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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 8 of 8

Principles of Geology
  • An Attempt to Explain the Former Changes of the Earth's Surface, by Reference to Causes now in Operation
  • Volume 2
  • Charles Lyell
  • Published online:
    05 October 2010
    Print publication:
    20 July 2009
    First published in:
    1832
  • In 1830–33, Charles Lyell laid the foundations of evolutionary biology with Principles of Geology, a pioneering book that Charles Darwin took with him on the Beagle. Volume 2 (1832) focuses on plants and animals, and consists of 17 chapters, a comprehensive index and woodcut illustrations of various natural habitats Lyell had observed. The author takes issue with the French biologist Lamarck's theory of the transmutation of species, though Darwin in fact later praised other aspects of Lamarck's work. Lyell examines the connections between the Earth's changing crust and the natural history of many species of birds, insects, mammals and fish. He discusses how wild species physically adapt over time to domestication, the diffusion of plants throughout their specific habitats, geographical distributions of certain types of animals, migratory pattern adaptation due to climate change, hybrid plants, species extinction and how organic deposits, such as moss, on emerging land affect species adaptation.

Charles Darwin as Geologist
  • The Rede Lecture, Given at the Darwin Centennial Commemoration on 24 June 1909
  • Archibald Geikie
  • Published online:
    07 September 2010
    Print publication:
    20 July 2009
    First published in:
    1909
  • During his famous Beagle voyage, Darwin collected rocks, fossils and other geological specimens. No previous geologist had amassed such a detailed set of data. He identified raised beaches and remains of marine organisms high above the sea, understanding their significance as evidence of the uprising of landmasses. He also witnessed an earthquake and volcanic eruptions, concluding that both are related to movements of molten rock deep in the Earth. In this 1909 lecture, Sir Archibald Geikie, then President of the Royal Society, outlines Darwin's geological findings and explains how these underpinned his developing ideas. We learn of Darwin's theory of coral reef formation, and his fascination with the activities of earthworms. Finally the lecture considers the importance of Darwin's geological studies in formulating his theory of evolution by natural selection, leading to his masterpiece On the Origin of Species.

Fossil Plants as Tests of Climate
  • Being the Sedgwick Essay Prize for the Year 1892
  • Albert Charles Seward
  • Published online:
    07 September 2010
    Print publication:
    24 September 2009
    First published in:
    1892
  • The Sedgwick Prize for the best essay on a geological subject was instituted in memory of Adam Sedgwick, the geologist who introduced Darwin to geology in walking tours of north Wales, but later opposed his theories. One of its most eminent winners was A. C. Seward (1863–1941), then a young lecturer in botany at Cambridge. He combined the study of botany with geology in his research on what the age and location of fossilised flora can reveal about the climates of different geological periods. The author of the standard early twentieth-century textbook in the field, Fossil Plants for Students of Botany and Geology (1898–1919), he served as Professor of Botany at Cambridge, Master of Downing College and Vice-Chancellor of Cambridge University. This Sedgwick Prize essay sets out the state of knowledge in the field in 1892 and was the foundation of a lifetime's work in palaeobotany.

Principles of Geology
  • An Attempt to Explain the Former Changes of the Earth's Surface, by Reference to Causes now in Operation
  • Volume 1
  • Charles Lyell
  • Published online:
    29 August 2010
    Print publication:
    20 July 2009
    First published in:
    1830
  • In 1830–33, Charles Lyell laid the foundations of evolutionary biology with Principles of Geology, a pioneering three-volume book that Charles Darwin took with him on the Beagle. Lyell championed the ideas of geologist James Hutton, who formulated one of the fundamental principles of modern geology – uniformitarianism. This proposed that natural processes always operate according to the same laws, allowing us to understand how features of the Earth's surface were produced by physical, chemical, and biological processes over long periods of time. Volume 1 consists of 26 chapters, a comprehensive index and woodcut illustrations of various mechanisms of geological change. Lyell begins with a definition of geology and then reviews ancient theories of the successive destruction and renovation of the world. He mentions James Hutton's ideas in chapter four, and goes on to discuss the effects of climate change, running water, volcanic eruptions and earthquakes on the Earth's crust.

Principles of Geology
  • An Attempt to Explain the Former Changes of the Earth's Surface, by Reference to Causes now in Operation
  • Volume 3
  • Charles Lyell
  • Published online:
    29 August 2010
    Print publication:
    20 July 2009
    First published in:
    1833
  • In 1833, Charles Lyell published the final volume of his pioneering trilogy, which Charles Darwin took with him on the Beagle. In it, Lyell describes the composition of the Earth's crust, examines shell fossils, and explains rock stratification, separating geological formations into three periods – primary, secondary and tertiary. He chastises his fellow geologists for preferring to speculate on the possibilities of the past rather than exploring the realities of the present, and shows his readers the importance of testing the validity of scientific claims. Lyell expertly integrates this book with the two earlier volumes, extending his interpretation of his geological findings from his research in Europe, especially at Mount Etna. Volume 3 consists of 26 chapters, a comprehensive index and 93 woodcut illustrations of different rock formations. Lyell writes with infectious enthusiasm, conveying the excitement of his discoveries in this landmark book.

The Fifty Years' Work of the Royal Geographical Society
  • Clements R. Markham
  • Published online:
    29 August 2010
    Print publication:
    24 September 2009
    First published in:
    1881
  • In 1880, the Royal Geographical Society commissioned Sir Clements R. Markham, a noted British geographer and the Society's secretary, to write a history of its formation, and of the many expeditions it had supported since 1830, to celebrate its fiftieth anniversary. Published in 1881, The Fifty Years' Work of the Royal Geographical Society consists of twelve chapters. The first five are a condensed history of the original group of geographers who called themselves the Raleigh Club, and the events leading up to the Society's official formation. Chapters 6 and 7 recount the activities of past presidents, secretaries and leading members of the Society, with the rest of the book detailing the fascinating scientific expeditions the Society sponsored financially from the Arctic to Antarctica, the explorers who took part in them, and the various publications the Society published to advance natural science and exploration.

The Travels and Researches of Alexander von Humboldt
  • Being a Condensed Narrative of his Journeys in the Equinoctial Regions of America, and in Asiatic Russia; Together with Analyses of his More Important Investigations
  • William MacGillivray
  • Published online:
    29 August 2010
    Print publication:
    24 September 2009
    First published in:
    1832
  • In 1832, William MacGillivray published this abridged version of the explorer and naturalist Alexander von Humboldt's Personal Narrative of Travels to the Equinoctial Regions of the New Continent During the Years 1799–1804, which had appeared in a seven-volume English translation between 1814 and 1829. MacGillivray's edition, intended for the general public, also includes Humboldt's accounts of his explorations of the Ural Mountains and Caspian Sea. Humboldt became a major figure in physical geography as a result of his arduous five-year trip to explore Central and South America. This book offers a brief biographical sketch of the scientist and covers his exciting journeys from the Island of Tenerife across the Atlantic Ocean to Caracas, and up the Orinoco River by canoe. Humboldt fights mosquitoes in dense rain forests and climbs Andean peaks in Peru without mountain gear, taking detailed notes at every stage.

The Formation of Vegetable Mould through the Action of Worms
  • With Observations on their Habits
  • Charles Darwin
  • Published online:
    29 August 2010
    Print publication:
    20 July 2009
    First published in:
    1881
  • This book, published in 1881, was the result of many years of experimentation and observation by Darwin in the open-air laboratory of his garden at Down House in Kent. As he wrote in his introduction, the subject of soil disturbance by worms 'may appear an insignificant one, but we shall see that it possesses some interest'. He goes on to demonstrate the immensity – in size and over time – of the accumulated tiny movements of soil by earthworms, and their vital role in aerating the soil and breaking down vegetable material to keep the topsoil, the growing medium for all plant life and thus vital to human existence, fertile and healthy. At a time when there is huge interest in growing food organically and without using artificial fertilisers, Darwin's insights are as important, and his descriptions of his experiments as fascinating, as they were in the late nineteenth century.

Physical Geography
  • Volume 1
  • Mary Somerville
  • Published online:
    29 August 2010
    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.

Page 8 of 8