10 Things a Future Geologist Should Know
Geology is a constantly evolving field. Cultivate a passion for learning and stay updated on new discoveries and advancements throughout your career.
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| What Are 10 Things a Future Geologist Should Know. Normal fault (Bartlett Wash, Utah), Photo Credit: Haakon Fossen |
If you interested in Geology or have the passion to become a geologist one day. here are some facts you should put in mind:
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| Graphical representation of Earth's history as a spiral |
1. The earth is really, really old. 4.5 billionish, this is long enough for lots and lots of very slow processes to occur. We know how old it is by using radiometric dating. By comparing the proportion of various isotopes of elements to each other and using statistics. There is virtually no doubt on the subject (within a few tens of millions of years).
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| This clock representation shows some of the major units of geological time and definitive events of Earth history. The Hadean eon represents the time before fossil record of life on Earth; its upper boundary is now regarded as 4.0 Ga (billion years ago). |
2. A few million years is a short time, get used to that.
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| law of superposition diagram |
3. Law of super position, says about things on top being younger than things on bottom, etc.
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| Uniformitarianism diagram |
4. The present is the key to the past. Basically, the same processes occur today that happened in the past. Also the world is your laboratory, you can't do geology entirely behind a computer or in a lab, you have to go out and lick rocks.
5. Yes, really lick rocks. Use all your senses.
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| Bowen's reaction series |
6. There are a lot minerals, its overwhelming, but there are a lot fewer common minerals. Minerals fit into categories, and the categories are relatively easy to differentiate. Finally, Bowen's reaction series tells you what you should find together. So if you think you've found Muscovite and Olivine in the same rock, you may want to reconsider. Speaking of which, memorize Bowen's reaction series.
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| The Mohs scale of mineral Hardness |
7. Two Geologists Came From Arizona, Overly Quiet, Though Constantly Drunk. or 1 Talc, 2 Gypsum, 3 Calcite, 4 Fluorite, 5 Apatite, 6 Orthoclase, 7 Quartz, 8 Topaz, 9 Corundum, 10 Diamond. The Mohs scale of mineral Hardness
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| The continents move around. |
8. The continents move around. Basically because they're made of lighter rocks and they're floating around on a slowly circulating liquid.
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| Geological hammer |
9. Learn to swing a hammer. Watch your fingers, and wear eye protection.
10. Geologists drink beer, pack a lot of it. If you're in charge of the budget for a field camp, yes, its a required expense.