What two things did 19th century scientists do to determine the relative ages of sedimentary rock all over the world?

Some gamma ray bursts are hypothesized to come from mergers of neutron stars or black holes. if this hypothesis is correct, what else should we in principle be able to detect from such mergers? a. gravitiational waves b. x-ray bursts c. significant disruption of gas thousands of light-years away in the surrounding galaxy d. an "afterglow" of bright visible light, lasting for weeks