geologic time

me is critical for geologic processes

Rockies and Alps are ~3000 m tall
-- mountains grow at ~1 meter per 5000 yrs (0.2 mm
-- 3000 m x 5000 yr/m = 15,000,000 (yrs necessar

Atlantic Ocean is ~5000 km across

-- today, seafloor spreading in Atlantic is ~4 cm/yr
-- 6000 km = 6000 km x 1000 m/km x 100 cm/m
= 600,000,000 cm
-- 600,000,000 cm / 4 cm/yr = 150,000,000 years

for comparison: fingernail grows at 1 cm/yr

age of the Earth
prior to 19th century, accepted age from religious belie
-- 6,000 years for Western culture (Christian)
Bishop Usher from geneology in the Bible

-- old beyond comprehension (Hindu/Buddhist/Chines

-- age not certain (Islam)

during 19th century, length of time required for

geologic processes to occur was
recognized
-- fundamental contribution of geology
to scientific knowledge
istorical developments
James Hutton (1726-1797) Father of Modern Geology
native of Edinburgh, Scotland
educated as a medical doctor in Leiden (1749)
passionate about scientific inquiry

Theory of the Earth -- processes are slow; take a long time

Charles Lyell (1795-1875)

Scotsman who attended Oxford University
father was an avid naturalist
rebelled against prevailing thought of catastrophism.

Principles of Geology -- popularized Huttons views

idea of uniformitarianism --
same processes operating today occurred in the past

.the present is the key to the past.

 the key to the past
relative time vs. absolute time

relative time
order of events or objects from first (oldest) to last (youngest)
she is older than he is; she was born first and he was born last

absolute time
age of events or objects expressed numerically
she is twenty-one and he is nineteen

study of timing of geologic events and processes is geochronology

relative time and relative
order
apply simple concepts to determine

original horizontality
superposition
lateral continuity
cross-cutting relationships
inclusions
unconformities
relative age dating
concepts
original horizontality
all beds originally deposited in water formed in horizontal
layers

sediments will settle

to bottom
and blanket
the sea floor
relative age dating
concepts
superposition youngest
within a sequence of undisturbed
sedimentary or volcanic rocks,
oldest rocks are at the bottom
and youngest at the top
.young upward

lateral continuityoldest
original sedimentary layers
extend
laterally until they thin at
edges
continue continue
relative age dating
concepts
cross-cutting
relationships
a disrupted pattern is older
than
the cause of the disruption
e.g. an intrusion is younger
than the rocks it intrudes
relative age dating
concepts
inclusions
fragments of other rocks
contained in a body of rock
must be older than the
host rock
e.g.
1) xenoliths in granite are older
than granite and
2) pieces of rock in
conglomerate are older
than conglomerate

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relative age dating
concepts
unconformities
a contact between sedimentary formations that represents a
gap
in the geologic record -- gap represented is variable (i.e.
amount of time or the amount of missing section)
different types of unconformities
conformity
relatively continuous deposition
deposition of a sequence of parallel layers
contacts between formations do not represent
significant amounts of time
conformity

from: http://www.elohi.com/photo/grandcanyon
relative age dating
concepts
different types of unconformities
angular unconformity
contact separates overlying younger layers from tilted
older layers
sequence of layers
is not parallel
contacts between formations
may represent significant
amounts of time

angular unconformity
from: http://www.uakron.edu/envstudies/parks/rmgcan2.html angular unconformity
angular unconformity
relative age dating
concepts
different types of unconformities
disconformity
contact separates beds (formations) that are parallel

sequence of layers
is parallel
contacts between
formations
may represent significant
amounts of time
missing time is difficult to
recognize (may need other
information--paleosol?)
relative age dating
concepts
different types of unconformities
nonconformity
strata deposited on older crystalline (metamorphic/igneous)
rock
erosion surface on igneous/metamorphic rock covered by
sedimentary rocks

large gap in
geologic record

nonconformity
what events
occur?

angular
unconformity
what events
occur? nonconformity
now that we know all thiswhat
happened?
deposition
intrusion
tilting and
erosion
subsidence
and
renewed
deposition
missing formation (time)?
dike intrusion
erosion and exposure
subsidence and deposition
uplift/sea level fall and river deposition
relative ages of the formations
relative age: correlation
correlation -- determining time equivalency of
rocks within a region, between continents, etc.

how is this
done?
physical continuity
physically following a continuous exposure of a rock unit
--most direct; easily done in some locations, not in others
e.g. within the Grand Canyon

lithologic
similarity
assuming similar sequences of rocks formed at same time
-- inaccurate if common rocks are involved
e.g. the Grand Canyon and Zion National Parks
physical continuity -- Coconino Sandstone in
Grand Canyon
Coconino Sandstone
lithologic similarity -- Coconino and Navajo
Sandstones
lithologic similarity -- Coconino and Navajo
Sandstones Navajo is much younger!
relative age: correlation
how is this
done?
faunal succession (correlation by
fossils)
fossil species succeed one another through the layers
in a predictable order

index fossil
short-lived organism;
points to narrow range
of geologic time

fossil assemblage
group of fossils
associated
together
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similar units found in India, Africa, S. America, Australia, Antarctica.

 established initially as a
relative scale using
sedimentary rocks
and fossils

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absolute ages
were determined later
with
radiometric dating
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absolute time
natural clock is necessary
-- radiometric dating
(nuclear clock: decay of radioactive isotopes

-- dendrochrolonology

-- astronomical methods
age of the Earth
early methods: long debated
1625: Archbishop Usher determined Earth was created in 4004
by counting generations in the Bible
Hindus regarded Earth as old: 2000 A.D. is 1.97 million years
according to Hindu calendar
1866: Lord Kelvin calculated age by assuming that Earth was
molten and cooled to a solid; age between 20-40 million years old
- did not know about radioactive decay (makes heat)
- assumed all heat dissipated by conduction

early isotopic methods (radioactivity known

1905: first crude estimates yielded 2 billion year age
meteorites gave dates of 4.5 to 4.6 billion years old

modern uranium/lead methods yield values of 4.55 billion years

radioactive isotopes
have nuclei that spontaneously decay
-- emit or capture subatomic particles

parent: decaying radioactive isotope

daughter: decay daughter

parent daughter
loss or gain

loss or gain of neutron converts parent to daughter of same elem

loss or gain of proton changes parent into entirely new daugh

 3 primary ways of decay

alpha decay (Z 58)

particle has 2 neutrons and 2 proton
U238 Th234
92 protons 90 protons

beta decay (n0 = p+ +

e-)
breakdown of neutron into an
electron and a proton and loss
of the electron to leave a proton
(result is gain of one proton)
K40 Ca40
19 protons 20 protons

electron capture (e- + p+ =

capture
n0 ) of an electron by a proton
and change of proton to neutron
(result is loss of proton)
K40 Ar40
19 protons 18 protons
radiometric dating
uses continuous decay to measure time since rock
formed
only possible since late 1890s -- radioactivity discovered in 1896

as minerals crystallize in magma;

they trap atoms of radioactive isotopes in their crystal structures

radioactive isotopes will decay immediately and continuously

as time passes, rock contains less parent and more

 half-life
amount of time it takes for half the atoms of the
parent isotope to decay
different radioactive isotopes have different and
distinct half-lives

if rock has 12 parents and 12 daughters--ratio of 1:1

original rock had 24 parents and one half-life has elapsed

after another half life, rock will have 6 parents and 18 daughters
ratio of 1:3---note that total number (24) remains the same

regardless of isotope, the ratio of parent to daughter atoms

is predictable at each half-life
predictable ratios at each half-life
exponential decay (half always remains)
exponential decay: never goes to zero

exponential linear
example: Uranium 238 decay to Lead 206 (stable)
several steps
(each has its own half-life)
most common dating systems
uranium-thorium-lead dating (previous example)
U-238, U-235, Th-232
each of these decays through a series of steps to Pb

U-238 to Pb-206 half-life = 4.5 by

U-235 to Pb-207 half-life = 713 my
Th-232 to Pb-208 half-life = 14.1 my

potassium-argon dating
argon is a gas--may escape
(ages too young--daughter missing)

K-40 to Ar-40 half-life = 1.3 by

rubidium-strontium dating
Rb-87 to Sr-87 half-life = 47 by
basic geochronological assumptions
decay constants constant through geological time
-- good reasons to believe this is correct from nuclear physics
-- measurements of decay sequences in ancient supernovae
yield the same values as modern lab measurements

system closed to adding or subtracting of

parent/daughter
-- isotopic system and type of mineral (rock) are important
-- careful procedure is essential to correct analysis

igneous rocks are most reliable for dating

metamorphism may cause loss of daughter products
sedimentary rocks will give ages of source rocks
 Instruments and
Techniques
Mass Spectrometry: measure different abundances of
specific nuclides based solely on atomic mass.

Basic technique requires ionization of the atomic species of

interest and acceleration through a strong magnetic field to
cause separation between closely similar masses (e.g. 87Sr and
86Sr).

Count individual particles using electronic detectors.

TIMS: thermal ionization mass spectrometry

SIMS: secondary ionization mass spectrometry - bombard target
with heavy ions or use a laser

Sample Preparation: TIMS requires doing chemical

separation using chromatographic columns.
CleanLabChemicalPreparation

http://www.es.ucsc.edu/images/clean_lab_c.jpg
ThermalIonizationMassSpectrometer

From:http://www.es.ucsc.edu/images/vgms_c.jpg
SchematicofSectorMS
ZirconLaserAblationPit
 Rate Law for Radioactive
Decay
Pt=Poexp(tot)

Where


1storderratelaw

Pt

Rb/Sr Age Dating Equation

Rbt=87Rboe
87

87
Srt87Sro=87Rbt(e
87Sr 87Sr 87 Rb t
86 = 86 + 86 (e 1)
Sr t Sr o Sr t

y = b + xm
Rb/Sr Isochron Systematics

M1 M2 M3
Independent Checks on Radiometric
Ages
Correlation of erosion with age on Hawaiian
Island Chain: Dates increase in age to the NW as
does erosion.

Annual growth bands in Devonian corals: 400/yr

yields date that is similar to radiometric date.
Consistent with slowing of Earth rotation with time.

Independent determination of Pacific plate motion

yields age progression that is consistent with K/Ar
dates of the island chains formed by hotspots.

Agreement between magnetic age from deep

marine sediments and radiometric ages of tuffs in
East African Rift
Other dating methods:
dendrochronology
annual growth of trees produces concentric rings
dating back to 9000 years is possible

- rings need to be calibrated

against C-14 dates to yield
true numerical age

- other information may also

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including rainfall and temperatur

- can develop composite

chronologies for specific regions
of interest for climate studies

photo H.D. Grissino-Mayer

relative and absolute dates
combined

same example
as in
relative age
 geological time
scale
eons, eras, periods, epochs

Oldest rocks: Greenland gneisses

Oldest rock fragments: W. Australia detrital zircons

earliest life
cyanobacteria: primitive single-celled organisms
found in Australia and dated at 3.7 billion years old

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modern equivalents in
Sharks Bay, Australia
proportional time scale

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combine relative and absolute time for
geologic time scale