Editorial Type:
Article Category: Research Article
| Online Publication Date: 14 May 2009
Into the Field Again: Re-Examining Charles Darwin's 1835 Geological Work on Isla Santiago (James Island) in the Galápagos Archipelago
Into the Field Again: Re-Examining Charles Darwin's 1835 Geological Work on Isla Santiago (James Island) in the Galápagos Archipelago
,
,
,
,
,
, and
Page Range: 1 – 31
In 1835 Charles Darwin's geological observations on Isla Santiago (James Island) in the Galápagos Islands led him to important insights as to the process by which different varieties of igneous rock might be produced from the same volcanic vent. His work figured in a tradition of interpretation that began with the work of George Poulett Scrope and would end in the twentieth century with the theory of magmatic differentiation of igneous rocks through the process of crystal fractionation. This article reports on the findings of an expedition to Isla Santiago in July 2007 during which we were able to locate samples of igneous rocks similar to those collected by Darwin. We have used these, together with Darwin's original specimens and transcriptions of his field notes, to examine how his understanding of the separation of the trachytic and basaltic series of magmas developed from his initial field observations through to publication of Volcanic Islands in 1844.
Aubuisson de Voisins, J. F. d'. 1819. Traité de géognosie. 2 vols. Strasbourg and Paris: F. G. Levrault.
Baitis, H. W. 1976. Geology and petrography of Pinzon and Santiago Islands: Galapagos Archipelago. PhD dissertation, University of Oregon.
Birembaut, A. 1970. Jean-François d'Aubuisson de Voisins. Dictionary of Scientific Biography. Vol. 1. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons.
Buch, L. von. 1836. Description physique des Îles Canaries, suivie d'une indication des principaux volcans du globe … traduite … par C. Boulanger. Paris: F. G. Levrault.
Burek, C. V. 2007. The role of women in geological higher education—Bedford College. In: The Role of Women in the History of Geology, edited by C. V. Burek and B. Higgs, 9-38. London: Geological Society, London, Special Publications 281.
Burkhardt, F. et al. (eds). 1985-. The Correspondence of Charles Darwin. 16+ vols. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Collingwood, R. 1962. The Idea of History. Oxford: Oxford University Press (original publication 1946).
Cotta von, C. B. 1855. Die Gesteinslehre. Freiberg: J. G. Engelhardt.
Darwin, C. (ed.). 1838-1840. The Zoology of the Voyage of H.M.S. Beagle, under the Command of Captain Fizroy, during the Years 1832 to 1836…. Part I. Fossil Mammalia by Richard Owen. London: Smith Elder and Co.
Darwin, C. 1842. The Structure and Distribution of Coral Reefs. Being the First Part of the Geology of the Voyage of the Beagle, under the Command of Capt. FitzRoy, R.N. during the Years 1832 to 1836. London: Smith, Elder and Co.
Darwin, C. 1844. Geological Observations on the Volcanic Islands, Visited during the Voyage of H.M.S. Beagle, Together with Some Brief Notices on the Geology of Australia and the Cape of Good Hope. Being the Second Part of the Geology of the Voyage of the Beagle, under the Command of Capt. FitzRoy, R.N. during the Years 1832 to 1836. London: Smith, Elder and Co.
Darwin, C. 1846. Geological Observations on South America. Being the Third Part of the Geology of the Voyage of the Beagle. Under the Command of Capt. FitzRoy, R.N. during the Years 1832 to 1836. London: Smith, Elder and Co.
Darwin, C. 1849. Geology. In: Manual of Scientific Enquiry, edited by John Herschel, 156-195. London: John Murray.
Darwin, C. 1890. On the Structure and Distribution of Coral Reefs; Also Geological Observations on the Volcanic Islands and Parts of South America Visited during the Voyage of HMS Beagle by Charles Darwin. And a Critical Introduction to Each Work by Prof. J. W. Judd FRS. London: Ward, Lock and Co.
Estes, G., Grant, K. T. and Grant, P. R. 2000. Darwin in the Galapagos: his footsteps through the archipelago. Notes and Records of the Royal Society of London 54: 343-368.
Gibson, S. A. 2009. Early settler: Darwin's geological formation. Geoscientist 19: 18-23.
Gibson, S. A., Malarkey, J. and Day, J. A. 2008. Melt depletion and enrichment beneath the Kaapvaal craton: evidence from Finsch peridotite xenoliths. Journal of Petrology 49: 1817-1852.
Harker, A. C. 1907. Notes on the rocks of the "Beagle" Collection. Geological Magazine 5th series 4: 100-106.
Harker, A. C. ca 1907. Catalogue of the "Beagle" Collection of rocks, made by Charles Darwin during the voyage of H.M.S. "Beagle", 1832-6 (held at the Sedgwick Museum, Cambridge).
Harker, A. C. 1909. The Natural History of Igneous Rocks. London: Methuen & Co.
Herbert, S. 2005. Charles Darwin, Geologist. Cornell University Press, Ithaca & London.
Herbert, S. and Norman, D. 2008. Darwin's geology and perspective on the fossil record. In: Cambridge Companion to the Origin of Species, edited by Michael Ruse and Robert Richards, 230-265. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Hide, E. 2007. "Trust nothing to the memory": Charles Darwin's geological Specimen Notebooks. Conference 8-11 February. Milan: Museo di Storia Naturale di Milano.
Iddings, J. 1892. The origin of igneous rocks. Bulletin of the Philosophical Society of Washington 12: 89-213.
Judd, J. W. 1909. Darwin and geology. In: Darwin and Modern Science, edited by A. C. Seward, 337-384. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Keynes, R. D. (ed.). 1988. Charles Darwin's "Beagle" Diary. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Keynes, R. D. (ed.). 2000. Charles Darwin's Zoology Notes and Specimen Lists from H.M.S. "Beagle" Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Le Maitre, R. W. 1989. A Classification of Igneous Rocks and Glossary of Terms: Recommendations of the IUGS Commission on the Systematics of Igneous Rocks. Oxford: Blackwell.
Lyell, Charles 1830-1833. Principles of Geology, Being an Attempt to Explain the Former Changes of the Earth's Surface by Reference to Causes now in Operation. 3 vols. London: John Murray.
McBirney, A. R. and Williams, H. 1969. Geology and petrology of the Galapagos Islands. Geological Society of America Memoir 118.
Merton, R. K. 1968. The Matthew effect in science. Science 159 (No. 3810): 56-63.
Oldroyd, D. 1996. Thinking about the Earth: A History of Ideas in Geology. London: Athlone Press and Cambridge: Harvard University Press
Pearson, P. N. 1996. Charles Darwin on the origin and diversity of igneous rocks. Earth Sciences History 15: 49-67.
Richardson, C. 1933. Petrology of the Galapagos Islands. Bernice P. Bishop Museum Bulletin 110: 45-67.
Saal, A. E., Kurz, M. D., Hart, S. R., Blusztajn, Blichert-Toft, J., Liang, Y. and Geist, D. J. 2007. The role of lithospheric gabbros on the composition of Galápagos lavas. Earth and Planetary Science Letters 257: 391-406.
Scrope, G. J. P. 1825. Consideration on Volcanos: The Probable Causes of their Phenomena, the Laws which Determine their March, the Disposition of their Products, and their Connexion with the Present State and Past History of the Globe; Leading to the Establishment of a New Theory of the Earth. London: W. Phillips.
Secord, J. A. 1991. The discovery of a vocation: Darwin's early geology. British Journal for the History of Science 24: 133-158.
Simkin, T. and Siebert, L. 1994. Volcanoes of the World. Tucson: Geoscience Press for the Smithsonian Institution.
Thackray, J. C. 2003. To See the Fellows Fight: Eye Witness Accounts of Meetings of the Geological Society of London and its Club, 1822-1868. Standford in the Vale (UK): British Society for the History of Science.
White, W. M., McBirney, A. R. and Duncan, R. A. 1993. Petrology and geochemistry of the Galapagos-Islands—portrait of a pathological mantle plume. Journal of Geophysical Research—Solid Earth 98: 19533-19563.
Wyatt, Antony 1986. Challinor's Dictionary of Geology. 6th edn. Cardiff: University of Wales Press.
Young, Davis 2003. Mind over Magma: The Story of Igneous Petrology. Princeton: Princeton University Press.