Geology is the study of the earth’s surfaces that inform us about the earth’s part. One feature that geologists use to date rocks is by using a geologic time. This consists of using fossils and type of rocks to help date the earth’s surface. The Page Museum in the La Brea pits is one of the places that is known for the history and the findings from the tar pits.
The La Brea Tar Pits is significant to the study of geology. The fossils found in the tar assist geologist to date rocks and the earth’s surface. At the la Brea tar pits, the fossils founds are mostly creatures from the Ice Age. This is because the tar pits formed after the dinosaurs’ age. The dinosaurs died 65 million years ago before the tar pits surfaced the land. Some of the pits in this area are carbon dated from 34- 42,000 years ago. Tar pits are asphalt pit where asphalt from the ground leaks to the surface. Tar is not hot and it bubbles when bubble of methane rises from the tar. When fishing out bones, they do not look in liquid asphalts. The bones that were discovered were from saber toothed cats, dire wolves, eag...
Charles Lyell Charles Lyell was a British lawyer and one of the smartest geologists known at his time. He was known as the author of the Principles of Geology, which helped popularize the theories and concepts of uniformitarianism. The Principles of Geology was the first book written by Lyell and explained the changes in the earth’s surface. He used the research and information in the book as his proof to determine that the earth was over 6,000 years old. The central argument in his book was “the present is the key to the past”, this meant that to find out what happened in the past you had to look at what was happening now.
Geologists, study the structure and processes of the Earth. They locate the types of rock
Fossil preservation has always been the most accurate way to determine what species lived during a specific time period. Through correlations and radiometric dating, time periods have become more accurate and being able to tell what lived during those times became possible. Although conditions have to be correct for fossilization, Pleistocene fossils are widespread and often well preserved. In the La Brea tar pits of present day Los Angeles, hundreds of thousands of preserved bones have been found that give a good idea of the animals that were present during this time. Many of the animals preserved are animals that can still be found today and would be found in the Los Angeles area if not for urbanization. Animals that were present during this time include camels, mammoths, and saber-toothed cats among others (Harris and Jefferson, 1985). Below is a picture of a saber-tooth fossil found in the La Brea tar pits.
Historians and geographers utilize many of the same types of evidence, but in different ways. For instance, both historians and geographers use maps, landscapes, and bodies of water to explain their work. If a historian were to explain how the Titanic sank, he would need to be familiar with oceanography in addition to knowledge of large ship maneuverability
Strahan, D. (2009, December 8). Have greens got it wrong about tar sands? The Ecologist.
regions of the earth can indicate which rock layer is older than the other. Trilobite fossils
The Burgess Shale Fauna is a fauna that was constructed based on a group of fossils that were initially found, in the Burgess Shale area in the Canadian Rockies (Gould, 1989). They are a very important group of fossils as “modern multicellular animals make their first unprotected appearance in the fossil record some 570 million years ago” through this group (Gould, 1989, pp. 24). Moreover the Burgess Shales are known to have preserved the soft parts of animals enabling us to get a better understanding of life at the time.
Pipkin, Bernard W.. Geology and the environment. 6th ed. Belmont, CA: Brooks/Cole, Cengage Learning, 2011. Print.
It is generally believed that there are 12 plates that make up the earth’s surface. The majority of these plates are a combination of oceanic and continental lithosphere, while the Nazca, Pacific and Juan de Fuca Plates are made up of mostly oceanic lithosphere. Most of the continents have their own plate or plates, with the exception of Europe and Asia, which share the massive Eurasian Plate. Along the edges of these plates there is a large occurrence of geologic activity. “Earthquakes and volcanoes, evidence of unrest in the Earth, help locate the edges of plates.” This unrest is caused by movement of the plates, which can be broken down into three general t...
Psychology is the study of the mind and the behavior of mammals. Geology is a science that deals with the history of the earth and its life, recorded in rocks. The earth is consistently moving its tectonic plates. Therefore, there may be over 100 earthquakes a day; most of these earthquakes go unnoticed by humans on the crust of the earth. Other earthquakes for example, the one in 2011 located in Japan and the Loma Prieta earthquake of 1989 (Earth- Marshak). Unfortunately, many people died in horrific ways during these deadly earthquakes, leaving thousands diagnosed with psychological disorders such as, Posttraumatic Stress Disorder and Specific Phobias directly related to the natural environment of the earth.
The rocks are formed in places where there had been water at one time. Dead animals, plants and pieces or rock minerals carried by wind, water, ice, and gravity sink to the bottom of bodies or water. When the body of water dries up the rock becomes a surface layer.
At the very dawning of the science of historical geology, James Hutton developed views on the earth’s geologic processes and ow they affect the planet unlike any other scientist before him. His idea that the planet’s processes revolved in a cyclic fashion were the cornerstone of uniformitarianism. Although he did not coin the phrase himself, an honor bestowed upon William Whewell, he did form the basic idea that the history of the earth can be explained by what is happening now.
Radiocarbon dating is used to tell how old something is. When some normal carbon gets hit by the rays of the sun, it turns into carbon 14. Plants absorb this radioactive carbon in the form of carbon dioxide. Animals receive this carbon from eating the plants. When the organism is dead it loses the carbon 14.
The features of the earth are the domain of physical geographers and their work includes research about
When people think of geology, they usually think of rocks and fossils. However, geology is actually a very large field of study. The knowledge of geologists ranges from rocks and fossils to the moon and other planets (Hammonds 7-8). Geologists use a variety of subjects in their work, but the sciences and math are the most important. Some of the sciences geologists study are physics and chemistry (12). English is also a subject that geologists use when communicating with other scientists, the media, and the public (12) . Because of these tasks, it is important for geologists to have a wide knowledge of these different subjects.