Portal:Geology
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Geology (from Ancient Greek γῆ (gê) 'earth' and λoγία (-logía) 'study of, discourse') is a branch of natural science concerned with the Earth and other astronomical objects, the rocks of which they are composed, and the processes by which they change over time. Modern geology significantly overlaps all other Earth sciences, including hydrology. It is integrated with Earth system science and planetary science.
Geology describes the structure of the Earth on and beneath its surface and the processes that have shaped that structure. Geologists study the mineralogical composition of rocks in order to get insight into their history of formation. Geology determines the relative ages of rocks found at a given location; geochemistry (a branch of geology) determines their absolute ages. By combining various petrological, crystallographic, and paleontological tools, geologists are able to chronicle the geological history of the Earth as a whole. One aspect is to demonstrate the age of the Earth. Geology provides evidence for plate tectonics, the evolutionary history of life, and the Earth's past climates.
Geologists broadly study the properties and processes of Earth and other terrestrial planets. Geologists use a wide variety of methods to understand the Earth's structure and evolution, including fieldwork, rock description, geophysical techniques, chemical analysis, physical experiments, and numerical modelling. In practical terms, geology is important for mineral and hydrocarbon exploration and exploitation, evaluating water resources, understanding natural hazards, remediating environmental problems, and providing insights into past climate change. Geology is a major academic discipline, and it is central to geological engineering and plays an important role in geotechnical engineering. (Full article...)
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The Paleocene (IPA: /ˈpæli.əsiːn, -i.oʊ-, ˈpeɪli-/ PAL-ee-ə-seen, -ee-oh-, PAY-lee-), or Palaeocene, is a geological epoch that lasted from about 66 to 56 million years ago (mya). It is the first epoch of the Paleogene Period in the modern Cenozoic Era. The name is a combination of the Ancient Greek παλαιός palaiós meaning "old" and the Eocene Epoch (which succeeds the Paleocene), translating to "the old part of the Eocene". (Full article...)
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Hans Wilhelm Stille (8 October 1876 – 26 December 1966) was an influential German geologist working primarily on tectonics and the collation of tectonic events during the Phanerozoic. Stille adhered to the contracting Earth hypothesis and together with Leopold Kober he worked on the geosyncline theory to explain orogeny. Stille's ideas emerged in the aftermath of Eduard Suess' book Das Antlitz der Erde (1883–1909). Stille's and Kober's school of thought was one of two that emerged in the post-Suess era the other being headed by Alfred Wegener and Émile Argand. This competing view rejected Earth contraction and argued for continental drift. As Stille opposed continental drift he came to be labelled a "fixist".
Part of Stille's work dealt with massifs and sedimentary basins in Central Europe; differing from Suess' interpretations for the same area showing that between the Bohemian and Rhine massifs Mesozoic rocks were folded. (Full article...)
Did you know
- ... that the most significant rock from New Caledonia is peridotite, which comes from the Earth's mantle?
- ... that the groundwater level of a coastal aquifer system changes with the tide?
- ... that Karen Hanghøj, the 2023 winner of the William Smith Medal for applied geology, became the first female director of the British Geological Survey, 183 years after it was founded?
- ... that the Danish geologist Tove Birkelund received a gold medal for her early work on fossils of Scaphites in Greenland?
- ... that the geology of the Ellsworth Mountains was explored by geologists using motor toboggans in 1961?
- ... that English amateur geologist Charlotte Eyton wrote a number of papers and pamphlets on the geology of the Wrekin, a part of Shropshire, between 1862 and 1870?
- ... that from 1904 to 1911 Arthur Lewis Hall covered 17,479 miles (28,130 km), mostly on foot, to map the geology of the Transvaal?
- ... that the Central Asian Orogenic Belt is a leading laboratory of geologically recent crustal growth?
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