Answer:
"catastrophism."
Step-by-step explanation:
Catastrophism is the idea that certain geological events, such as earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, and meteor impacts, can have significant and rapid effects on the Earth's surface and can cause significant changes to the geological record. This idea has been incorporated into the principle of uniformitarianism, which is the idea that geological processes that occurred in the past can be explained by the same processes that are happening today.The principle of uniformitarianism has been modified to accept the role of episodic, catastrophic interruptions because it is now recognized that catastrophic events can have a significant impact on the Earth's surface and can cause significant changes to the geological record. This modification has allowed geologists to better understand the complexity of the Earth's history and to more accurately interpret the geological record.