Introduction
Chief Messages in History of the Earth and its Life (GEOL 112)
1. Vastness of TIME
2. Constancy of CHANGE-unidirectional usually-evolution of continents, organisms, etc.
3. Continuous interaction between life and environment (water, land, etc.)
Main Components of the Course:
Materials, Processes, and Principles that govern the earth
Some review of things from GEOL 111, but in some more detail and with some further
expansion
History of the Earth over its 4.6 billion year life
Focus will be on processes that were active at certain times in earth history with special emphasis
on:
Climate and Sea Level (oceans, atmosphere)
Mountain Building (continents)
Organic evolution (biota)
and the INTERACTIONS between them
Underlying assumptions:
Evidence preserved in the ROCK RECORD is accurate record of past events and life
Basic laws of nature have not changed.
Earth System:
Interrelated parts
Fragile/evolving system
“ISMS”
Uniformitarianism
Catastrophism
Neptunism
Plutonism
Actualism-present AS the key to the past
Rocks not found forming today have several possible explanations:
Formed under conditions that no longer exist
Conditions exist but at deep locations in the earth
Conditions exist but over very long time periods