I Date Rocks: A Geochronology Love Story

California State University - Long Beach

Rocks are amazing in that they offer us a window into the past and tell stories that can be beyond human imagination. This allows us to understand Earth processes that we have not directly witnessed. A key to unraveling the possible cause and nature of such processes is an understanding of their timing and pacing. This is the power of geochronology. From the order of a stratigraphic sequence to the radiometric ages of lava flows, geologists have continued to invent and develop new ways for determining when something occurred in Earth’s past. For me, getting new ages from rocks is like taking a trip back in time and that is why I love it.