The Changing Earth

Geological Time and Rock Sequences

Understand the concept of geological time which is fundamental to basin analysis. Geological time includes eons, era, periods, epochs and ages.
Key reference is the International Geochronological Scale.
Know the principles of relative dating, which involves techniques such as stratigraphic succession, superposition, original horizontality and cross-cutting relationships.
Become familiar with absolute dating methods like radiometric dating, which uses the decay of radioactive isotopes to date rocks.

Know that sedimentation is the process of depositing sediments that will eventually form sedimentary rocks. Factors affecting sedimentation include source area, climate, sea level, tectonic setting and biological activity.
Understand the principles of stratigraphy, an important component of basin analysis. This includes concepts like biostratigraphy (using fossils to date rocks) and chronostratigraphy (dating rocks based on their relative position in time).
Study different colour codes on stratigraphic charts – each colour represents a unique geological period.
Recognise various sedimentary environments including fluvial, lacustrine, deltaic, shallow marine and deep marine.
Understand the role of tectonic activity in shaping sedimentary basins.

Comprehend that a sedimentary basin is an area of subsidence into which sediments accumulate. There are different types of basins including rift basins, foreland basins, pull-apart basins and intracontinental basins.
Understand that basins are formed due to lithospheric plate tectonic processes which include extension (rift basins), compression (foreland basins), strike-slip movement (pull-apart basins) and intraplate processes (intracontinental basins).
Recognise that the life cycle of a basin includes stages of sediment fill such as syn-rift, early post-rift, late post-rift and inversion.

Understand that basin analysis involves studying the history and evolution of sedimentary basins using principles of geology, geophysics and geochemistry.
Realise that the aim of basin analysis is to comprehend the subsidence history, sediment fill history and tectonic setting of a basin.

Keep in mind that basin analysis is used widely in the natural resource industry to locate fossil fuels and minerals.
Understand that accurate basin modelling helps in comprehending climate change, sea level variations and other earth surface processes.
Learn that analysis of ancient basins assists in predicting future sedimentary environments.