CONTROVERSY OVER THE PRINCIPLE OF UNIFORMITARIANISM

The principle of uniformitarianism is a basic tool in the study of geology. It was first introduced by James Hutton and later advanced by Charles Lyell  (both British Geologists). The principle of uniformitarianism simply states that the “present is the key to the past” i.e. all the processes operating to shape the earth surface at present had operated on the earth in the past at the same rate or nearly at equal rate. This is the view of Plutonists.

         However, another school of taught known as Catastrophists or Neputinists argue against this principle, attributing the origin of the earth to supernatural means, which had been affected

by a series of catastrophic events such as the biblical (Noah’s flood).

William Thomason and Lord Kelvin criticized the idea of uniformitarianism stating that the earth is loosing heat by conduction and that the nature of geologic processes may have changed as a consequence; he also concluded that this cooling placed an upper limit on the age of the earth. With the discovery of radioactivity and the recognition that radioactive isotopes within the earth provide a continuing internal source of heat, it became clear that Thomson’s conclusion that   the earth was less than 10 million years old was incorrect, but his argument that the earth suffers an irreversible loss of energy remains valid.

           Again, Neputinist argue that basalt is a sedimentary rock with fossil and could not be of volcanic origin as opposed to the Plutonists. They view that dramatic geological changes have occurred in sudden, violent or unusual events. They believe the supernatural origin of the earth, which according to them is 6,000 years old.  They posit a major challenge to evolutionary timetable, eliminating the multiple billion of years demanded to make evolutionary hypothesis. 

         Furthermore, the Catastrophists argue that fossil record is impossible to be explained by any uniformitarian scheme. For a living creature to become fossilized (rather than to decay and turn to dust, Job 34:15), it must be buried immediately under a great weight of sediment. Apart from a catastrophic discharge on a scale unlike any observed recent history, how can we explain the existence of massive fossil bed (such as Karoo Formation fossil field in Africa, which hold eight hundred billion vertebrate fossil)? Neputinists believe that natural sedimentation over several ages cannot explain large fossil beds where millions of fossilized species are found together in large concentrations as all these creatures were destroyed and buried together by massive flooding. Fossils of sea origin are even found on many of the world’s highest mountaintops according to the Neputisists. They strongly oppose the Plutonists, that their uniformitariamsm principle could not explain the aforementioned phenomena, and that the only way they can venture their explanation is by constantly increasing their   estimate of the age of the earth. 

 

ARTICLE SOURCE

FACULTY: PHYSICAL SCIENCES

DEPT:  GEOLOGICAL SCIENCES

COURSE TITLE:  LITHOSTRATIGRAPHIC ANALYSIS OF SEDIMENTARY BASINS 

COURSE CODE:  GLS 625

TOPIC: CONTROVERSY OVER THE PRINCIPLE OF UNIFORMITARIANISM.