineralogical alterations that occur in the solid phase
through the action of heat, pressure, or fluids.
2 The Rock Cycle
is a dynamic system that describes the
formation breakdown re-formation
of a rock as a result of sedimentary, igneous,
and metamorphic processes.
Weathering, Erosion
Sedimentary
Rocks High p and
Transport, Deposition or high T
Internal heat, solar Compaction, Cementation
energy, water,
and gravity Igneous Metamorphic
Rocks Rocks
are the driving
forces of the rock
Cooling Very high p
cycle, during which and high T
Magma
processes such as mountain
building or deep burial of rocks occur. Simplified model
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3rd Cycle: In the Earth’s Interior
As a result of measurements of (a) the Earth’s gravitational field,
(b) the Earth’s magnetic field, (c) the vibrations set off by
earthquakes (seismic waves), and by (d) sampling the heat that
escapes through the Earth’s surface, geologists determined that
the Earth consists of four major concentric layers:
A Crust - 5 to 40 km thick
B Mantle - 2900 km thick
C Outer Core - 2240 km thick
D Inner Core -1230 km thick
A) The Crust
= outermost zone of the Earth (5-40 km thick). If the
earth was an apple, the crust would have the relative
thickness of the apple skin.
-continental crust, 20-40 km thick, granitic rocks, rich in
Si, Al, Na and K (light elements).
- oceanic crust, 2-10 km thick, basaltic rocks, denser
than continental crust, rich in Fe + Mg.
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Isostasy = the condition of balance or equilibrium
in which the crust floats on the mantle.
‘light’, thick continental crust
dense oceanic crust
(same thickness sinks deeper)
mantle
Behaves rigidly in response to short-term stress,
behaves like a viscous fluid in response to long-term stress
The lighter crust floats on the denser mantle
“like wood or icebergs floating in water”
Low density Continental crust thick
Major elements: O, Si, Al, Na, K
High density Oceanic crust thin
Major elements: O, Si, Fe, Mg
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B) The Mantle: between 5/40 km and 2900 km depth.
- comprises most of Earth’s volume and mass
ultimate source of all crustal material,
rich in Fe and Mg
C) The Outer Core
Outer core = the outermost
zone of the Earth’s core at
2900 km - 5140 km depth.
- abrupt changes in seismic
velocities → density
changes indicate that
outer core is molten;
- composed mostly out of
iron and silicon;
Q: Where does the Earth’s magnetic field come from?
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D) The Inner Core
Inner core = the solid
spherical core of the Earth
5140 km - 6370 km deep.
- sharp reflection of seismic
waves at 5140km, deep
boundary;
-solid, metallic core
composed mainly out of iron
and nickel.
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