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In the nineteenth century, geology emerged as a distinct academic discipline. It pointed the way towards the theory of evolution, as scientists including Gideon Mantell, Adam Sedgwick, Charles Lyell and Roderick Murchison began to use the evidence of minerals, rock formations and fossils to demonstrate that the Earth was older by millions of years than the conventional, Bible-based wisdom had supposed. They argued convincingly that the climate, flora and fauna of the distant past could be deduced from geological evidence. Volcanic activity, the formation of mountains, and the action of glaciers and rivers, tides and ocean currents also became better understood. This series includes landmark publications by pioneers of the modern earth sciences, who advanced the scientific understanding of our planet and the processes by which it is constantly re-shaped.

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149 results in Cambridge Library Collection - Earth Science

Page 6 of 8

Journal of a Tour in Iceland, in the Summer of 1809
  • Volume 2
  • William Jackson Hooker
  • Published online:
    05 January 2012
    Print publication:
    02 May 2011
    First published in:
    1813
  • Sir William Jackson Hooker (1785–1865) was an eminent British botanist, best known for expanding and developing the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew into a leading centre of botanic research and conservation. At the age of nineteen he undertook an expedition to Iceland, his first outside Britain. Unfortunately, all his specimens and notes were destroyed in a fire on the return voyage (described in Volume 1), but he was able, with the help of the notes made by Sir Joseph Banks on an earlier expedition, to write this account. His work was first published privately in 1811, but a second edition was published in 1813 and is reproduced here. In 1809 England and Denmark-Norway were at war, and Iceland was a Danish dependency. Volume 2 offers Hooker's first-hand observations on the relationship between the two countries, and also includes detailed descriptions of the many volcanoes on the island.

The Wonders of Geology
  • Or, a Familiar Exposition of Geological Phenomena
  • Volume 2
  • Gideon Algernon Mantell
  • Edited by G. F. Richardson
  • Published online:
    05 January 2012
    Print publication:
    21 October 2010
    First published in:
    1838
  • Gideon Mantell (1790–1852) was an English physician and geologist best known for pioneering the scientific study of dinosaurs. After an apprenticeship to a local surgeon in Sussex, Mantell became a member of the Royal College of Surgeons in 1811. He developed an interest in fossils, and in 1822 his discovery of fossil teeth which he later identified as belonging to an iguana-like creature he named Iguanadon spurred research into ancient reptiles. These volumes, first published in 1838, contain a series of eight lectures which describe and explain early principles of geology, stratification and fossil plants and animals to a non-scientific audience. These detailed volumes became Mantell's most popular work, and provide a fascinating view of the study of geology and palaeontology during the early nineteenth century. Volume 2 contains lectures 5–8, discussing marine fossils including animals and corals, fossil plants and volcanic rocks.

Reliquiae Diluvianae
  • Or, Observations on the Organic Remains Contained in Caves, Fissures, and Diluvial Gravel, and on Other Geological Phenomena, Attesting the Action of an Universal Deluge
  • William Buckland
  • Published online:
    05 December 2011
    Print publication:
    17 February 2011
    First published in:
    1823
  • William Buckland (1784–1856), Dean of Westminster, was an English geologist best known for his contributions to palaeontology. He became the first Reader in Geology at the University of Oxford in 1818. Buckland spent 1819–1822 investigating fossil remains in caves, in order to refine his concept of catastrophism. His research led him to the realisation that hyena remains in Kirkland Cave, Yorkshire, were the remains of an ancient ecosystem and were not relics of the Flood; this led to his being awarded the Copley Medal by the Royal Society of London in 1822. This volume, first published in 1823, contains a full account of Buckland's influential research in Kirkland Cave, which demonstrated for the first time the ability of scientific analysis to reconstruct events from deep time. Buckland's support for and influential revision of the concept of catastrophism is also illustrated in this volume.

Physical Geography
  • Volume 2
  • Mary Somerville
  • Published online:
    05 December 2011
    Print publication:
    20 July 2009
    First published in:
    1848
  • Mary Somerville (1780–1872) would have been a remarkable woman in any age, but as an acknowledged leading mathematician and astronomer at a time when the education of most women was extremely restricted, her achievement was extraordinary. Laplace famously told her that 'There have been only three women who have understood me. These are yourself, Mrs Somerville, Caroline Herschel and a Mrs Greig of whom I know nothing.' Mary Somerville was in fact Mrs Greig. After (as she herself said) translating Laplace's work 'from algebra into common language', she wrote On the Connexion of the Physical Sciences (1834), also reissued in this series. Her next book, the two-volume Physical Geography (1848), was a synthesis of geography, geology, botany, astronomy and zoology, drawing on the most recent discoveries in all these fields to present an overview of current understanding of the natural world and the Earth's place in the universe.

System of Mineralogy
  • Volume 1
  • Robert Jameson
  • Published online:
    05 November 2011
    Print publication:
    30 June 2011
    First published in:
    1816
  • Robert Jameson (1774–1854) was a renowned geologist who held the chair of natural history at Edinburgh from 1804 until his death. A pupil of Gottlob Werner at Freiberg, he was in turn one of Charles Darwin's teachers. Originally a follower of Werner's influential theory of Neptunism to explain the formation of the earth's crust, and an opponent of Hutton and Playfair, he was later won over by the idea that the earth was formed by natural processes over geological time. He was a controversial writer, accused of bias towards those who shared his Wernerian sympathies such as Cuvier, while attacking Playfair, Hutton and Lyell. He built up an enormous collection of geological specimens, which provided the evidence for his System of Mineralogy, first published in 1808 and here reprinted from the second edition of 1816. Volume 1 deals with what Jameson terms 'earthy minerals', including diamonds, rubies and feldspar.

A Description of Active and Extinct Volcanos, of Earthquakes, and of Thermal Springs
  • Charles Daubeny
  • Published online:
    05 November 2011
    Print publication:
    02 June 2011
    First published in:
    1848
  • Charles Daubeny (1795–1867) first published Active and Extinct Volcanos in 1826. This reissue is of the second, augmented edition of 1848, which the author explains was significantly updated in the light of the work of Charles Darwin. Part I contains geological descriptions of most of the world's known volcanos, arranged by region, many of them based on Daubeny's own observations. Part II contains descriptions of earthquake-prone regions, thermal springs, and thermal waters. In Part III Daubeny introduces his influential theory of the causes of volcanic action, proposing that it results from contact between water and metals beneath the earth's surface. He also discusses the factors that give volcanos particular characteristics, and the impact of volcanos on their environments. This pioneering work of Victorian geology provided the scientific community with some of the first descriptions and data sets on previously unstudied volcanic regions, and is still referred to today.

Geological Observations on South America
  • Being the Third Part of the Geology of the Voyage of the Beagle, under the Command of Capt. Fitzroy, R. N. during the Years 1832 to 1836
  • Charles Darwin
  • Published online:
    05 November 2011
    Print publication:
    16 December 2010
    First published in:
    1846
  • First published in 1846, Darwin's Geological Observations made up the third part of his memoir of his voyage on the Beagle during the years 1832–1836. While the first part (1842) focused on the structure and distribution of coral reefs and the second (1844) described the volcanic islands visited during the voyage, this third instalment is devoted exclusively to South America, where Darwin spent the longest period of the expedition. It discusses South America's geological and seismic history, the mineral content of lava and granite, and the deformation of metamorphic rock. Separate chapters cover different geographical areas, and topics include the formation of the East and West Coasts and the pampas, the plains and valleys of Chile, and the structure of the Cordillera. Geological Observations also includes detailed maps of South America and sketches of the terrain.

The Life and Correspondence of William Buckland, D.D., F.R.S.
  • Sometime Dean of Westminster, Twice President of the Geological Society, and First President of the British Association
  • Elizabeth Oke Gordon, William Buckland
  • Published online:
    05 November 2011
    Print publication:
    19 August 2010
    First published in:
    1894
  • First published in 1894, this biography details the life of renowned geologist William Buckland (1784–1856) who, along with Sedgwick and Lyell, was one of the pioneers of modern geological inquiry. While he is better known for attempting to correlate his geological findings with the Old Testament, Buckland's studies paved the way for Darwin's development of evolutionary theory. In the course of his illustrious career, Buckland was a Canon of Christ Church, was twice appointed President of the Geological Society, served as the first President of the British Association, and became Dean of Westminster. Penned by Buckland's daughter almost forty years after his death, The Life and Correspondence provides a more personal insight into Buckland's scientific endeavours. Gordon's biography is complemented by several illustrations, and the appendices include an extensive list of positions held by Buckland and his membership of learned societies, and a complete index of his publications.

Fossil Plants
  • A Text-Book for Students of Botany and Geology
  • Volume 3
  • A. C. Seward
  • Published online:
    05 November 2011
    Print publication:
    17 March 2011
    First published in:
    1917
  • A. C. Seward (1863–1941) was an eminent English geologist and botanist who pioneered the study of palaeobotany. After graduating from St John's College, Cambridge, in 1886 Seward was appointed a University Lecturer in Botany in 1890. In 1898 he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society, and was appointed Professor of Botany in 1906. These volumes, published to great acclaim between 1898 and 1919, provide a detailed discussion and study of an emerging science. In the early nineteenth century, research and critical literature concerning palaeobotany was scattered across disciplines. In these volumes Seward synthesised and revised this research and also included a substantial amount of new material. Furnished with concise descriptions of fossil plants, detailed figures and extensive bibliographies these volumes became the standard reference for palaeobotany well into the twentieth century. Volume 3, first published in 1917, contains systematic descriptions of fossil seed plants.

Fossil Plants
  • A Text-Book for Students of Botany and Geology
  • Volume 1
  • A. C. Seward
  • Published online:
    05 November 2011
    Print publication:
    17 March 2011
    First published in:
    1898
  • A. C. Seward (1863–1941) was an eminent English geologist and botanist who pioneered the study of palaeobotany. After graduating from St John's College, Cambridge, in 1886 Seward was appointed a University Lecturer in Botany in 1890. In 1898 he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society, and was appointed Professor of Botany in 1906. These volumes, published to great acclaim between 1898 and 1919, provide a detailed discussion and study of an emerging science. In the early nineteenth century, research and critical literature concerning palaeobotany was scattered across disciplines. In these volumes Seward synthesised and revised this research and also included a substantial amount of new material. Furnished with concise descriptions of fossil plants, detailed figures and extensive bibliographies these volumes became the standard reference for palaeobotany well into the twentieth century. Volume 1, published in 1898, contains an overview of palaeobotany with systematic descriptions of fossil plants.

Fossil Plants
  • A Text-Book for Students of Botany and Geology
  • Volume 2
  • A. C. Seward
  • Published online:
    05 November 2011
    Print publication:
    17 March 2011
    First published in:
    1910
  • A. C. Seward (1863–1941) was an eminent English geologist and botanist who pioneered the study of palaeobotany. After graduating from St John's College, Cambridge, in 1886 Seward was appointed a University Lecturer in Botany in 1890. In 1898 he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society, and was appointed Professor of Botany in 1906. These volumes, published to great acclaim between 1898 and 1919, provide a detailed discussion and study of an emerging science. In the early nineteenth century, research and critical literature concerning palaeobotany was scattered across disciplines. In these volumes Seward synthesised and revised this research and also included a substantial amount of new material. Furnished with concise descriptions of fossil plants, detailed figures and extensive bibliographies these volumes became the standard reference for palaeobotany well into the twentieth century. Volume 2, first published in 1910, contains systematic descriptions of fossil ferns.

Fossil Plants
  • A Text-Book for Students of Botany and Geology
  • Volume 4
  • A. C. Seward
  • Published online:
    05 November 2011
    Print publication:
    17 March 2011
    First published in:
    1919
  • A. C. Seward (1863–1941) was an eminent English geologist and botanist who pioneered the study of palaeobotany. After graduating from St John's College, Cambridge, in 1886 Seward was appointed a University Lecturer in Botany in 1890. In 1898 he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society, and was appointed Professor of Botany in 1906. These volumes, published to great acclaim between 1898 and 1919, provide a detailed discussion and study of an emerging science. In the early nineteenth century, research and critical literature concerning palaeobotany was scattered across disciplines. In these volumes Seward synthesised and revised this research and also included a substantial amount of new material. Furnished with concise descriptions of fossil plants, detailed figures and extensive bibliographies these volumes became the standard reference for palaeobotany well into the twentieth century. Volume 4, first published in 1919, contains systematic descriptions of fossil ginkgoales and coniferales.

Travels through Norway and Lapland during the Years 1806, 1807, and 1808
  • Leopold von Buch
  • Translated by John Black
  • Edited by Robert Jameson
  • Published online:
    25 October 2011
    Print publication:
    09 June 2011
    First published in:
    1813
  • In Travels Through Norway and Lapland, Leopold von Buch (1774–1853), a German geologist and palaeontologist, recounts his expedition to Scandinavia in 1806–1808. This book, originally published in Berlin in 1810, and in this English translation in 1813, describes these large, sparsely populated regions at the turn of the nineteenth century. The translator's preface provides an important geo-political backdrop – the possibility of war in Norway and the machinations of Sweden, Russia and Great Britain over the future of this territory. Von Buch's observations, however, are firmly engaged with the scientific. He writes that his motivation for the expedition was to find out how the harsh climate influenced the land, and he records detailed information about the weather and the region's mineralogy and geological structure. He also describes the local population, providing a wide-ranging account of life in the remote reaches of Northern Europe.

Memoir of Leonard Horner, F.R.S., F.G.S.
  • Consisting of Letters to his Family and from Some of his Friends
  • Volume 2
  • Leonard Horner
  • Edited by Katharine M. Lyell
  • Published online:
    07 October 2011
    Print publication:
    19 May 2011
    First published in:
    1890
  • Leonard Horner (1785–1864) was a prominent geologist, educator and, later, a factory inspector. In 1833 he was appointed to the Royal Commission on the employment of children in factories, and he inspected sites around the north of England. His earlier scientific work saw him elected a fellow of the Royal Society in 1813, and he was twice president of the Geological Society. The two-volume Memoir of Leonard Horner, edited by his daughter, Katharine Lyell, and published in 1890, is a selection of letters to and from his family and friends. The correspondence gives vivid insights into the world of this influential reformer. Volume 2 covers the period 1839–1864, and includes letters about Horner's activities at the Geological Society, his travels in Italy in 1861, his political concerns, and key moments in his personal life, such as the birth of his grandson in 1850.

A Geological Manual
  • Henry Thomas De La Beche
  • Published online:
    07 October 2011
    Print publication:
    19 May 2011
    First published in:
    1833
  • Henry De la Beche (1796–1855) was a geologist who published widely on various aspects of this science and was elected to the Royal Society in 1823. He was involved with the Ordnance Survey maps of Britain, and became president of the Geological Society in 1847. De la Beche was also instrumental in the 1851 opening of two influential institutions: the Museum of Practical Geology and the School of Mines and of Science Applied to the Arts, which were housed on the same site in London. His Geological Manual, first published in 1831, also had French, German and US editions. In this expanded third edition, published in 1833, the work offers a comprehensive survey of multiple aspects of geology. Topics covered include an overview of the Earth, rivers, glaciers, rock types and fossils in France and England, demonstrating the range and depth of geological knowledge in the early nineteenth century.

Life, Letters, and Works of Louis Agassiz
  • Volume 2
  • Jules Marcou
  • Published online:
    07 October 2011
    Print publication:
    20 January 2011
    First published in:
    1896
  • On the basis of extensive material in the form of letters, pamphlets and the recollections of friends and contemporaries, Jules Marcou (1824–1898) tells the story of the life and work of Louis Agassiz in this two-volume work of 1896. The Swiss-born palaeontologist, glaciologist and zoologist (1807–1873) is regarded as one of the founding fathers of the modern American scientific tradition. Marcou, a fellow countryman and collaborator of Agassiz, does not attempt to conceal his high regard for the subject of his biography but does have 'in view the truth'. In a chronological narrative, Volume 2 tells of Agassiz' professorship at Harvard and the founding in 1859 of the Museum of Contemporary Zoology, where he remained as director until his death. Although Darwin believed the Swiss scientist's theory on parallelisms provided evidence for evolution, Agassiz was no evolutionist but saw the plan of God everywhere in nature.

A Manual of the Geology of India
  • Chiefly Compiled from the Observations of the Geological Survey
  • Edited by Richard Dixon Oldham
  • H. B. Medlicott, W. T. Blanford
  • Published online:
    07 October 2011
    Print publication:
    02 June 2011
    First published in:
    1893
  • The geologist Richard Dixon Oldham (1858–1936) published the second edition of Geology of India in 1892 for the Geological Survey of India. The work is a thoroughgoing revision of the first edition of the same manual compiled by H. M. Medlicott (1829–1905) and W. T. Blanford (1832–1905), published in 1879. It contains one of the earliest and most important geological surveys of India. Owing to an increase in available data since the first edition, descriptions of the rock formations of the country are arranged chronologically. This edition is particularly important for the data on, and discussion of, the age and origins of the Himalayas. It includes other chapters on metamorphic and crystalline rocks, fossils, vegetation, volcanic regions, geological history, and rock formation. It is a key work of nineteenth-century geology which remains relevant for geologists studying the subcontinent today.

The Life and Letters of Hugh Miller
  • Volume 2
  • Peter Bayne
  • Published online:
    07 October 2011
    Print publication:
    02 June 2011
    First published in:
    1871
  • This biography, edited by the writer and critic Peter Bayne (1830–1896), was published in 1844. Miller (1802–1856), a Scottish geologist, palaeontologist and evangelical Christian, is best known for his geological arguments for the existence of God. Miller sought to demonstrate the accuracy of the biblical creation story by demonstrating that the seven days of creation correspond to seven geological periods. Volume 2 covers Miller's developing intellectual life and religious ideas; his publications; his marriage and the birth and loss of children; and his own tragic death after a long history of mental illness. The work is a key source for the life and thought of this fascinating nineteenth-century man whose life was marked by a passionate commitment to both science and religion and the attempt to reconcile the two. It will invigorate and entertain the modern-day reader.

Volcanos
  • The Character of Their Phenomena, Their Share in the Structure and Composition of the Surface of the Globe, and Their Relation to its Internal Forces
  • George Poulett Scrope
  • Published online:
    07 October 2011
    Print publication:
    09 June 2011
    First published in:
    1862
  • While a student, George Poulett Scrope (1797–1876) visited Vesuvius and Etna and developed a passionate enthusiasm for volcanos. He did pioneering fieldwork in France in 1821, witnessed the eruption of Vesuvius in 1822, and was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1826. Scrope became increasingly involved in economics and politics, but later in his career published revised versions of two pioneering books on volcanism he had originally published in the 1820s. Volcanos (1862), reissued here, was based on his Considerations on Volcanos (1825, also reissued in this series) and dedicated to his life-long friend and colleague Charles Lyell. This influential work on volcanic phenomena includes a substantial catalogue of 'all known volcanos and volcanic formations' as well as a dramatic illustration of Vesuvius. It was translated into French and German, went into a second English edition in 1872, and was one of the foundational texts of volcanology.

The Geology of the South East of England
  • Gideon Algernon Mantell
  • Published online:
    07 October 2011
    Print publication:
    30 September 2010
    First published in:
    1833
  • Gideon Mantell (1790–1852) was an English physician and geologist best known for pioneering the scientific study of dinosaurs. After an apprenticeship to a local surgeon in Sussex, Mantell became a member of the Royal College of Surgeons in 1811. He developed an interest in fossils, and in 1822 his discovery of fossil teeth which he later identified as belonging to an iguana-like creature he named Iguanadon spurred research into ancient fossils. This volume, first published in 1833, contains the results of Mantell's research into the geology and fossil remains of south-eastern England, especially Sussex and Kent. Mantell describes each rock stratum of the region in detail, and includes within each section descriptions of fossil remains found in the formation, arranged by species. Copiously illustrated, this volume remains one of Mantell's best known works and contains fascinating detail concerning the development of geology and palaeontology.

Page 6 of 8