Joseph Barrell
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Joseph Barrell (December 15, 1869 – May 4, 1919) was an American
geologist A geologist is a scientist who studies the structure, composition, and History of Earth, history of Earth. Geologists incorporate techniques from physics, chemistry, biology, mathematics, and geography to perform research in the Field research, ...
who developed many ideas on the origins of the Earth,
isostasy Isostasy (Greek wikt:ἴσος, ''ísos'' 'equal', wikt:στάσις, ''stásis'' 'standstill') or isostatic equilibrium is the state of gravity, gravitational mechanical equilibrium, equilibrium between Earth's crust (geology), crust (or lithosph ...
and ideas on the origins of
sedimentary rocks Sedimentary rocks are types of rock formed by the cementation of sediments—i.e. particles made of minerals (geological detritus) or organic matter (biological detritus)—that have been accumulated or deposited at Earth's surface. Sedim ...
. He suggested that they were produced by the action of
river A river is a natural stream of fresh water that flows on land or inside Subterranean river, caves towards another body of water at a lower elevation, such as an ocean, lake, or another river. A river may run dry before reaching the end of ...
s,
wind Wind is the natural movement of atmosphere of Earth, air or other gases relative to a planetary surface, planet's surface. Winds occur on a range of scales, from thunderstorm flows lasting tens of minutes, to local breezes generated by heatin ...
s, and
ice Ice is water that is frozen into a solid state, typically forming at or below temperatures of 0 ° C, 32 ° F, or 273.15 K. It occurs naturally on Earth, on other planets, in Oort cloud objects, and as interstellar ice. As a naturally oc ...
(continental), as well as by marine
sedimentation Sedimentation is the deposition of sediments. It takes place when particles in suspension settle out of the fluid in which they are entrained and come to rest against a barrier. This is due to their motion through the fluid in response to th ...
. He also independently arrived at the theory of
stoping Stoping is the process of extracting the desired ore or other mineral from an underground mine, leaving behind an open space known as a stope. Stoping is used when the country rock is sufficiently strong not to collapse into the stope, althou ...
as a mechanism for
igneous Igneous rock ( ), or magmatic rock, is one of the three main rock types, the others being sedimentary and metamorphic. Igneous rocks are formed through the cooling and solidification of magma or lava. The magma can be derived from partial ...
intrusion In geology, an igneous intrusion (or intrusive body or simply intrusion) is a body of intrusive igneous rock that forms by crystallization of magma slowly cooling below the surface of the Earth. Intrusions have a wide variety of forms and com ...
. He was elected a Fellow of the
American Academy of Arts and Sciences The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (The Academy) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, and other ...
in 1915.


Life and career

The Barrell family originated from a family that migrated from Suffolk in Britain to Boston in 1637. Joseph was born at New Providence on December 15, 1869. His father Henry Ferdinand and his mother Elizabeth née Wisner, of Swiss descent, had owned a farm in Warwick, Orange County, New York before moving to a new farm in New Jersey. Henry Ferdinand was a trustee at the local public library and for the public school and Joseph, the fifth of nine children, grew up in a home surrounded by books. He took a great deal of interest in natural history and astronomy. Joseph went to the local public school until the age of sixteen. he then earned some money teaching at school and later joined Stevens Preparatory School at Hoboken before moving to
Lehigh University Lehigh University (LU), in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, United States, is a private university, private research university. The university was established in 1865 by businessman Asa Packer. Lehigh University's undergraduate programs have been mixed ...
in 1888. He graduated there and continued studies leading to an MS in 1897. He joined work in the University as an instructor in mining and metallurgy. Barrell taught Geology at Lehigh for three years. He spent a summer in Europe with Herbert E. Gregory and Charles Hyde Warren, travelling on foot, bicycle and third-class trains so as to be able to observe the land and geology with little interest in cities. He married Lena Hopper Bailey in 1902, and in 1903 he was invited by
Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...
to develop a course in
structural geology Structural geology is the study of the three-dimensional distribution of rock units with respect to their deformational histories. The primary goal of structural geology is to use measurements of present-day rock geometries to uncover informati ...
. Most of Barrell's key contributions to geology were possible during his time at Yale.


Contributions to geology

Some of Barrell's early work was in applied geology, dealing with the problems of measuring and estimating coal yields in the Lehigh Valley Coal Company (1894). He also worked with the United States Geological Survey to study the Elkhorn Mining District of Montana (1899). Some of the work done here became part of his doctoral dissertation. In 1900 he again worked with the USGS and produced a study ''"Geology of the Marysville Mining District, Montana: a Study of Igneous Intrusions and Contact Metamorphism."'' The study of rock metamorphism became a major interest and in 1914 he wrote about the ''"Relations of Subjacent Igneous Invasions to Regional Metamorphism."'' Another major advance he made was in the production of marine sediments and his ideas on how to determine ancient shore lines. Another area that he took an interest in was in the origin of the earth. He examined the theories of Chamberlin–Moulton planetesimal hypothesis and questioned the idea that
planetesimal Planetesimals () are solid objects thought to exist in protoplanetary disks and debris disks. Believed to have formed in the Solar System about 4.6 billion years ago, they aid study of its formation. Formation A widely accepted theory of pla ...
s grew by very gradual accretion of dust. Barrell suggested that most of the finer sediment on the surface of the earth or under the ocean had been produced by weathering. Barrell's approach to scientific questions was to collect all evidence, generate multiple hypotheses and argue through all hypotheses to look for consistency or the lack of it in explaining other observations. An example of his original thinking was in his examination of the evolution of air-breathing in fishes in the light of evidence for climatic and environmental changes.


References


External links


Geology of the Marysville mining district, Montana (1907)Central Connecticut in the geologic past (1915)The strength of the earths crust (1914-15)The evolution of the earth and its inhabitants; a series delivered before the Yale chapter of the Sigma Xi during the academic year 1916-1917 (1918)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Barrell, Joseph 1869 births 1919 deaths American geologists Fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences