History of the Concept of Geologic Time Flashcards
Prior to the 18th Century, what was the age of Earth based upon biblical genealogies?
6000 Years
Who estimated the age of the earth at ~75,000 years by calculating the cooling rates of metal balls?
Georges Louis de Buffon
In the 19th Century, who calculated the time for the ocean to reach current levels of salinity?
John Joly
Who calculated cooling rates based upon evidence from European mines?
Lord Kelvin
In the early 20th Century, who discovered Radioactive Decay?
Pierre and Marie Curie
A Scottish geologist who developed the Principle of Uniformitarianism and the concept of Plutonism.
James Hutton
James Hutton is considered as the ________________
Father of Geology
This law states that the physical, chemical, and biological laws that operate today also operated in the geologic past.
Law of Uniformitarianism
A concept stating that the Earth’s physical and biological history is the result of widespread catastrophes.
Catastrophism
Who is the French Zoologist that proposed the concept of Catastrophism?
Baron Georges Cuvier
A concept stating that all rocks, including igneous rocks, were precipitated in an orderly sequence from a primeval, worldwide ocean.
Neptunism
Who is the German Professor of Mineralogy that proposed the concept of Neptunism?
Abraham Gottlob Werner
A concept stating that the processes that create and arrange rocks into the current landscape were driven by heat concealed within Earth’s interior, and rock-forming processes are constant and slow.
Plutonism
Who was the first person to use the term “Uniformitarianism”?
William Whewell
Who was the principal advocate and interpreter of Uniformitarianism?
Charles Lyell
What book did Charles Lyell publish?
Principle of Geology
When was the book Principles of Geology published?
1830
A law stating that the principles, or laws, of nature are constant but the rates and intensities of change have varied through time.
Law of Actualism
Who proposed the Laws of Superposition, Original Horizontality, and Lateral Continuity?
Nicholas Steno
Who proposed the Principle of Faunal Succesion and created the first geological map of Britain?
William “Strata” Smith
According to Cuvier, how many major catastrophes had occurred in the past?
6
Nicolas Steno was also known as ___________
Father of Stratigraphy
William “Strata” Smith was also known as ____________
Father of English Geology
When was the term “Uniformitarianism” used?
1832
