EARTH 7 Lecture Notes - Lecture 3: Carbon-14, Nicolas Steno, Siccar Point
Document Summary
Geological timescale provides both relative and absolute age information in the same place. Nicolas steno (the first person to understand what a fossil was, described the process of fossilization. He debunked the myth of fossils being devil"s tounges or giant"s testicals) He believed layers are going to be laid out horizontally due to wind or water. Lateral continuity: rocks that are no longer continuous, but might have been, are likely in the same layer. Superposition: rock layers that are higher are younger, and ones lower are older. James hutton, the (grand)father of geology (many had trouble understanding his works) Deep time: how old the earth is is nearly beyond human comprehension. "no vestige of a beginning, no prospect of an end" Changed the paradigm from a relatively young earth to extremely old. Cross cutting relationships (and erosional contacts): a rock layer is older than any feature that cuts or disrupts it (such as a river)
