Episode summary introduction:
“How old is the Earth?” Generations of scholars have asked this fundamental question, and estimates ranged from a few thousand years to indefinite time spans. Geologic and biologic observations from the 18th and 19th centuries (like Darwin’s theory of evolution and Hutton’s concept of deep time) suggested that Earth was old – but how old is old? The turn of the 19th century witnessed a heated scientific debate about the age of the Earth. The advent of radiometric dating and the pioneering work of Arthur Holmes finally settled this intellectual drama by providing a tool to pin dates to geology, just as is the case for history. In this episode, geology researchers Bryant Ware and Janne Liebmann talk about Arthur Holmes’ work that was a quantum leap towards determining the age of the Earth.
Resources mentioned in this episode:
If you enjoyed listening to this episode on gauging the age of the Earth and Arthur Holmes’s role in it and are curios to learn more, we recommend the book by Cherry Lewis “The Dating Game: One Man’s Search for the Age of the Earth”. This book heavily influenced the writing of this episode.
Host Information:
Dr. Bryant Ware is a geology researcher (an isotope geochemist, and geochronologist for those who want to know exactly) at Curtin University in Western Australia. He knows all about the nitty gritty details of the geochemical analysis of rocks to produce the data that help us to understand the processes that shape our planet. Despite spending an excessive amount of time in the clean lab, he loves the outdoors and spending time in the field. As a member of the Traveling Geologist Team, and the Geology Podcast Network he enjoys to share his excitement about geology with others.
Janne Liebmann recently completed her PhD in geology at Curtin University in Western Australia. Her research aims to create a more accurate picture of the ancient Earth (2-3 billion years ago), and the processes that primed our planet for the development of complex life. She is fascinated by the multiple-billion year long history of the universe and our planet, dwarfing humans to just ‘a recent blip in the cosmos’. As a member of the Traveling Geologist Team, and the Geology Podcast Network she enjoys to share her excitement about geology with others.
Episode summary introduction:
“How old is the Earth?” Generations of scholars have asked this fundamental question, and estimates ranged from a few thousand years to indefinite time spans. Geologic and biologic observations from the 18th and 19th century (like Darwin’s theory of evolution and Hutton’s concept of deep time) suggested that Earth was old – but how old is old? The turn of the 19th century witnessed a heated scientific debate about the age of the Earth. The advent of radiometric dating, and the pioneer work of Arthur Holmes finally settled this intellectual drama by providing a tool to pin dates to geology, just as is the case for history. In this episode geology researchers Bryant Ware and Janne Liebmann talk about Arthur Holmes’ work that was a quantum leap towards determining the age of the Earth.
Resources mentioned in this episode:
If you enjoyed listening to this episode on gauging the age of the Earth and Arthur Holmes role in it and are curios to learn more, we recommend the book by Cherry Lewis “The Dating Game: One Man’s Search for the Age of the Earth”. This book heavily influenced the writing of this episode.
Host Information:
Dr. Bryant Ware is a geology researcher (an isotope geochemist, and geochronologist for those who want to know exactly) at Curtin University in Western Australia. He knows all about the nitty gritty details of the geochemical analysis of rocks to produce the data that help us to understand the processes that shape our planet. Despite spending an excessive amount of time in the clean lab, he loves the outdoors and spending time in the field. As a member of the Traveling Geologist Team, and the Geology Podcast Network he enjoys to share his excitement about geology with others.
Janne Liebmann recently completed her PhD in geology at Curtin University in Western Australia. Her research aims to create a more accurate picture of the ancient Earth (2-3 billion years ago), and the processes that primed our planet for the development of complex life. She is fascinated by the multiple-billion year long history of the universe and our planet, dwarfing humans to just ‘a recent blip in the cosmos’. As a member of the Traveling Geologist Team, and the Geology Podcast Network she enjoys to share her excitement about geology with others.
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