Principles of Geology

EM 1111
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UNIT 3
GEOLOGIC TIME

Topic Learning Outcomes

• Acquire knowledge of the fundamental and important geologic principles
• Comprehend the concept of geologic time and its implications and
applications in modern geologic studies

Contents
• Major Geologic Principles
• Standard Stratigraphic Column
Engage

The Kaibab Formation is a

200-500 ft thick limestone
deposit in Grand Canyon
National Park.

This topmost rock layer of

the Grand Canyon was
deposited 270 mya,
during the Paleozoic Era.

Figure 1 Grand Canyon National Park- The Kaibab from South Kaibab Trail
(Caldon, 2012)

The Kaibab Formation contains numerous fossils

indicative of a warm and shallow water
environment, including crinoids, brachiopods, Figure 2 Illustration of fossils found in the Kaibab Formation
Retrieved from:
bryozoans, and sponges (Figure 2). http://geologylearn.blogspot.com/2016/03/taxonomy-and-
identication-of-fossils.html
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Explore
The Importance of a Time Scale

Interpreting Earth’s history is an important goal of the science of geology.

Rocks record the geologic events and changing life forms of the past. A geologist
must interpret the clues found preserved in the rocks. By studying rocks,
especially sedimentary rocks, and the features they contain, geologists can
unravel the complexities of the past.

Geologic events by themselves, however, have little meaning until they are put
into a time perspective. Studying history, whether it is the Civil War or the age of
dinosaurs, requires a calendar. Among geology’s major contributions to human
knowledge are the geologic time scale and the discovery that Earth’s history is
exceedingly long.

Explain
The geologists who developed the geologic time scale revolutionized the way
people think about time and perceive our planet. They learned that Earth is much
older than anyone had previously imagined, and they learned that its surface and
interior have been changed over and over again by the same geologic processes
that operate today.

Numerical Dates
During the late 1800s and early 1900s, attempts were made to determine Earth’s
age. Although some of the methods appeared promising at the time, none of
those early efforts proved to be reliable. What those scientists were seeking was
a numerical date. Such dates specify the actual number of years that have passed
since an event occurred. Today, our understanding of radioactivity allows us to
accurately determine numerical dates for rocks that represent important events
in Earth’s distant past. Prior to the discovery of radioactivity, geologists had no
reliable method of carrying out numerical dating and had to rely solely on relative
dating.
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Relative Dates
When we place rocks in their proper sequence of formation—indicating which
formed first, second, third, and so on—we are establishing relative dates. Such
dates cannot tell us how long ago something took place, only that it followed one
event and preceded another. The relative dating techniques that were developed
are valuable and still widely used. Numerical dating methods did not replace
those techniques but supplemented them.

Major Geologic Principles

There are geologic principles that are used to determine how rocks were created
and how they changed through time. These general rules or laws are also used to
determine the relative ages of rock formations, whether one is younger or older
relative to another.

Principle of Superposition
Nicolas Steno (1638–1686), a Danish
anatomist, geologist, and priest, was
the first to recognize a sequence of
historical events in an outcrop of
sedimentary rock layers. Working in
the mountains of western Italy, Steno
applied a very simple rule that has
become the most basic principle of
relative dating—the principle of
superposition.
(super = above; positum = to place) Figure 3 Superposition Applying the principle of superposition to these layers
in the upper portion of the Grand Canyon.

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.

This rule also applies to other surface-deposited materials, such as lava

flows and beds of ash from volcanic eruptions.
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Principle of Original Horizontality

Steno is also credited with recognizing the importance of another basic rule, the
principle of original horizontality.
This principle says that layers of sediment are generally deposited in a
horizontal position
If we observe rock layers that are flat, it means they have not been disturbed and
still have their original horizontality. The layers in the Grand Canyon illustrate this
principle. If the layers are folded or inclined at a steep angle, they must have
been moved into that position by crustal disturbances sometime after their
deposition (Figure 4).

Figure 4 Weird Rock Formations at Agia Pavlos. by G. Shuttleworth

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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 .

The Law of Lateral Continuity suggests that all rock layers are laterally
continuous and may be broken up or displaced by later events.

Figure 5
A. Sediments are deposited over a
large area in a continuous sheet.
Sedimentary strata extend
continuously in all directions until
they thin out at the edge of a
depositional basin or grade into a
different type of sediment.
B. Although rock exposures are
separated by many miles, we can
infer that they were once
continuous. c. The idea depicted in
B is illustrated in this image of the
Grand Canyon. (Photo by
bcampbell65/Shutterstock)

Figure 6
The Coconino Sandstone whose buff-colored sand piles up as thick as 300 feet (90 m) in the Grand Canyon area and 1,000 feet (300
m) in other areas, is one of the most common evidence raised against the Genesis Flood.

Reading Assignment: How is the Coconino Sandstone an argument against the biblical flood?
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Principle of Cross-Cutting Relationships

Figure 7 shows layers of rock that have been offset by a fault, a fracture in rock
along which displacement occurs. It is clear that the strata must be older than the
fault that broke them.

The principle of cross-cutting relationships states that geologic features that

cut across rocks must form after the rocks they cut through.

Figure 7 Normal faults defining a graben in Iran (Fossen, 2013)

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Igneous intrusions provide another example. The dikes shown in Figure 8 are
tabular masses of igneous rock that cut through the surrounding rock. The
magmatic heat from igneous intrusions often creates a narrow “baked” zone of
contact metamorphism on the adjacent rock.

Figure 8
The light gray intrusion is
located in Sweden. It is cut by
a white intrusion (pegmatite),
which is cut by a black
intrusion (diabase). Since the
black intrusion is whole (not
cut by any intrusion) it is the
youngest. The white intrusion
is the second youngest
because it is cut by the black
intrusion, but cuts into the
light-gray intrusion. The light-
gray intrusion is the oldest
because: it is cross-cut by the
white and the black intrusion.

Retrieved at
https://polarpedia.eu/en/cross
-cutting-relationships/
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Principle of Inclusions

Sometimes inclusions can aid in the relative dating process. 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.

For example as in Figure 9, when magma

intrudes into the surrounding rock, blocks of
the surrounding rock may become
dislodged and incorporated into the
magma. If these pieces do not melt, they
remain as inclusions known as xenoliths.
When sediment is deposited atop a
weathered mass of bedrock, pieces of the
weathered rock become incorporated into
the younger sedimentary layer.

Figure 9 The rock containing inclusions is younger than the inclusions.

Figure 10
Felsic dike with mafic inclusions intruding low-
grade metamorphic rock. This dike is full of mafic
inclusions, probably derived from interaction with
an earlier, more mafic magma. Note the small sill-
like apophyses intruding from the dike into the
country rock.

Retrieved from
https://www.marlimillerphoto.com/Ig-16.html
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Unconformities

When we observe layers of rock that have been deposited essentially without
interruption, we call them conformable. Particular sites exhibit conformable beds
representing certain spans of geologic time. However, no place on Earth has a
complete set of conformable strata.

Throughout Earth history, the deposition of sediment has been interrupted over
and over again. All such breaks in the rock record are termed unconformities.

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. There are three basic types of unconformities,
and geologists can use them to identify what intervals of time are not
represented by strata and thus are missing from the geologic record.

Angular unconformity
Perhaps the most easily recognized
unconformity is an 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 the pause in
deposition, a period of deformation
(folding or tilting) and erosion occurred
(Figure 11).

Figure 11
Formation of an angular unconformity which represents an extended
period during which deformation and erosion occurred
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Disconformity
A disconformity is a gap in the rock record that represents a period of erosion
rather than deposition. Imagine that a series of sedimentary layers is deposited in
a shallow marine setting. Following this period of deposition, sea level falls or the
land rises, exposing some the sedimentary layers. During this span, when the
sedimentary beds are above sea level, no new sediment accumulates, and some
of the existing layers are eroded away. Later, sea level rises, or the land subsides,
submerging the landscape. Now the surface is again below sea level, and a new
series of sedimentary beds is deposited.

The boundary separating the two sets of beds is a disconformity—a span for
which there is no rock record (Figure 12). 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.

Figure 12 Disconformity . The layers on both sides of this gap in the rock record are essentially parallel.
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Nonconformity
The third basic type of unconformity is nonconformity, in which younger
sedimentary strata overlie older metamorphic or intrusive igneous rocks (Figure
13). Just as angular unconformities and some disconformities imply crustal
movements, so too do nonconformities. Intrusive igneous masses and
metamorphic rocks originate far below the surface. Thus, for nonconformity to
develop, there must be a period of uplift and erosion of overlying rocks. Once
exposed at the surface, the igneous or metamorphic rocks are subjected to
weathering and erosion, then undergo subsidence and renewed sedimentation.

Figure 13 Nonconformity. Younger sedimentary rocks rest atopolder metamorphic or igneous rocks.
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Unconformities in the Grand canyon

The rocks exposed in the Grand Canyon of the Colorado River represent a
tremendous span of geologic history. It is a wonderful place to take a trip through
time. The canyon’s colorful strata record a long history of sedimentation in a
variety of environments—advancing seas, rivers and deltas, tidal flats, and sand
dunes. But the record is not continuous. Unconformities represent vast amounts
of time that have not been recorded in the canyon’s layers.

Figure 14 is a geologic cross section of the Grand Canyon. All three types of
unconformities can be seen in the canyon walls
Figure 14
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Stratigraphic Column

A formation is a rock or group of rocks that differ from rocks that occur above or
below and have distinctive characteristics and fossils such that the rocks can be
recognized over wide areas.

Formations are given a formal name, normally a geographic locality. If it is a

group of rocks, for example, interbedded sandstones and shales, then it might be
called something like the Toroweap Formation.

If it is a single rock type, then only the rock name is specified in the formation
name, for example the Kaibab Limestone.

If several formations can be grouped together as a distinctive set of formations,

this called a Group. For example the Supai Group.

Formations within the Grand Canyon is illustrated in Figure 15.

A stratigraphic column is a representation

used in geology and its subfield of
stratigraphy to describe the vertical location
Figure 15 Formation, groups, and members of the Grand Canyon of rock units in a particular area.
Stratigraphic Column
Retrieved from:
https://www2.tulane.edu/~sanelson/eens1110/geotime.htm
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Geologist often make a graphic to display stratigraphic information in an

understandable way. Such a graphic is called a stratigraphic column.

People often say that rocks exposed in the Grand Canyon offer a complete record
of geologic history, however this is incorrect. Note that there are several
unconformities in the Grand Canyon Stratigraphic Column that represent gaps in
the record. For example the Nonconformity near the bottom represents a gap of
about 1.5 to 2 billion years. Nowhere on Earth is there a complete section that
shows strata deposited over the entire history of the Earth.

Geologic Time Column

Over the past 150 years detailed studies of rocks throughout the world based on
stratigraphic correlation have allowed geologists to correlate rock units and break
them into time units. The result is the geologic column which breaks relative
geologic time into units of known relative age.

Note that the geologic column was established and fairly well known before
geologists had a means of determining numeric ages. Thus, in the geologic
column shown below, the numeric ages in the far right-hand column were not
known until recently.

Large divisions are Eons. In order of oldest to youngest are (1)Hadean when very
few rocks of this age are known, thus they are deeply buried if still present at all,
(2) Archean (Ancient Rocks), (3)Proterozoic where proto means early, zoic means
life, and (4) Phanerozoic means visible life. The first three units are often referred
to as the Precambrian.

The Eons are divided into Eras. In order of oldest to youngest are (1) Paleozoic
which means ancient life, (2) Mesozoic which means middle life, also called the
age of dinosaurs, (3) Cenozoic which means recent life, also called the age of
mammals.

The Eras are divided into Periods. Further subdivisions of Periods are called
Epochs.
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Figure 16 shows a simplified geologic time column.

Eon Era
Phanerozoic

Proterozoic

Archaen

Hadean

Figure 16 Geologic Time Column

Retrieved from: https://www.therockgallery.co.uk/timescale-25-w.asp
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Although geologists can easily establish relative ages of rocks based on the
principles of stratigraphy, knowing how much time a geologic Eon, Era, Period, or
Epoch represents is a more difficult problem without having knowledge of
numeric ages of rocks. In the early years of geology, many attempts were made
to establish some measure of numeric time.

• Age of Earth was estimated on the basis of how long it would take the
oceans to obtain their present salt content. This assumes that we
know the rate at which the salts (Na, Cl, Ca, and CO3 ions) are input
into the oceans by rivers, and assumes that we know the rate at which
these salts are removed by chemical precipitation. Calculations in 1889
gave estimate for the age of the Earth of 90 million years.

• Age of Earth was estimated from time required to cool from an initially
molten state. Assumptions included, the initial temperature of the
Earth when it formed, the present temperature throughout the interior
of the Earth, and that there are no internal sources of heat.
Calculations gave estimate of 100 million years for the age of the Earth.

In 1896 radioactivity was discovered, and it was soon learned that radioactive
decay occurs at a constant rate throughout time. With this discovery,
Radiometric dating techniques became possible, and gave us a means of
measuring numeric age.

Radiometric Dating
Isotopes are members of a family of an element that all have the same number of
protons but different numbers of neutrons. The number of protons in a nucleus
determines the element's atomic number on the Periodic Table. Figure 17 shows
the different isotopes of carbon.
Figure 17 Isotopes of Carbon
Retrieved from: https://experiment.com/u/3742

Carbon 14 is radioactive (and is used for carbon dating), but

both carbon 12 and 13 are stable isotopes of each other. They
react in the exactly the same way for most chemical processes,
but can be separated based on their atomic weight (P+N).
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The rate at which radioactive isotopes decay is often stated as the half-life of the
isotope (t1/2).

The half-life is the amount of time it takes for one half of the initial amount of the
parent, radioactive isotope, to decay to the daughter isotope.

Thus, if we start out with 1 gram of the parent isotope, after the passage of 1
half-life there will be 0.5 gram of the parent isotope left. Figure 18 shows the
change in proportion of the parent isotope and daughter isotope as a function of
half-lives. Figure 19 shows the half life of Carbon-14.

Figure 18 Proportion of the parent isotope and

daughter isotope as a function of half-lives
Retrieved from:
https://www2.tulane.edu/~sanelson/eens1110/ge
otime.htm

Figure 19 Decay of Carbon-14

Retrieved from:
https://socratic.org/questions/how-long-is-the-
half-life-of-carbon-14
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Some examples of isotope systems used to date geologic materials are shown in
Table 1. Note that with the exception of 14C, all techniques can only be used to
date igneous rocks. Some elements occur in such small concentration or have
such long half lives, that they cannot be used to date young rocks, so any given
isotope system can only be used if the material available is suitable for that
method.

Table 1 Examples of isotopes used in dating geologic materials

Potassium-Argon Dating

In nature there are three isotopes of potassium: 39K and 41K are non-radioactive
(stable) and 40K is radioactive with a half life of 1.3 billion years which decays to
40Ar and 40Ca (only the K-Ar branch is used in dating).

K is an element that goes into many minerals, like feldspars ( KAlSi3O8) and
biotite(K(Mg,Fe)3(AlSi3O10)(F,OH)2).

Ar, which is a noble gas, does not go into minerals when they first crystallize from
a magma because Ar does not bond with any other atom.

When a K-bearing mineral crystallizes from a magma it will contain K, but will not
contain Ar. With passage of time, the 40K decays to 40Ar, but the 40Ar is now
trapped in the crystal structure where the 40K once was.
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Radiocarbon (14C) Dating

Radiocarbon dating is different from the

other methods of dating because it
cannot be used to directly date rocks but
can only be used to date organic material
produced by once living organisms.

14C is continually being produced in the

Earth's upper atmosphere by the
bombardment of 14N by cosmic rays.
Once they have slowed down enough a
neutron can be absorbed by 14N nucleus
while kicking out a proton, resulting in a
14C nucleus. Thus, the ratio of 14C to 14N

in the Earth's atmosphere is constant.

n + 14N → 14C + p

Living organisms continually exchange

Carbon and Nitrogen with the
atmosphere by breathing, feeding, and
photosynthesis. Thus, so long as the
organism is alive, it will have the same
ratio of 14C to 14N as the back to 14N,
with a half-life of 5,730 years. Measuring
the amount of 14C in this dead material
thus enables the determination of the
time elapsed since the organism died.

Because of the short half-life of 14C, it is Figure 20 Production of Carbon-14 (Henry H)

Retrieved from:
only used to date materials younger https://slideplayer.com/slide/13345403/
than about 70,000 years.
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Other Numeric Age Methods

There are other means by which we can determine numeric age, although most of
these methods are not capable of dating very old materials. Among the methods
are (1) Tree Ring Dating (dendrochronology) is based on annual growth rings
produced by trees, (2) Fission Track Dating is based on counting scars left by
nuclear decay products in minerals (3) the Magnetic time scale is based on
reversals of the Earth's magnetic field.

Reading Assignment: Read about above methods of determining numerical age.

Absolute Dating and the Geologic Column

Using the methods of absolute dating, and cross-cutting relationships of igneous

rocks, geologists have been able to establish the numeric ages for the geologic
column. For example, imagine the cross-section such as that shown in Figure 20. .

From the cross-cutting relationships and

stratigraphy we can determine that:

The Oligocene rocks are younger than the 30 m.y.

old lava flow and older than the 20 m.y. old lava
flow.

The Eocene rocks are younger than the 57 m.y. old

dike and older than the 36 m.y. old dike that cuts
through them.

The Paleocene rocks are older than both the 36 m.y.

old dike and the 57 m.y. old dike (thus the
Paleocene is older than 57 m.y.

By examining relationships like these all over the

world, numeric age has been very precisely
correlated with the Geologic Column. But, because
the geologic column was established before
radiometric dating techniques were available, note
Figure 20 Example cross-section that the lengths of the different Periods and Epochs
Retrieved from:
https://www2.tulane.edu/~sanelson/eens1110/ge are variable.
otime.htm
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The Age of the Earth

Theoretically, we should be able to determine the age of the Earth by finding and
dating the oldest rock that occurs.

So far, the oldest rock found and dated has an age of 3.96 billion years. Individual
zircon grains in sandstones have been dated to 4.1 to 4.0 billion years old. But is
this the age of the Earth? Probably not, because rocks exposed at the Earth's
surface are continually being eroded, and thus, it is unlikely that the oldest rock
will ever be found. But we do have clues about the age of the Earth from other
sources:

Meteorites
These are pieces of planetary material that fall from outer space to the
surface of the Earth. Most of these meteorites appear to have come from
within our solar system and either represent material that never condensed
to form a planet or was once in a planet that has since disintegrated. The
ages of the most primitive meteorites all cluster around 4.6 billion years.

Moon Rocks
The only other planetary body in our solar system from which we have
collected samples of are moon rocks (samples of Mars rocks have never
been returned to Earth). The ages obtained on Moon rocks are all within
the range between 4.0 and 4.6 billion years. Thus, the solar system and the
Earth must be at least 4.6 billion years old
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Elaborate

Determine the sequence of the formation using the principles of geology.

Geologic History Justification

Oldest L Original Horizontality
- Horizontal layering of L-
K
K-P-J
P
J
B Angular Unconformity -
Layers below B tilted and
eroded
D Original Horizontality
- Horizontal deposition of
A
layer D-A
River Lateral Continuity
-River potion was eroded
Youngest
after the layering of A
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Evaluate

Write a point-form geologic history for the figure below. Specify which principle(s)
you used to justify the position of each event in the timeline. Unit J is a granite
pluton and sill (two types of igneous intrusion), and the line labeled as F is a fault.

Geologic History Justification

Youngest

Oldest
Geologic Time
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References

Main Reference:
Tarbuck, E. J., Lutgens, F. K., & Tasa, D. G. (2016). Earth: An Introduction to
Physical Geology (12th Edition) (12th ed.). Pearson. Available via Online Book
Repository at https://tinyurl.com/2988674y

Additional References:

Caldon, K.M. (2012). Grand Canyon NPS [Photograph]. Flickr.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/grand_canyon_nps/7706165700/

Fossen, H. (2013). Normal faults defining a graben in Iran [Photograph].

https://structuralgeo.wordpress.com/2013/07/18/normal-faults-
graben-restoration/

Nelson, S.A. (2017). Geologic Time. Tulane University

https://www2.tulane.edu/~sanelson/eens1110/geotime.htm