Geology can seem dull to outsiders, but to people who know about it, it is a source of wonder. Robert Hazen used color, Jan Zalasiewicz used a pebble, and Richard Fortey used a pebble.
The way a video game might use gems to unlocked a new level is how Bjornerud uses words to uncover the mysteries of geology. Her new book is a buffet of bite-size chapters perfect for dipping in and out of. It is written for enjoyment rather than as a fact-reference because it is structured like an encyclopedia to the extent that its topics are arranged alphabetically.
Bjornerud keeps the reading light even when serving up expanses of time and space, and she follows each geological entry with a chaser of pointers to other entries that may be related. For example, she suggests Kimberlite and Pedogenesis after Amethyst.
Each chapter has its own menu. I learned that ancient Greeks believed in the benefits of Amethyst crystals. Bjornerud jumps to the definition of a mineral, limestone locking away atmospheric CO 2 and atomic impurities giving color to crystals, like a geological Mario jumping between platforms in a video game.
Theully Monster is a real creature from 310 million years ago, and it's currently being debated over where it fits in.
Bjornerud has gone out of her way to include the odd, like salt glaciers and mud volcanoes, in the topics. I thought a Yazoo was a 1980s synth-pop group, until she discovered words obscure to geologists.
AdvertisementBjornerud skillfully feeds the reader nibbles of geology's meatier concepts like deep time, plate tectonics, and the co-evolution of life and our planet. Failure is likened to a run in hosiery or a busload of passengers are forced to disembark, these are everyday analogies that lighten subjects that could become technical.
She has a human connection. A rare woman in that field was able to identify Earth's inner core thanks to a large earthquake in New Zealand. Bjornerud observes that while there is no clear evidence magnetic field reversals cause extinctions, one today would be devastating for humans. She describes a 1929 earthquake off shore of Newfoundland that triggered an immense submarine landslide and resulted in a tsunami that killed 28 people. We were tipped off to this unseen hazard by the severed undersea communication cables.
I didn't expect to see mass executions in World War II or the Norse myth of Y. Bjornerud portrays Earth's most ancient rocks as a matriarch in her show, "Old Acasta."
Black-and-white drawings by Haley Hagerman complement that quirky tone. On one page, you will find a rendering of a microscope thin-section that is like an abstract composition, and on another page, you will see a polar bear with a sign.
The Bjornerud-Hagerman partnership's book Timefulness: How Thinking Like a Geologist Can Help Save the World was a finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize in Science and Technology. It seems likegeopedia will get similar praise.
It's pocket-size format makes it perfect as a traveling companion, and its short chapters make it a fun alternative to heavier nonfiction. If you're a hard-core rockhound or a geological outsider, you'll get something from this book.
Howard Lee is a science writer who focuses on geology and climate change. He holds two degrees from the University of London. He's likely gardening, hiking, or kayaking near his home in rural Massachusetts.
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