Evolution
September 19, 1991: The Iceman Natural History
" It was nearly noon when I arrived at the top of the ascent. For some time I sat upon the rock that overlooks the sea of ice. A mist covered both that and the surrounding mountains.
History of Geology
What rocks tell and how we came to understand it
Evolution
Large Igneous Provinces and Mass Extinctions
The Permian-Triassic boundary (251 million years ago) is characterized by one of the greatest mysteries in earth's history: a mass extinction of devastating proportions.
Evolution
September 7, 1936: The last Thylacine
September 7, 1936 the last thylacine ( Thylacinus cynocephalus ) died at the Hobart Zoo (Tasmania). Modern legends attributed him the name Benjamin and a gruesome death - neglected and forgotten he (or more probably she) died from depression and the harsh weather...
The Sciences
September 4, 1618: The landslide of Plurs
" Truthful and terrible new description/ from the sudden destruction/ of the well known village of Plurs in Bergel/ and situated in the provinces of Bünten/ how suddenly a landslide came down from the mountain/ and the entire village in a moment covered/ elevated from ground/ buried/ thrown away and eradicated/ occurred in this year 1618...
The Sciences
September 2, 1806: The landslide of Goldau
" The morning of this sorrowful day begun with strong rain, which became less and lesser until at midday it stopped. Already in the early morning there were fissures in the earth and cracks in the meadows visible...
The Sciences
August 27, 1883: Krakatoa
"Perhaps, however, the most important evidence of what was actually going on at Krakatoa during the crisis of the eruption is that derived from witnesses on board ships which sailed between Java and Sumatra while the great outburst was in progress, or those that were at the time in the immediate vicinity of either the eastern or western entrance of the Sunda Strait...
The Sciences
Earthquakey Times
Earthquakes are the results of the sudden release of accumulated stress in the brittle crust of earth. This energy accumulation is caused by the friction and deformation (strain) of rocks, most pronounced where tectonic plates collide or touch...
The Sciences
Cities and Geological Risk
"Civilization exists by geological consent, subject to change without notice." Will Durant (1885 - 1981) American writer, historian, and philosopher Fig.1.
Evolution
On the Extinction of Species
The Dodo by Hilaire Belloc The Dodo used to walk around, And take the sun and air. The sun yet warms his native ground– The Dodo is not there!
The Sciences
Hydrochemistry on the Rocks
It is considered one of the oldest foods and most appreciated beverages of the world - chemical remains were found on fragments of a more than 4.000 old jar, the Mesopotamians guaranteed its purity by death penalty and the old Egyptian considered it an essential part of the afterlife - the preferred drink of the gods of the Vikings - and today of geologist, known also as beer.Geologists love beer for a simple reason: it makes you think a lot about geology…(and as a popular side-effect it is tasty)...
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