Geology: Geology Overview

Geological theory that the relative positions of the continents on the earth's surface have changed considerably through geologic time.

Geology is the study of the solid, nonliving earth, including earth’s materials, structure, processes, and history. Earth’s nonliving materials and features are the result of geologic processes.

Branch of geology developed in the late 19th century, dealing with the morphology, or form, of the Earth's surface; nowadays it is also considered to be an integral part of physical geography.

A geological theory according to which the Earth’s crust is composed of a small number of large plates of solid rock, whose movements in relation to each other are responsible for continental drift.

In geology, doctrine holding that changes in the earth's surface that occurred in past geologic time are referable to the same causes as changes now being produced upon the earth's surface.

Swiss-born US palaeontologist and geologist who developed the idea of the ice age.

Mary Anning supplied fossils to palaeontologists, collectors and museums, as well as to the visitors to her shop in Lyme Regis and attracted the general public to fossil-collecting and to herself, by her successes.

Scottish natural philosopher who pioneered uniformitarian geology.

From The Hutchinson Dictionary of Scientific Biography
German mineralogist who devised the Mohs scale, by which minerals are classified in order of relative hardness.

From The Cambridge Dictionary of Scientists
The son of a blacksmith, Smith became a canal surveyor, an occupation which gave him ample opportunity to study the varying geology of much of England and Wales. He discovered that geological strata could be reliably identified at different places on the basis of the fossils they contained, and he also proposed the principle of superposition – that if a stratum overlies another then it was laid down at a later time.

German geologist, meteorologist, and Arctic explorer.

Branch of science that studies the motions and natures of celestial bodies, such as planets, stars, and galaxies.

The term Geography formally applies to an academic discipline (and a human construct) that encompasses study of the Earth’s surface (Physical Geography), its inhabitants (Human Geography), and, more recently, its environment (Environmental Geography).

Scientific observation and study of the atmosphere, so that weather can be accurately forecast.

[Gr.,= study of early beings], science of the life of past geologic periods based on fossil remains.

Scientific study of earthquakes and related phenomena, including the propagation of waves and shocks on or within the earth by natural or artificially generated seismic signals.

Mixture of gases surrounding a planet. Planetary atmospheres are prevented from escaping by the pull of gravity.

In astronomy, the explosive event that marked the origin of the universe as we know it.

Combination of weather conditions at a particular place over a period of time - usually a minimum of 30 years.

General term for the processes by which the surface of the earth is constantly being worn away.

Increase in average global temperature, amounting to approximately 0.74°C/1.3°F from 1906 to 2005.

Phenomenon of the Earth's atmosphere by which solar radiation, trapped by the Earth and re-emitted from the surface as long-wave infrared radiation, is prevented from escaping by various gases (the ‘greenhouse gases’) in the air.

Any of several periods in the Earth’s history when the average temperature of the atmosphere decreased to such an extent that ice sheets and glaciers covered large areas of the Earth that previously had a temperate climate.

Intermediate zone of the Earth between the crust and the core, accounting for 82% of the Earth's volume.

Or ozonosphere, region of the stratosphere containing relatively high concentrations of ozone, located at altitudes of 12–30 mi (19–48 km) above the earth's surface. <

The level of the sea, which serves as the datum used for measurement of land elevations and ocean depths.

The layer of the Earth’s atmosphere that extends from about 12km to about 50km above the Earth’s surface, which contains the ozone layer and which has a relatively constant temperature.

From Science in the Early Twentieth Century: An Encyclopedia
Beno Gutenberg was the leading scientist in the relatively new field of seismology in the first half of the twentieth century

From The Cambridge Dictionary of Scientists
Oldham was educated at the Royal School of Mines, in 1879 joining the Geological Survey of India (of which his father was director). Upon retirement in 1903 he became director of the Indian Museum in Calcutta. Following the violent Assam earthquake of 1897, Oldham was able clearly to distinguish in the seismograph record for the first time between the P (primary, or compressional) and S (secondary, or shear) waves (predicted theoretically by Poisson) and the tertiary (surface) waves.

From The Hutchinson Unabridged Encyclopedia with Atlas and Weather Guide
US seismologist and governnment science adviser. As director of the California Institute of Technology's seismological laboratory, Press and his colleagues first identified the "free oscillations" of the earth – the persistent global vibrations arising from earthquakes and other geological disturbances.

From The Cambridge Dictionary of Scientists
Richter worked at the Carnegie Institute before moving to the California Institute of Technology in 1936, becoming professor of seismology there in 1952. In 1935 he devised the scale of earthquake strength which bears his name.

"Public access gateway for energy & science"

This YouTube channel by Shawn Willsey, one of the Geology professors here at CSI, is a bold experiment in public geology. With more than 10K followers, Shawn explores the natural features that occur in Utah, Idaho, and all around the United States. He is the author of several prominent public geology books.