Best Stratigraphy

Nicolas Steno was a pioneering 17th-century Danish geologist whose work significantly advanced our understanding of Earth’s history. He developed key concepts in stratigraphy—the study of layered rock formations—crystallography and paleontology. His observations regarding the orientation of sediment...

Raymond Cecil Moore was an American geologist and paleontologist who lived from 1892 to 1974. He is best known for founding and editing the extensive reference work, the Treatise on Invertebrate Paleontology, in 1948. Throughout his career at the University of Kansas, he made significant contributio...

Paul E. Olsen is an American paleontologist and geologist who currently serves as a professor at Columbia University. He is noted for his extensive research on the Newark Supergroup, utilizing fossils and lake sediments to reconstruct Late Triassic and Early Jurassic ecosystems. His work heavily foc...

William Smith was a prominent 18th and 19th-century English cartographer whose meticulous work revolutionized geological understanding. He developed innovative methods for correlating rock strata through mapping, establishing his map of England as the first comprehensive geological survey. This foun...

Giovanni Arduino (1714–1795) was an Italian geologist and mining engineer who made early contributions to stratigraphy. In 1759, he proposed one of the first classifications of the Earth's rock layers based on his observations of terrain in northern Italy. He divided geological formations into four...

Christian Leopold von Buch (1774–1853) was a German geologist who helped establish geology as a formal scientific discipline. He studied under Abraham Gottlob Werner and conducted extensive fieldwork across Europe, making early observations of volcanic islands and mountain formations. Von Buch is kn...

Andrew Crombie Ramsay was a 19th-century Scottish geologist who served as director of the Geological Survey of Great Britain from 1871 to 1881. He contributed to stratigraphy and glacial geology, including studies of how glaciation shaped the landscapes of Wales and Scotland. Ramsay also held academ...

William Daniel Conybeare was a 19th-century British geologist, paleontologist, and clergyman recognized for his foundational contributions to stratigraphy. In 1822, he co-authored "Outlines of the Geology of England and Wales" with William Phillips, a highly influential text in the field. He is also...

Alva C. Ellisor was an American micropaleontologist who led Humble Oil's first paleontology laboratory and co-authored a landmark 1925 study.

James Geikie (1839–1915) was a prominent Scottish geologist who made major contributions to the study of glacial geology and stratigraphy. The younger brother of fellow geologist Archibald Geikie, he succeeded him as the Murchison Professor of Geology at the University of Edinburgh. He is best known...

Irish geologist Joseph Beete Jukes directed the Geological Survey of Newfoundland in 1839 and later conducted influential fieldwork and surveys of Australia's geology during the 1840s.

Roderick Murchison was a Scottish geologist renowned for his pioneering work in stratigraphy. His detailed surveys of Scotland, particularly concerning Silurian rock formations, led to the formal definition and naming of the Silurian geological period during the 1830s. This established a crucial ben...

Paul Wignall is a British paleontologist and geologist at the University of Leeds. He is best known for linking marine anoxia and carbon cycle disruptions to major Phanerozoic mass extinction events, particularly the Permian-Triassic extinction. His research utilizes field stratigraphy and geochemic...

Adam Sedgwick was an English geologist, Anglican priest, and long-serving professor of geology at the University of Cambridge. He established the Cambrian geological system in 1835 from his study of older rock sequences in Wales, while Roderick Murchison defined the neighboring Silurian system; disa...

Chester Longwell was an American geologist at Yale University recognized for his extensive research on the structural geology of the American West, including the Basin and Range province.

Ferdinand Vandiveer Hayden was an American geologist who led the United States Geological and Geographical Survey of the Territories during the late 19th century. His 1871 survey expedition to the Yellowstone region included photographers and painters, providing the first comprehensive scientific do...

John Strong Newberry was a 19th-century American geologist noted for his pioneering surveys of the Colorado River region and significant contributions to paleobotany.

Fielding Bradford Meek was an American paleontologist and geologist who classified numerous invertebrate fossils for the Smithsonian Institution during the 19th century.

Jean-Baptiste Julien d'Omalius d'Halloy was a prominent Belgian geologist born in 1783. He is widely recognized for formally proposing the Cretaceous period in 1822, a classification derived from his extensive stratigraphic study of chalk deposits in the Paris Basin and northwestern Europe. Througho...

Richard Twitchett is a British paleontologist and geologist who conducts research at the Natural History Museum, London. He is known for his extensive studies on the end-Permian mass extinction, focusing on the biological recovery intervals and the environmental changes that facilitated the crisis....

Jan Zalasiewicz is a British geologist, palaeontologist, and professor at the University of Leicester. He is best known for his leadership in modern stratigraphy as the former chair of the Anthropocene Working Group (AWG). In this role, he has been a primary scientific advocate for evaluating and fo...

Hollis Dow Hedberg was an American petroleum geologist and stratigrapher whose career included extensive work in Venezuela and leadership roles in the international geoscience community. He helped establish rigorous procedures for defining, naming, and correlating rock units, influencing the develop...

Henry De la Beche was a British geologist, paleontologist, and scientific administrator who founded the Geological Survey of Great Britain in 1835 and became its first director. He promoted systematic geological mapping as a practical public service supporting mining, agriculture, engineering, and s...

Wolfgang Stinnesbeck is a German paleontologist known for research on the Cretaceous-Paleogene boundary and Late Cretaceous fossils in Mexico.

Charles Lapworth was an English geologist who resolved the contentious Ordovician-Silurian boundary dispute in 1879 by defining the new Ordovician geological period. He achieved this by using graptolite fossils to establish detailed biostratigraphic zones in the Southern Uplands of Scotland. Lapwort...

John Phillips was a British geologist and paleontologist who created the first global geological timescale in 1841. Based on fossil records, he formally defined the Mesozoic and Cenozoic eras, names that are still used in modern geology. Throughout his career, he held prominent academic positions, i...

Amadeus William Grabau was an American geologist and paleontologist who became a foundational figure in the development of modern geology in China. Often referred to as the "father of Chinese geology," he conducted extensive stratigraphic research and classification of Paleozoic formations in the co...

Robert H. Dott was an influential American sedimentologist who advanced the understanding of turbidites and significantly contributed to the historical study of the earth sciences.

Joseph Barrell was an American geologist whose research addressed sedimentation, erosion, crustal structure, and the interpretation of geological time. In 1914 he developed a model distinguishing a strong outer lithosphere from a weaker underlying asthenosphere, terminology that became important to...