Geology (from Ancient Greek γῆ (gê) 'earth', and λoγία ( -logía) 'study of, discourse') is a branch of natural science concerned with the Earth and other astronomical objects, the rocks of which they are composed, and the processes by which they change over time. Modern geology significantly overlaps all other Earth sciences, including hydrology. It is integrated with Earth system science and planetary science.
Geology describes the structure of the Earth on and beneath its surface and the processes that have shaped that structure. Geologists study the mineralogical composition of rocks in order to get insight into their history of formation. Geology determines the relative ages of rocks found at a given location; geochemistry (a branch of geology) determines their absolute ages. By combining various petrological, crystallographic, and paleontological tools, geologists are able to chronicle the geological history of the Earth as a whole. One aspect is to demonstrate the age of the Earth. Geology provides evidence for plate tectonics, the evolutionary history of life, and the Earth's past climates.
Geologists broadly study the properties and processes of Earth and other terrestrial planets. Geologists use a wide variety of methods to understand the Earth's structure and evolution, including fieldwork, rock description, geophysical techniques, chemical analysis, physical experiments, and numerical modelling. In practical terms, geology is important for mineral and hydrocarbon exploration and exploitation, evaluating water resources, understanding natural hazards, remediating environmental problems, and providing insights into past climate change. Geology is a major academic discipline, and it is central to geological engineering and plays an important role in geotechnical engineering. ( Full article...)
Rudolf Trümpy (16 August 1921 – 30 January 2009) was a Swiss geologist, who was born in the small Swiss town of Glarus. He graduated from the ETH Zürich in the late 1940s with a thesis titled: “Der Lias der Glarner Alpen”. From 1947 to 1953 he spent his post-doctoral years in Lausanne before being appointed professor at ETH Zürich in 1953. He would remain there until 1986.
His research mainly concentrated on alpine geology. However, he also published papers on extra-alpine regions like Greenland, the Montagne Noire and the Sahara. He was the author of the reference book Geology of Switzerland. ( Full article...)More featured biographies
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