Nostr notes by History_of_Geology

Curiously enough he calculated for the first time the site of a ...

2026-11-01T16:33:01Z

In reply to nevent1q…xl8l
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Curiously enough he calculated for the first time the site of a meteorite impact after studying reports of a meteor shower ☄️
In 1919 he published an analysis of lunar craters, arguing that they weren't extinct volcanoes but results of asteroids slamming into the Moon
☄️

But Wegener’s work popularized the idea of mobile continents ...

2026-11-01T16:31:26Z

But Wegener’s work popularized the idea of mobile continents among the scientific community and the public.

Continental Drift theory is in many important aspects erroneous. In reality not the single continents move, but plates of Earth's crust. The driving forces comes from within the planet, like convection currents and slab pull, not from the outside.

Decades later his legacy will pave the way for a new kind of theory – modern plate tectonics 🌍

However, he wasn't able to provide a convincing force needed ...

2026-11-01T16:30:30Z

In reply to nevent1q…gw9f
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However, he wasn't able to provide a convincing force needed to move entire continents. He suggested gravitational pull of the Moon and tidal forces, and also relied on some sketchy measurements, proposing drift rates of many meters per year - all notions quickly debunked by his opponents
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Wegener's continental drift theory argues that continents are ...

2026-11-01T16:29:56Z

In reply to nevent1q…qnr3
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Wegener's continental drift theory argues that continents are made up of lighter crustal rock that floats like icebergs through the dense basaltic/oceanic crust. Once united in a single landmass, fragments of this supercontinent moved apart, forming the outlines of modern continental shelves
..

Wegener was not the first to propose that continents like South ...

2026-11-01T16:29:28Z

In reply to nevent1q…724v
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Wegener was not the first to propose that continents like South America and Africa were once united, but in his work he provided geological, paleontological and even biological evidence that today's continents once formed a single supercontinent
...

November 1, 1880, birthday of German geophysicist & ...

2026-11-01T16:28:48Z

November 1, 1880, birthday of German geophysicist & meteorologist Alfred Wegener.

Famous for his hypothesis of continental drift - a predecessor of plate tectonics 🌍 - he also made important contributions to climatology & even impact geology ☄️
...

Saussure discovered that the samples consisted of a ...

2026-10-31T16:34:45Z

In reply to nevent1q…c7yk
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Saussure discovered that the samples consisted of a magnesium-rich mineral, which eventually led to the description of dolomite 💎

http://www.bressan-geoconsult.eu/deodat-de-dolomieu-die-dolomiten/

October 31, 1791, in a letter to Swiss mineralogist Nicolas ...

2026-10-31T16:34:16Z

October 31, 1791, in a letter to Swiss mineralogist Nicolas Theodore de Saussure, French adventurer Diedonnè de Dolomieu asks for a chemical analysis of some strange rocks he collected in Tyrol - a grayish limestone showing no reaction with acid...

Actor Sir Patrick Stewart passed away at age 86 🖖💎, ...

2026-10-30T08:54:16Z

Actor Sir Patrick Stewart passed away at age 86 🖖💎, unforgettable in his role as Captain Jean-Luc Picard.

Like in original Star Trek, also in The Next Generation minerals, rocks, even fossils, play a role, as seen in Captain Picard's ready room 💎

http://www.bressan-geoconsult.eu/geological-star-trek-review-encounter-at-farpoint-2/

Nostr event nevent1qqsrxs8nz7mhqexvvdcp4m2qj9jqtpchkg75f8m8yd8r59hassd0hrqzyzvlfcx828l0uavvy63tcgdthc9q8ptmdw0n8rte224gsxseht78kf82lfk

2026-10-28T09:35:13Z

In reply to nevent1q…3dxc
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Source:

https://earthguide.ucsd.edu/eoc/eoc_teachers_hs_earth/content_tectonics/pdf/Bullard_fit.pdf

In the map projection, the blue areas are gaps and the red areas ...

2026-10-28T09:34:43Z

In reply to nevent1q…p2t6
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In the map projection, the blue areas are gaps and the red areas are overlapping borders of the continental shelf areas - the model didn't yet consider erosion, tectonic deformation or younger rock formations changing the outlines
...

October 28, 1965, geophysicists Edward Bullard, J. E. Everett and ...

2026-10-28T09:34:02Z

October 28, 1965, geophysicists Edward Bullard, J. E. Everett and A. Gilbert Smith, using the first "tectonic computer simulations," publish a paper with the title "The Fit of the Continents around the Atlantic"
...

Geological Series Review - „Star Trek" ...

2026-10-26T18:32:59Z

In reply to nevent1q…avz8
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Geological Series Review - „Star Trek"

http://www.bressan-geoconsult.eu/geological-star-trek-review-the-devil-in-the-dark/

Geological Movie Review – „Alien“ ...

2026-10-26T18:32:29Z

In reply to nevent1q…yr2p
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Geological Movie Review – „Alien“

http://www.bressan-geoconsult.eu/geological-review-alien/

A rough week for science-fiction nerds, as we just lost two ...

2026-10-26T18:32:01Z

A rough week for science-fiction nerds, as we just lost two iconic actors, Tom Skerritt who played Captain Dallas in Alien and Walter Koenig who played Ensign Chekov in Star Trek

A BBC podcast tells the story of how fifty years ago geologists ...

2026-10-24T12:49:18Z

In reply to nevent1q…95j8
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A BBC podcast tells the story of how fifty years ago geologists finally became convinced that the Earth’s crust is made up of shifting plates. Featuring some of the very scientists who worked out the modern theory of plate tectonics:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/w3csvpg2

He linked seafloor spreading to continental geological features ...

2026-10-24T12:48:49Z

In reply to nevent1q…un9r
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He linked seafloor spreading to continental geological features like mountain ranges. The term Wilson Cycle is now used to refer to the cyclical process by which an old ocean basin closes, doing so generating a mountain systems, and new ocean basins eventually open.

https://www.lyellcollection.org/doi/full/10.1144/sp470-2019-58

Another of Wilson's important contributions to the ...

2026-10-24T12:47:31Z

In reply to nevent1q…4558
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Another of Wilson's important contributions to the development of the plate tectonics was proposing a third type of plate boundary to connect the oceanic ridges and trenches, which he noted can end abruptly and "transform" into major faults that slip horizontally without forming or destroying crust
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In the early 1960s this idea was considered so radical that his ...

2026-10-24T12:46:57Z

In reply to nevent1q…fefq
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In the early 1960s this idea was considered so radical that his "hot-spot" manuscript was rejected by all the major international scientific journals. The paper was finally published in 1963 in the Canadian Journal of Physics and became one of the foundations of modern plate tectonics
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He suggested that the Hawaiian and other volcanic island chains ...

2026-10-24T12:46:37Z

In reply to nevent1q…avs6
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He suggested that the Hawaiian and other volcanic island chains may have formed due to the movement of a plate over a stationary plume of hot material rising up in Earth's mantle
...

At first rejecting the idea, he later changed mind and became one ...

2026-10-24T12:46:07Z

In reply to nevent1q…mzjj
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At first rejecting the idea, he later changed mind and became one of the most ardent supporters and expanded plate tectonics by introducing important elements like mantle plumes and transform faults
...

October 24, 1908, birthday of Canadian geophysicist John Tuzo ...

2026-10-24T12:45:32Z

October 24, 1908, birthday of Canadian geophysicist John Tuzo Wilson. One of the many pioneers of modern plate tectonics 🌎
...

October 21, 1874, birthday of American artist and sculptor ...

2026-10-21T10:30:22Z

October 21, 1874, birthday of American artist and sculptor Charles R. Knight, famous for his wildlife paintings and reconstructions of dinosaurs 🦖

Source:
https://lindahall.tumblr.com/search/knight

"Current Biology" - a special open-access issue on Life ...

2026-10-20T18:39:42Z

"Current Biology" - a special open-access issue on Life and Earth, including a few articles on how humans have changed geological processes.

https://www.cell.com/issue/S0960-9822(25)X0021-X

Need to make space and willing to give away various #books on ...

2026-10-20T18:26:27Z

Need to make space and willing to give away various #books on #history & #geology for free 📚 if you cover mailing costs.
Contact & inquiries welcome by DM or e-mail > history_of_geology@bressan-geoconsult.eu < 📨

October 20, 1930, a Miskatonic-University expedition ventures ...

2026-10-20T17:40:20Z

October 20, 1930, a Miskatonic-University expedition ventures deep into the frozen continent of Antarctica. What ancient horrors & geology await there?

H.P. Lovecraft was inspired by real geological discoveries of his time to write his haunting horror story.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidbressan/2015/08/20/geology-and-ancient-fossils-inspired-h-p-lovecraft-to-write-his-best-horror-story/

October 20, 1859, birthday of British paleobotanist Margaret Jane ...

2026-10-20T17:26:31Z

October 20, 1859, birthday of British paleobotanist Margaret Jane Benson, pioneered the research on Carboniferous plants 🌿

https://paleonerdish.wordpress.com/2017/09/27/forgotten-women-of-paleontology-margaret-benson/

Source: Charles Darwin on Volcanoes 🌋 ...

2026-10-20T17:09:43Z

In reply to nevent1q…t3tg
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Source:
Charles Darwin on Volcanoes 🌋
https://www.jvolcanica.org/ojs/index.php/volcanica/article/view/351

October 20, 1835, Charles Darwin takes his last steps on the ...

2026-10-20T17:09:20Z

October 20, 1835, Charles Darwin takes his last steps on the Galapagos. He was a bit disappointed by the local fauna, but collected quite some geological observations 🔨

Darwin's field notes showing tephra & lava layers in a scoria cone on Santiago Island, now known as “Darwin’s layer cake” 🌋🍰

October 18, 1917, died on this day aged 88 Irish engineer and ...

2026-10-18T10:23:17Z

October 18, 1917, died on this day aged 88 Irish engineer and geologist Edward Hull. He was especially interested in stratigraphy and published one of the first geological maps of Ireland 🇮🇪

October 17, 1920, The Washington Times with some surprising ...

2026-10-17T11:18:49Z

October 17, 1920, The Washington Times with some surprising science news
🐈🦖

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hiroo_Kanamori

2026-10-17T09:23:56Z

In reply to nevent1q…09my
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hiroo_Kanamori

Kanamori and American seismologist Thomas C. Hanks developed the ...

2026-10-17T09:23:40Z

In reply to nevent1q…mlnt
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Kanamori and American seismologist Thomas C. Hanks developed the moment magnitude scale, the now most widely used scale to measure the strength of an earthquake.

https://www.iris.edu/hq/inclass/animation/magnitudes_moment_magnitude_explained

October 17, 1936, birthday of Japanese geophysicist Hiroo ...

2026-10-17T09:23:11Z

October 17, 1936, birthday of Japanese geophysicist Hiroo Kanamori who has made fundamental contributions to understanding the physics of earthquakes and the tectonic processes that cause them
...

Based on her research of fossil spores, she developed a ...

2026-10-15T09:56:28Z

In reply to nevent1q…0hgv
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Based on her research of fossil spores, she developed a coal-classification system that is still in use today.

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/332511966_The_Origin_and_Classification_of_Coal

She studied the distribution of fossil plants to support the ...

2026-10-15T09:55:38Z

In reply to nevent1q…9rju
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She studied the distribution of fossil plants to support the existence of Gondwana, a supercontinent first hypothesized by Austrian geologist Eduard Suess in 1885 in his multi-volume work Das Antlitz der Erde (The Face of the Earth).

https://paleobiodb.org/navigator/
...

She is considered a pioneer of coal petrology and explained the ...

2026-10-15T09:54:51Z

In reply to nevent1q…rkye
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She is considered a pioneer of coal petrology and explained the origin of coal balls as concretions, at a time when most scientists believed they were boulders transported by rivers
...

October 15, 1880, birthday of Marie Stopes, a Scottish ...

2026-10-15T09:54:25Z

October 15, 1880, birthday of Marie Stopes, a Scottish paleobotanist, educator, and activist who advocated for women’s rights and birth control, although she later endorsed eugenics
...

October 14, 1885, died on this day Scottish paleontologist Thomas ...

2026-10-14T11:20:04Z

October 14, 1885, died on this day Scottish paleontologist Thomas Davidson, famous for his work on recent and fossil brachiopods.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Davidson_(palaeontologist)

ctober 13, 1952, died on this day British paleontologist, ...

2026-10-13T08:10:09Z

ctober 13, 1952, died on this day British paleontologist, geologist & political activist Margaret Chorley Crosfield.
She was an expert on Silurian fossils and the geology of Wales ⚒️

October 10, 1881: Charles Darwin´s "The Formation of ...

2026-10-10T13:24:36Z

October 10, 1881: Charles Darwin´s "The Formation of Vegetable Mold Through the Action of Worms" is published🪱

https://darwin-online.org.uk/content/frameset?pageseq=1&itemID=F1357&viewtype=text

Geology and the 1963 Landslide of the Vajont Dam ...

2026-10-09T16:53:49Z

In reply to nevent1q…q0s6
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Geology and the 1963 Landslide of the Vajont Dam

http://www.bressan-geoconsult.eu/geology-and-the-1963-landslide-of-the-vajont-dam/

In less than 15 minutes more than 2.000 people perish when the ...

2026-10-09T16:53:18Z

In reply to nevent1q…xdzf
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In less than 15 minutes more than 2.000 people perish when the wave hits the villages along the shores of the partially filled reservoir and overflows the Vajont dam, flooding the densely populated Piave valley
...

October 9, 1963, destabilized by rising water levels, the entire ...

2026-10-09T16:52:57Z

October 9, 1963, destabilized by rising water levels, the entire flank of Mount Toc (Italian Dolomites) slides into the Vajont-reservoir triggering a 100 to 200-meter-high wave
...

Darwin's rock collection (including thin sections) ...

2026-10-08T07:26:53Z

In reply to nevent1q…tm25
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Darwin's rock collection (including thin sections)

https://www.virtualmicroscope.org/content/conglomeratic-obsidian?fbclid=IwY2xjawU0JG1leHRuA2FlbQIxMABwZG9mBWJyaWQRMHJyQTNtd0NlMTMyY2hhR2VzcnRjBmFwcF9pZBAyMjIwMzkxNzg4MjAwODkyAAEenqOX1WRCSnJbRjo5Qj54Nw1_CBHsgyNunbnCgTLEyzQD8S4J7WfxTGAW9ZE_aem_gpH4Lu4_L9CwmPO5bsTpmA

October 8, 1835, Charles Darwin went ashore at James Island ...

2026-10-08T07:26:25Z

October 8, 1835, Charles Darwin went ashore at James Island (today Santiago), Galápagos, where he noted magmatic differentation and fractional crystallisation 🌋💎

Interview with Walter Alvarez ...

2026-10-06T12:33:00Z

In reply to nevent1q…k4v9
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Interview with Walter Alvarez

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YRDpPeKc-ZE

Every year the section is visited by hundreds of geologists, as ...

2026-10-06T12:32:06Z

In reply to nevent1q…l2qk
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Every year the section is visited by hundreds of geologists, as documented by the guest book hosted in a nearby inn
...

Walter, together with his father Luis Walter Alvarez (1911-1988), ...

2026-10-06T12:31:24Z

In reply to nevent1q…7vxp
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Walter, together with his father Luis Walter Alvarez (1911-1988), discovered here an anomalous high Iridium concentration. This led to the development of the end-Cretaceous asteroid impact-theory to explain the mass extinction ~65 million years ago 🦖☄️

Walter Alvarez, born on this day in 1940, sitting on the ...

2026-10-06T12:30:53Z

Walter Alvarez, born on this day in 1940, sitting on the Cretaceous-Paleocene boundary in the gorge of Gubbio (Italy)
...

Late in the night between October 4th and in the early hours of ...

2026-10-05T13:21:33Z

Late in the night between October 4th and in the early hours of October 5th, 1836, after 5 years geologizing around the world, Charles Darwin returns back home to Shrewsbury, Shropshire.

Darwin's first geologcial map he made in summer 1831, just before the voyage of the Beagle, shows his hometown's surroundings - it seems he was especially interested in Carboniferous - Permian rocks mapping their extend to the north-west of the town.

October 2, 1902, Beatrix Potter's "The Tale of Peter ...

2026-10-02T10:38:18Z

October 2, 1902, Beatrix Potter's "The Tale of Peter Rabbit" is published by Frederick Warne & Co. in London.

Potter illustrated the adventures of a rabbit child herself, but she was also a self-taught naturalist (especially an expert on mushrooms) and interested in minerals & fossils - one of her watercolor paintings shows an "Eurypterid or Fossil of Giant Water Scorpion."

Wooden crystal models (from the TU Bergakademie Freiberg ...

2026-09-25T18:40:04Z

In reply to nevent1q…ysr8
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Wooden crystal models (from the TU Bergakademie Freiberg collection) created ~1790 for Werner. He used the models for teaching basic mineralogy - the crystals depict common crystal shapes of arsenopyrite, calcite, and pyrite. The labels show Werner's handwriting.

Werner tried to bring order to - a the time - often confusing ...

2026-09-25T18:39:14Z

In reply to nevent1q…updq
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Werner tried to bring order to - a the time - often confusing nomenclature of minerals introducing some now common names like vesuvianite and kyanite
...

September 25, 1749, birthday of German mineralogist Abraham ...

2026-09-25T18:38:49Z

September 25, 1749, birthday of German mineralogist Abraham Gottlob Werner.

He published some of the first "modern" field guides using physical properties, like color, crystal shape, density and even taste to identify minerals. Almost 100 years later Charles Darwin still used some of Werner's books for his geological research
...

September 24, 1541, Philippus Aureolus Theophrastus Bombastus von ...

2026-09-24T15:43:07Z

September 24, 1541, Philippus Aureolus Theophrastus Bombastus von Hohenheim- better known as the German physician/alchemist Paracelsus - died on this day.
He studied mining & metallurgy (at the time considered part of alchemy) and published a book on diseases affecting miners.

The rare copper-arsenic-hydroxide Theoparacelsite is named after him. It was first found in the Roua Mine, an old copper mine in south-eastern France.
https://www.mindat.org/min-10589.html

"Geology is the study of pressure and time. That's all it ...

2026-09-23T09:27:47Z

"Geology is the study of pressure and time. That's all it takes, really. Pressure, and time. That and a big goddamn poster."

September 23, 1994, "The Shawshank Redemption" starring Tim Robbins & Morgan Freeman is released.

In this movie based on a story by Stephen King/ Rita Hayworth geology & a geological hammer play an important role 🪨🔨

Free special issue of the Journal of Geoethics : Women in ...

2026-09-22T17:00:39Z

Free special issue of the Journal of Geoethics
: Women in Geosciences: an overview

https://www.journalofgeoethics.eu/index.php/jgsg/issue/view/7

Today, his grave has long vanished beneath the ice. Wegener's ...

2026-09-22T07:29:47Z

In reply to nevent1q…ylz4
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Today, his grave has long vanished beneath the ice.
Wegener's mortal remains are slowly drifting – not only carried by the flow of the ice towards the sea, but also by the slow westward movement of the American tectonic plate.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mRqjo-N_TDU

Villumsen had buried Wegener with great care, taken his diary and ...

2026-09-22T07:27:56Z

In reply to nevent1q…fvyz
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Villumsen had buried Wegener with great care, taken his diary and some personal effects with him, maybe hoping to make it to the base camp. Villumsen was never found.
The German government wanted to bring the body back to Germany for a state funeral, but his wife Else Wegener, knowing Alfred´s love for the Arctic, refused and so Wegener was left where Villumsen buried him
...

In April 1931 another expedition was sent to Mid-Ice. About ...

2026-09-22T07:27:19Z

In reply to nevent1q…utkl
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In April 1931 another expedition was sent to Mid-Ice. About halfway they found a pair of skis and a ski pole in the snow.
Ddigging below the skis they found Wegener's body, carefully wrapped in two sleeping bag covers and laid on a sleeping bag and a reindeer skin. Karl Weiken, one member of the rescue team, remembers that Wegener’s face appeared “relaxed, peaceful, almost smiling” and “looked more youthful than it had before"
...

November 1, 1930 the men celebrated Wegener’s 50th birthday ...

2026-09-22T07:24:42Z

In reply to nevent1q…nrun
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November 1, 1930 the men celebrated Wegener’s 50th birthday with some dried fruit and chocolate (a rare luxury in Arctic conditions) and Wegener and Villumsen left for their long journey back to the safe coast. Whit no radio available, Georgi, Sorge and Loewe couldn’t inform the Western Camp of Wegener and Villumsen´s departure and had to wait until the Arctic spring for news
...

When they arrived to Mid-Ice station on October 30, they knew ...

2026-09-22T07:22:22Z

In reply to nevent1q…hs4j
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When they arrived to Mid-Ice station on October 30, they knew that the supplies would never be sufficient for five persons. Only Loewe remained. He had suffered a severe frostbite on his toes, which had to be amputated by Georgi with a pocket knife and he was not able to walk
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Wegener and Loewe organized an expedition to bring the necessary ...

2026-09-22T07:20:24Z

In reply to nevent1q…v58t
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Wegener and Loewe organized an expedition to bring the necessary supplies to the station. Temperatures were dropping fast and the first winter storms approaching. Soon only one young Inuit named Rasmus Villumsen was willing to continue with Wegener and Loewe. The three men were able only to transport a limited amount of material and so left back the expedition's radio
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The expedition’s most ambitious goal was to establish a base ...

2026-09-22T07:17:25Z

In reply to nevent1q…mrgd
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The expedition’s most ambitious goal was to establish a base 400 kilometers inland, in the center of the ice-cap itself, named appropriately “Mid-Ice“. In late autumn the station was ready, manned by Georgi and Sorge, however both men were unsure if the supplies would last for the entire winter
...

So in summer 1930, 18 scientists, 25 Icelandic ponies and 98 tons ...

2026-09-22T07:16:04Z

In reply to nevent1q…353q
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So in summer 1930, 18 scientists, 25 Icelandic ponies and 98 tons of material were unload onto the unusual thick ice of the fjord. As the expedition couldn’t reach the shore, they had to wait, loosing precious time. Only in late summer the coastal base camp, named “Western Camp”, was completed
...

It was not the first time Wegener ventured to Greenland and the ...

2026-09-22T07:06:49Z

In reply to nevent1q…4qq2
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It was not the first time Wegener ventured to Greenland and the Arctic. Likely the sights of floating icebergs inspired (among other geological evidence) his famous idea of continental drift.
For years Alfred Wegener had argued that continents were not fixed land masses, but were able to drift on the plastic mantle of Earth. But despite some initial interest, most geologists remained unconvinced, suggesting Wegener should stick with his main field - meterology.
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Two years earlier, German meteorologists Alfred Wegener, Johannes ...

2026-09-22T07:02:03Z

In reply to nevent1q…wjam
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Two years earlier, German meteorologists Alfred Wegener, Johannes Georgi (1888-1972), Fritz Loewe (1895-1974) and Ernst Sorge (1899-1946) arrived to Greenland searching a site for a coastal base camp – a starting point for an ambitious expedition to the inner ice sheet. They found it in the Kamarujuk Fjord
...

September 22, 1930, continental drift pioneer Alfred Wegener, ...

2026-09-22T06:59:50Z

September 22, 1930, continental drift pioneer Alfred Wegener, together with Fritz Loewe & Rasmus Villumsen, starts a rescue-mission to the isolated meteorological station "Eismitte" on the ice-cap of Greenland. Only one man will return alive ...

Granitic intrusions formed when partially melted crust ...

2026-09-21T18:04:38Z

In reply to nevent1q…24mq
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Granitic intrusions formed when partially melted crust crystallized beneath the surface. These bodies were squeezed together and rapidly pushed to the surface along large faults - in the case of the Nanga Parbat intrusions at a surprisingly rate (geologically speaking) of over 1 to 2 cm per year.

Granite samples collected from 6.000 meters on the Raikhot Face ...

2026-09-21T18:04:27Z

In reply to nevent1q…r0t5
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Granite samples collected from 6.000 meters on the Raikhot Face of Nanga Parbat are some of the youngest plutonic rocks known anywhere on Earth, they crystallized just 600.000 years ago from a melt at a depth of 3-20 km.
Nanga Parbat is located at the western end of the Himalayas, where the Indian Plate is colliding with the Eurasian Plate. This collision began about 50–55 million years ago and continues today, causing the Himalayas to rise...

Nanga Parbat is the ninth highest mountain in the world at 8.126 ...

2026-09-21T18:03:45Z

In reply to nevent1q…zapa
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Nanga Parbat is the ninth highest mountain in the world at 8.126 meters. It is nicknamed “Killer Mountain” for its high number of climber fatalities over the years, but it is also a geological record holder
...

September 21, 1924, birthday of Tyrolean mountaineer Hermann ...

2026-09-21T18:03:20Z

September 21, 1924, birthday of Tyrolean mountaineer Hermann Buhl. In 1953, he became the first human on the summit of Nanga Parbat.

Ignoring his team leader, he went alone and after 41 hours, believed to be dead by his companions, he returns alive...

September 20, 1765, the men-eating beast of Gévaudan is shot ...

2026-09-21T16:21:30Z

September 20, 1765, the men-eating beast of Gévaudan is shot dead by French royal gun-bearer François Antoine.. or was it still hiding between the volcanic peaks of the Auvergne, as the killings soon resumed?

http://www.bressan-geoconsult.eu/geomythology-the-beast-of-gevaudan-2/

De Saussure publishes the discovery under the title „Analyse de ...

2026-09-21T12:18:07Z

In reply to nevent1q…449u
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De Saussure publishes the discovery under the title „Analyse de la Dolomie" coining the name dolomite for CaMg[CO3]2.

The new name will stick and almost one hundred years later dolomite will give the Dolomite mountains their name 💎⛰️

A chemical analysis of Dolomieu's samples by de ...

2026-09-21T12:17:23Z

In reply to nevent1q…kdjt
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A chemical analysis of Dolomieu's samples by de Saussure's son - Nicolas de Saussure - confirms a high content of silica and magnesium (later analysis will show De Saussure made an error, as only magnesium is present).
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September 21, 1787, French naturalist Dieudonné Guy Sylvain ...

2026-09-21T12:16:07Z

September 21, 1787, French naturalist Dieudonné Guy Sylvain Tancrède de Dolomieu collects some samples of greyish and unusually hard limestone during his travels through Tyrol, noting this type of rock forms "the uppermost peaks of the Alps here." Even more confusing, the rock didn't react with weak acids as limestone should do
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The mountain’s colors are formed by sedimentary layers that ...

2026-09-17T08:00:07Z

In reply to nevent1q…wldd
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The mountain’s colors are formed by sedimentary layers that have been exposed by erosion. The colors range from red, brown, pale green to pale yellow, caused by weathering of iron-minerals 🇵🇪🌈

September 17 is Geologist's Day in Peru 🇵🇪 ⚒ ...

2026-09-17T07:59:45Z

September 17 is Geologist's Day in Peru 🇵🇪 ⚒ celebrating the birthday of mining engineer and naturalist Carlos Ismael Lissón Beingole, considered the"father of Peruvian Geology" thanks to his many books and efforts to establish the Peruvian Geological Society.

https://es.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carlos_Liss%C3%B3n_Beingolea

The photo shows the Vinicunca or "Rainbow Mountains" in Peru.

Darwin and igneous rocks: ...

2026-09-15T17:24:25Z

In reply to nevent1q…l68n
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Darwin and igneous rocks:
https://darwin-online.org.uk/content/frameset?pageseq=1&itemID=A860&viewtype=text&fbclid=IwY2xjawUV38JwZG9mBWV4dG4DYWVtAjEwAGJyaWQRMEFXR3g2T0RadERTU0xDZkVzcnRjBmFwcF9pZBAyMjIwMzkxNzg4MjAwODkyAAEeWCIXa1Wm1r5QqBV2qfAV2cW8LC02HK0sqsqwPrgbme_SSkfd6RgQfROBSL4_aem_ye3eSZCb25_bXM9iFAZ7Jw

Petrologists now recognize mineralogical differentiation of magma ...

2026-09-15T17:23:42Z

In reply to nevent1q…unk3
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Petrologists now recognize mineralogical differentiation of magma as source of different lava types, even if the underlying mechanism is far more complex than imagined by Darwin (including crystallization and accumulation of minerals, chemical fractionation, contamination, magma mixing...).

He concluded that they all derived from a primary melt of uniform ...

2026-09-15T17:23:02Z

In reply to nevent1q…j3cs
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He concluded that they all derived from a primary melt of uniform composition. A basaltic magma could lose iron- and magnesium-minerals - Darwin proposed gravity separating the different minerals - becoming more silica-rich and so forming rhyolite
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Darwin visited and explored 4 of the 16 islands of the ...

2026-09-15T17:22:40Z

In reply to nevent1q…q403
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Darwin visited and explored 4 of the 16 islands of the archipelago, resulting in 80 pages of notes on the geology and 25 pages on the zoology of Galápagos. The volcanoes were inactive at the time, but Darwin studied the lava deposits and became intrigued by the different igneous rock types he found
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On September 15, 1835, H.M.S. Beagle approaches the Galapagos ...

2026-09-15T17:22:04Z

On September 15, 1835, H.M.S. Beagle approaches the Galapagos Islands, starting a survey of the archipelago. Two days later they finally drop anchor and Charles Darwin starts collecting specimens and taking geological notes
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Hand-drawn sketch by Humboldt showing magmatic dikes near ...

2026-09-14T16:31:00Z

In reply to nevent1q…2lz5
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Hand-drawn sketch by Humboldt showing magmatic dikes near Predazzo in the Dolomites, a site that played an important role in the history of geology 🌋

http://www.bressan-geoconsult.eu/alexander-von-humboldt-in-the-dolomites/?fbclid=IwY2xjawUU_4FwZG9mBWV4dG4DYWVtAjEwAGJyaWQRMHdObk9IS2tpVzlGdWRwa0lzcnRjBmFwcF9pZBAyMjIwMzkxNzg4MjAwODkyAAEeH0u-VCyhtN4xdI8YeRQYDE4os4EEpfqsheN6N3QiqcLQrXTAknA-TNIYqBU_aem_sUB-mJEk3MKYJutk8YQGXg

September 14, 1769, birthday of German naturalist & explorer ...

2026-09-14T16:30:30Z

September 14, 1769, birthday of German naturalist & explorer Alexander von Humboldt.
He started as a mining engineer & had a life-long interest in how volcanic forces shape the Earth
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Seismic Explorer is a web-based map that allows you to plot ...

2026-09-14T16:13:28Z

In reply to nevent1q…we9j
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Seismic Explorer is a web-based map that allows you to plot earthquakes & volcanic eruptions since 1980, showing subduction zones in 3D and plate motions.

https://seismic-explorer.concord.org/?fbclid=IwY2xjawUUkOZwZG9mBWV4dG4DYWVtAjEwAGJyaWQRMEF6a1VsYzBUYzk5a2NvS0tzcnRjBmFwcF9pZBAyMjIwMzkxNzg4MjAwODkyAAEeb7ipI0W8umTtEiQTOEVxt-JcRiSl-phwBrQd7ieSJqHSUlJV4VFWoWMSbzM_aem_Hh8btUu-7P8UtBCzD_CZsA

Wadati–Benioff quakes develop beneath volcanic island arcs and ...

2026-09-14T16:13:07Z

In reply to nevent1q…vdcx
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Wadati–Benioff quakes develop beneath volcanic island arcs and continental margins above active subduction zones. They can be produced by slip along the subduction thrust fault, slip on faults within the downgoing plate or as a result of bending and extension as the plate is pulled into the mantle
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Now known as Wadati–Benioff zone, as Kiyoo Wadati of the Japan ...

2026-09-14T16:12:42Z

In reply to nevent1q…87yp
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Now known as Wadati–Benioff zone, as Kiyoo Wadati of the Japan Meteorological Agency independently (and even a few years earlier) published a paper on deep-focus earthquakes, describing how they follow a planar surface, but it was Benioff who proposed a mechanism related to plate tectonics
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September 14, 1899, birthday of American seismologist Victor Hugo ...

2026-09-14T16:12:08Z

September 14, 1899, birthday of American seismologist Victor Hugo Benioff.
In 1955, while mapping the location of deep earthquakes in the Pacific Ocean, he noted that the origin of the earthquakes follow the subducting seafloor
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A Morning That Shook the World: The Seismology of 9/11 ...

2026-09-11T17:17:18Z

In reply to nevent1q…eydj
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A Morning That Shook the World: The Seismology of 9/11

https://news.climate.columbia.edu/2021/09/08/a-morning-that-shook-the-world/

Seismic signals from the crash of the hijacked United Airlines 93 ...

2026-09-11T17:16:54Z

In reply to nevent1q…7j2w
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Seismic signals from the crash of the hijacked United Airlines 93 near Shanksville, Pennsylvania
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September 11, 2001, seismograph stations around the city of New ...

2026-09-11T17:16:26Z

September 11, 2001, seismograph stations around the city of New York recorded the signals generated by the aircraft impacts and the subsequent collapse of the two towers of the World Trade Center
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September 11, 1985, a small ash eruption at the Nevado del Ruiz ...

2026-09-11T14:21:22Z

September 11, 1985, a small ash eruption at the Nevado del Ruiz (Colombia) triggers a lahar. Geologists issue a warning that the volcano's activity may increase & larger may follow,. A potential flood map is released, but ignored by authorities. Two months later a lahar buries the town of Armero killing 22.000 people.

He also used the word "la giologia" for the very first to ...

2026-09-11T12:10:45Z

In reply to nevent1q…4y9s
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He also used the word "la giologia" for the very first to describe the study of Earth - 100 years later it will become geology ⚒️

http://www.bressan-geoconsult.eu/the-origin-of-geology/?fbclid=IwY2xjawUQlphwZG9mBWV4dG4DYWVtAjEwAGJyaWQRMHlhdmNpNXBMT1E1VFVaSGpzcnRjBmFwcF9pZBAyMjIwMzkxNzg4MjAwODkyAAEeFqPsvDxTiyGAk5iZtPbfIAlRW_cGHBnmbHEdWGA5B_XsPnjJ8YCRtAGfq6E_aem_Z5HfKifdys_dxhv84pDcjg