STUDENT’S VOICE Geology Abroad
Kristina Pourtabib, SA-3410
pour1824@vandals.uidaho.edu
It always amazes me to think of how geology is such an inte- gral part of every day life. From the resources we rely upon to get us from place to place, or to the raw materials that power our communication devices, manipulation of our resources is what makes us stand out in our modern, developed world. The use of geologic materials in their simplest form has been around for centuries, as in the grinding up and recombination of clay and colorful stones for pigments in ancient paintings, for building purposes, or for the use of white lead in the 18th century to achieve that pale, highly sought after look of the wealthy. Applications of geology seem to crop up everywhere throughout history, and it is so interesting to imagine how ancient craftsmen were able to manipulate these raw materials without the aid of modern processing techniques.
I recently came back from a trip to Italy, and like many other European nations there is an abundance of history and that history can be visualized in the style and artwork found in many of the churches. In Italy, I was in complete awe every time we walked into an ancient church and saw beautifully carved pieces of stone, some of which originated from areas well outside of Italy. It is almost unbelievable to try and imagine how a giant slab of yellow marble made its way from somewhere in Africa to a church in Florence. The amount of manpower and engineering that would have gone into such a move is incredible, and furthermore, the craftsmanship it took to polish the surface and create intricate designs is a level of technique not seen much in today’s time. Ancient artists had a great appreciation for fine stone and many of the popular stones used for church decorations can be traced back to their source region. This can be viewed as a direct reflection of whom
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Environmental Geoscience, The Geological Society, London, Special Publication no 305.
Mitchell, J.K., 2009, Geotechnical surprises—or are they? The 2004 H. Bolton Seed Lecture, Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering, V. 135, pp. 998-1010. National Resource Conservation Service, US Department of Agriculture, 1999, Soil Taxonomy (2nd ed.), Washington DC, US Government Printing Office, 871 p. Available online at ftp://
ftp-fc.sc.egov.usda.gov/NSSC/Soil_Taxonomy/tax.pdf Penman, A. D. M., 2000, The Aberfan flow slide, Taff Valley, National Museum of Wales, Geological Series V. 18, p. 62–68. Rosenbaum, M. S., and Turner, A.K., (editors), 2003, New Paradigms in Subsurface Prediction, Springer-Verlag, Berlin, 397 p. Turner, A. K., 2008, The historical record as a basis for assessing inter- actions between geology and civil engineering, Quarterly Journal of Engineering Geology and Hydrogeology, V. 41, pp. 143–164. Voight, B., Glicken, H., Janda, R. J., and Douglas, P. M., 1981, Catastrophic rockslide avalanche of May 18, In: Lipman, P. W., and Mullineux, D. R., (editors), The 1980 Eruptions of Mount St. Helens, Washington, U. S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 1250, p. 347-377.
Authors: J. Barry Maynard, is Professor Emeritus at the University of Cincinnati, where he taught in the Geology Department from
1972 to 2015 and served as Department head from 1985 to 1990. His focus includes relationships of sandstone composition to tectonics; geochemistry of sedimentary ore deposits; and groundwater contami- nation. Barry’s interests include communicating landslide hazards to non-geologists, especially real estate professionals. He is a fellow of the GSA and of the Society of Economic Geologists, and is a National Associate of the National Academy of Sciences.
Mark T. Bowers, PhD, PE is an Associate Professor of Civil Engineering and Assistant Dean for Undergraduate Studies in the College of Engineering at the University of Cincinnati where he has taught since 1985. He is the head of the Geotechnical Engineering Program and is a Registered Professional Engineer in the State of Ohio. Mark also has worked as a consulting engineer in Utah and a proect engineer in Arizona.
Paul E. Potter, PhD attended the University of Chicago earn- ing degrees in mathematics and geology. He worked for the Illinois Geological Survey and the University of Illinois before oining University of Cincinnati in 1971. After retiring in 1992, he worked in Brazil at several universities and currently is in Cincinnati as Professor Emeritus. He has authored or co-authored seven books on sedimentary geology and has received multiple awards.
www.aipg.org
people in this area traded with, and what type of travel routes they used to obtain these materials, each geologic use is a glimpse into life during that time. Just walking through some of these ancient cities, it’s easy to see that geology was a part of everyday life; from the ruins of the Roman Forum you can see the stone streets that were constructed in layers of large to small stones so that the streets could be easily drained of water. In the Colosseum you can see the bare bones of this once grand structure whose walls were composed of layers of brick, cement, and travertine limestone. Today much of what remains of the Colosseum is the brick under layers, which reflect the scarce times when people needed building materi- als, so they would borrow from existing structures such as the Colosseum. Even walking into museums and viewing old paintings one can see what types of stones were used to create vibrant pigments such as lapis lazuli for that bright blue color, or thin sheets of gold added to a certain parts of a painting. It is a unique aspect of geology to see how people used nature to create a world rich in art and architecture.
Geology has and will always be an integral part of life. By studying some of these ancient structures and works of art, it is easy to see that people had a great understanding of their natural surroundings, and were able to manipulate them to fit their needs. It is amazing to see how many of these past geologic applications have withstood the test of time and thus have given us great insight into what life was like in the past. Geology is an important tool that helps to enrich our world, whether it be through art, science, or ust simply through viewing spectacular mountain scenery, geology will continue to be at the forefront.
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