13. ID Charles Lyell and define Superposition

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Photo: http://www.biografiasyvidas.com/biografia/l/lyell.htm

Charles Lyell, a british scientist and an Oxford graduate in 1827, wrote his first book called Principles Of Geology, published in 1830, as well as other books. He believed that through geology we could find out about the past, as he worked in fields of science such as stratigraphy and paleontology, which are subjects now considered history, in addition to science. Lyell influenced, at the time, the young Charles Darwin, as well as many other scientists. He also further researched James Hutton’s theory of uniformitarianism. Lyell passed away on February 22, 1875 at the age of 77, but he will always be known as one of the greatest historical scientists to ever live.

Photo: http://archserve.id.ucsb.edu/courses/anth/fagan/anth3/Courseware/Chronology/03_Superposition.html

Superposition is a principle of science, commonly used when talking about sedimentary rocks. It states that a layer of sediments is younger than the layer it is deposited on. Therefore, the layers grow older the deeper buried they are. Superposition is used to determine the relative age of a layer of sediment.

Sources: http://www.famousscientists.org/charles-lyell/

http://www.victorianweb.org/science/lyell.html

http://academic.brooklyn.cuny.edu/geology/leveson/core/topics/time/froshlec8.html