PRINCIPLES OF STRATIGRAPHY

(APPLICATIONS AND LIMITATIONS)

PRINCIPLES OF STRATIGRAPHY
There are 5 major principles of stratigraphy given by different scientists, which are: 1) 2) 3) 4) 5) Principle of uniformitarianism Principle of original horizontality Principle of superposition Principle of Faunal assemblage Principle of Igneous intrusion Here is brief explanation, application and limitation of the above given principles.

1) .PRINCIPLE OF UNIFORMITARIANISM
This principle was given by Scottish naturalists and started by James Hutton. The term uniformitarianism was coined by William Whewell.
This theory assumes that same natural laws and universe processes that operate in the universe now, have always been operated in the universe in the past and apply everywhere in the universe. This could be summarized as present is the key to the past .

APPLICATIONS
Some of the applications of the above given principle are: 1) It tells us about the processes that are shaping up the earth in the specific manner as we can see. 2) Using the present environments, scientists are able to assume the climates of the past and this law helped them make the models of paleoclimates. 3) Big bang theory actually is the result of this principle. It can be explained as that, there different stars that are at different distance from the earth. The ones far away from the earth gives us a hint that universe is expanding. We use observations in our daily life that evolutionary processes on earth are source of growth all around. This gave a hint that earth might have gone through the same evolutionary processes before being a single thing. 4) We can predict about the future depositions

LIMITATIONS
Now, discussing some of the limitations of this principle, they are following: 1) Oxygen is one of the main things that hit back this principle. As there are signs that there were no or limited oxygen in the atmosphere in the past, environments must have been different that

time. This introduction of free oxygen in the dynamics of earth was evolutionary contribution and falls outside the scope of simple principle of uniformitarianism

2) Intensity of the climates can t be predicted with the help of this law or it can be said that intensity changes must have brought changes in the environment, which can t be defined. 3) As there are less volcanic activities happening in the present world, this is the thing that differs from the past 4) Introduction of oxygen led to the evolution of the marine life, so fossils of fish couldn t be seen in the years before oxygen was there. 5) Formation of rocks like pyrite needed no intervention of oxygen to form, hence it can be said that formation of these kinds of rocks would be less in the present world. 6) Banded formations of iron that need oxygen to be made, would be more in the present world rather than in the past. 7) There is no example of abiogenesis in the present world. As it is related in this theory that earth and evolutionary life has similarities that they were made by the chemical reactions that are unrelated to life, but at present, these kind of examples cant be seen now.

2.PRINCIPLE OF ORIGINAL HORIZONTALITY

This principle was given Danish geologist named Nicholas Steno. It states that layers are deposited originally in horizontal layers due to the action of gravity. However now it is known that not all sedimentary layers are deposited in horizontal layers.

APPLICATIONS
1) This principle helps to predict the different ages of the world. 2) In the presence of faults and folds, or any kind of discontinuous strata, we can compare the layers that are similar and can be inferred that which of them are of the same age.

LIMITATIONS
1) If the sediments drop at inclined surfaces, then the depositions wont be in horizontal layers. 2) Sometimes, faulted and folded layers are so complex that this law doesn t obey. 3) Sands have ability to deposit at an angle, due to its property of angle of repose. This fact let the sand to disobey this principle.

3) PRINCIPLE OF SUPERPOSITION
This law was given by Nicholas steno in 17th century. It says that sedimentary layers deposit as sediments in the time sequence as oldest would be at the bottom and newest would be at the top.

APPLICATIONS
1) Periods can be separated when they had life and when they didn t have. 2) When combined with the principle of faunal assemblage, this principle is a powerful tool for dating of rocks and strata. 3) It helps to give us information about the extinct species of the world. 4) It gives us hints about the environments of the past.

LIMITATIONS
1) Due to the removal of the lower layer because of any reason, caves could be formed which can confuse us about the newer and older depositions. 2) If there are signs of breaking up of the caves, then this might have happened that depositions have mixed up and can t be classified into newer and older ones now. 3) Thrust faults, if they occur, can cause many confusions and this law then maybe fail to examine the newer and older depositions. 4) Edged layers of impact crater may have overturned the sequence of the rocks. 5) Landslides could mix up the layers. 6) Turbidities are graded bedding according to the sizes, but not according to the ages of the rocks, this mix up the layers and produce confusion in defining which one is newer and which one of them in older one. 7) Bioturbation also disturbs the layer in their age-wise deposition. 8) Beds of igneous intrusions do not follow the principle of superposition.

4) PRINCIPLE OF FAUNAL ASSEMBLAGE

This law is given by William Smith. Its based on observation that sedimentary rock strata contains fossilized flora and fauna and that these fossils succeed each other vertically in specific, reliable order that can be identified over wide horizontal distances.

APPLICATIONS
1) Relative age of the rocks and strata fossil contents together with the law of superposition helps to determine the time sequence in which sedimentary rocks were laid down.

2) It led to create the geological time scale. 3) If there is the confusion about the depositions being newer and older, this principle further confirms that which one of them is newer and older. 4) This principle helped the scientist, William smith, to make world s first geological map 5) It helps to give us information about periods in which different species came and became extinct. 6) In a way it also gives hint of environment in the past. For example, in Eocene epoch, roughly about 55 to 34 million years ago, fossils show that they were warm-weathered animals. Fossils of plants too show the same feature, which lead to the prediction that it may had warm climate. 7) As fossils are found in different places in the world and they may be the same, it gives us hint about the plate tectonics. 8) It also helps to know about the events that took place that led to movements of the fossils.

LIMITATIONS
1) Due to magma s effect on fossils, structure of species may change abit and become similar to the fossils of the species of different age, this leads to the confusion. 2) In places like deserts, this may happen that fossils come up on the surface of the desert, then those fossils wont help in knowing about the age of the rocks. 3) If there would be no reference of fossils that is got, age determination would be impossible then. 4) Igneous rocks have no record int them, if they would have some record, ages of the rocks would have been determined in a more detailed way.

5) PRINCIPLE OF IGNEOUS INTRUSION

It says that if an igneous layer that had intruded in the sedimentary layers, it must be newer than the rocks that were present previously. It is given by Charles Lyell.

APPLICATIONS
1) It can be known that in what age the intrusion of rock took place. 2) It helps in relative aging of the rocks

LIMITATIONS
1) Due to the complicated folding and faulting, complications can occur as defining which one is newer and which one is older