Sir James Hall Research Articles

A review of laboratory and numerical modelling in volcanology

Abstract. Modelling has been used in the study of volcanic systems for more than 100 years, building upon the approach first applied by Sir James Hall in 1815. Informed by observations of volcanological phenomena in nature, including eye-witness accounts of eruptions, geophysical or geodetic monitoring of active volcanoes, and geological analysis of ancient deposits, laboratory and numerical models have been used to describe and quantify volcanic and magmatic processes that span orders of magnitudes of time and space. We review the use of laboratory and numerical modelling in volcanological research, focussing on sub-surface and eruptive processes including the accretion and evolution of magma chambers, the propagation of sheet intrusions, the development of volcanic flows (lava flows, pyroclastic density currents, and lahars), volcanic plume formation, and ash dispersal. When first introduced into volcanology, laboratory experiments and numerical simulations marked a transition in approach from broadly qualitative to increasingly quantitative research. These methods are now widely used in volcanology to describe the physical and chemical behaviours that govern volcanic and magmatic systems. Creating simplified models of highly dynamical systems enables volcanologists to simulate and potentially predict the nature and impact of future eruptions. These tools have provided significant insights into many aspects of the volcanic plumbing system and eruptive processes. The largest scientific advances in volcanology have come from a multidisciplinary approach, applying developments in diverse fields such as engineering and computer science to study magmatic and volcanic phenomena. A global effort in the integration of laboratory and numerical volcano modelling is now required to tackle key problems in volcanology and points towards the importance of benchmarking exercises and the need for protocols to be developed so that models are routinely tested against real world data.

Hutton’s Great Unconformity at Siccar Point, Scotland: Where deep time was revealed and uniformitarianism conceived

The classic angular unconformity at Siccar Point became a landmark location in the history of geology after a boat trip to the site by James Hutton and his colleagues Professor John Playfair and Sir James Hall in 1788. Hutton successfully used the unconformity to support his view that the Earth’s landforms and geological record resulted from uniform natural processes such as sedimentation, uplift, erosion, and renewed sedimentation through deep geologic time. At Siccar Point, gently dipping Devonian fluviatile Old Red Sandstones unconformably onlap vertical Silurian deep-water greywackes (schistus) to produce the most classic of angular unconformities that remains a must-see outcrop for geologists to this day. The relevance of this outcrop for the petroleum geologist is that it provides the opportunity to view an end-member stratal relationship in the continuum of unconformable surfaces (i.e., angular unconformity, disconformity, paraconformity, correlative conformity). The locality also aids the visualization of geometries relevant to unconformity (subcrop) traps and to onlap and pinchout (supracrop)–type traps. Although most Scottish geoscientists will have seen this outcrop in their student days, as a teaching aid to illustrate basic principles, a trip later in life can remind us of the importance of the site in a historical geology context. The location continues to inspire and instills a sense of duty in us, as scholars of the Earth’s formation, to communicate and share the principles of deep time with those who have not had the privilege of an education that included the fundamentals of geology.

A Scottish Literati in Paris: The Case of Sir James Hall

A Scottish Literati in Paris: The Case of Sir James Hall

Experimental tectonics: from Sir James Hall to the present

The subject of experimental tectonics is the study of geodynamic processes by means of laboratory scale models. The first roughly scaled experiments were performed by Sir James Hall about two centuries ago, in the intellectual atmosphere generated by the appearance of Hutton's Theory of the Earth (Hutton, J., 1795. Theory of the Earth, with Proofs and Illustrations, Vols. I & II. Cadell & Davies, Edinburgh). Their aim was to test the hypothesis that the folding of originally horizontal strata is the result of lateral compression. The idea to test hypotheses by laboratory experiments had already been applied by Hall to petrological problems (crystallization and melting) not involving scaling. Interestingly, however, he constructed a scale model of a Gothic cathedral, using a line of reasoning parallel to that used in his tectonic experiments. From these beginnings, the theory and practice of scale models have grown to become an important part of an integrated approach to the study of geodynamics. One topic which is at present the focus of much attention is the choice of model materials correctly scaling the temperature dependence of lithospheric materials. As an example, a brief discussion is offered of two geodynamic problems where the application of scale models is proving very fruitful: the initiation and time-history of subduction of oceanic and continental lithosphere, and the tectonic evolution of orogenic wedges.

First Thin Sections of Experimentally Melted Igneous Rocks: Sorby's Observations on Magma Crystallization

The first thin sections of artificially melted rocks were made in 1862 by Henry Sorby from specimens of Sir James Hall's experimentally fused basalts and of a fused granodiorite. Sorby's work on the fused basalts showed that the cooled charges contained the same three phases, although texturally different, as the starting materials and thus vindicated Hall's experiments. Sorby's observations on the granodiorite reinforced his earlier conclusions, based on fluid inclusion studies, that water plays a major role in plutonic crystallization. It is here suggested that Sorby's work on fused rocks in the period 1860-1863 was a response to a challenge from Alexander Bryson to prove that granite is of igneous origin.

Proofs and Reputations: Sir James Hall and the Use of Classification Devices in Scientific Argument

The importance of classification and labelling in shaping people's perceptions has long been acknowledged and it is accepted that the imposition of a label can affect how someone is treated. Although the process of labelling has been studied in some areas of society, its role in the scientific community has gone largely unexamined. Labels may well be important though if they are used in the presentation of arguments, particularly over contentious issues. Sir James Hall (1761-1832), commonly known as the originator of experimental geology and as a prominent member of the Edinburgh Huttonians, is strongly associated with two labels. He has traditionally been presented as either an experimentalist who confirmed the ideas of Hutton or as a Huttonian who deviated from his mentor's scientific system to incorporate diluvialism. Close analysis, however, reveals that his geological work was systematic and not a misunderstanding of Huttonianism. Similarly, it is proposed that Hall's reputations arose from labels used by other scientists in responding to his work. Since enduring reputations may be built up in this way, it is important that historians should be cautious in their acceptance and use of scientists' own labels.

Commentaries on the Huttonian Theory of the Earth From Transactions of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, 1805-1815

Articles published from 1805 to 1815 in the Transactions of the Royal Society of Edinburgh reflect a rapidly emerging and meticulous empiricism in the study of earth history; an empiricism directed principally toward an understanding of James Hutton's notions about cyclical, igneous-based, earth processes. One obvious focus for this detailed testing was Hutton's disagreement with Werner over the origin of basalt, which was most carefully explored in the laboratory studies of Sir James Hall and Robert Kennedy. However the geological field observations of Sir George Mackenzie, Lord Webb Seymour, John Playfair and other Society members seemed also to play a most important role in deciphering the Huttonian logic. Hall, following Lavoisier but in disagreement with Hutton, repeatedly emphasized that a more rigorous experimental micro-chemistry would eventually result in a more fundamentally sound macrogeology. In a number of papers read before the Royal Society it was obvious that Hall and his colleagues were indebted to Hutton for his demanding brand of field empiricism, which they acclaimed as a break with the less rigorous 18th century cosmologies, but Hutton was definitely not venerated. Certain Huttonian conclusions were verified but others were severely compromised not only by the results of Hall's fusion experiments but also by numerous field observations especially of Alpine geomorphic features. Indeed, attempting to understand the scale of geological processes through their subsequent effects appears at times to have been a more fundamental pursuit than a continual chorus of fire versus water. Obscured perhaps by the studies of subsequent generations these turn-of-the-century geological controversies were so enriched by empirical fervor that even this brief perusal of the Transactions cannot fail to impress us with the high level of imaginative experimentation devised by members of the Society, experimentation, however, resulting in large part from the Huttonian legacy.

Experimental mineralogy : achievements and prospects

Part I : One aspect of the progress in experimental mineralogy, the capability of sustaining in the laboratory the pressures and temperatures believed to exist in the earth, is reviewed, from Réaumur (1727) to the present. The dominance of the French schools in the earliest period of growth, the impact of Sir James Hall's study of the melting of calcite under pressure, the evolution of the principles of phase equilibria and their application to phase diagrams, and the importance of eutectics and crystal fractionation are highlighted. The early history of the quenching technique used in examining high-temperature phase equilibria, the pioneering development of apparatus that could withstand relatively high pressures, and the recognition of the role of volatiles in mineral synthesis and growth are described. The major developments of high-pressure apparatus include externally and internally heated gas-media devices, solid-media pressure vessels, simple squeezers, and the related diamond-anvil, high-pressure cells. Conditions equivalent to those at the core-mantle boundary can now be sustained in the laboratory. Part II : As a result of the dramatic developments in high-pressure and high-temperature apparatus as well as in a wide variety of characterization techniques, at least eight major areas of basic research in experimental mineralogy are believed to be appropriate for expanded effort. These include (1) synthesis and characterization of mirerals and mineral assemblages stable in the mantle and core, (2) measurement of crystal structure at high pressures and temperatures simultaneously, (3) determination of the structure of silicate liquids and development of theories for nucleation and melting, (4) kinetics of mass transfer in crystals and liquids including crystal zoning, order-disorder, metasomatism, aggregation, convection, and mixing of magmas, as well as the diffusion and infiltration of elements through porous media under both stressed and hydrostatic conditions, (5) study of materials of minute dimension, especially the groundmass of igneous rocks, sea-bottom sediments, fibers, and clays, (6) characterization of organic minerals such as those in coal and particularly determination of the influence of living organisms on the growth of inorganic crystals (biomineralization), and (7) study of silicate systems in hydrogen at low pressures, simulating the condensation and aggregation of the primordial earth. The challenge of the future is primarily the discovery of mineral resources for the use of mankind. Basic research in (8) the principles of element concentration is considered the most important contribution to be made by the next generation of experimental mineralogists.

The Reaction to James Hutton's use of Heat as a Geological Agent

Heat is the fundamental mechanism in the theory of the earth proposed by James Hutton in 1785. According to Hutton, heat is responsible for the liquefaction of loose debris collected on the ocean floor. Consolidation follows and the newly formed land is raised above the sea by the agency of heat. The expansive nature of heat that causes this elevation of land also accounts for the creation of veins and dykes through the injection of fluid matter into openings in the earth. The activity of heat is intermittent; there are times when it is active, but at other times it is dormant. In another paper I argued that Hutton's concept of this geological heat was an application of his theory of matter in which heat is an immaterial, universally operating force acting in opposition to forces of attraction. This concept of heat was quite different from the popular late eighteenth-century belief that heat was a material substance called caloric. The critics of Hutton repeatedly tried to interpret his heat as if it were caloric. Failing in this they found Hutton a confusion of idle speculation on heat and without theoretical basis. Further, since fire was a major source of caloric and since the already established geological tradition of Vulcanism called for fires within the earth, it was natural that these critics thought of Hutton's theory as being necessarily based on the presence of internal fires and questioned how such fires could exist, disregarding the fact that Hutton rarely mentioned fires and even disclaimed the necessity of fires in the production of heat. The criticisms concerning heat fall into several major groups of which the source of heat in only one. The others include the formation of the whinstone of Scotland and the crystallization of rock in general, the expansive role of heat, the intermittent activity of heat, and the temperature of the earth. Of these the formation of particular kinds of rocks was submitted to experimenal test by Sir James Hall, whose investigations were especially concerned with the effects of the rate of cooling on crystallization and the effects of pressure on the formation of rock. Much of the discussion of Hall's work centred on the experiments, and the theoretical problem about the nature of heat was obscured as a result. It is in the commentary on the other problems noted above that the true situation becomes clear. For this reason a study of these problems is more revealing and constitutes the following.

Ninety-Fifth Critical Bibliography of the History of Science and Its Cultural Influences (to January 1970)

Previous articleNext article No AccessNinety-Fifth Critical Bibliography of the History of Science and Its Cultural Influences (to January 1970)John NeuJohn Neu Search for more articles by this author PDFPDF PLUS Add to favoritesDownload CitationTrack CitationsPermissionsReprints Share onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail SectionsMoreDetailsFiguresReferencesCited by Isis Volume 61, Number 51970Ninety-Fifth Critical Bibliography Publication of the History of Science Society Article DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1086/350703 Views: 5Total views on this site Citations: 9Citations are reported from Crossref Copyright 1971 History of Science Society, Inc.PDF download Crossref reports the following articles citing this article:J. T. Costa Engaging with Lyell: Alfred Russel Wallace’s Sarawak Law and Ternate papers as reactions to Charles Lyell’s Principles of Geology, Theory in Biosciences 132, no.44 (Sep 2013): 225–237.https://doi.org/10.1007/s12064-013-0188-1John Breyer Charles Lyell, Geologic Change and "Causes Now in Operation", Earth Sciences History 25, no.11 (Jan 2006): 57–68.https://doi.org/10.17704/eshi.25.1.9q42j8254314quq2John C. Thackray Charles Lyell and the Geological Society, Geological Society, London, Special Publications 143, no.11 (Jan 1998): 17–20.https://doi.org/10.1144/GSL.SP.1998.143.01.03John Angus Campbell Of Orchids, insects, and natural theology: Timing, tactics, and cultural critique in darwin's post-?Origin? strategy, Argumentation 8, no.11 (Feb 1994): 63–80.https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00710704John Hedley Brooke Sctentific thought and its meaning for religion : The impact of French science on British Natural Theology, 1827–1859, Revue de synthèse 110, no.11 (Jan 1989): 33–59.https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03189211Hugh Torrens, Steven Yearley Proofs and Reputations: Sir James Hall and the Use of Classification Devices in Scientific Argument, Earth Sciences History 3, no.11 (Jan 1984): 25–43.https://doi.org/10.17704/eshi.3.1.716531271m7j13p1Silvan S. Schweber The origin of theOrigin revisited, Journal of the History of Biology 10, no.22 (Jan 1977): 229–316.https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00572644 Barry G. Gale Darwin and the Concept of a Struggle for Existence: A Study in the Extrascientific Origins of Scientific Ideas, Isis 63, no.33 (Oct 2015): 321–344.https://doi.org/10.1086/350940D.R. Oldroyd Nineteenth century controversies concerning the mesozoic/tertiary boundary in New Zealand, Annals of Science 29, no.11 (Aug 2006): 39–57.https://doi.org/10.1080/00033797200200361

Sir James Hall's Impressions of France in 1791

Sir James Hall's Impressions of France in 1791

Life and Scientific Work of Sir James Hall

Life and Scientific Work of Sir James Hall

I.—Experiments in Geology

I. Introduction The experimental approach to geological problems was introduced by Sir James Hall a century and a half ago at the dawn of Geology as a science, following even earlier tentative beginnings by de Saussure. Since then many have followed his lead. And yet it cannot be said that this type of research is truly flourishing and generally acknowledged as useful. The majority of earth scientists appears to be highly suspicious of, or actually opposed to, experimental attack on their problems. As one who has had recourse to laboratory methods in connection with almost a dozen separate problems in general geology, it behoves me to enquire into the cause of this poor estimate by others. In the present address I shall try to assess the value of past experiments in geology and to present some examples from my own research in an attempt to vindicate this method. However, before an enquiry into the significance of experiments in the science of geology can be started two aspects of this problem must be defined more closely. First it is necessary to state how wide a meaning will be given to the term “Geology” and secondly the term “Experiment” will have to be given a definition. The necessity of first stating what field is to be treated is clearly illustrated by a recent publication (Morey, 1956) bearing the bold title of “Experimental Geology” but limited to a summary of the latest experimental work on the crystallization of silicate melts. In the present This 250-word extract was created in the absence of an abstract

Library of Sir James Hall, Bart., of Dunglass, Haddingtonshire

Library of Sir James Hall, Bart., of Dunglass, Haddingtonshire

The dykes of Scotland

I. Introduction. It is fitting that in Scotland, where the term dyke was first applied,1 there should occur more numerous and more varied dyke-assemblages than are known from any other area of equal size. During seven igneous periods, in which magmas of many different types were available for injection, the country north of the Tweed was subjected to dyke-fracturing, and myriads of these wall-like intrusions were formed. Sir James Hall was the first to realise during a visit to Vesuvius towards the end of the eighteenth century that dyke-fissures were filled by the uprise of magma from below, and not as the Wernerians believed from above, by some mysterious infiltrations from the sea. To us in Edinburgh, direct descendants of the school which Hutton, Playfair, and Hall founded, it is of especial interest that their controversy with the Wernerians was clinched to their satisfaction within the city’s boundaries by the dyke which crosses Salisbury Crags and which served as a final argument to prove beyond the possibility of a doubt that basalt was once molten. How relatively little more we know even now! For each intrusion we picture a fissure through which molten rock once flowed and in which it congealed, but almost always the source from which the magma came is unseen and the ultimate destination uncertain. Still, in Scotland, abundance of material has led to a full measure of scientific achievement, and the prolonged investigation carried on by successive generations of geologists has brought in much knowledge. With

Upper Cambrian and Lower Ordovician Trilobita and Ostracoda from Vermont

INTRODUCTION AND ACKNOWLEDGMENTS During the last fifteen years, a renewed attack has been made upon the difficult problems presented by the complicated fold and thrust structures in the older Paleozoic strata of northwestern Vermont. The campaign led by Arthur Keith bids fair to resolve the difficulties which baffled such eminent and acute geologists as Sir William Logan, Elkanah Billings, James Hall, Jules Marcou, and Charles D. Walcott. Like Sir William, Keith realized that fossils might be the master key for opening the secrets of this chamber of mysteries, and at an early date induced Charles Schuchert to collaborate in the work. Schuchert has been kind enough to turn over for study such Upper Cambrian and Lower Ordovician trilobites as he and his associates have collected during visits to the area over a long period, and several years ago the writer described such fossils as had then been collected from what . . .

Sir James Hall, Bt., 1761–1832

“AMONG Hutton's friends”, wrote Sir Archibald Geikie in his work “The Founders of Geology”, “there was one in particular to whom a distinguished place in the list of the founders of geology must be assigned—Sir James Hall of Dunglass. To this original investigator we owe the establishment of experimental research as a branch of geological investigation.” The heir to a considerable estate at Dun-glass, Haddingtonshire, Hall was born there on Jan. 17, 1761, and died at Edinburgh on June 23, 1832—a century ago. After three years travelling on the Continent, he married a daughter of the Earl of Selkirk and settled at Edinburgh, where he soon became familiar with the interesting group of men who made Edinburgh famous as a centre of scientific thought. He was especially friendly with Playfair and Hutton, being greatly interested in the geological controversies of the time, and after opposing some of the views of Hutton, became one of his keenest supporters. It was this that led him to make a long and laborious series of experiments on the fusion of various substances. “These experiments”, said Humboldt in Cosmos, “made more than half a century ago, together with the attentive study of the phenomena of granitic veins, have contributed in a very high degree to the recent progress of geological science.” For many years Hall was a fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, and at one time served as president. His bust was placed in the Royal School of Mines many years ago.

Some Experiments in Folding

Previous articleNext article FreeSome Experiments in FoldingR. T. Chamberlin and F. P. ShepardR. T. Chamberlin Search for more articles by this author and F. P. Shepard Search for more articles by this author PDFPDF PLUS Add to favoritesDownload CitationTrack CitationsPermissionsReprints Share onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail SectionsMoreDetailsFiguresReferencesCited by The Journal of Geology Volume 31, Number 6Sep. - Oct., 1923 Article DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1086/623040 Views: 48Total views on this site Citations: 8Citations are reported from Crossref PDF download Crossref reports the following articles citing this article:Seyed Tohid Nabavi, Haakon Fossen Fold geometry and folding – a review, Earth-Science Reviews 222 (Nov 2021): 103812.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.earscirev.2021.103812Fabien Graveleau, Jacques Malavieille, Stéphane Dominguez Experimental modelling of orogenic wedges: A review, Tectonophysics 538-540 (May 2012): 1–66.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tecto.2012.01.027T. Byrne, Y.-C. Chan, R.-J. Rau, C.-Y. Lu, Y.-H. Lee, Y.-J. Wang The Arc–Continent Collision in Taiwan, (Apr 2011): 213–245.https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-88558-0_8 Salients, Recesses, Arcs, Oroclines, and Syntaxes—A Review of Ideas Concerning the Formation of Map-view Curves in Fold-thrust Belts, (Jan 2004): 133–158.https://doi.org/10.1306/M82813C9Stephen Marshak Kinematics of orocline and arc formation in thin-skinned orogens, Tectonics 7, no.11 (Jul 2010): 73–86.https://doi.org/10.1029/TC007i001p00073Dave Fultz Developments in Controlled Experiments on Larger Scale Geophysical Problems, (Jan 1961): 1–103.https://doi.org/10.1016/S0065-2687(08)60361-1A.J. Bull The compression of a sheet, Proceedings of the Geologists' Association 54, no.44 (Jan 1943): 185–IN3.https://doi.org/10.1016/S0016-7878(43)80003-1P. A. Davies The Relation of Total Nitrogen to Regeneration in the Willow, Science 72, no.18631863 (Sep 1930): 276–277.https://doi.org/10.1126/science.72.1863.276

On Changes of Physical Constants which take place in certain Minerals and Igneous Rocks, on the Passage from the Crystalline to the Glassy State; with a short Note on Eutectic Mixtures

The effect of high temperatures on minerals and igneous rocks has long been a subject of geological research. De Saussure, in 1779, was the first to remark the fact that igneous rocks diminished in density on fusion, and became converted into a glassy substance. Further investigations as to these phenomena were made by Dolomieu in 1788, Sir James Hall in 1790, Magnus in 1831, and Bischof in 1841. The work of these early observers inspired Delesse in 1846 to publish an important paper on the glasses formed by the fusion of igneous rocks. This paper gives a good idea of the methods employed, at a time when electrical heating was an unknown factor in scientific research. With the improved appliances of modern science, the number of investigators has so greatly increased that it is only possible to mention the more recent researches of Barus, Dœlter, Joly, Teall, Cusack, Bakhuis Roozeboom, Vogt, Åkerman, Allen, and Day. At the present time, every well-appointed laboratory has its electrical installation, and high temperatures may thereby be easily attained. As I had a strong current at my disposal. Prof. Sollas suggested that I should melt certain minerals and igneous rocks by means of a simple platinum-resistance, and endeavour to redetermine the change of specific gravity which accompanies their fusion. In the following paper I have given a brief account of some experiments on the fusion of igneous rocks, and the determination of their specific gravities in the glassy state; I have also added a few

An Experiment in Mountain-Building: Part II.

I n 1903 the Society did me the honour of publishing a short paper on this subject. I may, perhaps, just repeat that Sir James Hall many years ago, and others since, have illustrated the formation of folded mountains by placing layers of cloth under a weight, and then compressing two of the sides so that the cloth was thrown into folds. Since then, other and more complete, experiments of the same kind have been made by Favre, Cadell, Daubrée, Willis, Ruskin, and others. In these investigations the compression was from two sides only. If, however, folded mountains are caused by contraction due to the cooling of the earth, the compression must take place from all sides. With the view of illustrating this, I requested the Cambridge Philosophical Instrument Company to make for me an apparatus consisting of four square beams of wood, resting upon a floor, which by means of screws could be moved nearer to, or farther from, each other. The beams left between them a space 2 feet across and 9 inches in depth. In this square central space 1 placed layers of cloth, baize, oil-cloth, cement, etc., separated by layers of sand. The machine was then set in motion, and compressed so that the central space was reduced from 24 inches square to 22. Since last year I have made other experiments, changing the arrangement in various ways. The results differ in details in almost every case, the initial movements being probably determined by slight differences in