colby college 经典地质学教程2.pptVIP

* Founders of Historical Geology Can be traced back to classical Greece Nicolaus Steno (Neils Stensen) 1638-1687 Originally a Danish physician An expert in anatomy (Public Dissections) Developed the fundamental principles of historical geology Physician to the de Medici family in Florence Nicolaus Steno (Neils Stensen) 1638-1687 In 1669, Steno wrote De solido intra solidum naturaliter contento dissertationis prodromus Prodromus to a dissertation on Solids Naturally Enclosed in Solids only 78 pages long Founders of Historical Geology Founders of Historical Geology Superposition - The scientific law stating that in any unaltered sequence of rock strata, each stratum is younger than the one beneath it and older than the one above it, so that the youngest stratum will be at the top of the sequence and the oldest at the bottom. Founders of Historical Geology Superposition, con’t. With tilted beds, we need to consider other sedimentary structures, like ripple marks, mudcracks, graded bedding, geopetal structures or cross-bedding to help determine up direction. Can also use vesicles in lava flows. Founders of Historical Geology Principle of Original Horizontality - The scientific law stating that sediments settling out of a fluid (air and water) are deposited horizontally or nearly horizontally in layers that lie parallel or nearly parallel to the Earth’s surface. Founders of Historical Geology Principle of Lateral Continuity - The scientific law stating that as originally deposited, strata extend in all directions until they terminate by thinning at the margins of the basin, end abruptly against some former barrier to deposition, or grade laterally into a different kind of sediment. Founders of Historical Geology John Strachey 1671-1743 Used superposition and original lateral continuity Determined the stratigraphic succession of coals in England Recognized what would later be termed unconformities Performed local scale observations. F