Geochronology, Dating, and Precambrian Time: The Beginning of the World As We Know It (The Geologic History of Earth)

TITLE......Page 4
COPYRIGHT......Page 5
CONTENTS......Page 6
INTRODUCTION......Page 13
GEOCHRONOLOGY......Page 24
EARLY VIEWS AND DISCOVERIES......Page 26
THE PRINCIPLE OF SUPERPOSITION OF ROCK STRATA......Page 28
THE CLASSIFICATION OF STRATIFIED ROCKS......Page 29
THE EMERGENCE OF MODERN GEOLOGIC THOUGHT......Page 32
JAMES HUTTON\'S RECOGNITION OF THE GEOLOGIC CYCLE\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0......Page 33
LYELL\'S PROMULGATION OF UNIFORMITARIANISM\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0......Page 35
DETERMINING THE RELATIONSHIPS OF FOSSILS WITH ROCK STRATA......Page 37
EARLY ATTEMPTS AT MAPPING AND CORRELATION......Page 39
THE CONCEPTS OF FACIES, STAGES, AND ZONES......Page 40
THE COMPLETION OF THE PHANEROZOIC TIME SCALE......Page 46
EARLY ATTEMPTS AT CALCULATING THE AGE OF THE EARTH......Page 53
AN ABSOLUTE AGE FRAMEWORK FOR THE STRATIGRAPHIC TIME SCALE......Page 57
NONRADIOMETRIC DATING......Page 58
GEOLOGIC PROCESSES AS ABSOLUTE CHRONOMETERS......Page 59
BIOLOGICAL PROCESSES AS ABSOLUTE CHRONOMETERS......Page 64
BIOHERM......Page 66
CORDILLERAN GEOSYNCLINE......Page 67
FAUNIZONE......Page 68
FOSSIL......Page 69
FOSSIL RECORD......Page 73
INDEX FOSSIL......Page 74
REMANENT MAGNETISM......Page 75
TEPHROCHRONOLOGY......Page 76
VARVED DEPOSIT......Page 77
THE DISTINCTIONS BETWEEN RELATIVE-AGE AND ABSOLUTE-AGE MEASUREMENTS......Page 80
THE GLOBAL TECTONIC ROCK CYCLE......Page 83
THE DETERMINATION OF SEQUENCE......Page 87
CORRELATION......Page 91
PRINCIPLES AND TECHNIQUES......Page 92
GEOLOGIC COLUMN AND ITS ASSOCIATED TIME SCALE......Page 96
ABSOLUTE DATING......Page 97
THE PRINCIPLES OF ISOTOPIC DATING......Page 99
THE ORIGIN OF RADIOACTIVE ELEMENTS USED IN DATING......Page 105
THE ISOCHRON METHOD......Page 107
THE ANALYSIS OF SEPARATED MINERALS......Page 110
MODEL AGES......Page 112
MULTIPLE AGES FOR A SINGLE ROCK; THE THERMAL EFFECT......Page 113
INSTRUMENTS AND PROCEDURES......Page 116
THE MAJOR METHODS OF ISOTOPIC DATING......Page 121
DENDROCHRONOLOGY......Page 148
HELIUM DATING......Page 150
IONIUM-THORIUM DATING......Page 151
OBSIDIAN-HYDRATION-RIND DATING......Page 152
RADIATION-DAMAGE DATING......Page 153
URANIUM-THORIUM-LEAD DATING......Page 154
EONS OF PRECAMBRIAN TIME......Page 157
THE HADEAN EON......Page 158
THE ARCHEAN EON......Page 160
THE PROTEROZOIC EON......Page 163
THE PRECAMBRIAN ENVIRONMENT......Page 167
PALEOGEOGRAPHY......Page 168
PALEOCLIMATE......Page 169
PRECAMBRIAN LIFE......Page 175
MICROFOSSILS AND STROMATOLITES......Page 176
EDIACARAN FOSSILS......Page 179
PRECAMBRIAN GEOLOGY......Page 181
THE MAJOR SUBDIVISIONS OF THE PRECAMBRIAN SYSTEM......Page 182
THE OLDEST MINERALS AND ROCKS......Page 183
SIGNIFICANT GEOLOGIC EVENTS......Page 186
THE OCCURRENCE AND DISTRIBUTION OF PRECAMBRIAN ROCKS......Page 190
ARCHEAN ROCK TYPES......Page 191
PROTEROZOIC ROCK TYPES......Page 203
THE CORRELATION OF PRECAMBRIAN STRATA......Page 212
ESTABLISHING PRECAMBRIAN BOUNDARIES......Page 213
PRECAMBRIAN GEOLOGIC FORMATIONS......Page 214
CONCLUSION......Page 233
GLOSSARY......Page 234
FOR FURTHER READING......Page 237
INDEX......Page 239