ERS103H5 Lecture Notes - Lecture 3: Carbon-14, Deep Time, Radiocarbon Dating
Document Summary
Relative dating all based on comparing the relative position of either sediments or fossils or a combination of both together to give an idea of how geological time works: ste(cid:374)o"s 3 pri(cid:374)(cid:272)iples. * the principle of superposition : sedimentary layers are deposited in a time sequence, with the oldest on the bottom and the youngest at the top. Differentiation of layers from fast events to slow events and being able to say how much geological time has actually passed. * the principle of original horizontality: layers of sediment are originally deposited horizontally under the action of gravity. Most sediment are deposited in large ocean basins, the ocean is more or less flat on a human scale. When a deformation is observed it indicates something important has occurred. Usually associated with a mountain building, detailing the geological history of the rocks based on the types of deformations seen from their original horizontal planes.