ERSC 1F90 Lecture Notes - Radiometric Dating
14 Mar 2014
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Document Summary
What is geology? (week 1, september 9 th , 2013) Geology: a science that deals with the history of the earth and its life especially as recorded in rocks. The science deals with the materials that make up the earth(rocks and minerals), the processes acting within the earth and at it"s surface, and the history of the earth. Physical geology: involved with the processes that act to form the earth and the products of those processes(ex, minerals, rocks, plate tectonics, earthquakes and volcanoes). Historical geology: involved with the interpretation of the history of the earth. Based on the recognition of the signature of changing environments over time, as preserved in the rock record. Environmental interpretation of rocks + age rocks = earth history. Environmental interpretation in the present is the key to the past. Age of rocks: based on relative age(relative to associated rocks) or absolute age(radiometric dating). Earth history: the history of changing conditions or environments on earth.
