PRINCIPLES OF

GEOLOGY

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HISTORICAL GEOLOGY

 It examines the origin and evolution

of Earth, its continents, oceans,
atmosphere, and life.
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HISTORICAL GEOLOGY

 Not only basic principles of historical geology aid in

interpreting Earth’s history but they also have practical
applications.

Ex. William Smith

 The same principles used in the late 18th and early 19th
century are still used today in mineral and oil exploration.

 Also, in interpreting the geologic history of the planets and

moons of our solar system.
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NEPTUNISM

 Proponent: Abraham Gottlob Werner (1749-1817), a

German professor

 The concept of Neptunism was proposed in 1787.

 Although Werner was an excellent mineralogists, he is

best remembered for his incorrect interpretation of Earth
history.

 Despite of his personality and arguments, his Neptunian

theory failed to explain what happened to the tremendous
amount of water that once covered the earth and to
recognize the igneous origin of basalt.
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CATASTROPHISM
 Proponent: Baron Georges Cuvier (1769-1832),
French zoologist
 The concept was from the late 8th century to mid-19th
century.
 Cuvier explained that the physical and biological
history of Earth has resulted from a series of sudden
widespread catastrophes.
 Same with Neptunism, this concept was rejected
because their assumptions were not supported by
field evidence.
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UNIFORMITARIANISM

 The present-day processes have

operated throughout geologic time .
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ACTUALISM
 Geologists today assume that the principles, or laws
of nature are constant but the rates and intensities of
change have varied through time that’s why some
geologists prefer to use the term actualism rather
than uniformitarianism to remove the idea of
“uniformity”.

 Most geologists still use uniformitarianism because

though the rates and intensities of change have
varied in the past, laws of nature have remained the
same.
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PROPONENTS

 James Hutton – he reasoned that “the past

history of our globe must be explained by what
can be seen to be happening now.”
 Charles Lyell (1797-1875) – he is the principal
advocate and interpreter of principle of
uniformitarianism.
 William Whewell (1832) – coined the term
“Uniformitarianism”.
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PROPONENTS

 Nicolas Steno, a Danish anatomist,

geologist, and priest (1638–1686), was
the first to recognize a sequence of
historical events in an outcrop of
sedimentary rock layers.
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GEOLOGIC TIME: HOW IS GEOLOGIC
TIME MEASURED?

 Relative Dating - is placing geologic

events in a sequential order as
determined from their positions in the
geologic record.
 Numerical/ Absolute Dating – provides
specific dates for rock units or events
expressed in years before the present.
To zestablish a relative time scale, a few basic
principles or rules had to be discovered and
applied:

 Principle of Superposition

 Principle of Original Horizontality

 Principle of Lateral Continuity

 Principle of Cross-cutting Relationships

 Principle of Inclusions

 Unconformities
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PRINCIPLE OF SUPERPOSITION

 Principle of superposition (super = above;

positum = to place).
 This principle simply states that in an
undeformed sequence of sedimentary rocks,
each bed is older than the one above and
younger than the one below.
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PRINCIPLE OF ORIGINAL HORIZONTALITY

 It states that layers of sediment are generally

deposited in a horizontal position. Thus, if we
observe rock layers that are flat, it means they
have not been disturbed and still have their
original horizontality.
 But if they are folded or inclined at a steep angle,
they must have been moved into that position by
crustal disturbances sometime after their
deposition.
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PRINCIPLE OF LATERAL CONTINUITY

 The principle of lateral continuity refers

to the fact that sedimentary beds
originate as continuous layers that
extend in all directions until they
eventually grade into a different type of
sediment or until they thin out at the
edge of the basin of deposition.
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PRINCIPLE OF CROSS-CUTTING
RELATIONSHIP

 The principle of cross-cutting relationships

states that geologic features that cut across
rocks must have formed after the rocks they
cut through.
 It is clear that the rocks must be older than
the fault and dike (igneous intrusion) that
broke them.
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PRINCIPLE OF INCLUSION

 Inclusions are fragments of one rock unit that

have been enclosed within another.
 The rock mass adjacent to the one containing
the inclusions must have been there first in
order to provide the rock fragments.
 Therefore, the rock mass that contains
inclusions is the younger of the two.
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UNCONFORMITIES
 Conformable are layers of rock that have been
deposited essentially without interruption.
 Unconformities are breaks in the rock record.

 An unconformity represents a long period during

which deposition ceased, erosion removed
previously formed rocks, and then deposition
resumed.
 Unconformities are important features because they
represent significant geologic events in Earth
history.
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3 BASIC TYPES OF UNCONFORMITIES

 Angular Unconformity

 Disconformity

 Nonconformity
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ANGULAR UNCONFORMITY

 It consists of tilted or folded sedimentary

rocks that are overlain by younger, more
flat-lying strata.
 An angular unconformity indicates that
during a pause in deposition, a period of
deformation (folding or tilting) and erosion
occurred.
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DISCONFORMITY
 A disconformity is a gap in the rock record that
represents a period during which erosion rather
than deposition occurred. The boundary separating
the two sets of beds is a disconformity—a span for
which there is no rock record.
 Because the layers above and below a
disconformity are parallel, these features are
sometimes difficult to identify unless you notice
evidence of erosion such as a buried stream
channel.
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NONCONFORMITY

 A nonconformity is wherein the

younger sedimentary strata overlie
older metamorphic or intrusive
igneous rocks.
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FOSSILS

 Fossils are the remains or traces of

prehistoric life, are important
inclusions in sediment and
sedimentary rocks.
 They are basic and important tools
for interpreting the geologic past.
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FOSSILS

 Paleontology is the scientific study of

fossils.
 It is an interdisciplinary science that blends
geology and biology in an attempt to
understand all aspects of the evolution of
life over the vast expanse of geologic time.
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TYPES OF FOSSIL PRESERVATION

 Body Fossils – either altered or

unaltered remains
 Trace Fossils

 Mold and Cast

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BODY FOSSILS – Unaltered Remains

 Freezing – large ice age mammals frozen in

sediment.

 Mummification – air drying and shriveling of soft

tissues.

 Preservation in Amber – leaves, insects and small

reptiles trapped and preserved in hardened tree resin.

 Preservation in Tar – bones, insects preserved in

asphalt-like substance at oil seeps.
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BODY FOSSIL – Altered Remains

 Permineralization – addition of minerals to

pores and cavities in shells and bones.
 Recrystallization – change in the crystal
structure, for example aragonite in shells
recrystallizes as calcite.
 Replacement – one chemical compound
replaces another, for example pyrite (FeS2)
replaces calcium carbonate (CaCO3) of
shells.
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BODY FOSSIL – Altered Remains

 Carbonization – volatile elements lost from

organic matter leaving a carbon film; most
common for leaves and insects.
 Impression – is the replica on the surface
of a fine-grained sediment which may still
show considerable detail if the film of
carbon is lost from a fossil preserved in
fine-grained sediment.
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TRACE FOSSILS

 Tracks — animal footprints made in soft

sediment that later turned into
sedimentary rock.
 Burrows — tubes in sediment, wood, or
rock made by an animal. These holes may
later become filled with mineral matter and
preserved. Some of the oldest known
fossils are believed to be worm burrows.
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TRACE FOSSILS
 Coprolites — fossil dung and stomach
contents that can provide useful
information pertaining to the size and
food habits of organisms.
 Gastroliths — highly polished stomach
stones that were used in the grinding of
food by some dinosaurs and other
organisms.
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MOLD AND CASTS

 Mold – a cavity with the shape

of a bone or shell
 Cast – a mold filled with
minerals or sediment.
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GEOLOGIC TIME SCALE
 Earth history is divided into units of time on the geologic
time scale. Eons are divided into eras, which each contain
multiple periods. Periods are divided into epochs.
 Precambrian time includes the Archean and Proterozoic
eons. It is followed by the Phanerozoic eon, which is well
documented by abundant fossil evidence, resulting in
many subdivisions.
 The geologic time scale is a work in progress, continually
being refined as new information becomes available
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