Foundation Course –

Introduction to Geology
1st BSc - Geology,
Department of Geology,
V.O. Chidambaram College, Thoothukudi

Dr M.Thirumurugan
Assistant Professor
Department of Geology
V.O.Chidambaram College
Thoothukudi
Geology
• Greek word - Geology = Geo (earth) + logy (science) = Earth Science –
Geoscience

• The study of the earth, its origin, structure, composition and history
(including the development of life) and the nature of the processes

• Studying the interior and exterior processes of earth, rocks, minerals, fossils,
water, and all the processes that have shaped the landscape around us and
continue to shape our lives today

• These processes take place over different time period from 4.6 billion years
old
Branches of Geology
Physical Geology Palaeontology and micropaleontology Remote Sensing and GIS

Mineralogy Economic Geology Ore Geology

Crystallography Geomorphology Gemology
Petrology Hydrogeology/Hydrology Climatology
Mining Geology Geophysics Medical Geology

Structural Geology Geochemistry

Stratigraphy Engineering Geology

• Physical geology : study of the physical aspects of
geology, including rocks and minerals, plate tectonics,
earthquakes, volcanoes, glaciation, groundwater,
streams, coasts, mass wasting, climate change, planetary
geology etc

• Mineralogy : study of minerals – mode of formation,

composition, occurrence, types, association, properties
& its uses etc

• Crystallography : study of crystals - mode of formation,

occurrence, types, association, properties & its uses etc

• Petrology : study of rocks - mode of formation,

structure, texture, composition, occurrence, and types of
rocks

• Mining Geology : study of geological applications in

mining activity - mode and extent of occurrence of ores,
their association, properties etc
• Structural Geology : study of the geologically
formed earth structures, its origin, features,
development, etc

• Stratigraphy : study of the geologically formed

layers, its origin, history, composition, etc

• Paleontology and micropaleontology : study of

fossils (mega/micro), habitant, life, period, etc

• Economic Geology : Economic geology deals

with metal ores, fossil fuels
(e.g., petroleum, natural gas, and coal), and
other materials of commercial value, such as
talc, salt, gypsum, and building stone
• Geomorphology : Study of the surface features
of the earth – hills, valleys, waterbodies, plains,
pediplains, etc-mode of formation and
occurrence

• Hydrogeology/Hydrology : study of water

(groundwater & surface water), origin,
occurrence, movement, quality and quantity

• Geophysics : studying the earth features

through its applications of physics

• Geochemistry : studying the earth features

through its chemical applications
• Engineering geology : study of the engineering properties
of rocks, soil, water for engineering construction

• Remote sensing and GIS : study of earth features through

satelites and other digital media

• Ore geology : study of ore and its grade, composition,

occurrence, formation, economic value, etc

• Gemology : study of gems and its properties, economic

values etc

• Climatology : Study of climate changes, causes, impacts,

etc

• Medical geology : study of human and animal diseases

caused by natural anamolies, geochemical signatures for
human health
Development of Geology
• The fundamental features of geological study, namely, field work, collection
and theory construction, were not developed until the 17th century

• Previously, back to ancient Greek times, many scholars believed that fossils
were the remains of former living things and many Christians attributed
them to the Noachian Flood
Development of Geology…cont
• But other scholars rejected these ideas and regarded fossils as either jokes of
nature, the products of rocks endowed with life in some sense, the creative works
of God, or perhaps even the deceptions of Satan

• Robert Hooke (1635-1703), a British naturalist, confirmed from his microscopic

analysis of fossil wood that fossils were the mineralized remains of former living
creatures

• Prior to 1750 one of the most important geological thinkers was the Danish
anatomist and geologist Nicholaus Steno (1638-1686)

• Steno expressed his belief that the earth was almost 6,000 years old and that
organic fossils and the sedimentary strata were laid down by Noah’s Flood
Development of Geology…cont
• Steno’s key geological principles were
• Most of the rock layers were once water-laid sediments
• Marine deposits can be distinguished from fresh-water deposits by the fossils they
contain
• The order of superposition of the layers indicates the relative age of the strata (the
older deposited below the younger)
• The sediments were originally deposited in an essentially horizontal fashion
• Strata that are no longer horizontal were disturbed after deposition

The idea that the earth was much older than the Bible teaches slowly replaced the
traditional view during the late 18th
Geologists such as the Frenchmen Jean Elienne Guettard (1715-1786) and Nicholas
Desmarest (1725-1815) and the Italian Giovanne Arduino (1714-1795) denied the
Flood and advocated a much older Earth
Development of Geology…cont
• The English geologist John Whitehurst (1713-1788) contended in
his Inquiry into the Original State and Formation of the Earth (1778) that
the Earth was much older than man and that although the Noachian Flood
was a global catastrophe, it was not responsible for most of the geological
record

• The French Scientist, Comte de Buffon (1708-1788) advocated the

hypothesis that Earth had originated from a collision of a comet and the sun

• Extrapolating from experiments involving the cooling of various hot metals,

he postulated that Earth had passed through seven epochs over about 75,000
years to reach its present state
Early theories / Old Hypothesis –Kant
Hypothesis
• Immanuel Kant, a German philosopher, proposed his own theory regarding the origin of
the earth in 1755, which was based on Newton's law of gravity

• Kant believed that the original substance was initially distributed and was made up of cold,
unmoving, solid particles

• They clashed with each other because of

gravity, which produced heat, which induced
angular momentum, and it began to rotate

• Later, it evolved into a hot nebula that began

rotating, causing the speed to progressively
increase
• This rotation resulted in a strong centrifugal
force, which produced rings of matter, which
cooled to become planets and satellites
 Laplace Hypothesis
• The astronomer Pierre Laplace proposed the nebular hypothesis in his Exposition of the
System of the Universe (1796)
• According to Laplace, the solar system was produced slowly over long ages as a hot,
spinning gas cloud cooled and condensed by the laws of physics and chemistry
• Originally, sun was a giant cloud of gases (nebula)
that rotate even, was a firm belief by him
• Then due to gravity and cooling the gas get’s contracted,
which forced gas to rotate faster.
• It threw off- a rim of gas/ ring of material separate which
condenses later
• Several times this process would be repeated to produce
all planets
• The remaining ball of gas left in centre and became the
sun
Catastrophic theories
• The theory of catastrophism states that the Earth has been shaped by
sudden, often unpredicted, events that are short-lived but impactful

• Tidal theories of Jeans and Jefferey (1919)

• Nova star Hypothesis of Hoyle and Lyttleton (1946)
• Inter-stellar dust hypothesis of Otto Schimidt (1943)
• Big-Bang theory (1920 to 1970)
Geological time scale
Geological time scale - Recent
Latitude and Longitude
 Frigid Zone

Temperature Zone

23.4394°

Torrid Zone

23.4394°

Temperature Zone

Frigid Zone
Latitude and Longitude…cont
• The latitudes and longitudes are commonly referred to as geographical
coordinates as they provide systematic network of lines upon which the position
of various surface features of the earth, can be represented

• Drawing latitudes and longitudes

• With the help of these coordinates,

location, distance and direction of
various points can be easily determined
Longitude and time
• The rotation of the earth over its axis takes 24 hours to complete one circle or 360° of
longitudes

• As 180° of longitudes fall both east and west of the Prime Meridian, the sun, thus
takes 12 hours’ time to traverse the

• Each degree is further divided into 60 minutes (‘) and each minute into 60 seconds (“)

• The sun traverses 15° of longitudes per hour or one degree of longitude in every four
minutes of time

• The rate of the time at which the sun traverses over certain degrees of longitudes is
used to determine the local time of an area with respect to the time at the Prime
(Greenwich) Meridian (0°Longitude).
Major time zones of the World
Questions to answer
• As per geographic grid India is located at?

• What are the zones were classified on the earth, which basis
of latitude?

• Determine the local time of India at 82.5° east longitude

when the time at Greenwich (0°) is 12.00 noon ?
• Determine the local time of India at 82.5° east longitude when the time
at Greenwich (0°) is 12.00 noon ?

• Difference between Greenwich and India = 82.5

• Total time difference = 82.5 * 4 = 330
• = 330 / 60 = 5.5 = 5Hours 30 Minutes

• Determine the local time of New Orelans located at 90° west longitude
when the time at Greenwich (0°) is 12.00 noon ?
Geological time concept and magnitude
• The relative geological time scale has a sequence of
• Eon / Eonothem
• Era / Erathem
• Period / System
• Epochs / Series
• Age / Stage

Concept of Geological Time

• The discovery of radioactivity near the end of the
1800s allowed absolute ages to be accurately applied
to the relative geologic time scale

• The most recent geologic time scale model

• Relative dating
• Absolute dating
Concept of Geological Time
• Relative dating – stack the rock layers and
events in order relative to when they occurred

• Absolute dating : results specific numerical

dates
• Calculated from the natural rates of decay of various natural
radioactive elements present in rocks
Relative Dating principle
• Fundamental geologic principles in relative dating are

• Principle of Superposition

• Principle of original horizontality

• Principle of lateral connectivity

• Principle of cross-cutting relationship

• Principle of inclusion

• Principle of fossil succession

• Principle of Superposition
• Nicholas Steno

• Undisturbed succession of sedimentary rock layers – oldest is at bottom and youngest at top

• This method is determining the relative age of rock layers and the fossil they contain

• Principle of original Horizontality

• Nicholas Steno

• Sediment is deposited in horizontal layers

• Thereon the sequence of sedimentary rock layers that is steeply inclined from horizontal must
have been tilted after deposition and lithification
• Principle of lateral continuity
• Nicholas steno

• Sediment extends laterally in all direction until it thins and

pinches out or terminates against the edges of the depositional basin

• Principle of cross cutting relationship

• James Hutton

• The geologic feature which cuts another younger of two features

• Principle of Inclusion
• Fragments of rock in another rock are older than the rock they are
embedded in

• Principle of fossil succession

• index fossils and fossil successions can be attributed to particular
ages of the rocks
Unconformities
• Unconformities are surfaces of discontinuity in
sediment deposition, which encompass significant
periods of time

• Unconformities may result from nondeposition

and/or erosion

• These surfaces encompass long periods of geologic

time for which there is no geologic record at that
location

• Hiatus is the interval of geologic time represented

by unconformity
Types of unconformities
1. Disconformity – Separates younger from older sedimentary strata that are parallel to each other

2. Angular Unconformity – erosional surface on tilted or folded rocks, over which younger
sedimentary rocks were deposited

3. Nonconformity – erosional surface cut into igneous or metamorphic rocks and overlain by younger
sedimentary rocks
Absolute dating methods
• Radioactive Decay and Half-lives
• Source of Uncertainty

• The most accurate radiometric dates are obtained from long-lived radioactive isotope
pairs in igneous rock

• During the cooling of magma, radioactive parent atoms are separated from previously
formed daughter atoms and incorporated into the crystal structure of a mineral
Other absolute dating methods
• Fission Track Dating – age of the mineral can be determined by the number of fission
tracks present and the amount of uranium it contains

• Carbon-14 dating – it has half-life of 5730 years, - organic matter (wood, bones, shells)

• Tree-Ring dating – Counting its growth rings, 14000 years old

Earth’s axial tilt or Obliquity
Earth’s axial tilt or Obliquity
• Giant Impact Hypothesis:
• The impact around 4.5 billion years ago is described in the Giant Impact Hypothesis,
which is the current prevailing theory on how the moon has formed and Earth got its tilt
Earth’s axial tilt or Obliquity
• Earth has been orbiting the Sun at a slant. This slant is the axial tilt, also called obliquity

• Earth's obliquity angle is measured from the imaginary line that runs perpendicular to
another imaginary line

• Earth's obliquity is about 23.4 degrees and decreasing

• The obliquity changes over time, although very, very slowly

Earth’s axial tilt or Obliquity

• The tilt changes:

• Earth's axial tilt actually oscillates between 22.1 and 24.5 degrees

• The reason for this changing obliquity angle is that Earth's axis also wobbles around itself

• This wobble motion is called axial precession, also known as precession of the equinoxes

• It is caused by the gravitational force from the Sun, the Moon, and other planets
Milankovtich Cycle

• A century ago, Serbian scientist Milutin Milankovitch hypothesized

the long-term, collective effects of changes in Earth’s position relative
to the Sun are a strong driver of Earth’s long-term climate, and are
responsible for triggering the beginning and end of glaciation periods
(Ice Ages)

• He examined how variations in three types of Earth orbital movements

affect how much solar radiation (known as insolation) reaches the top
of Earth’s atmosphere as well as where the insolation reaches
Milankovitch Cycle
• The Milankovitch cycles include:
1.The shape of Earth’s orbit, known
as eccentricity;

2.The angle Earth’s axis is tilted with respect to

Earth’s orbital plane, known as obliquity; and

3.The direction Earth’s axis of rotation is pointed,

known as precession
Milankovitch Cycle - Eccentricity
• Earth’s isn’t perfectly circular, but it’s pretty close

• Over time, the pull of gravity from our solar system’s two largest gas giant planets, Jupiter
and Saturn, causes the shape of Earth’s orbit to vary from nearly circular to slightly elliptical

• Eccentricity measures how much the shape of Earth’s orbit departs from a perfect circle.
These variations affect the distance between Earth and the Sun

• Eccentricity is the reason why our seasons are slightly different lengths with summers in the
Northern Hemisphere currently about 4.5 days longer than winters, and springs about 3 days
longer than autumns

• As eccentricity decreases, the length of our seasons gradually evens out

Milankovitch Cycle - Eccentricity
• The difference in the distance between Earth’s closest approach to the
Sun (known as perihelion), which occurs on or about January 3 each
year, and its farthest departure from the Sun (known as aphelion) on
or about July 4, is currently about 5.1 million kilometers (about 3.2
million miles), a variation of 3.4 percent
Milankovitch Cycle - Eccentricity
• Solstices: The solstices are days when the Sun reaches its farthest northern and
southern declinations

• Equinox: Equinoxes are days in which day and

night are of equal duration

• Currently, Earth’s eccentricity is near its least elliptic (most circular) and is very
slowly decreasing, in a cycle that spans about 100,000 years
Milankovitch Cycle - Obliquity
• The angle Earth’s axis of rotation is tilted as it travels around the Sun is known
as obliquity

• Over the last million years, it has varied between 22.1 and 24.5 degrees with
respect to Earth’s orbital plane

• The greater Earth’s axial tilt angle, the more extreme our seasons are, as each
hemisphere receives more solar radiation during its summer, when the
hemisphere is tilted toward the Sun, and less during winter, when it is tilted away
Milankovitch Cycle - Obliquity
• Larger tilt angles are the favor periods of deglaciation (the melting and retreat of
glaciers and ice sheets)

• These effects aren’t uniform globally -- higher latitudes receive a larger change in total
solar radiation than areas closer to the equator

• Earth’s axis is currently tilted 23.4 degrees, or about half way between its extremes,
and this angle is very slowly decreasing in a cycle that spans about 41,000 years

• It was last at its maximum tilt about 10,000 years ago and will reach its minimum tilt
about 10,000 years from now
Milankovitch Cycle - Precession
• As Earth rotates, it wobbles slightly upon its axis

• This wobble is due to tidal forces caused by the gravitational influences of the
Sun and Moon that cause Earth to bulge at the equator, affecting its rotation

• The trend in the direction of this wobble relative to the fixed positions of stars is
known as axial precession

• The cycle of axial precession spans about 25,771.5 years

• Axial precession makes seasonal contrasts more extreme in one hemisphere and
less extreme in the other
Milankovitch Cycle - Precession
• Currently perihelion occurs during winter in the Northern Hemisphere and in summer in the
Southern Hemisphere

• This makes Southern Hemisphere summers hotter and moderates Northern Hemisphere
seasonal variations

• But in about 13,000 years, axial precession will cause these conditions to flip

• Not only does Earth’s axis wobble, but Earth’s entire orbital ellipse also wobbles irregularly,
primarily due to its interactions with Jupiter and Saturn - apsidal precession

• The cycle of apsidal precession spans about 112,000 years – changes the orientation of
Earth’s orbit relative to the elliptical plane