Not Catastrophism: Erosion of Earth

In the eighteenth century scientists believed that Earth’s surface had remained unchanged until cataclysmic events (like the flood of Noah)-called catastrophism. Catastrophism claimed that all of the changes in the earth’s surface were the result of sudden, violent (catastrophic) changes. In that time scientists tried to understand the planet’s surface structures by using Catastrophism. They studied the earth, its history, its landforms, and its age based on Catastrophism. And they led to wildly inaccurate guesses and misinformation.

But in the 1780s, 57-year-old, James Hutton (amateur geologist) decided to try to calculate the age of the earth more accurately by studying the earth’s rocks. And soon he realized that something possibly was wrong with Catastrophism and no catastrophic event could explain the rolling hills and meandering river valleys.

The earth, Hutton realized, was shaped slowly, not over night. Rain and wind are the main forces which change our Earth’s surface bit by bit, year by year. He discovered that the earth’s surface continually and slowly changes, evolves. He discovered the processes of erosion of Earth that gradually built up and wore down the earth’s surface. And water, wind, ice and wave (coastal erosion) are the main agents of erosion that change the shape of the earth’s surface.

But what built up the earth? He finally concluded that the heat of Earth’s core built up hills and mountains by pushing out ward. Mountain ranges were forced up by the heat of the earth. Wind and rain slowly wore them back down. With no real beginning and no end, these two great forces struggled in dynamic balance over eons, the real time scale for geologic study.

With that great discovery, James Hutton forever changed the way geologists would look at the earth and its processes. This discovery provided the key to understanding our planet’s history and launched the modern study of earth sciences.
However you may enjoy some clips on youtube about power of wind and atomosphere-here is one of them in Arizona
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aBnGqQN_9hQ