Scientific Revolution: Development of Geologic Principles

Study Notes

Development of Geologic Principles

Nicolaus Steno (1638-1686) proposed that the Earth's surface could change over time and that sedimentary rocks, such as sandstone and shale, formed in horizontal layers with the oldest on the bottom.
Steno was a Danish priest who studied anatomy and geology, and was one of the first to develop modern geologic principles.

Contributions of James Hutton

James Hutton (1726-1797) was a Scottish naturalist who studied rivers and coastlines and compared the sediments they left behind to exposed sedimentary rock strata.
Hutton hypothesized that ancient rocks must have been formed by processes like those producing the features in the oceans and streams.
Hutton proposed that the Earth was much older than previously thought, possibly hundreds of millions of years old.
Hutton's idea is called the principle of uniformitarianism, which states that natural processes operate the same now as in the past, i.e. the laws of nature are uniform across space and time.
Geologists often state "the present is the key to the past," meaning they can understand ancient rocks by studying modern geologic processes.

Catastrophism and Uniformitarianism

German geologist Abraham Gottlob Werner (1750-1817) and French anatomist Georges Cuvier (1769-1832) believed that rocks and landforms were formed by great catastrophic events, known as catastrophism.
Cuvier championed catastrophism and stated that processes that operate today did not operate in the past.
Cuvier was also the father of vertebrate paleontology and made significant contributions to the study of ancient life.

Charles Lyell and the Acceptance of Uniformitarianism

Charles Lyell, a British lawyer and geologist (1797-1875), wrote the Principles of Geology and Elements of Geology, promoting Hutton's principle of uniformitarianism and the idea that the Earth was possibly over 300 million years old.
Lyell's books had a lasting influence on the geologic community and public at large, eventually leading to the acceptance of uniformitarianism and the millionfold age of the Earth.
The principle of uniformitarianism became widely accepted, making it harder for ideas like the sudden demise of the dinosaurs by asteroid impact to gain traction.

Charles Darwin and Evolution

Charles Darwin (1809-1882) took Lyell's Principles of Geology on his five-year trip on the HMS Beagle.
Darwin used uniformitarianism and deep geologic time to develop his initial ideas about evolution.
Lyell was one of the first to publish a reference to Darwin's idea of evolution.

Description

Learn about the development of modern geologic principles during the scientific revolution in Europe, including the contributions of Nicolaus Steno and his ideas on sedimentary rocks and the changing Earth's surface.