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Giovanni Arduino (geologist)
Encyclopedia
Giovanni Arduino was an Italian
geologist
who is known as the "Father of Italian Geology
".
Arduino was born at Caprino Veronese
, Veneto
. He was a mining
specialist who developed possibly the first classification of geological time, based on study of the geology of northern Italy
. He divided the history of the Earth into four periods: Primitive, Secondary, Tertiary
and Volcanic, or Quaternary
.
The scheme proposed by Arduino in 1759, which was based on much study of rocks of the southern Alps
, grouped the rocks into four series. These were (in addition to the Volcanic or Quaternary) as follows: the Primary series which consisted of schist
s from the core of the mountains; the Secondary which consisted of the hard sedimentary rock
s on the mountain flanks; and the Tertiary which consisted of the less hardened sedimentary rocks of the foothills. Because this arrangement did not always hold true for mountain ranges other than the Alps, the Primary and the Secondary were dropped in the general case. However the term 'Tertiary' has persisted as a synonym for the Cenozoic. The last period of the Cenozoic
era, known as the Pleistocene
period, is sometimes not included in the notion of the Tertiary. The Cenozoic was studied and further determined by, among others, the English geologist (and mentor of Charles Darwin
) Charles Lyell
.
Giovanni Arduino died in Venice
in 1795. Dorsum Arduino
is named after him.
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
geologist
Geologist
A geologist is a scientist who studies the solid and liquid matter that constitutes the Earth as well as the processes and history that has shaped it. Geologists usually engage in studying geology. Geologists, studying more of an applied science than a theoretical one, must approach Geology using...
who is known as the "Father of Italian Geology
Geology
Geology is the science comprising the study of solid Earth, the rocks of which it is composed, and the processes by which it evolves. Geology gives insight into the history of the Earth, as it provides the primary evidence for plate tectonics, the evolutionary history of life, and past climates...
".
Arduino was born at Caprino Veronese
Caprino Veronese
Caprino Veronese is a comune in the Province of Verona in the Italian region Veneto, located about 120 km west of Venice and about 30 km northwest of Verona....
, Veneto
Veneto
Veneto is one of the 20 regions of Italy. Its population is about 5 million, ranking 5th in Italy.Veneto had been for more than a millennium an independent state, the Republic of Venice, until it was eventually annexed by Italy in 1866 after brief Austrian and French rule...
. He was a mining
Mining
Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the earth, from an ore body, vein or seam. The term also includes the removal of soil. Materials recovered by mining include base metals, precious metals, iron, uranium, coal, diamonds, limestone, oil shale, rock...
specialist who developed possibly the first classification of geological time, based on study of the geology of northern Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
. He divided the history of the Earth into four periods: Primitive, Secondary, Tertiary
Tertiary
The Tertiary is a deprecated term for a geologic period 65 million to 2.6 million years ago. The Tertiary covered the time span between the superseded Secondary period and the Quaternary...
and Volcanic, or Quaternary
Quaternary
The Quaternary Period is the most recent of the three periods of the Cenozoic Era in the geologic time scale of the ICS. It follows the Neogene Period, spanning 2.588 ± 0.005 million years ago to the present...
.
The scheme proposed by Arduino in 1759, which was based on much study of rocks of the southern Alps
Alps
The Alps is one of the great mountain range systems of Europe, stretching from Austria and Slovenia in the east through Italy, Switzerland, Liechtenstein and Germany to France in the west....
, grouped the rocks into four series. These were (in addition to the Volcanic or Quaternary) as follows: the Primary series which consisted of schist
Schist
The schists constitute a group of medium-grade metamorphic rocks, chiefly notable for the preponderance of lamellar minerals such as micas, chlorite, talc, hornblende, graphite, and others. Quartz often occurs in drawn-out grains to such an extent that a particular form called quartz schist is...
s from the core of the mountains; the Secondary which consisted of the hard sedimentary rock
Sedimentary rock
Sedimentary rock are types of rock that are formed by the deposition of material at the Earth's surface and within bodies of water. Sedimentation is the collective name for processes that cause mineral and/or organic particles to settle and accumulate or minerals to precipitate from a solution....
s on the mountain flanks; and the Tertiary which consisted of the less hardened sedimentary rocks of the foothills. Because this arrangement did not always hold true for mountain ranges other than the Alps, the Primary and the Secondary were dropped in the general case. However the term 'Tertiary' has persisted as a synonym for the Cenozoic. The last period of the Cenozoic
Cenozoic
The Cenozoic era is the current and most recent of the three Phanerozoic geological eras and covers the period from 65.5 mya to the present. The era began in the wake of the Cretaceous–Tertiary extinction event at the end of the Cretaceous that saw the demise of the last non-avian dinosaurs and...
era, known as the Pleistocene
Pleistocene
The Pleistocene is the epoch from 2,588,000 to 11,700 years BP that spans the world's recent period of repeated glaciations. The name pleistocene is derived from the Greek and ....
period, is sometimes not included in the notion of the Tertiary. The Cenozoic was studied and further determined by, among others, the English geologist (and mentor of Charles Darwin
Charles Darwin
Charles Robert Darwin FRS was an English naturalist. He established that all species of life have descended over time from common ancestry, and proposed the scientific theory that this branching pattern of evolution resulted from a process that he called natural selection.He published his theory...
) Charles Lyell
Charles Lyell
Sir Charles Lyell, 1st Baronet, Kt FRS was a British lawyer and the foremost geologist of his day. He is best known as the author of Principles of Geology, which popularised James Hutton's concepts of uniformitarianism – the idea that the earth was shaped by slow-moving forces still in operation...
.
Giovanni Arduino died in Venice
Venice
Venice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...
in 1795. Dorsum Arduino
Dorsum Arduino
Dorsum Arduino is a wrinkle ridge at in the border region between Oceanus Procellarum and Mare Imbrium on the Moon. It is 107 km long and was named after Giovanni Arduino in 1976....
is named after him.