Interpreting Earth History: A Manual in Historical Geology

298 Pages·2015·68.657 MB·English

by  Scott Ritter & Morris Petersen

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Interpreting
Earth History
Eighth Edition

Interpreting
Earth History
A Manual in Historical Geology
Eighth Edition
Scott Ritter
Brigha1n Young University
Morris Petersen
Brigha1n Young University
WAVEIAND
~
PRESS, INC.
Long G~t. Lllinois
For information about this book, contact
Waveland Press, Inc.
4180 fl Route 83, Suite 101
Long Grove, fl ti0047-9580
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Photo Credits:
Exercise 1: Alexander Petrenko Exercise 11: Florin Stana/Shutterstoc:k.rom
Exercise 1: revital/Shutterstock.com Exercise 12: \iVollerb!/Shutterstock.com
Exercise J.: Kenneth KeiferJShutterstoc:k..com Exercise 13: Joy Stein/Shutterstoc:k..com
Exercise 4: lee PrinceJShutterstoc:k.com Exercise 14: LesPaJenik/Shutterstock.com
Exercise 5: Raduga1 1./Shutterstock.com Exercise 15: Matthijs \iVetterau\\•JShutterstock.com
Exercise 6: Scott ~·t Ritter Exercise 16: Tom Crundy/Shutterstoc:k.com
Exercise 7: Berti 123/Shutterstock.com Exercise 17: SumikophotoJShutterstoc:k..com
Exercise 8: Kenny Tong/Shutter-stock.com Exercise 18: PictureguyJShutterstoc:k..com
Exercise 9: ~·tic.hat Ninger/Shutterstoc:k.com Exercise 19: Patrick Poendl/Shutterstock.com
Exercise 10: Vladimir Sazonov/Shutterstock.com Exercise 20: Pichugin DmitryJShutterstoc:k.com
Copyright© 2015 by Scott M. Ritter
10-digit ISBN 1-4786-1145-6
13-digit ISBN 978-1-4786-1145-5
All rights rt~~d. No part oft his book n1ay be rtprodutM, stoml in a retrittJal sys/on, or trnnsnriHed
in any fam1 or by nn.v 111it'a11s toithoul pern1ission in tttrilingfron1 lllL p11bli$htr.
Printed in the Unjted States of America
7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Contents
Preface vii Exercise
Exercise 11 155
Continental Drift and Plate Tectonics
1
Relative Dating and Unconformities I Exercise
Establishing Sequences of Events
12 170
Exercise Index Fossils and Depositional
Sequences
2 16
Rad.iomevk Ages
Establishing the Absoft1e Ages of Exercise
Geological Events 13 203
Interpretation of Geological Maps
Exercise
3 24 Exercise
Analyris of Sed.imentary Rocks
llf 217
Canadian Shield and Stable Pladonn
Exercise
lf 41 Exercise
Depositional Environments
15 224
Paleoroic Orogenies of Ancestral
Exercise
North America
5 59
Stratigraphy Exercise
Organizing the Rock and Foss.ii Record
16 240
Exercise Cordilleran Orogeny
6 78
Physical Coneladon Exercise
17 269
Exercise Phanet'OJ:oic Geology of
7 91 North America
Facies Relationships and I\ Sunvnary of Major OEj!losirionaJ
Sea-1.evel Change and Tecrorjc Events
Exercise Exercise
8 119 18 275
Fossils and Fossilization Cenoroic Geology
Exercise Exercise
9 138 19 280
Evidence of Evolution Pleistocene Glaciation
Exercise Exercise
10 143 20 286
Pattttns of Evolution Hominin Fossils
Ref«ences 291

Preface
Interprtting Earth Histor.v \Vas written to pro- The eighth edition of lnl"trpreting Earth History
vide deeper teaming actjvities for historical geol- includes many of the exeoc:ises incorporated in
ogy students at the college and university level previous editions, but is no\v in full color. Color
f\1aterial is organized in much the same sequence images enhance the student's ability to see and rec-
as chapters in most popular historical goology text- ognize goological patterns. It also makes it easjer to
books and it is expected that students \viii use the see compositional (anatomical) and textural attri-
explanatory text to augment, not replace, textbook butes of rocks and fossils. ~Jected chapterS have
content. The purpose of the manual is to provide been expanded to provide additional dooper learn-
students the opportunity to engage with goolog-i- ing. T\\'O exercises (14 and 17) are ne\v to this edi-
cal data from a variety of sources (maps, fossils, tion. Exercise 14 provides students an overview of
rocks, etc.) and at a variety of scales to di.seem and the Precambrian history of the Canadian Shield as
explain geological patterns. \\rell as insights into the development of the stable
Of specjal concern to instructorS is the number platform. Similarly, exercise 17 provides a frame-
of exercises, time, and resources required for each "rork for understanding the stratigraphic, struc-
Jab, and sequence of topics. E.ach lab is \vritten as tural, and depositional history of North America
a stand-alone activity so that it can be assigned in during the Phanerozoic Eon.
concert \\1ith the sequence of topics adopted by The modifications and improvements to this
indi\•idual instructors. Some exercises can be done edition of lnterprtting Earth History reflect critiques
outside of the Jab as home\\·ork assignments. Oth- by students and instructors \\1ho have found this
erS require aocess to rock and fossil specimens manual to be a valuable companion to the study of
provided by the instructor and are best done in historical geology. We are appreciative to all \\1ho
a laboratory setting. Most courses \\1ill not have have adopted this manual in their courses and \\1ho
time to include all of the exercises contained in this continue to provide constructive feedback.
manual. The intent is to provide a \vide seJectjon
of exercises from \\1hich instructors may choose
depending upon their teaching style, availability Scott Ritter
of materials, and other rourSe n~ds. Morris Petersen

l
..--E_xe_r_ci_se_ _
Relative
Dating and
Unconformities
Establishing Sequences of Events
Leaming Objectives
After completing thLs exercise, you \Viii be able to:
1. underi.iand the differences bern·een reJative and absolute (radiometric) dating;
2. define the principles of relative dating. \vhich inc)ude original horizontality. superposition. cros.s-
cutting relationships. incJu...-ions, and fauna) succession;
3. establi'ih the order of geological events that conspired to form the given reJation.'ihips sho\\'n on bkx:k
diagrams and images depicting geologicaJ features, as \Vell as list the principJe(s) that enabled you to
establi'ih the correct order of even ls;
4. recognize the four types of unconformities on block diagrams and images of actual field area.s; and
5. explain the nature and reJative duration of processes that create each type of unconformity.
Introduction ment of techniques that \ve.rie able to reliably mea-
sure small amounts of radiogenic isotope> in goo-
Jog-ical materials. The numerical scale, the subject
The discovery of "deep time'' is one of geology's
greatest contributions to human understanding. of exercise 2, \\•as developed! during the latter half
of the h\rentieth century.
The conceptual foundations laid by eighteenth-and
nineteenth-century gootogists \\·orking in relatively
small geographic areas paved the \vay for devel- Principles of Relative Dating
opment of the modem high-resolution goological
timescale (figure 1.1), \\1hich spans 4.6 billion years ln this exercise, \\'e are con~med only \\•ith
of Earth history and applies to geological features a relative sequence of goolog-ical events; that is,
any\\'here on Earth. The succession of eons, eras, event A preceded event B or goological feature Bis
and ~riods \\1as constructed during the early part younger than feature A, but older than feature C.
of the nineteenth century using the principles of To establish the correct ordei' of events, goolog-ists
relative dating that are the focus of this exercise. use five simple, but po\verful, concepts. First,. sedi-
The absolute ti~cale (numerical scale) \vas added mentary rock layers are horizontal \\'hen first de-
after the discovery of radioacti\•ity and the develop- posited. Any marked variation from the horizon-