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In the nineteenth century, geology emerged as a distinct academic discipline. It pointed the way towards the theory of evolution, as scientists including Gideon Mantell, Adam Sedgwick, Charles Lyell and Roderick Murchison began to use the evidence of minerals, rock formations and fossils to demonstrate that the Earth was older by millions of years than the conventional, Bible-based wisdom had supposed. They argued convincingly that the climate, flora and fauna of the distant past could be deduced from geological evidence. Volcanic activity, the formation of mountains, and the action of glaciers and rivers, tides and ocean currents also became better understood. This series includes landmark publications by pioneers of the modern earth sciences, who advanced the scientific understanding of our planet and the processes by which it is constantly re-shaped.

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149 results in Cambridge Library Collection - Earth Science

Page 1 of 8

Minéralogie des volcans
  • Ou, description de toutes les substances produites ou rejetées par les feux souterrains
  • B. Faujas de Saint-Fond
  • Published online:
    05 June 2016
    Print publication:
    25 September 2014
    First published in:
    1784
  • Abandoning a promising career in the law, Barthélemy Faujas de Saint-Fond (1741–1819) enjoyed the encouragement of the eminent scientist Buffon in pursuing his love of natural history. His keen interest in rocks, minerals and fossils led to a number of important discoveries, among which was confirmation that basalt was a volcanic product. Appointed assistant naturalist at the natural history museum in Paris, he became a professor of geology in 1793, occupying this position until his death. This 1784 work begins with concise accounts of numerous varieties of basalt, describing the key features of each, before moving on to discuss several other volcanic products, including breccia and pozzolana. Of related interest, two other works by Faujas, Essai de géologie (1803–9) and the revised English edition of A Journey through England and Scotland to the Hebrides in 1784 (1907), are also reissued in the Cambridge Library Collection.

Illustrations of the Viscous Theory of Glacier Motion
  • And Three Papers on Glaciers by John Tyndall
  • James D. Forbes, John Tyndall
  • Published online:
    05 June 2016
    Print publication:
    27 April 2015
  • This book brings together works published between 1846 and 1859 by the Scot James D. Forbes (1809–68) and Irishman John Tyndall (1820–93), both of whom were experienced alpinists as well as glaciologists. However, their views on the motion of glaciers were disparate, and a scientific quarrel over primacy and credit for discoveries continued even after their respective deaths. These papers include Forbes' articles on experiments on the flow of plastic bodies and analogies between lava and glacier flows, and on the plasticity of glacier ice, as well as Tyndall's observations on the physical phenomena of various Alpine glaciers, including the famous 'Mer de Glace', and a piece on the structure and motion of glaciers, co-written with Thomas Huxley. Several works by and about all three scientists (including works on Alpine travel) have also been reissued in this series.

Memoir of Leonard Horner, F.R.S., F.G.S.
  • Consisting of Letters to his Family and from Some of his Friends
  • Volume 1
  • Leonard Horner
  • Edited by Katharine M. Lyell
  • Published online:
    05 November 2015
    Print publication:
    19 May 2011
    First published in:
    1890
  • Leonard Horner (1785–1864) was a prominent geologist, educator and, later, a factory inspector. In 1833 he was appointed to the Royal Commission on the employment of children in factories, and he inspected sites around the north of England. His earlier scientific work saw him elected a fellow of the Royal Society in 1813, and he was twice president of the Geological Society. The two-volume Memoir of Leonard Horner, edited by his daughter, Katharine Lyell, and published in 1890, is a selection of letters to and from his family and friends. The correspondence gives vivid insights into the world of this influential reformer. Volume 1 focuses on Horner's life from his childhood until 1838, taking in many of the key events of his professional career, including his election to the Royal Society, his attempts at improving higher education in Edinburgh and his involvement with the inspection of factories.

A Complete Guide to the English Lakes, Comprising Minute Directions for the Tourist
  • With Mr. Wordsworth’s Description of the Scenery of the Country, etc. and Five Letters on the Geology of the Lake District
  • Adam Sedgwick, William Wordsworth
  • Edited by John Hudson
  • Published online:
    05 November 2015
    Print publication:
    02 December 2010
    First published in:
    1853
  • First published in 1853, this is a comprehensive guide to the British Lake District. It features contributions from William Wordsworth and the geologist Adam Sedgwick, as well as a number of shorter sections by local experts on subjects such as botany and toponymy. The first part comprises detailed descriptions of the major towns and villages of the area, providing recommended routes and excursions for tourists. This is followed by Wordsworth's description of the scenery of the Lake District, offering fascinating observations on the natural formation of the landscape and the influence of human settlement. The latter part consists of a series of five letters on the geological structure of the area, written by Sedgwick between 1842 and 1853. Illustrated with detailed maps of the area, this is a key text for those interested in the history of tourism in the Lake District and its development in the Victorian period.

Recherches sur les ossemens fossiles des quadrupèdes
  • Volume 4
  • Georges Cuvier
  • Published online:
    05 June 2015
    Print publication:
    12 March 2015
  • Georges Cuvier (1769–1832), one of the founding figures of vertebrate palaeontology, pursued a successful scientific career despite the political upheavals in France during his lifetime. In the 1790s, Cuvier's work on fossils of large mammals including mammoths enabled him to show that extinction was a scientific fact. In 1812 Cuvier published this four-volume illustrated collection of his papers on palaeontology, osteology (notably dentition) and stratigraphy. It was followed in 1817 by his famous Le règne animal, available in the Cambridge Library Collection both in French and in Edward Griffith's expanded English translation (1827–35). Volume 4 of Recherches sur les ossemens fossiles focuses first on ruminants, horses and pigs. Cuvier then discusses fossils of carnivores, including bears, hyenas and big cats. The book concludes by describing fossil sloths, and the oviparous reptiles found in older strata, such as crocodiles, turtles, and marine dinosaurs.

Recherches sur les ossemens fossiles des quadrupèdes
  • Volume 3
  • Georges Cuvier
  • Published online:
    05 June 2015
    Print publication:
    12 March 2015
  • Georges Cuvier (1769–1832), one of the founding figures of vertebrate palaeontology, pursued a successful scientific career despite the political upheavals in France during his lifetime. In the 1790s, Cuvier's work on fossils of large mammals including mammoths enabled him to show that extinction was a scientific fact. In 1812 Cuvier published this four-volume illustrated collection of his papers on palaeontology, osteology (notably dentition) and stratigraphy. It was followed in 1817 by his famous Le règne animal, available in the Cambridge Library Collection both in French and in Edward Griffith's expanded English translation (1827–35). Volume 3 of Recherches sur les ossemens fossiles recounts Cuvier's excitement at acquiring fossils from gypsum quarries near Paris, and the challenges of piecing the fragments together correctly. Cuvier describes the methodical reconstruction of the pachyderm fossils and lists other fossils occurring in the same rock formations: carnivores, an opossum, birds, reptiles, and fish.

Elements of Geology
  • Charles Lyell
  • Published online:
    05 June 2015
    Print publication:
    06 November 2014
  • Between 1830 and 1833, Charles Lyell (1797–1875) published his three-volume Principles of Geology, which has also been reissued in this series. The work's renown stems partly from the fact that the young Charles Darwin, on his voyage around the world aboard the Beagle, became influenced by Lyell's ideas relating to gradual change across large spans of time. Shaping the development of scientific enquiry in Britain and beyond, Lyell was determined to disconnect geology from religion. He originally intended some of the present work, first published in 1838, to be a supplement to the Principles, but later expanded it to serve as a general introduction to geology. The topics covered include the formation of various rock types, matters of field geology, and how the presence of marine fossils above sea level could be explained by the land rising, rather than the sea retreating. Many salient points are illustrated with woodcuts.

A Geological Manual
  • 1831 Edition
  • Henry T. De la Beche
  • Published online:
    05 June 2015
    Print publication:
    06 November 2014
  • Sir Henry Thomas De la Beche (1796–1855) served as president of the Geological Society from 1847 to 1849, having contributed greatly to the development of geological science and surveying in the first half of the nineteenth century. He was also instrumental in the establishment of the Museum of Practical Geology in London. Reissued here in its 1831 first edition (which Darwin had with him aboard the Beagle), this work sought to help students to grasp the fundamentals of a rapidly advancing science. The first section considers the Earth's shape, density, temperature and other characteristics. The next part includes discussion of beaches, volcanos, and coastal processes. De la Beche then presents descriptions of various rock types, reflecting the state of contemporary geological knowledge. Highly successful, the book went through two further English editions; the expanded third edition is also reissued in this series.

Weather Lore
  • A Collection of Proverbs, Sayings, and Rules Concerning the Weather
  • Richard Inwards
  • Published online:
    05 June 2015
    Print publication:
    11 December 2014
    First published in:
    1893
  • Richard Inwards (1840–1937) trained as a mining engineer, working on projects in Europe and South America (his book on Tiwanaku in Bolivia, The Temple of the Andes, is also reissued in the Cambridge Library Collection). A fellow of the Royal Meteorological Society and the Royal Astronomical Society, Inwards became well known in scientific circles. Weather Lore was first published in 1869, with this 1893 second edition including new entries from the United States. Compiled from sources as diverse as Hesiod, the Bible and Francis Bacon, the collection includes the notable observations that 'if spaniels sleep more than usual, it foretells wet weather', but 'if rats are more restless than usual, rain is at hand'. Often entertaining, always fascinating, the book does not pretend to be scientifically accurate; as the author was to remark later, 'no human being can correctly predict the weather, even for a week to come'.

Recherches sur les ossemens fossiles des quadrupèdes
  • Volume 1
  • Georges Cuvier
  • Published online:
    05 June 2015
    Print publication:
    12 March 2015
  • Georges Cuvier (1769–1832), one of the founding figures of vertebrate palaeontology, pursued a successful scientific career despite the political upheavals in France during his lifetime. In the 1790s, Cuvier's work on fossils of large mammals including mammoths enabled him to show that extinction was a scientific fact. In 1812 Cuvier published this collection of his geological and osteological papers, focusing on living and extinct pachyderms, ruminants, horses and pigs. Volume 1 begins with a substantial essay on human origins and the formation of the earth, which was translated into English by Robert Kerr in 1813 (also available). It also includes an essay on the Egyptian ibis mummy brought back from Napoleon's campaign in Egypt, and an updated version of Cuvier's influential 1810 geological description of the Paris basin, co-authored with Alexandre Brogniart (1770–1847), which helped establish the principle of faunal succession in rock strata of different ages.

The Mineralogy of Derbyshire
  • With a Description of the Most Interesting Mines in the North of England, in Scotland, and in Wales
  • John Mawe
  • Published online:
    05 June 2015
    Print publication:
    11 December 2014
    First published in:
    1802
  • Born in Derby, John Mawe (1766–1829) established a successful mineral-dealing business in London and became a significant figure in the development of British commercial mineralogy in the early nineteenth century. He travelled widely, advising on mineral exploration, and gathering specimens for clients such as Charles IV of Spain. This illustrated 1802 work gives an overview of the geological features and strata of Mawe's home county. He discusses the various mineral deposits to be found in Derbyshire, and describes some of the county's mines. Drawing on observations made on his travels, he gives descriptions of important mines in northern England, Scotland and Wales, alongside remarks on geological features of interest. The book closes with a glossary of terms used by miners in Derbyshire. Mawe's well-received Travels in the Interior of Brazil (revised edition, 1821) is also reissued in the Cambridge Library Collection.

Outlines of the Geology of England and Wales
  • With an Introductory Compendium of the General Principles of that Science, and Comparative Views of the Structure of Foreign Countries
  • W. D. Conybeare, William Phillips
  • Published online:
    05 June 2015
    Print publication:
    06 November 2014
  • In the early nineteenth century, the gifted stratigrapher and amateur geologist William Phillips (1773–1828) gave several lectures to interested young people in Tottenham on the subject of geology. These lectures were later collected into a book, which Phillips expanded in later versions. This reached its peak in 1822 when the clergyman William Daniel Conybeare (1787–1857) collaborated with Phillips to produce this rigorous and improved assessment of the geological composition of England and Wales. Although no second volume was ever published, the book had a tremendous impact on geologists throughout the United Kingdom and Europe, inspiring foreign scholars to produce equivalent volumes about their own countries. Conybeare's concern for the stratigraphy of fossils is especially remarkable for the time. William Fitton, later president of the Geological Society of London, praised the book highly, remarking that 'no equal portion of the earth's surface has ever been more ably illustrated'.

Recherches sur les ossemens fossiles des quadrupèdes
  • Volume 2
  • Georges Cuvier
  • Published online:
    05 June 2015
    Print publication:
    12 March 2015
  • Georges Cuvier (1769–1832), one of the founding figures of vertebrate palaeontology, pursued a successful scientific career despite the political upheavals in France during his lifetime. In the 1790s, Cuvier's work on fossils of large mammals including mammoths enabled him to show that extinction was a scientific fact. In 1812 Cuvier published this four-volume illustrated collection of his papers on palaeontology, osteology and stratigraphy. It was followed in 1817 by his famous Le règne animal, available in the Cambridge Library Collection both in French and in Edward Griffith's expanded English translation (1827–35). Volume 2 of Recherches sur les ossemens fossiles describes eleven species of pachyderm found in recent alluvial deposits. They include elephants, mastodons, rhinoceros, hippopotamus, tapir and the hyrax (which Cuvier classified as an ungulate rather than a rodent). Cuvier argued from osteological comparisons with living species that all should be considered distinct species in their own right.

A Description of Active and Extinct Volcanos
  • With Remarks on their Origin, their Chemical Phaenomena, and the Character of their Products
  • Charles Daubeny
  • Published online:
    05 June 2015
    Print publication:
    21 August 2014
  • First published in 1826, at a time when the earth sciences were in a state of confusion and controversy, this pioneering study of volcanic action by Charles Daubeny (1795–1867) was significant in promoting the scientific method and the science of geology, at the same time establishing the author's international reputation. Having studied medicine, Daubeny increasingly turned his attention to chemistry, volcanos and earthquakes. Elected a fellow of the Royal Society, he also sought to elevate the status of science in Britain. He presents evidence here, gathered from his travels across Europe, in a methodical fashion, developing contemporary ideas regarding the processes at work beneath the surface of the earth. This reissued first edition provides an opportunity to examine Daubeny's reasoning prior to the revisions of the 1848 edition (also reissued in the Cambridge Library Collection), which was updated to take account of the work of Charles Darwin.

The Fossil Flora of Great Britain
  • Or, Figures and Descriptions of the Vegetable Remains Found in a Fossil State in this Country
  • Volume 3
  • John Lindley, William Hutton
  • Published online:
    05 February 2015
    Print publication:
    13 February 2014
  • Employed early on in his career by Sir Joseph Banks, the botanist John Lindley (1799–1865) went on to conduct important research on the orchid family and also recommended that Kew Gardens should become a national botanical institution. This pioneering three-volume work of palaeobotany, first published between 1831 and 1837, catalogues almost 300 species of fossil plants from the Pleistocene to the Carboniferous period. The geologist and palaeontologist William Hutton (1797–1860), with whom Lindley collaborated, was responsible for collecting the fossil specimens from which the 230 plates were drawn. The first serious attempt at organising and interpreting the evidence of Britain's primeval plant life, this resource is notable also for its prefatory discussion of topics such as coal seams and prehistoric climate. Volume 3 includes a note on the action of water on plants. This is followed by the descriptions of plates 157–230.

Siluria
  • The History of the Oldest Known Rocks Containing Organic Remains, with a Brief Sketch of the Distribution of Gold over the Earth
  • Roderick Impey Murchison
  • Published online:
    05 February 2015
    Print publication:
    02 January 2014
  • The Scottish geologist Sir Roderick Impey Murchison (1792–1871) first proposed the Silurian period after studying ancient rocks in Wales in the 1830s. Naming the sequence after the Silures, a Celtic tribe, he believed that the fossils representing the origins of life could be attributed to this period. This assertion sparked a heated dispute with his contemporary Adam Sedgwick, ultimately ruining their friendship. First published in 1854, Siluria is a significant reworking of Murchison's earlier book, The Silurian System, which had appeared in 1839. Thorough in his approach, he combines his own findings with those of researchers around the world, touching also on the later Devonian, Carboniferous and Permian periods as well as questions of natural history. An important text in nineteenth-century geology and palaeontology, the work contains a valuable geological map of Wales along with detailed engravings of fossils, including crustaceans, cephalopods and fish.

Naturgeschichte der Vulcane und der Damit in Verbindung Stehenden Erscheinungen
  • Volume 1
  • Georg Landgrebe
  • Published online:
    05 February 2015
    Print publication:
    30 June 2011
    First published in:
    1855
  • This two-volume natural history of volcanoes and volcanic phenomena was first published in Germany in 1855 by the chemist and mineralogist Georg Landgrebe (1802–1872) and was intended for scientifically literate enthusiasts rather than for specialists. The book begins with a review of contemporary work on volcanoes, explaining the theories of Leopold von Buch and the lively international debates they had generated among scholars including Charles Lyell, George Poulett Scrope and Charles Daubeny (also reissued in this series). Volume 1 lists the world's volcanoes by region, giving details of their altitude, mineralogy, and recent eruptions (including Etna in 1832 and Mount St Helens in September 1842). Landgrebe makes frequent reference to published work, summarising eyewitness accounts of vegetation, terrain and volcanic activity. He gives particular attention to Vesuvius and to the volcanoes of Iceland and Java, but there is also thorough coverage of the Americas, the Caribbean and the Pacific.

Essay towards a First Approximation to a Map of Cotidal Lines
  • William Whewell
  • Published online:
    05 February 2015
    Print publication:
    06 November 2014
    First published in:
    1833
  • Cotidal lines are lines on a map which connect points at which the same tidal level occurs simultaneously. Isaac Newton had explained the movement of the tides by the action of the moon and sun, and Daniel Bernoulli had used Newton's findings to create tide tables for specific locations, but William Whewell wanted to take research further by gathering and analysing information which would link cotidal points or lines across the world. Fellow and eventually Master of Trinity College, Cambridge, Whewell (1794–1866) published this work in 1833. In it he proposes various observations that would need to be undertaken to produce a cotidal map, with detailed descriptions of the factors to be taken into account in computing the results. In 1837, Whewell, several of whose other works are also reissued in this series, was awarded a royal prize medal by the Royal Society for his work on 'tidology'.

System of Mineralogy
  • Volume 2
  • Robert Jameson
  • Published online:
    05 February 2015
    Print publication:
    30 June 2011
    First published in:
    1816
  • Robert Jameson (1774–1854) was a renowned geologist who held the chair of natural history at Edinburgh from 1804 until his death. A pupil of Gottlob Werner at Freiberg, he was in turn one of Charles Darwin's teachers. Originally a follower of Werner's influential theory of Neptunism to explain the formation of the earth's crust, and an opponent of Hutton and Playfair, he was later won over by the idea that the earth was formed by natural processes over geological time. He was a controversial writer, accused of bias towards those who shared his Wernerian sympathies such as Cuvier, while attacking Playfair, Hutton and Lyell. He built up an enormous collection of geological specimens, which provided the evidence for his System of Mineralogy, first published in 1808 and here reprinted from the second edition of 1816. Volume 2 continues 'earthy minerals' and covers saline and inflammable minerals, including coals.

The Fossil Flora of Great Britain
  • Or, Figures and Descriptions of the Vegetable Remains Found in a Fossil State in this Country
  • Volume 2
  • John Lindley, William Hutton
  • Published online:
    05 February 2015
    Print publication:
    13 February 2014
  • Employed early on in his career by Sir Joseph Banks, the botanist John Lindley (1799–1865) went on to conduct important research on the orchid family and also recommended that Kew Gardens should become a national botanical institution. This pioneering three-volume work of palaeobotany, first published between 1831 and 1837, catalogues almost 300 species of fossil plants from the Pleistocene to the Carboniferous period. The geologist and palaeontologist William Hutton (1797–1860), with whom Lindley collaborated, was responsible for collecting the fossil specimens from which the 230 plates were drawn. The first serious attempt at organising and interpreting the evidence of Britain's primeval plant life, this resource is notable also for its prefatory discussion of topics such as coal seams and prehistoric climate. Volume 2 opens with a preface on coal, followed by descriptions of some of the fossil plants found therein (plates 80-156).

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