The undisputed pioneer of this research was the Great British geologist Arthur Holmes. Thanks to Holmes,
and those who followed him, geologists could use an understanding of the age of the Earth and the duration
of the chapters in Earth history to help elucidate the processes responsible for forming and deforming rocks,
and explain modes of evolution represented by the fossil record. Knowledge of true geological time allowed
thinking on a grand scale. Alfred Wegener was able to envisage continents drifting on the Earth’s surface
throughout geological time; whilst others, such as T.C. Chamberlin and Amadeus Grabau, began to recognise
a rhythm to the Earth’s sedimentary record. These notions, in turn, spurred the paradigms of plate tectonics
and sequence stratigraphy in the second half of the 20th century.
The puzzles faced by geologists were now becoming increasingly difficult to be solved by a single researcher.
The plate tectonics paradigm is to geology what evolutionary theory is to biology. It is very convenient to
associate major scientific breakthroughs with a particular individual. Thus, Charles Darwin is often celebrated
as the ‘discoverer’ of evolution. However, the discovery of the deep time in which geological processes
operate, for example, cannot be said to be the work of James Hutton alone — he built on the notions
expressed by many scholars of his time and before him.
Even though geologists are often asked who ‘discovered’ plate tectonics, the answer is that no single person
can be said to have done so. Papers by Dan McKenzie and Bob Parker or by Jason Morgan can be cited
as being the first to describe plate motions as translations and rotations on a sphere, but these built upon
a long series of discoveries by many other researchers who worked on the bathymetry of the deep ocean,
such as Mary Tharp, the nature of oceanic and continental crust, sea-floor spreading, transform faults, and
convection within the interior of the Earth. Plate tectonics is arguably the last great geological discovery
— the culmination and integration of understanding geological time and geological processes. Of course,
new geological discoveries are made every day, but nothing (as yet!) can compare to the scale of the plate
tectonics paradigm.
Geoscience is becoming increasingly collaborative. Integrated research requires multiple specialists to work
together, each often from distant parts of the globe. Thus, the scientific societies operating within geology
have played an important role as forums for the exchange of ideas and to bring scientists together. The
Geological Society of London was founded in 1807 and there are now societies operating in almost every
country and at an international level. UNESCO projects also encourage collaboration. Geology is now truly
global in its outlook!
Peak Geoscience?
In the same way that people use the term “Peak Oil” to describe the time of peak oil supply to the market,
the term “Peak Geoscience” has recently been heard. Briefly: has our development of geological science
reached its zenith? Therefore, have we entered into a time of synthesis, the gathering of detail and of
consolidation? Personally, I doubt this. Geological research still has many questions to answer and the
application of data science is likely to reveal startling new insights.