Revolution In Geology Research Articles

James Croll and geological archives: testing astronomical theories of ice ages

ABSTRACTJames Croll's Physical Theory of Secular Changes of Climate emerged during an age of revolution in geology that included the rise of the glacial theory and the search for its underlying causes. According to Croll, periods of high eccentricity are associated with the persistence of long glacial epochs, within which glaciations occur in alternate hemispheres when winter is at aphelion every ~11,000 years; however, astronomical forcing is only able to produce glaciation by means of physical agencies (climate feedbacks) that amplify the small effects of varying seasonal irradiation. Croll understood the importance of interglacial deposits because they provided evidence for the occurrence of multiple glaciations within his long glacial epochs. He was aware of the limitations of the terrestrial record and suggested that deep-sea sediments would contain a continuous succession of glacial-interglacial cycles. Contrary to a widespread view, however, Croll was not envisaging the advent of palaeoceanographic exploration avant la lettre, but instead was drawing attention to the inadequacy of the land record as a testbed of his astronomical theory. Yet, the marine record did eventually deliver a test of astronomical theories almost exactly 100 years after the publication of his 1875 book Climate and Time in their Geological Relations. Here, we provide an historical account of the technological and scientific developments that led to this and a summary of insights on astronomically paced climate changes from marine, terrestrial and ice core records. We finally assess Croll's ideas in the context of our current understanding of the theory of ice ages.

Sequence stratigraphic division of the Shisanlitai Formation of Neoproterozoic in Southern Liaoning, China

Sequence stratigraphy is the most important prediction theory in the field of petroleum exploration, and is hailed as a theoretical revolution in geology. At present, countries around the world have begun to pay attention to the study of marine carbonate rocks. The Shisanlitai Formation in Dalian, Liaoning is an important Neoproterozoic stratum in China, with a large number of carbonate rocks. Through comprehensive analysis of the field measured profiles, the sequence stratigraphy of the Shisanlitai Formation was studied. A total of 4 sequence boundary were identified, and 3 sequence, 7 para-sequence sets and 20 para-sequences were divided. It is considered that the Shisanlitai Formation is a platform marginal sedimentary facies. The regional geotectonic and astronomical cyclic methods are used to discuss the environmental evolution of the Ganjingzi Formation. Platform marginal beach → platform marginal slope → platform marginal reef evolution process, and summarized that there were 4 short exposures from the end of the Majiatun period to the Shisanlitai Formation period in the Dalian area affected by the low-amplitude tectonic ups and downs in the late Yangtze cycle 4 sequence boundary and 3 sequences are formed. Through comprehensive and systematic analysis of the sequence stratigraphy and sedimentary evolution of the Shisanlitai Formation, it provides a basis for exploring the oil and gas resources in southeastern Liaoning.

Rationality and irrationality in the history of continental drift: Was the hypothesis of continental drift worthy of pursuit?

The revolution in geology, initiated with Alfred Wegener’s theory of continental drift, has been the subject of many philosophical discussions aiming at resolving the problem of rationality underlying this historical episode. Even though the debate included analyses in terms of scientific methodology, applications of concrete accounts of epistemic justification to this case study have been rare. In particular, the question as to whether Wegener’s theory was epistemically worthy of pursuit in the first half of the twentieth century, that is, in its early development, remained open or inadequately addressed. The aim of this paper is to offer an answer to this question. The evaluation of Drift will be done by means of an account of theory evaluation suitable for the context of pursuit, developed in Šešelja and Straßer (accepted for publication). We will argue that pursuing the theory of continental drift was rational, i.e., that it was irrational to reject its pursuit as unworthy.

Lyell: the man and his times

Abstract Born in Scotland at the end of the eighteenth century, Charles Lyell spent his early life in Hampshire in the midst of the kind of comfortable rural society described in Jane Austen’s novels. Influenced by his father, who was a keen botanist, the young Lyell collected butterflies and studied natural hisory. As a student at Oxford, he attended the Revd William Buckland’s lectures on geology and continued to pursue geology while studying for the bar at Lincoln’s Inn. In 1824 Lyell wrote his first scientific paper on the freshwater limestones and marls of Scottish lakes, demonstrating their detailed similarity to ancient freshwater formations among the Tertiary strata of the Paris Basin. Throughout his life Lyell remained an active field geologist, travelling throughout Europe from Sicily to Scandinavia. He made repeated geological tours through the Swiss and Austrian Alps and studied intensely the Tertiary strata of France, Belgium and England. He examined the geology of North America from Nova Scotia to the Mississippi Delta, working in the field in all weather. In 1853–1854 he spent several months studying the volcanic geology of Madeira and the Canary Islands and in 1857 and 1858 revisited Sicily to spend arduous weeks studying Mount Etna. In his seventy-fifth year and nearly blind, he travelled to the south of France to examine the caves of Aurignac and the Dordogne. In 1830 in the Principles of Geology Lyell challenged the assumption of a cooling Earth and of the greater former intensity of volcanic action and other geological forces. He separated geology from cosmology, pointing out that the crust of the Earth told nothing of its origin. What geology did reveal was an unending cycle of changes such as were still going on. In his metamorphic theory developed in the Elements of Geology , Lyell showed how the various classes of igneous and metamorphic rocks were formed in the gradual elevation of mountains. Lyell’s theories brought about a revolution in geology, changing the meaning of geological data. In successive editions of the Principles and the Elements , two books of American travel, and the Antiquity of Man , Lyell’s stature as an author and as a scientist grew steadily throughout his lifetime, the sale of his books often exceeding the publisher’s expectations. Liberal in his sympathies, Lyell worked effectively for the reform of English university education and during the American Civil War defended the Union against its British critics.

Scientific Rationality and Human Reasoning

The work of Tversky, Kahneman and others suggests that people often make use of cognitive heuristics such as availability, salience and representativeness in their reasoning and decision making. Through use of a historical example—the recent plate tectonics revolution in geology—I argue that such heuristics play a crucial role in scientific decision making also. I suggest how these heuristics are to be considered, along with noncognitive factors (such as motivation and social structures) when drawing historical and epistemological conclusions. The normative perspective is community-wide, contextual, and instrumental.

Ruse and the Darwinian Paradigm

This collection of essays, written over the past fifteen years by one of the more intrepid defenders of current Darwinian theory, contains material that will be of interest both to historians and philosophers of science and, since Ruse writes well and in an accessible manner, to an even wider audience. A preliminary glance at the contents primes one to expect to be both engaged and provoked; one is not disappointed. The essays include historical speculation on some of the views of Charles Darwin, a defence of human sociobiology and discussion of its feminist critique, punctuated equilibria theory, teleology in biology, extraterrestrial biology and moral theory, the plate tectonic revolution in geology, and the relationship between evolutionary theory and Christian ethics.

Drifting continents and shifting theories: the modern revolution in geology and scientific change

Drifting continents and shifting theories: the modern revolution in geology and scientific change

The Imaginary Lyellian Revolution

Historians and philosophers of science have usually followed Kuhn in his appraisal of Lyell's contribution to geology as a major scientific revolution. Nevertheless a detailed analysis of the historical evidence rather support a different view: Lyell's work did not establish any paradigm to be unanimously accepted by his colleagues. Thus Kuhn's model of scientific change does not authorize us to speak of a Lyellian revolution in geology. On the contrary such an interpretation is a recent historiographic myth, originated with Gillispie's Genesis and Geology and promptly prevailing as a result of Kuhn's highly influential The Structure of Scientific Revolutions.

Philosophy of Science Naturalized

In arguing a “role for history,“ Kuhn was proposing a naturalized philosophy of science. That, I argue, is the only viable approach to the philosophy of science. I begin by exhibiting the main general objections to a naturalistic approach. These objections, I suggest, are equally powerful against nonnaturalistic accounts. I review the failure of two nonnaturalistic approaches, methodological foundationism (Carnap, Reichenbach, and Popper) and metamethodology (Lakatos and Laudan). The correct response, I suggest, is to adopt an “evolutionary perspective.” This perspective is defended against one recent critic (Putnam). To argue the plausibility of a naturalistic approach, I next sketch a naturalistic account of theories and of theory choice. This account is then illustrated by the recent revolution in geology. In conclusion I return to Kuhn's question about the role of history in developing a naturalistic theory of science.

The geophysical revolution in geology

The geophysical revolution in geology

The Recent Revolution in Geology and Kuhn’s Theory of Scientific Change

The 1960s witnessed a striking change in geology. Since at least the seventeenth century, one of the central problems of the subject had been the origin of the major irregularities of the surface of the globe—continents and oceans, mountain chains and ocean islands—irregularities that were not anticipated by most physical theories. Traditionally these features had usually been explained either as residual traces of events occurring during the very early history of the globe, or as the result of vertical movements of the earth’s crust, caused, for example, by changes in the heat budget. The last two decades have seen an end to all this. The vast majority of geologists now believe that these irregularities largely result from the lateral movement of thin rigid plates covering the earth, a theory now known as “plate tectonics”, but a theory which also has obvious parallels with the hypothesis of continental drift, in which it was postulated that continents can move laterally.

Plate tectonics: A revolution in geology and geophysics

This symposium concerns The Present State of Plate Tectonics. By any measure, plate tectonics can be described as “alive and well” and, in fact, a “healthy, burgeoning concept”, although only eight years have passed since (in 1967) plate tectonics suddenly won general acceptance, at least among western scientists, as the proper model for global tectonics. This concept is, of course, an integration of, and a follow-on to, sea-floor spreading, transform faulting, trench subduction and continental drift. Although some criticism has arisen, this revolution in geology and geophysics has provoked remarkably little cogent dissent. Of late, plate tectonics has bridged the gap from basic to applied science in the search for natural resources; e.g. petroleum accumulations on continental margins, porphyry copper deposits associated with subduction zones, base metal sulfides associated with pillow lavas at fossil rifts, etc. Perhaps the largest gap that remains is in a definitive understanding of plate driving forces. The viability of plate tectonics is emphasized by the several symposia at this IUGG meeting which concern, either directly or peripherally, plate tectonics. In this symposium, we have asked the organizers of such symposia, or their nominees, to present a synthesis concerning the implications of their particular specialty for plate tectonics. These include plate tectonics aspects of seismology, heat flow, plate accretion processes at ridges, paleo-oceanography, etc.

Leonard G. Wilson. <italic>Charles Lyell. The Years to 1841: The Revolution in Geology</italic>. New Haven: Yale University Press. 1972. Pp. xiii, 553. $17.50

Leonard G. Wilson. Charles Lyell. The Years to 1841: The Revolution in Geology. New Haven: Yale University Press. 1972. Pp. xiii, 553. $17.50 Wilson Leonard G.. Charles Lyell. The Years to 1841: The Revolution in Geology. New Haven: Yale University Press. 1972. Pp. xiii, 553. $17.50. Gordon L. Davies Gordon L. Davies Trinity College, University of Dublin Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar The American Historical Review, Volume 78, Issue 5, December 1973, Pages 1461–1462, https://doi.org/10.1086/ahr/78.5.1461 Published: 01 December 1973

The Years to 1841: The Revolution in Geology

The Years to 1841: The Revolution in Geology

Charles Lyell, the Years to 1841: The Revolution in Geology. Leonard G. Wilson

Charles Lyell, the Years to 1841: The Revolution in Geology. Leonard G. Wilson

Charles Lyell, The Years to 1841: The Revolution in Geology. Leonard G. Wilson

Previous articleNext article No AccessReviewsCharles Lyell, The Years to 1841: The Revolution in Geology. Leonard G. Wilson Claude AlbrittonClaude Albritton Search for more articles by this author PDFPDF PLUS Add to favoritesDownload CitationTrack CitationsPermissionsReprints Share onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail SectionsMoreDetailsFiguresReferencesCited by The Journal of Geology Volume 81, Number 4Jul., 1973 Article DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1086/627894 Copyright 1973 The University of ChicagoPDF download Crossref reports no articles citing this article.

Charles Lyell, The years to 1841; the revolution in geology [book review

Charles Lyell, The years to 1841; the revolution in geology [book review