#geologis

[scotianostra]

James David Forbes Scottish physicist and glaciologist was born April 20th 1809.

James was a sickly child ever since birth, and his early years were marked by several tragedies which affected his world view. His mother died in 1810, his older brother William in 1826, and his father in 1827. Consequently he was a solitary individual who made no friends until well into adulthood.

One of the sources I have read says he grew up, conservative, superior, and aloof. After the tragedies in his early life I find it amazing he went on to still be talked about 200 years later.

James David Forbes entered the University of Edinburgh at aged 16 initially studying law but abandoned his legal interests in 1830 and embraced a life of science. There he won academic prizes and began writing articles on meteorology. The articles got him into the Royal Society of London,.At only 24 he became a professor at Edinburgh., the great James Clark Maxwell was one of his students.

Until his health gave out, Forbes never stopped. His character was simply relentless, as irresistible as the glaciers he devoted his life to studying. I am in awe of the amount that he achieved, from groundbreaking research on the polarisation of thermal radiation to the invention of the seismometer, from the first accurate maps of the Alps to the foundations of modern glaciology. Until Forbes came on the scene, glaciers were shrouded with ignorance and folklore, poorly understood and shoddily studied. A keen mountaineer capable of thirty miles a day for a week across the roughest terrain. He did all this before the invention of modern mountaineering equipment, safety techniques, or even maps.

In 1843 he suffered an attack of gastric fever that nearly killed him. He struggled against chronic illness for the rest of his life and would never again regain his former strength. In 1846 he returned to the Alps but was too weak to climb, and his doctors prescribed complete rest for his annual six month vacation. Needless to say, his active personality rebelled against the sentence of peace and quiet, and in 1847 and 1848 he conducted a geological campaign in the Western Highlands.

1848 saw Forbes explore the north face of Ben Nevis. He was probably the first man to turn a scientific eye to the mountains of Lochaber and Glencoe. When the Alpine Club was founded in 1857, Forbes was the first honorary member. He maintained a keen interest in the Alps but never again climbed: “My heart remains where my body can never be. My yearnings towards the home of my youth and towards the Swiss Alps are much on a par: both homesickness.”

James David Forbes died in 1868. I’ve shied away from his scientific work which made Forbes famous to show that some of these great inventors that Scotland spawned were more than scientists but led a life away from their labs and studies.

Forbes is buried in Dean Cemetery in Edinburgh. The grave is marked by a simple but large grey granite Celtic cross and lies on the south side of the main path just west of the roundel.

There’s more about Forbes here http://scihi.org/james-david-forbes-seismology/

[epoxyconfetti]

[lilacandladybugs]

my friend told me that her boyfriend got her a super cool rock while they were on vacation together and you would not BELIEVE my disappointment when i realized she was talking about her engagement ring

[whoisandyloam]

[53v3nfrn5]

A stunning iridescent ammonite fossil. [source]

[incognitopolls]

We ask your questions so you don’t have to! Submit your questions to have them posted anonymously as polls.

[silverbridge-harbor]

A juvenile bug isn't called a larva until it reaches the surface. While it's still underground it's called a margma

[zoe248]

It me

[bedupolker]

Random Assets from a Junior Ranger book I helped out with

[dank-meme-my-gf-sends-me]

[briery]

Aquamarine with Morganite from Minas Gerais, Brazil. By dusted77 on Instagram.

[plaguedocboi]

I’ve been doing some field work with geologists this winter and I’m kind of amazed by how these dudes can pick up a handful of dirt and talk about it for an hour using terms I’ve never heard of. Like wow you see a whole universe in there that I don’t. The world is truly full of beauty and we only comprehend a fraction of it.

[shaonicwhite]

i think we should all consider getting emotional over this xkcd. as a group. let's get emotional about it

[geology-side-of-tumbler]

Holy shit holy shit holy Schist!!!!!

A hydrothermal explosion happened Yellowstone!! And I’m alive to see it! I wish I was there.

From USGS Facebook:

A small hydrothermal explosion occurred in Yellowstone National Park today (July 23, 2024) around 10:00 AM MST in the Biscuit Basin thermal area, about 2.1 miles (3.5 km) northwest of Old Faithful. Numerous videos of the event were recorded by visitors. The boardwalk was damaged, but there were no reports of injury. The explosion appears to have originated near Black Diamond Pool.

Biscuit Basin, including the parking lot and boardwalks, are temporary closed for visitor safety. The Grand Loop road remains open. Yellowstone National Park geologists are investigating the event.

Hydrothermal explosions occur when water suddenly flashes to steam underground, and they are relatively common in Yellowstone. For example, Porkchop Geyser, in Norris Geyser Basin, experienced an explosion in 1989, and a small event in Norris Geyser Basin was recorded by monitoring equipment on April 15, 2024. An explosion similar to that of today also occurred in Biscuit Basin on May 17, 2009.

More information about hydrothermal explosions is available at https://www.usgs.gov/observatories/yvo/news/hydrothermal-explosions-yellowstone-national-park.

Monitoring data show no changes in the Yellowstone region. Today’s explosion does not reflect activity within volcanic system, which remains at normal background levels of activity. Hydrothermal explosions like that of today are not a sign of impending volcanic eruptions, and they are not caused by magma rising towards the surface.

Additional information will be provided as it becomes available.

The Yellowstone Volcano Observatory (YVO) provides long-term monitoring of volcanic and earthquake activity in the Yellowstone National Park region. Yellowstone is the site of the largest and most diverse collection of natural thermal features in the world and the first National Park. YVO is one of the five USGS Volcano Observatories that monitor volcanoes within the United States for science and public safety.

YVO Member agencies: USGS, Yellowstone National Park, University of Utah, University of Wyoming, Montana State University, UNAVCO, Inc., Wyoming State Geological Survey, Montana Bureau of Mines and Geology, Idaho Geological Survey

Image courtesy of Vlada March.

[melusina]

geology students will literally say shit like “my dirt class was cancelled today” or “the professor for my class on sand gave us homework about worms” like we’re 8 year olds on the playground inventing new terms for playing in the grass during recess

[sadgayscientist]

A lot of times, when people talk about mad scientists, they mean medical or biology or chemistry, sometimes you'll have a physicist or mathematician or even an engineer... But let's not forget about the hard working mad science geologists who help people scout out and build their "evil lair in a volcano" while furthering their own plot to rid the world of their competition by using their own egos against them. Meanwhile they're bending the secrets of the earth to their will, making new and strange crystalline mineral structures, and dialing in the frequency of their earthquake generators to only destroy what they're aiming at. They deserve attention too!