Geology Emerges as a Science

This chapter and the next one cover the way in which geology came to be a science in its own right, spanning the early centuries of geology. Lives of crucial individual scientists from the sixteenth century to the beginning of the twentieth century are discussed by relating the stories and discoveries of each, commencing with Leonardo da Vinci and continuing with the European geologists, including Nicholaus Steno, Abraham Werner, James Hutton, Charles Lyell, and early fossilists such as Etheldred Benet. Steno, Werner, Hutton and Lyell, and other early geologists revealed and wrote about the basic principles of geology, painstakingly untangling and piecing together the threads of the Earth’s vast history. They made sense of jumbled sequences of rocks, which had undergone dramatic changes since they were formed, and discerned the significance of fossils, found in environments seemingly incongruous to where the creatures once lived, as ancient forms of life. They set the stage for further research on the nature of the Earth and life on it, providing subsequent generations of geologists and those who study the Earth the basis on which to refine and flesh out the biography of the Earth.

Hydrocarbon contamination, assessment and remediation practice

Organic chemicals are used in all types of industries including but not limited to automotive and engine repair, dry cleaning, asphalt operations, dye manufacturing, agricultural activities, and food processing. The usage of organic chemicals is of increasing concern to regulators because of the contamination of soil and groundwater resulting from the mishandling and disposal of these chemicals. Typically, drums, underground and aboveground tanks are used to store these organic chemicals. The presence of large amount of chemicals, gasoline, and diesel fuel on-site is considering an indicator of the potential for soil and groundwater contamination. Due to leaking UST or surface spills of organic chemicals and its constituent it becomes the common culprits of soil and groundwater contamination. The first step toward implementing a remediation is to provide for [...] a better understanding of the physical properties of the organic chemicals themselves. This study reviews the chemistry of hydrocarbon and the fundamental concepts and principles of geology and hydrogeology, since the media where the contamination is taking place, and followed by a discussion of the fate and transport of contaminants in the subsurface, from an industry and regulatory point of view. The types and design of remediation system was overlooked and applied in a real case of study of Phase I, II and [III] Environmental Site Assessment. This study concluded with an overview of the application of the remote sensing in the environmental industry and its future potential involvement in the environmental site assessments, Phase I through Phase III audits.

Hydrocarbon contamination, assessment and remediation practice

Organic chemicals are used in all types of industries including but not limited to automotive and engine repair, dry cleaning, asphalt operations, dye manufacturing, agricultural activities, and food processing. The usage of organic chemicals is of increasing concern to regulators because of the contamination of soil and groundwater resulting from the mishandling and disposal of these chemicals. Typically, drums, underground and aboveground tanks are used to store these organic chemicals. The presence of large amount of chemicals, gasoline, and diesel fuel on-site is considering an indicator of the potential for soil and groundwater contamination. Due to leaking UST or surface spills of organic chemicals and its constituent it becomes the common culprits of soil and groundwater contamination. The first step toward implementing a remediation is to provide for [...] a better understanding of the physical properties of the organic chemicals themselves. This study reviews the chemistry of hydrocarbon and the fundamental concepts and principles of geology and hydrogeology, since the media where the contamination is taking place, and followed by a discussion of the fate and transport of contaminants in the subsurface, from an industry and regulatory point of view. The types and design of remediation system was overlooked and applied in a real case of study of Phase I, II and [III] Environmental Site Assessment. This study concluded with an overview of the application of the remote sensing in the environmental industry and its future potential involvement in the environmental site assessments, Phase I through Phase III audits.

Leonard Horner in Bonn 1831–1833, finding loess and being incorporated into Lyell’s Loess Legion

Leonard Horner (1785–1864) was a pioneer in the study of loess. His 1836 paper on the geology of Bonn contained detailed descriptions of loess in the Rhine valley. He identified and presented loess as an interesting material for geological study. He investigated loess in the crater of the Rodderberg with Charles Lyell in 1833. He presented the first significant paper on loess in Britain in 1833, but it was not published until 1836. With the assistance of G.A. Goldfuss and J.J. Noegerath he conducted early studies of the Siebengebirge and published the first geological map of the region, and the first picture of loess, at Rhondorf by the Drachenfels. He became the eleventh person to be included in the list of loess scholars which Charles Lyell published in volume 3 of the Principles of Geology. These were Leonhard, Bronn, Boue, Voltz, Steininger, Merian, Rozet, Hibbert in 1833, Noeggerath, von Meyer in 1835, Horner in 1837. Horner arrived after the publication of his studies on the loess at Bonn in 1836.

Integrar a história da ciência na sala de aula através de um caso: o papel de Lyell no desenvolvimento dos trabalhos de Darwin

Resumo No século XIX, o desenvolvimento científico ficou marcado por uma grande restruturação concetual: a perceção da existência de um longo período de tempo, anterior e independente à presença do Homem na Terra. Os trabalhos de Lyell foram particularmente responsáveis pela evolução desta corrente ideológica. Este uniformitarista, através da observação de pequenas mudanças terrestres subtis à escala humana (mas expressivas quando analisadas à luz de milhões de anos), contribuiu para compreensão dos fenómenos geológicos. Contudo, esta ideologia não se refletiu apenas na geologia. Quando Darwin, em 1831, partiu no Beagle, tinha consigo o livro “Principles of Geology” de Lyell. Sensibilizado pelas suas ideias, e consciente das transformações graduais do planeta, Darwin desenvolveu várias noções que viriam a ser incluídas no evolucionismo. As ideias de Lyell, articuladas com uma escala geológica ao invés de histórica, foram preponderantes para a existência de um “outro” tempo coerente com a transmutação das espécies. O uniformitarismo foi, então, basilar para a criação de um contexto favorável à recetividade da teoria de Darwin, evidenciando a importância de um pensamento interdisciplinar e holístico na ciência. Pretende-se, neste trabalho, reforçar a relevância deste tipo de pensamento no ensino das ciências naturais. Para tal, elaborou-se um recurso educativo, segundo a metodologia de ensino baseado em casos, com a finalidade de facilitar a inclusão da história da ciência no ensino. Palavras-chave: Uniformitarismo, Evolucionismo, História da Ciência. Abstract In the nineteenth century, scientific development was marked by a great conceptual restructuring: the perception of the existence of a long time, prior and independent to the presence of Man on Earth. Lyell's works were particularly responsible for the evolution of this ideological current. Lyell, through the observation of subtle Earth changes on the human scale (but expressive when analysed in the enlightenment of millions of years), contributed to understanding geological phenomena. However, this ideology was not only reflected in geology. When Darwin, in 1831, embarked on the Beagle, he had the Lyell's book "Principles of Geology". Induced by his ideas, and conscious of the gradual transformations of the planet, Darwin developed several notions that were included in the evolutionism. Lyell's ideas, articulated with a geological rather than a historical scale, were preeminent for the existence of an "other" time consistent with the transmutation of species. The uniformitarianism was, then, essential for the creation of a context favourable to the receptivity of Darwin’s theory, evidencing the importance of an interdisciplinary and holistic thinking in the science. In this work, it is intent to reinforce the relevance of this type of thinking in the natural sciences’ teaching. Thus, an educational resource was elaborated, according to the case-based teaching methodology, with the purpose of facilitating the inclusion of the history of science in teaching process. Keywords: Uniformitarianism, Evolutionism, History of Science.

Two critical books in the history of loess investigation: ‘Charakteristik der Felsarten’ by Karl Caesar von Leonhard and ‘Principles of Geology’ by Charles Lyell

The two critical books, launching the study and appreciation of loess, were ‘Charakteristik der Felsarten’ (CdF) by Karl Caesar von Leonhard, published in Heidelberg by Joseph Engelmann, in 1823-4, and ‘Principles of Geology’ (PoG) by Charles Lyell, published in London by John Murray in 1830-3. Each of these books was published in three volumes and in each case the third volume contained a short piece on loess (about 2-4 pages). These two books are essentially the foundations of loess scholarship. In CdF Loess [Loefs] was first properly defined and described; section 89 in vol. 3 provided a short study of the nature and occurrence of loess, with a focus on the Rhine valley. In PoG there was a short section on loess in the Rhine valley; this was in vol.3 and represents the major dissemination of loess awareness around the world. A copy of PoG3 (Principles of Geology vol. 3) reached Charles Darwin on the Beagle in Valparaiso in 1834; worldwide distribution. Lyell and von Leonhard met in Heidelberg in 1832. Von Leonhard and Heinrich Georg Bronn (1800-1862) showed Lyell the local loess. These observations provided the basis for the loess section in PoG3. Lyell acknowledged the influence of his hosts when he added a list of loess scholars to PoG; by the 5th edition in 1837 the list comprised H.G. Bronn, Karl Caesar von Leonhard (1779-1862), Ami Boue (1794-1881), Voltz, Johann Jakob Noeggerath (1788-1877), J. Steininger, P. Merian, Rozet, C.F.H. von Meyer (1801-1869), Samuel Hibbert (1782-1848) and Leonard Horner (1785-1864); a useful list of loess pioneers. The loess is a type of ground that has only recently been established, and it seems, the peculiarity of the Rhine region, and of a very general but inconsistent spread.” H.G. Bronn 1830