Earth Sciences History最新文献

{"title":"HISTORICAL BACKGROUND OF MATHEMATICAL GEOLOGY AS DEFINED BY VISTELIUS","authors":"H. Thiergärtner","doi":"10.17704/1944-6187-42.1.233","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.17704/1944-6187-42.1.233","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000 This paper is dedicated to Andrey Borisovich Vistelius for his contribution to the development of the mathematical geosciences and to his formulation of the term ‘mathematical geology’.\u0000 The mathematical geosciences as a scientific subdiscipline were independently developed in several countries. J. C. Griffiths, W. C. Krumbein, and A. B. Vistelius are the most commonly recognized founders of mathematical geology. The term ‘mathematical geology’ is generally attributed to Vistelius. He began applying mathematical algorithms to solve practical geological problems in the 1940s. This new discipline was explicitly defined in his standard work Principles of Mathematical Geology published in Russian in 1980 and translated into English in 1992. Vistelius’ definition is focused on two main aspects: (1) Mathematical models developed and applied in geology in a broad sense must be conceptual, that is, they must be based on geoscientific ideas of the studied object; (2) Suitable mathematical models have to be probabilistic because most geological properties and events show a stochastic character. Modern definitions of the term ‘mathematical geosciences’ remain similar to Vistelius’ version.","PeriodicalId":50560,"journal":{"name":"Earth Sciences History","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.3,"publicationDate":"2023-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46904866","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"哲学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"PROMOTING MILITARY GEOLOGY FOR 200 YEARS: SENIOR GEOLOGISTS OF THE BRITISH ARMY 1826 TO 2026","authors":"E. Rose","doi":"10.17704/1944-6187-42.1.1","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.17704/1944-6187-42.1.1","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000 During the nineteenth century, geology was perceived by the British Army as a military science, and two geological survey departments outside Great Britain were pioneered by Royal Engineer officers in the rank of captain: J. W. Pringle, J. E. Portlock and Henry James nearly successively in Ireland between 1826 and 1846; H. G. Lyons in Egypt from 1896 to 1898 and then, as a civilian, until 1909. During World War I, the Welsh-born Australian T. W. Edgeworth David and the Canadian R. W. Brock served on attachment to the Royal Engineers in the rank of major, David as the senior of two geologists in appointment as such with the British Army in France and Belgium 1916–1919, Brock in Palestine 1918–1919. (David was rewarded by promotion to lieutenant-colonel ten days before the end of hostilities). During World War II, between 1939 and 1945, W. B. R. King, F. W. Shotton, J. V. Stephens, W. A. Macfadyen, J. L. Farrington and D. R. A. Ponsford plus the South Africans H. F. Frommurze and G. L. Paver (and possibly also H. Digby Roberts) all achieved the rank of major whilst in appointment as geologists serving with British forces, complemented in the Far East by Majors A. J. Haworth and A. N. Thomas supervised by E. J. Bradshaw for the Indian Army. (King was rewarded with promotion to lieutenant-colonel in October 1943, when released from the Army to take up appointment as Woodwardian Professor of Geology at the University of Cambridge). During the remaining twentieth century, N. L. Falcon, D. R. A. Ponsford, A. W. Woodland, A. F. Fox, Frank Moseley, R. M. S. Perrin, S. C. L. Hobden, L. R. M. Cocks and J. C. Eaton became geologist majors in the British reserve army, and five majors were promoted to be geologist lieutenant colonels: T. G. Miller 1964–1967, N. F. Hughes 1967–1970, P. I. Manning 1971–1972, E. P. F. Rose 1978–1987 (colonel 1987–1990) and M. S. Rosenbaum 1995–2001. Thereafter, a post for a geologist lieutenant colonel became established in the British reserve army, an appointment held by R. I. L. Dow 2006–2011, S. R. S. Matthews 2011–2014, M. H. K. Bulmer 2014– 2019, A. G. Craig 2019–2022, and S. R. S. Matthews again from 2022, each supported by one or two geologist majors. In 200 years, about 21 British military geologists achieved the final rank of major and only 11 the higher rank of lieutenant colonel (the highest rank yet to be attained by a geologist to serve operationally as such in the British Army). Overall, they helped to pioneer and to promote an innovative range of military applications of geology.","PeriodicalId":50560,"journal":{"name":"Earth Sciences History","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.3,"publicationDate":"2023-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"42677214","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"哲学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"NO PUBLICATION, NO FAME: REASSESSING ARNOLD GUYOT’S (1807–1884) PIONEERING CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE GLACIAL THEORY","authors":"M. Wannier","doi":"10.17704/1944-6187-42.1.123","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.17704/1944-6187-42.1.123","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000 In the summer of 1838, Arnold Guyot was asked by Louis Agassiz to gather information on Alpine glaciers, with the aim of reporting their findings in September, at the annual gathering of the French Geological Society. Guyot’s observations of the internal structure of the ice and interpretations on glacier movements, reported orally at the conference, were new to science. Unfortunately, because of purported illness, Guyot did not send his manuscript to be published and missed his first opportunity to be recognized as a pioneer in glacier studies.\u0000 During the years 1841 to 1847, Guyot published a series of notes, detailing results of his field work in tracing erratic blocks in the central Alpine region, in the Alpine foreland and in the Jura Mountains. The level of detail in his work was unprecedented and has not been replicated since. Recognizing that erratic blocks of similar lithology could be followed along organized paths of deposition, Guyot could invalidate those theories that sought to explain their deposition by chaotic means, such as floods, debacles or drifting icebergs loaded with rock debris. Only moraines, composed of material transported by glaciers, could explain the mapped arrangements of erratic blocks.\u0000 Geological proofs for extensive glaciations in central Europe had just been found, and Guyot could demonstrate them on his hand-drawn map. But, in 1848, a revolution broke out in Neuchâtel. The local academy where Guyot was engaged as a professor shut down and all staff were left without pay. Answering a call from Agassiz who had emigrated to the USA in 1846, Guyot departed Switzerland and joined his friend there in the fall of 1848. In his luggage were all the papers on his unfinished project, including his map, and a full collection of erratic rock specimens. After arrival in the USA, Guyot had to begin a new professional life and could not devote significant attention to the subject of erratic blocks. In 1849, he showed his map of the erratic basins of Switzerland and discussed his results with various members of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS); he also shared his novel ideas about the climatic conditions required for the formation of large glaciers; however, he did not formally publish the results of his work in the Alps, and he thus lost his second opportunity for wider peer recognition and for driving the acceptance of the glacial theory.\u0000 Only in 1874, 26 years after his arrival in the USA and a year after Agassiz’s death, did Guyot open his boxes of alpine rock specimens and display his unpublished map in the Museum of the College of New Jersey (later Princeton University), where he was engaged as a professor. In 1883, at age 77, his memory of the unpublished 1838 report on glaciers was still in his conscience which finally pushed him to submit it for printing at Neuchâtel. It passed largely unnoticed, however, and Guyot died one year later without recognition attached to his name for his o","PeriodicalId":50560,"journal":{"name":"Earth Sciences History","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.3,"publicationDate":"2023-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43561354","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"哲学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"ALBERT KOCH’S HYDRARCHOS: A HOAX OR A BONA FIDE COLLECTION OF BONES","authors":"R. Bruce McMillan","doi":"10.17704/1944-6187-42.1.84","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.17704/1944-6187-42.1.84","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000 This is the second essay of a two-part series on the life and collecting activities of Albert Koch. After Koch traveled to England where he sold his Missourium to the British Museum, the American mastodon that now stands in the Natural History Museum of London, he then went to his homeland in Germany. Koch left his family in Dresden, when he again departed for the United States to pursue some additional paleontological adventures. Following several weeks of travel, he arrived in Alabama where he excavated the remains of a large, archaeocete whale, that he named the Hydrarchos. Koch displayed the skeleton in New York, and several other eastern cities before taking it to Europe. When in Berlin, Koch was able to sell the skeleton to King Friedrich Wilhelm IV of Prussia who placed it in the Royal Museum. Soon thereafter, Koch returned to the United States and Alabama to discover a second whale skeleton. He took this skeleton to Europe where it was exhibited in several cities but, having received no offers, Koch returned with his second Hydrarchos to the United States where it was initially displayed in New Orleans, then St. Louis, and eventually Chicago. In his later years, Koch turned his attention to the Academy of Science of St. Louis where he became an active member and curator, as well as a prospector for minerals. This essay examines the final chapters of Koch’s life and his entrepreneurial showmanship tendencies versus contributions he may have made to science. This narrative is a sequel to an article published in Volume 41 Number 2 of Earth Sciences History that focused on Albert Koch’s Missourium. Together, the two essays capture the life and career of Albert C. Koch.","PeriodicalId":50560,"journal":{"name":"Earth Sciences History","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.3,"publicationDate":"2023-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48898797","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"哲学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"HIDDEN IN PLAIN SIGHT: OVERLOOKED EVIDENCE CONCERNING JAMES CROLL (1821–1890)","authors":"K. Edwards","doi":"10.17704/1944-6187-42.1.160","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.17704/1944-6187-42.1.160","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000 Three new pieces of evidence concerning James Croll, the nineteenth century Scottish autodidact and climate change pioneer are revealed. These untold facets became apparent as a result of pursuing evidence further than might have seemed warranted, and comprise: (1) Croll’s short-lived attempt to become a publisher; (2) appointment to a janitorial position at Anderson’s University and Museum in Glasgow a year later than claimed by himself and repeated by subsequent commentators; (3) the enigma of why letters from Joseph Dalton Hooker to Croll were copied onto notepaper headed Montreal Cottage in Perth, Scotland (the town in which Croll lived), and the identification of John Bower, a retired fleet-surgeon and friend of Croll, as the copyist. It is argued that the findings were hidden in plain sight, are not trivial, and shed light on the biography of a relatively neglected individual.","PeriodicalId":50560,"journal":{"name":"Earth Sciences History","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.3,"publicationDate":"2023-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43607825","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"哲学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"GENDER, PLACE AND THE VALIDATION OF KNOWLEDGE: THE TRANSNATIONAL DEBATE ABOUT THE EFFECTS OF THE CHILEAN EARTHQUAKES OF 1822 AND 1835 ON LAND ELEVATION","authors":"Natalia GÁNDARA-CHACANA","doi":"10.17704/1944-6187-41.2.386","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.17704/1944-6187-41.2.386","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000 This article focuses on the transnational debate on the effects of earthquakes on land elevation after the seismic events in Chile in 1822 and 1835. It explores two main ideas. First, it examines how the Chilean territory became a transnational testing ground for geological theories about land elevation in the 1820s and 1830s. Second, it explores how social features such as gender, place and a scientist’s personal connections affected the validation of scientific knowledge. It introduces a wide network of actors, from well-known figures in the geological field, such as Charles Lyell, Charles Darwin and George B. Greenough, to lesser-known actors, such as Peruvian mineralogist Mariano de Rivero and British travel writer Maria Graham. By doing so, this paper addresses the social dimension of science-making, highlighting the asymmetries of power in knowledge circulation in global scientific networks in the mid-nineteenth century.","PeriodicalId":50560,"journal":{"name":"Earth Sciences History","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.3,"publicationDate":"2022-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48127808","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"哲学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"GEORGE BELLAS GREENOUGH’S GENERAL SKETCH OF THE PHYSICAL AND GEOLOGICAL FEATURES OF BRITISH INDIA (1854, 1855): ITS PRODUCTION, DISTRIBUTION, VARIANTS AND SURVIVORSHIP","authors":"C. Toland","doi":"10.17704/1944-6187-41.2.285","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.17704/1944-6187-41.2.285","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000 Greenough’s large-scale geological map of India (1854) represents a significant landmark in the history of geological cartography in India, it being the first geological map of the entire Indian sub-continent. This paper attempts to provide an account of the production, distribution, variants and survivorship of this pioneering map. The geological information contained on the map is based almost entirely on published data sources, Greenough never having visited India, yet the map is far more than a mere compilation. Its construction required the preparation of a topographic base map, geological interpolation over large swathes of unmapped territory, the organizing of mainly lithological descriptions into a unified chronostratigraphic order, and the integration of palaeontological information. By modern standards the delineation of strata on the map is imprecise, stratigraphic resolution is poor, and structural data are entirely lacking, yet it remained unrivalled as the only available geological map of all-India until the Geological Survey of India produced a smaller-scale map some twenty-four years later. In terms of areal coverage and paucity of reliable information, Greenough’s India map represents a far more ambitious and pioneering undertaking than his more famous geological map of England and Wales.\u0000 202 copies of the map were produced, sixty of which were purchased by the East India Company, while a further forty or so were gifted by Greenough to various public institutions and distinguished geologists. Edward Stanford acquired publishing rights to the map in 1855 and continued to offer copies for sale until at least 1898. A recent survey has identified three variant states of the map and has confidently located thirty-four surviving copies.\u0000 For reasons outlined here, Greenough’s India map has languished in obscurity since its publication. It deserves to be better known.","PeriodicalId":50560,"journal":{"name":"Earth Sciences History","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.3,"publicationDate":"2022-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46565755","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"哲学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"THE GEOLOGICAL MAP OF BRAZIL, 1938–1940: THE FIRST GEOLOGY OF BRAZIL WRITTEN BY BRAZILIANS","authors":"M. Lopes","doi":"10.17704/1944-6187-41.2.336","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.17704/1944-6187-41.2.336","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000 The paper reports on the publication context for the book: Geologia do Brasil Com um Mapa Geológico do Brasil e parte dos países vizinhos [Geology of Brazil. With a Geological Map of Brazil and part of Neighboring Countries] by Avelino de Oliveira and Othon Leonardos, in 1940. This book describes the geological map of the country and of some parts of adjacent South American countries. The cover of the publication makes a curious reference to a ‘Brazilian Commission of Portugal’s Centennials’. This reference and the preface, together with other publications, provide very enlightening context about the mineral and energy sectors during the 1930s, including the efforts of geologists and institutions involved in its preparation, the difficulties during its compilation, and how its publication became possible. This Map is important because it was produced by Brazilian geologists and even today, it is mandatory to consult it, not only for the history of geology, but also for the clarification of research priorities.","PeriodicalId":50560,"journal":{"name":"Earth Sciences History","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.3,"publicationDate":"2022-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"41929998","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"哲学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"RECORDING THE FACTS: HENRY DE LA BECHE’S MAPS AS DATA REPOSITORIES","authors":"R. Clary","doi":"10.1130/abs/2017AM-297706","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1130/abs/2017AM-297706","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000 As a young man, Henry Thomas De la Beche (1796–1855) participated in geology within elite gentlemanly societies. On field excursions—within England and beyond—he examined the natural landscape and recorded his observations in both narratives and illustrations. The origin of De la Beche’s geologic maps can be traced to 1821, when he mapped coastal France from St. Vaast to Fecamp; in 1822 he mapped south Pembrokeshire, Wales, using the recently published Ordnance maps (1:63,360). Of utmost importance to De la Beche was an accurate recording of factual observations in graphic form so that the maps would represent useful data in the future. De la Beche continued mapping in Jamaica (1824) and Devon’s Tor and Babbacombe bays (1827). In 1832, while mapping Devonshire, De la Beche’s personal finances worsened. He successfully petitioned the government to continue his mapping projects, proposing that his completed maps would be of national practical utility. Following the completed Devonshire maps, De la Beche leveraged the project to continue mapping other parts of the country. He became the first director of what would eventually develop into the British Geological Survey. In this position, De la Beche influenced mapping techniques while insisting upon consistency of results. Several men learned geological surveying under De la Beche and brought his methods to other countries. Since De la Beche selectively documented the geology he deemed important to observe, his geological maps serve as graphic data repositories of observations recorded during their construction. His surveying techniques also have enduring influence.","PeriodicalId":50560,"journal":{"name":"Earth Sciences History","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.3,"publicationDate":"2022-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"42010192","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"哲学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"THE RAILROAD SURVEYS (1853–1855): EARLY GEOLOGICAL MAPPING IN CALFORNIA BY WILLIAM BLAKE AND THOMAS ANTISELL","authors":"K. Aalto","doi":"10.17704/1944-6187-41.2.322","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.17704/1944-6187-41.2.322","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000 William Phipps Blake (1826–1910) and Thomas Antisell (1817–1893) served as geologists on Pacific Railroad Surveys undertaken in California during 1853–1855 for the purpose of determining feasible railroad routes. They produced some of the earliest geologic accounts, maps and cross sections for the region, for which surveying parties assessing right-of-way grades provided a fair amount of topographic control. They also produced a regional stratigraphy, chiefly lithology-based but with some biostratigraphic control for Cenozoic map units. The extent of Neogene uplift of the Coast Ranges and of Pleistocene lakes in the Mojave Desert region was recognized according to elevated shorelines and orogenic activity by recent volcanism and earthquake activity.","PeriodicalId":50560,"journal":{"name":"Earth Sciences History","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.3,"publicationDate":"2022-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43727868","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"哲学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}