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that are at work today, the product of slow and continuous geological changes. The theory can be summarized by the phrase "the present is the key to the past." Hutton also described the concept of deep time. The prevailing conceptualization of Earth history in 18th-century Europe, grounded in a
195:
Historical geology covers much of the same subject matter as physical geology, the study of geological processes and the ways in which they shape the Earth's structure and composition. Historical geology extends physical geology into the past.
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are organic traces of Earth's history. In a historical geology context, paleontological methods can be used to study fossils and their environments, including surrounding rocks, and place them within the geologic time scale.
305:, including limestone, sandstone, and shale, serve as a record of Earth's history: they contain fossils and are transformed by geological processes, such as weathering, erosion, and deposition, through deep time.
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further developed the theory of uniformitarianism in the 19th century. Modern geologists have generally acknowledged that Earth's geological history is a product of both sudden, cataclysmic events (such as
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Historical geology makes use of relative dating in order to establish the sequence of geological events in relation to each another, without determining their specific numerical ages or ranges.
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Absolute dating allows geologists to determine a more precise chronology of geological events, based on numerical ages or ranges. Absolute dating includes the use of
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was the first to observe and propose a number of basic principles of historical geology, including three key stratigraphic principles: the
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Theory of the Earth; or an
Investigation of the Laws Observable in the Composition, Dissolution, and Restoration of Land upon the Globe
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60:. Historical geology examines the vastness of geologic time, measured in billions of years, and investigates changes in the
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are examples of gradual geological processes, taking place over large sections of the geologic time scale. In the
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Geology is considered a historical science; accordingly, historical geology plays a prominent role in the field.
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of Earth's history. Stratigraphy is the study of strata: their order, position, and age.
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events. Hutton, however, depicted a very old Earth, shaped by slow, continuous change.
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Sedimentology is the study of the formation, transport, deposition, and diagenesis of
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1011:(11th ed.). Hoboken, New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons. pp. 20–21.
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1124:"Geological reasoning: Geology as an interpretive and historical science"
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944:(11th ed.). Hoboken, New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons. p. 4.
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169:) and gradual processes (such as weathering, erosion, and deposition).
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plates has structured the Earth throughout its geological history.
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1055:(11th ed.). Hoboken, New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons. p. 20.
989:(11th ed.). Hoboken, New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons. p. 17.
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1223:(11th ed.). Hoboken, New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons. p. 9.
968:(11th ed.). Hoboken, New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons. p. 8.
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to tell the sequence of these events. It also focuses on the
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techniques in the 20th century provided a means of deriving
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10.1130/0016-7606(1995)107<0960:GRGAAI>2.3.CO;2
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is the study of past climates recorded in geological time.
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The theory of plate tectonics explains how the movement of
226:, must rely on a detailed knowledge of geological history.
203:
93:
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1262:| Lecture notes for course at the University of Maryland
52:
is a discipline that uses the principles and methods of
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1102:"Geological Time | Digital Atlas of Ancient Life"
1033:"Geological Time | Digital Atlas of Ancient Life"
1746:
176:in the late 19th century and the development of
1081:Transactions of the Royal Society of Edinburgh
68:. It focuses on geological processes, such as
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131:contributed to an early understanding of the
267:Structural geology is concerned with rocks'
422:
1288:
1274:
1219:Levin, Harold L.; King, David T. (2017).
1051:Levin, Harold L.; King, David T. (2017).
1007:Levin, Harold L.; King, David T. (2017).
1006:
985:Levin, Harold L.; King, David T. (2017).
964:Levin, Harold L.; King, David T. (2017).
940:Levin, Harold L.; King, David T. (2017).
939:
103:
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27:Study of the geological history of Earth
184:ages of events in geological history.
14:
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361:are other methods of absolute dating.
152:, was that of a young Earth shaped by
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96:during different time periods in the
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377:Weathering, erosion, and deposition
202:, the search for and extraction of
118:principle of original horizontality
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1121:Frodeman, Robert (1995-08-01).
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122:principle of lateral continuity
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1359:Geological history of Earth
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1260:GEOL 102 Historical Geology
135:by proposing the theory of
58:geological history of Earth
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1085:Royal Society of Edinburgh
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148:literal interpretation of
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1373:Composition and structure
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1326:Index of geology articles
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108:During the 17th century,
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423:Brief geological history
30:Not to be confused with
1249:Encyclopedia Britannica
1245:Geology – Earth history
127:18th-century geologist
1221:The Earth Through Time
1200:Geosciences LibreTexts
1196:"7.2: Absolute Dating"
1175:Geosciences LibreTexts
1171:"7.1: Relative Dating"
1053:The Earth Through Time
1009:The Earth Through Time
987:The Earth Through Time
966:The Earth Through Time
942:The Earth Through Time
343:potassium–argon dating
104:Historical development
42:
1622:Environmental geology
212:Environmental geology
40:
1581:Planetary geophysics
114:law of superposition
41:Geologic Time Spiral
1683:Petroleum geologist
1647:Forensic geophysics
1617:Engineering geology
1364:Timeline of geology
1316:Glossary of geology
1141:1995GSAB..107..960F
429:Geologic time scale
351:Luminescence dating
347:uranium–lead dating
245:Layers of rock, or
150:Christian scripture
143:formed by the same
98:geologic time scale
56:to reconstruct the
1755:Historical geology
1709:Geology portal
1637:Geologic modelling
1576:Geophysical survey
1528:Geodetic astronomy
1454:Structural geology
1415:Historical geology
1346:History of geology
1321:History of geology
1311:Outline of geology
1254:Historical Geology
1091:(Part 2): 209–304.
339:radiocarbon dating
335:radiometric dating
263:Structural geology
257:Structural geology
188:Use and importance
178:radiometric dating
167:volcanic eruptions
78:structural geology
46:Historical geology
43:
32:History of geology
1742:
1741:
1627:Planetary geology
1543:Planetary geodesy
1256:| OpenGeology.org
1229:978-1-119-22834-9
1061:978-1-119-22834-9
1018:978-1-119-22834-9
995:978-1-119-22834-9
974:978-1-119-22834-9
951:978-1-119-22834-9
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920:
359:amino acid dating
337:methods, such as
303:Sedimentary rocks
174:radioactive decay
172:The discovery of
163:meteorite impacts
145:natural phenomena
137:uniformitarianism
18:Paleohydrogeology
16:(Redirected from
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1642:Forensic geology
1612:Economic geology
1538:Gravity of Earth
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569:Early Cretaceous
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355:dendrochronology
200:Economic geology
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559:Late Cretaceous
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365:Plate tectonics
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329:Absolute dating
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709:443.4 ± 1.5*
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685:358.9 ± 0.4*
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681:Mississippian
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675:323.2 ± 0.4*
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671:Pennsylvanian
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666:Carboniferous
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660:298.9 ± 0.2*
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643:252.2 ± 0.5*
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619:Late Triassic
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269:deformational
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208:raw materials
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158:Charles Lyell
155:
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110:Nicolas Steno
101:
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86:sedimentology
83:
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50:palaeogeology
47:
39:
33:
19:
1731:
1719:
1700:
1600:Applications
1571:Geomagnetism
1495:Hydrogeology
1428:Paleontology
1423:Stratigraphy
1414:
1390:Geochemistry
1248:
1220:
1215:
1204:. Retrieved
1202:. 2019-11-04
1199:
1190:
1179:. Retrieved
1177:. 2019-11-04
1174:
1165:
1132:
1129:GSA Bulletin
1128:
1116:
1105:. Retrieved
1096:
1088:
1080:
1068:
1052:
1047:
1036:. Retrieved
1027:
1008:
1002:
986:
981:
965:
960:
941:
891:Paleoarchean
588:163.5 ± 1.0
415:
380:
371:lithospheric
368:
332:
318:
296:
284:
281:Paleontology
275:Paleontology
266:
244:
241:Stratigraphy
235:Stratigraphy
198:
194:
191:
171:
154:catastrophic
129:James Hutton
126:
107:
82:paleontology
74:stratigraphy
49:
45:
44:
1671:Occupations
1652:Meteoritics
1518:Cartography
1474:Volcanology
1459:Geodynamics
881:Mesoarchean
754:Precambrian
739:Proterozoic
479:Pleistocene
454:Phanerozoic
402:metamorphic
398:sedimentary
271:histories.
220:earthquakes
1632:Geobiology
1607:Biogeology
1586:Seismology
1563:Geophysics
1490:Glaciology
1395:Mineralogy
1206:2021-04-23
1181:2021-04-23
1107:2021-04-25
1038:2021-04-18
869:Neoarchean
824:Statherian
764:Cryogenian
715:Ordovician
554:Cretaceous
464:Quaternary
394:rock cycle
390:deposition
382:Weathering
120:, and the
1678:Geologist
1533:Geomatics
1400:Petrology
1304:Overviews
1157:0016-7606
1075:(1788). "
901:Eoarchean
834:Orosirian
809:Calymmian
749:Ediacaran
649:Paleozoic
573:c. 145.0
539:Paleocene
519:Oligocene
514:Paleogene
299:sediments
224:volcanism
90:evolution
66:deep time
1749:Category
854:Siderian
844:Rhyacian
799:Ectasian
758:c. 635*
727:Cambrian
703:Silurian
691:Devonian
623:c. 235*
614:Triassic
579:Jurassic
549:Mesozoic
508:23.030*
494:Pliocene
469:Holocene
459:Cenozoic
218:such as
182:absolute
1733:Geology
1721:Geology
1510:Geodesy
1297:Geology
1137:Bibcode
864:Archean
789:Stenian
654:Permian
563:100.5*
504:Miocene
498:5.333*
489:Neogene
473:0.0117
445:Epochs
442:Period
406:igneous
386:erosion
286:Fossils
230:Methods
54:geology
1227:
1155:
1059:
1015:
993:
972:
948:
911:Hadean
774:Tonian
633:247.2
543:66.0*
533:56.0*
529:Eocene
523:33.9*
483:2.558
448:Start
404:, and
388:, and
357:, and
345:, and
247:strata
116:, the
84:, and
1483:Water
924:Notes
917:4567
905:4000
895:3600
885:3200
875:2800
858:2500
848:2300
838:2050
828:1800
813:1600
803:1400
793:1200
778:1000
141:Earth
62:Earth
1225:ISBN
1153:ISSN
1057:ISBN
1013:ISBN
991:ISBN
970:ISBN
946:ISBN
768:850
439:Era
436:Eon
222:and
206:and
204:fuel
165:and
94:life
1145:doi
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