Chris Rowan is a geologist specialising in the dark arts of paleomagnetism, and getting people to pay him to travel to exotic destinations for fieldwork. Having drilled up New Zealand during his PhD, and South Africa in his first post-doc, he now works at the University of Edinburgh.
Anne Jefferson has a love of all things water-related and blends hydrology, geomorphology, geology, and climate change in her work. She has a Ph.D. from Oregon State University and is now an assistant professor at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte.The power of great art often lies in the way that it can make us see the familiar or mundane in entirely new ways. Which is why when asked to consider works of geological art, one piece springs to my mind above all others:
This is William Smith's original geological map of the British Isles, first unveiled in 1815 . On aesthetic grounds alone it might qualify as a great work of art, for it is a thing of true beauty. But its true greatness lies in what it represents: an entirely new way of thinking about the ground beneath our feet.
Anyone who travels away from their hometown will observe that every region has its own unique geography, but not so many realise how intimately these differences are connected to changes in the character of the rocks that the landscape is built upon; that the contrast between the low rolling hills of south east England, and the hardy crags of Scotland, is largely due to the difference between soft chalk and ancient baked granites that form their respective foundations. Fewer still realise that these changes have an underlying order to them. Distinct packages of different rocks, with their own unique and consistent composition and fossil content, can be traced across large distances; and their arrangement, whilst sometimes complicated, is far from haphazard.
William Smith realised all of these things, and his map spectacularly revealed something entirely new within the familiar outline of the British Isles: a pattern to British geology that none had fully grasped before. By demonstrating that there was such a pattern, and that it was possible to systematically unravel it, he put us firmly on the path to understanding the processes that might have produced it.
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Comments
Yes, indeed. This map is vitally important - and quite beautiful.
Posted by: The Ridger | June 15, 2008 12:39 PM
Great choice! I was considering that one before I settled on Moran. I'm looking forward to seeing the copy of it in Buffalo when I move up there for grad school this fall.
Posted by: Tuff Cookie | June 15, 2008 3:15 PM
As a highlander, I'd just like to point out that all the interesting bits are off the top of this map ;¬)
Posted by: eddie | June 15, 2008 8:11 PM
This is actually the first thing I thought of! Geologic maps do fall into the category of art, in my view, and especially this one.
Posted by: Silver Fox | June 15, 2008 9:16 PM
Couldn't somebody just hit the randomnize shape file colors button in arcGIS though?
Posted by: Quantum_Flux | June 16, 2008 12:48 PM
Let's not forget the beautiful maps Peach and Horne made of the highlands.
Posted by: cope | June 16, 2008 2:14 PM
William Smith's work on this map is covered in the good book "The Map That Changed the World" by Simon Winchester.
Posted by: Matt | June 16, 2008 4:42 PM