How is the age of rocks measured?
Rock age is determined by combining relative layer relationships with numerical methods based on radioactive decay.
How the process forms and its main drivers
Radiometric methods compare parent and daughter isotopes using a known decay rate. The result often dates crystallization or closure of a particular mineral.
Evidence, applications and limits
Different systems suit different ages, and heating or fluid movement can alter the record. Carbon-14 does not directly date very old rocks. Local outcomes vary with climate, geology, topography and human influence, so they require long-term measurements.
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