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It is believed that humans have been interested in studying our earth as far back as 4th century ancient Greece. With early scientists and philosophers such as Aristotle noting and categorizing different rocks and minerals. It was a hobby for some, and way to determine suitable building materials for others.
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By the 17th century fossils were studied and used as a tool to understand the earth's past events, as well as its age.
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Nicolaus Steno, also known as the father of Paleontology was the first to fully recognize and understand what fossils are. Despite the fact that he was a scientist quite briefly his discoveries in rock layers, and fossils are essential contributions to both Geology and Paleontology, and his principles are still used today by modern scientists.
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During the 18th century minerals, and mineral ores became important to the global economy, at the time many scientists also studied ore. Scientists of the time came up with two main theories. One, that all the rocks on earth came from flooding and were deposited by the oceans. Two, rocks were only formed by fire.
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James Hutton a renowned Scottish geologist, also known as the father of modern geology, found that the earth's crust recycles itself naturally and endlessly. This explains why the crust has layers, as well as its unique features. His theory is known as Uniformitarianism.
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The very first National Geological Survey was completed in France in 1841. It was a 19 year project that began its planning stage in 1822.
Although geological surveys had been conducted in the past they were privately conducted and thus the results were often private. This survey however was conducted by the French government and thus publicly funded, and the results were published by the Ministry of Public Works which directed the survey. -
In the early 1900s A scientist noticed how earth's continents fit together like puzzle pieces, leading to his theory on Continental Drift. He also theorized that the continents once all fit together in a large landmass now known as Pangea. Although at first the scientific community rejected his theory, advancements in technology eventually proved him right.
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In 1957 Heezen and Tharp's map physiographic map of the north Atlantic was published. It was the first seafloor map to be published publicly. To map the seafloor they used new sound technology known as sonar, the scientists noticed thousands of ridges and trenches that led to a concept known as plate tectonics.
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Alfred Wegener's theory that explains the Continental Drift. Alfred believed that the Earth had many layers like a common onion, or Shrek, and that most of these layers were magma and superheated rocks. He believed that the crust floats around and moves. His theory was proven with the discovery of sonar and the mapping of the sea floor. scientists found that the earth's crust is separated into many plates that move around and change over time.
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John Tuzo Wilson published a paper detailing the concept of a transform fault. This type of fault is responsible for some shallow, and mild earthquakes.
