George Barrow (11 December 1853 – 23 July 1932) was a British
geologist
A geologist is a scientist who studies the solid, liquid, and gaseous matter that constitutes Earth and other terrestrial planets, as well as the processes that shape them. Geologists usually study geology, earth science, or geophysics, althoug ...
.
Barrow was born in
St George Hanover Square, London, the fifth of eight children born to John George Barrow, a general practitioner at the Royal College of Surgeons, and his wife, Eleanor Barrow.
Barrow matriculated at London University in 1871, holding a Turner scholarship. Admitted to
King's College London, he studied science, winning prizes in mathematics and geology. He was the first to map a
metamorphic gradient
In geology, a metamorphic zone is an area where, as a result of metamorphism, the same combination of minerals occur in the bedrock. These zones occur because most metamorphic minerals are only stable in certain intervals of temperature and pressu ...
by determining a sequence of
metamorphic zones in the
metapelites of the
Scottish Highlands
The Highlands ( sco, the Hielands; gd, a’ Ghàidhealtachd , 'the place of the Gaels') is a historical region of Scotland. Culturally, the Highlands and the Lowlands diverged from the Late Middle Ages into the modern period, when Lowland S ...
. Every first appearance of an
index mineral An index mineral is used in geology to determine the degree of metamorphism a rock has experienced. Depending on the original composition of and the pressure and temperature experienced by the protolith (parent rock), chemical reactions between mine ...
was taken by Barrow as the beginning of a new metamorphic zone. Later the underlying principles of metamorphic zones were clarified by the
Finnish
Finnish may refer to:
* Something or someone from, or related to Finland
* Culture of Finland
* Finnish people or Finns, the primary ethnic group in Finland
* Finnish language, the national language of the Finnish people
* Finnish cuisine
See also ...
geologist
Pentti Eskola
Pentti Elias Eskola (8 January 1883 – 6 December 1964) was a Finnish geologist who specialised in the petrology of granites and developed the concept of metamorphic facies. He won the Wollaston Medal in 1958, the Vetlesen Prize in 1964, a ...
, who introduced the concept of
metamorphic facies. Barrow was awarded the Bolitho Medal of the
Royal Geological Society of Cornwall in 1912.
He died in
Chorleywood, Hertfordshire.
[''England & Wales, National Probate Calendar (Index of Wills and Administrations), 1858-1995'']
The Barrow Award of the
Mineralogical Society of Great Britain & Ireland for contributions to metamorphic geology is named in his honour
References
Selected publications
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British geologists
1853 births
1932 deaths
Alumni of King's College London
Scientists from London
Presidents of the Geologists' Association
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