what are some applications of uniformitarianinsm?

Answer 1

Applications of the concept that the present is the key to the past in the earth's history:
1. volcanology: Today, volcanic rocks are generated at active volcanic centers--from the cooling of lava. We assume that when we map out similar rocks in older strata that they also formed at volcanic centers--even if there is no active volcanism in the area today.
2. paleontology and paleoenvironment: We know that certain plants and animals live in the ocean and certain organisms live on land. If we find fossils of marine organisms(like oysters, corals, ammonoids, shark teeth) in sedimentary rocks on high mountains, we interpret that the strata were originally deposited on the sea bottom that has since been uplifted.
3. paleoenvironment: we know that modern desert areas covered by dunes have certain characteristics--that the dunes have certain types of crossbeds, the sand is well-sorted and well-rounded, for example. If we observe similar characteristics in sandstone beds of the Colorado Plateau, for example, that is considered evidence for an arid desert environment in the past.
4. Modern plate boundaries are associated with major fault systems, certain rocks types, etc. In the Sierra Nevada, geologists have mapped out ancient fault boundaries that put marine sedimentary rocks against dissimilar volcanic arc-related rocks. The patterns they have mapped out are considered evidence that the plate boundary of North America was once a convergent margin located farther east than it is today.

Answer 2

Uniformitarianism has both a religious and scientific definition. In science, it pertains to both astronomy and geology and is much too complex to explain in a few hundred words. Click on the site below to begin learning about it.