The Geologic Time Scale

Record of Deep Time in Rocks

Grand Canyon National Park
JWPowell’s questions…
—  Was the Grand Canyon sculpted by the
Colorado River? If yes, how long did it
take?
—  When did the rocks making up the mile-
high canyon walls form?
—  What was it like before the rock layers
accumulated?

à Geologic time
à Geologic time scale
Geologic time
—  Refers
to the period of time covering the
physical formation and development of the
Earth before any recorded human history.

Geologic time scale

—  Systemof chronological dating that relates
geological strata to time. This is used to
time and show the relationships of events
that occurred during Earth’s history.
 —  Provided detailed observations of
rocks and present-day geologic
processes.
—  “Principle of Uniformitarianism”

Charles Lyell
James Hutton (1797-1875)
(1726-1797)
How was the geologic time scale
developed?
How was the geologic time scale
developed?
—  Relative age
◦  Which rock is older or younger relative to
other rocks
◦  ___________
stratigraphic
principles
◦  Geologic column
—  Numerical age
◦  Actual/absolute age of rocks in years
◦  _________
radiometric
dating
◦  Time scale
I. Relative Age: Correlating rock
strata…
—  Stratigraphy –
study of
sedimentary strata
—  ________/beds –
strata

distinct layers of
sediments
deposited layer
after layer
Law of Stratigraphy / Law of Original ____________
Horizontality –
sediments are deposited in strata that are horizontal or
nearly so and parallel to the earth’s surface

Principle of Stratigraphic _____________

Superposition – the order in
which the strata were deposited is from bottom to top
Principle of Original Lateral Continuity– Sediments are
deposited and accumulate in continuous sheets.
Therefore, horizontal breaks in continuity of rock layers
were created only after formation of those rocks.
Principle of Cross-cutting _____________
Relationships
– an igneous
intrusion or fault must be younger than the rocks it
intrudes or displaces
Principle of ___________
Inclusions – fragments of one rock
contained within another are older than the rock
layer itself
Principle of Fossil Succession – fossil assemblages
succeed one another through time in a regular and
predictable order

Principle of Stratigraphic ___________

Correlation – same
fossil assemblage at different areas signify same
age of these strata
 Unconformity – an erosion surface separating
younger strata from older rocks

__________
Hiatus
–
any interval of
geologic time not
represented by
strata in a
particular area
Relative Age: Correlating rock strata…
Relative Age: Index fossils
—  Indicator (index)
fossils
—  Fossil succession
—  Fossil correlation
 Geologic Column
Epoch
Pre-Cambrian

88%
II. Numerical Age: Radiometric
dating
—  Radioactivity or radioactive _______
decay refers
to the process by which the nucleus of an
unstable atom loses energy by emitting high
energy particles generally called radiation.

—  How can we translate the rate of radioactive

decay to the age of rock?
 —  Isotopes

—  Atomic number = number of protons in the

nucleus
—  Atomic mass= number of protons + neutrons
in the nucleus
—  Radioactive element
—  Radioactive decay
—  Parent à daughter
isotope
—  Half-life: the time it takes
for half the amount of a
given radioactive parent
isotope to decay into its
daughter isotope.
—  e.g. 1:1 of 238U:206Pb
◦  4.5 byo
Question? If a rock contains 1:1of 238U:206Pb,
what is the age of the rock?
 Geologic Time Scale (2016)
Epoch

2.6 m.y.
Neogene 23 m.y.
“visible life” “recent life” Paleogene
541 my 66 m.y.

145 m.y.
201 m.y.
“earlier life” “middle life”
2500 my 252 m.y.

299 m.y.

4000 my 359 m.y.

“early life” 419 m.y.

444 m.y.
~4600 my 485 m.y.
541 m.y.
The History of Life on Earth
Biography written in rocks

Charles Doolittle Walcott discovered the Burgess Shale Fossils

Walcott Quarry, Canadian Rockies (1909-1924)
 The Pre-Cambrian Eons
—  Hadean (4.54-4 Ga)
 
◦  Earth forms
◦  Molten;Volcanism
◦  Giant Impact à Moon
◦  Heavy bombardment
◦  Differentiation of layers
◦  Oldest rocks formed
(4.3)
◦  Anaerobic
◦  Geochemical signatures Zircon
of earliest life forms?
(4.1)
The Pre-Cambrian Eons
—  Archean (4-2.5 Ga)
◦  Bacteria
◦  Cyanobacteria
Stromatolites
◦  ___________ (3.5)
◦  Oxygenic
photosynthesis
◦  Banded iron
formations
 The Pre-Cambrian Eons
—  Proterozoic (2.5-0.541
Ga)
◦  Great Oxygenation Event
(2.4)
◦  ________
Huronian Glaciation
(2.29-2.25)
◦  1st Eukaryotes (2.1-1.6)
◦  Cryogenian Glaciation
(Snowball Earth; 0.72)
◦  Break-up of
Supercontinent _______
Rhodinia

◦  Ediacaran Biota (marine

multicellular lifeforms;
0.64-0.54)
Ediacaran Biota
…exclusively marine and developed at the cusp of the Proterozoic and
Phanerozoic eons