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science
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| fossil | The trace or remains of an organism that lived long ago, most commonly found in sedimentary rock. |
| trace fossil | A fossilized structure, such as a footprint or a coprolite, that formed in sedimentary rock by animal activity on or within soft sediment. |
| Uniformitarianism | A principle that geological processes that occurred in the past can be explained by current geological processes. |
| climate | The weather conditions in an area over a long period of time. |
| ice core | A long cylinder of ice obtained from drilling thorough ice caps; used to study past climates |
| relative dating | Any method of determining whether an event or object is older or younger than other events or objects. |
| superposition | A principle that states that younger rocks lie above older rocks if the layers ave not been disturbed. |
| Unconformity | A break in the geologic record created when rock layers are eroded or when sediment is not deposited for a long period of time. |