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 Earth and other astronomical objects, the features or rocks of which it is composed, and the processes by which they change over time. Modern geology significantly overlaps all other Earth sciences, including hydrology and the atmospheric sciences, and so is treated as one major aspect of integrated 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. It also provides tools to determine the relative and absolute ages of rocks found in a given location, and also to describe the histories of those rocks. By combining these tools, geologists are able to chronicle the geological history of the Earth as a whole, and also to demonstrate the age of the Earth. Geology provides the primary evidence for plate tectonics, the evolutionary history of life, and the Earth's past climates.
Geologists use a wide variety of methods to understand the Earth's structure and evolution, including field work, 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 of natural hazards, the remediation of 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, ( /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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Rudolf Trümpy (16 August 1921 – 30 January 2009) was a Swiss geologist, who was born in the small Swiss town of Glarus. He graduated from the ETH Zürich in the late 1940s with a thesis titled: “Der Lias der Glarner Alpen”. From 1947 to 1953 he spent his post-doctoral years in Lausanne before being appointed professor at ETH Zürich in 1953. He would remain there until 1986.
His research mainly concentrated on alpine geology. However, he also published papers on extra-alpine regions like Greenland, the Montagne Noire and the Sahara. He was the author of the reference book Geology of Switzerland. (Full article...)Did you know
- ... that Zeng Rongsheng organized a Sino-American joint investigation of the geology of the Tibetan Plateau and examined the collision process of the Indian Plate with the Eurasian Plate?
- ... that for nearly two decades Alfred Woodford was the sole professor in Pomona College's geology department?
- ... that the Gemmi Fault is a geological fault in Switzerland that was active in the last 10,000 years?
- ... that the Central Asian Orogenic Belt is a leading laboratory of geologically recent crustal growth?
- ... that the permeability of rocks affected by faults can increase or decrease as a result of seismic activity?
- ... that LiDAR can be used to make a digital terrain model?
- ... that the most significant rock from New Caledonia is peridotite, which comes from the Earth's mantle?
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