Geologic age

A geologic age is a time period on the Geologic Timescale delimited by major geologic or paleontologic events. A geologic age is a subdivision of a geologic era[?].

When William Smith and Sir Charles Lyell first recognized that rock strata represented successive time periods, there was no way to determine what time scale they represented. The age of the Earth and of the rock strata was the subject of scientific debate for over 100 years as various advances in other sciences continued to place the creation of the Earth further into the past. In the latter part of the 20th century, it became possible to assign relatively firm dates using radioactive dating. In the intervening century and a half, geologists and paleontologists devised two relative time scales. One scale -- termed the Geologic Timescale -- is used by both sciences. Geologists tend to talk in terms of Upper/Late, Lower/Middle and often Middle parts of periods or eras -- e.g. "Upper Jurassic", "Middle Cambrian". Paleontologists divide the same periods into sometimes regional faunal assembleges. For example, in North America the Late Neoproterozoic and Early Cambrian are grouped into a Waucoban[?] series that is then subdivided into zones based on trilobites. The same Neoproterozoic timespan is split into Tommotian[?], Atdabanian[?] and Botomian[?] periods in East Asia and Siberia.

In 1977 The Global Commission on Stratigraphy[?] started an effort to define global references (GSSPs) for geologic periods and faunal stages.

Dr.Freidrich August von Alberti (1795 - 1878) Paleontologist who defined the strata of the Turasic period. Bio: Friedrich August von Alberti was born in Stuttgard in 1795 and died in 1878. He grew up in Stuttgard and went to the Miitary School there. After the Military School he went Rottweil, a little village outside of Stuttgard. He learned the salt processing system and became a Salinen (salt) technician, and was quickly promoted to Salineninspektor (salt supervisor).

In 1823 he had an idea to drill for salt in Rottenmunster. 8 months later the team had success and found salt. What made this unique was nobody would think of finding salt in that location.

In 1829 he bought a house and lived there in Rottenmuster until 1853. While there he worked as a Manager for 2 salt companies. Afer he retired he moved to Hilbronn. He took a position as advisor, salt techician, and geologist. He had excellent skills in understanding sandstone and kallstone. He discovered that if you find the 2 combinations of these stones together, you will always find salt. He wrote books on his experiences of looking and drilling for salt.

He invented the method of miining salt by pumping water in the mine and then when the water and salt mixture rise to the surface, he would allow the water to evaporate and then he would collect the salt.

The University Tubingen gave Friedrich August von Alberti a Honorary Doctorate for his achievements in the salt mining industry. The city named a street in his name in honor of him.

He was very well thought of and popular. People liked him for his personality, his happiness, and the fact that he was very open and honest to everyone. After he died his family stayed in Rottweil. Today the town has many ancestors of him still living there as is evidenced by the Alberti name still present today.

Salt museum in Rottweil Germany : http://www.netmuseum.de/m-ausgabe.asp?strAufrufer=Liste&strId=734