Difference between revisions of "Geology"

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The term geology was first used in the late 18th Century. Although geology was not mentioned in the [[Encyclopedia Britannica]] before 1800, by 1809 geology had a lengthy entry. During the earliest days of geological study, mainstream scientific geology was divided into three camps: Plutonists, Neptunists and Catastrophists. Of course, the vast majority of all geologists then (as now) were theists, but much of early geology was based upon the biblical history. At that time, the Plutonists believed God created the Earth, but volcanoes and fire had shaped the modern world. At the same time, the Neptunists believed that the ocean, perhaps even the Great Flood, was the primary factor in geology. Catastrophists on the other hand believed that the Earth had been created by God in one great catastrophe. Thus, Catastrophists concluded that everything which we now see was much the same as the world was at [[Creation]]. At that time, it was generally presumed by geologists and theologians that the Earth was around six thousand years old. Many Young Earth Creationists still agree with this interpretation.<ref>http://www.answersingenesis.org/home/area/faq/geology.asp</ref><ref>http://www.creationism.org/topbar/geology.htm</ref><ref>http://www.grisda.org/georpts/gr11.htm</ref><ref>http://www.nwcreation.net/geologylinks.html</ref><ref>http://globalflood.org/</ref>
 
The term geology was first used in the late 18th Century. Although geology was not mentioned in the [[Encyclopedia Britannica]] before 1800, by 1809 geology had a lengthy entry. During the earliest days of geological study, mainstream scientific geology was divided into three camps: Plutonists, Neptunists and Catastrophists. Of course, the vast majority of all geologists then (as now) were theists, but much of early geology was based upon the biblical history. At that time, the Plutonists believed God created the Earth, but volcanoes and fire had shaped the modern world. At the same time, the Neptunists believed that the ocean, perhaps even the Great Flood, was the primary factor in geology. Catastrophists on the other hand believed that the Earth had been created by God in one great catastrophe. Thus, Catastrophists concluded that everything which we now see was much the same as the world was at [[Creation]]. At that time, it was generally presumed by geologists and theologians that the Earth was around six thousand years old. Many Young Earth Creationists still agree with this interpretation.<ref>http://www.answersingenesis.org/home/area/faq/geology.asp</ref><ref>http://www.creationism.org/topbar/geology.htm</ref><ref>http://www.grisda.org/georpts/gr11.htm</ref><ref>http://www.nwcreation.net/geologylinks.html</ref><ref>http://globalflood.org/</ref>
  
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In 1775, James Hutton presented a thesis, ''Theory of the Earth'', to the Royal Society of Edinburgh. Hutton, who is considered by some to be the father of modern geology, attempted to explain the rationale for his conclusion that the Earth must be much older than previously supposed. Coupling observation with the [[scientific method]] he believe that the Earth must be very old indeed. In every direction he looked Hutton saw evidence of eroded mountains, dry land which had once been sea, and sediment and rocks at the bottom of the ocean. After ten years of study he published his findings in his book ''Theory of the Earth'' to document his claims of a much older Earth. <ref>http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/12861</ref><ref>http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/14179</ref>
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In 1775, James Hutton presented a thesis, ''Theory of the Earth'', to the Royal Society of Edinburgh. Hutton, who is considered by some to be the father of modern geology, attempted to explain the rationale for his conclusion that the Earth must be much older than previously supposed. Coupling observation with the [[scientific method]] he believed that the Earth must be very old indeed. In every direction he looked Hutton saw evidence of eroded mountains, dry land which had once been sea, and sediment and rocks at the bottom of the ocean. After ten years of study he published his findings in his book ''Theory of the Earth'' to document his claims of a much older Earth. <ref>http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/12861</ref><ref>http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/14179</ref>
  
 
While met with initial controversy, over time much of Hutton's conclusions were borne out by observations collected from around the world during the rise of the British Empire and in the [[Royal Geographic Society]]. Based upon mounting evidence in 1830, Sir [[Charles Lyell]] published the first of what would eventually grow into twelve editions of ''Principles of Geology''. Charles Lyell reported geological processes occurring every day. He documented geological process which have occurred during the recorded history of man. By inference he concluded that geological processes must have occurred before the recorded history of man.<ref>http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9049503/Sir-Charles-Lyell-Baronet</ref><ref>http://www.mnsu.edu/emuseum/information/biography/klmno/lyell_charles.html</ref> In time, most geologists came to agree with his theory of [[uniformitarianism]].  
 
While met with initial controversy, over time much of Hutton's conclusions were borne out by observations collected from around the world during the rise of the British Empire and in the [[Royal Geographic Society]]. Based upon mounting evidence in 1830, Sir [[Charles Lyell]] published the first of what would eventually grow into twelve editions of ''Principles of Geology''. Charles Lyell reported geological processes occurring every day. He documented geological process which have occurred during the recorded history of man. By inference he concluded that geological processes must have occurred before the recorded history of man.<ref>http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9049503/Sir-Charles-Lyell-Baronet</ref><ref>http://www.mnsu.edu/emuseum/information/biography/klmno/lyell_charles.html</ref> In time, most geologists came to agree with his theory of [[uniformitarianism]].  

Revision as of 16:39, April 3, 2008

Etymology:

From the Greek γη- (ge-, "the earth") and λογος (logos, "word", "reason")

Geology is the science and study of the solid matter of the Earth, its composition, structure, physical properties, history and the processes that shape it. It is one of the Earth sciences.

History of Geology

The term geology was first used in the late 18th Century. Although geology was not mentioned in the Encyclopedia Britannica before 1800, by 1809 geology had a lengthy entry. During the earliest days of geological study, mainstream scientific geology was divided into three camps: Plutonists, Neptunists and Catastrophists. Of course, the vast majority of all geologists then (as now) were theists, but much of early geology was based upon the biblical history. At that time, the Plutonists believed God created the Earth, but volcanoes and fire had shaped the modern world. At the same time, the Neptunists believed that the ocean, perhaps even the Great Flood, was the primary factor in geology. Catastrophists on the other hand believed that the Earth had been created by God in one great catastrophe. Thus, Catastrophists concluded that everything which we now see was much the same as the world was at Creation. At that time, it was generally presumed by geologists and theologians that the Earth was around six thousand years old. Many Young Earth Creationists still agree with this interpretation.[1][2][3][4][5]

In 1775, James Hutton presented a thesis, Theory of the Earth, to the Royal Society of Edinburgh. Hutton, who is considered by some to be the father of modern geology, attempted to explain the rationale for his conclusion that the Earth must be much older than previously supposed. Coupling observation with the scientific method he believed that the Earth must be very old indeed. In every direction he looked Hutton saw evidence of eroded mountains, dry land which had once been sea, and sediment and rocks at the bottom of the ocean. After ten years of study he published his findings in his book Theory of the Earth to document his claims of a much older Earth. [6][7]

While met with initial controversy, over time much of Hutton's conclusions were borne out by observations collected from around the world during the rise of the British Empire and in the Royal Geographic Society. Based upon mounting evidence in 1830, Sir Charles Lyell published the first of what would eventually grow into twelve editions of Principles of Geology. Charles Lyell reported geological processes occurring every day. He documented geological process which have occurred during the recorded history of man. By inference he concluded that geological processes must have occurred before the recorded history of man.[8][9] In time, most geologists came to agree with his theory of uniformitarianism.

Modern geology has learned much about the Earth and geologic processes. Volcanism and deformation bring rocks to the surface of the Earth from depths as great as 50 to 100 km. Scientists can make inferences about some of the properties of the Earth at these depths by studying these rocks. But far more information has been provided through the use of seismic waves created by natural earthquakes, and by controlled explosions designed to learn more about the composition of the Earth, including underground nuclear explosions. This data has revealed that the Earth is composed of three main layers, the crust, the mantle and the core. The crust, or outermost layer, varies in thickness from about 5 km under oceans to about 40 km under continents. The mantle consists of an outermost zone of about 100 km thick named the lithosphere. The layer below is a partially fluid solid named the athenosphere, which ends at a depth of about 200 km. As seismic waves penetrate deeper into the mantle they indicate that between 400 km and about 2900 km atoms are packed closer and closer together by extreme pressures, creating a crystalline structure. The Earth's core is 2900 km from the surface. Seismic waves slow down in this region until a depth of 5100 km, indicating that the core consists of a liquid layer surrounding a solid core at the center.[10]

Extensive exploration and mapping of the seafloor after World War II led to the discovery of a deep rift running down the center of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. In the early 1960s Harry Hess of Princeton University and Robert Dietz of the University of California suggested that the seafloor separates along the rifts in mid-0ceanic ridges and that new seafloor forms by upwelling of hot mantle materials in these cracks, followed by lateral spreading. By 1967 separate lithospheric plates had been identified, which explained phenomena such as high levels of volcanic and earthquake activity that take place between the plates. By the end of the 1960s the theory of plate tectonics proved to be a unifying concept that pulled together diverse theories and explained a the large body of observations in the field. [11]

Twelve or so plates slide over a partially molten lithosphere, and the continents, embedded in some of the plates, are carried by them. Where plates collide, mountains such as the Himalayas or the Rocky Mountains are formed. In some places, called subduction zones one plate sinks beneath another plate and returns to the molten regions of the athenosphere. Along mid-oceanic ridges magma emerges to expand the plate and create new sea floor.

How Old is the Earth

No one knows how old the Earth is. However, modern geologists armed with increasingly improving capacity for observation and established ideas culled from generations of geological research can calculate an apparent age for the Earth. [12] For example, satellites are capable of detecting the movement of land even if that movement is measured in inches per year. [13] Applying these varied and complicated sciences with careful observations and mathematics, one can calculate and extrapolate an apparent age of the Earth. Of course with any human endeavor there is a margin for error. The consensus is that the Earth appears to be approximately 4.6 billion years.

Young earth creationists state the earth is approximately 6,000 years old. [14][15] This is primarily based upon their interpretation of Biblical text in Genesis coupled with assumptions akin to those made by most scientists prior to 19th Century. Young Earth creationists point to unexplained anomalies and other questions in standard geology as proof of creation geology. This remains a tiny minority position because of two foundational problems. Firstly, most scientists do not accept the Bible as a scientific resource. Secondly, anomalies in a theory and absence of certain knowledge are not accepted as scientific proof in any science.

Geology Today

Geologists help locate and manage the Earth's natural resources, such as petroleum and coal, as well as metals such as iron, copper, and uranium. Additional economic interests include gemstones and many minerals such as asbestos, perlite, mica, phosphates, zeolites, clay, pumice, quartz, and silica, as well as elements such as sulfur, chlorine, and helium.

Planetary geology (sometimes known as Astrogeology) refers to the application of geologic principles to other bodies of the solar system. However, specialised terms such as selenology (studies of the Moon), areology (of Mars), etc., are also in use.

References

  1. ↑ http://www.answersingenesis.org/home/area/faq/geology.asp
  2. ↑ http://www.creationism.org/topbar/geology.htm
  3. ↑ http://www.grisda.org/georpts/gr11.htm
  4. ↑ http://www.nwcreation.net/geologylinks.html
  5. ↑ http://globalflood.org/
  6. ↑ http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/12861
  7. ↑ http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/14179
  8. ↑ http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9049503/Sir-Charles-Lyell-Baronet
  9. ↑ http://www.mnsu.edu/emuseum/information/biography/klmno/lyell_charles.html
  10. ↑ Press, Frank and Siever, Raymond.1998."Understanding Earth", 2nd Ed. New York: W. H. Freeman and Company
  11. ↑ Press, Frank and Siever, Raymond.1998."Understanding Earth", 2nd Ed. New York: W. H. Freeman and Company
  12. ↑ http://abcworld.net/Earth.html
  13. ↑ http://www.cliffshade.com/colorado/tectonics.htm
  14. ↑ http://www.creationontheweb.com/content/view/3007/
  15. ↑ http://www.allaboutcreation.org/geologic-time-scale.htm
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