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GroveKarlGilbertWikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia

GroveKarlGilbert
FromWikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia

GroveKarlGilbert(May6,1843May1,1918),
knownbytheabbreviatednameG.K.Gilbertin
academicliterature,wasanAmericangeologist.

GroveKarlGilbert

Contents
1Biography
1.1Rockiesgeologist
1.2MeteorCrater
2Geomorphology
3Awards
4Publications
5Seealso
6References
7SecondarySources
8Externallinks

Biography
GilbertwasborninRochester,NewYorkand
graduatedfromtheUniversityofRochester.In1871,
hejoinedGeorgeM.Wheeler'sgeographicalsurvey
asitsfirstgeologist.

Rockiesgeologist

GroveKarlGilbert
Born

May6,1843
Rochester,NewYork

Died

May1,1918(aged74)
Jackson,Michigan

Nationality

American

Fields

Geology

Almamater

UniversityofRochester

Knownfor

Gilbertdelta
Craterstudies
Epeirogenicmovement
GeologyoftheRockyMountains

Notableawards WollastonMedal (1900)

CharlesP.DalyMedal (1910)

HethenjoinedthePowellSurveyoftheRockyMountainRegion
in1874,becomingPowell'sprimaryassistant,andstayedwith
thesurveyuntil1879.[1]Duringthistimehepublishedan
importantmonograph,TheGeologyoftheHenryMountains
(1877).AfterthecreationoftheU.S.GeologicalSurveyin1879,
hewasappointedtothepositionofSeniorGeologistandworked
fortheUSGSuntilhisdeath(includingatermasactingdirector).
GilbertpublishedastudyoftheformerancientLakeBonneville
Headwarderosionofagullyphoto
in1890(thelakeexistedduringthePleistocene),ofwhichthe
byG.K.Gilbert
GreatSaltLakeisaremnant.Henamedthatlakeafterthearmy
captainBenjaminL.E.deBonneville,whohadexploredthis
regionpreviously.ThetypeofriverdeltathatGilbertdescribedatthislocationhassincebecomeknown
togeomorphologistsasaGilbertdelta.[2]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grove_Karl_Gilbert

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MeteorCrater
In1891,GilbertexaminedthepossibleoriginsforacraterinArizona,nowknownasMeteorCraterbut
thenreferredtoasCoonButte.Foranumberofreasons,andagainsthisintuition,heconcludeditwas
theresultofavolcanicsteamexplosionratherthananimpactofameteorite.Gilbertbasedhis
conclusionsonabeliefthatforanimpactcrater,thevolumeofthecraterincludingthemeteoriteshould
bemorethantheejectedmaterialontherimandalsoabeliefthatifitwasameteoritethenironshould
createmagneticanomalies.Gilbert'scalculationsshowedthatthevolumeofthecraterandthedebrison
therimwereroughlyequal.Furthertherewerenomagneticanomalies.Gilbertarguedthatthemeteorite
fragmentsfoundontherimwerejust"coincidence."Gilbertwouldpublicizetheseconclusionsina
seriesoflecturesin1895.[3]Subsequentinvestigationswouldrevealthatitwasinfactameteorcrater,
butthatinterpretationwasnotwellestablisheduntilthemid20thcentury.Aspartofhisinterestincrater
origins,Gilbertalsostudiedthemoon'scratersandconcludedtheywerecausedbyimpacteventsrather
thanvolcanoes,althoughhewonderedwhythecraterswereroundandnotovalasexpectedforan
obliqueimpact.Theinterpretationoflunarcratersasofimpactoriginwasalsodebateduntilthemid
20thcentury.[4][5]

Geomorphology
HejoinedtheHarrimanAlaskaExpeditionin1899.Twoweeks
afterthe1906SanFranciscoearthquake,Gilberttookaseriesof
photographsdocumentingthedamagealongtheSanAndreas
faultfromInvernesstoBolinas.
Gilbertisconsideredoneofthegiantsofthesubdisciplineof
geomorphology,havingcontributedtotheunderstandingof
landscapeevolution,erosion,riverincisionandsedimentation.
Gilbertwasaplanetarysciencepioneer,correctlyidentifying
lunarcratersascausedbyimpacts,andcarryingoutearlyimpact
crateringexperiments.[6]Gilbertwasoneofthemoreinfluential
earlyAmericangeologists.

Derailedtrainafterthe1906San
FranciscoearthquakephotobyG.K.
Gilbert

Awards
HewontheWollastonMedalin1900fromtheGeologicalSocietyofLondon.Hewasawardedthe
CharlesP.DalyMedalbytheAmericanGeographicalSocietyin1910.[7]Gilbertwaswellesteemedby
allAmericangeologistsduringhislifetime,andheistheonlygeologisttoeverbeelectedtwiceas
PresidentoftheGeologicalSocietyofAmerica(1892and1909).BecauseofGilbert'sprescientinsights
intoplanetarygeology,theGeologicalSocietyofAmericacreatedtheG.K.GilbertAwardforplanetary
geologyin1983.Gilbert'swiderangingscientificideasweresoprofoundthattheGeologicalSocietyof
AmericapublishedGSASpecialPaper183onhisresearch(Yochelson,E.L.,editor,1980,The
ScientificIdeasofG.K.Gilbert,fourteenseparatebiographicalchapters,148pages).
CratersontheMoonandonMarsarenamedinhishonor.AnothercrateronMarswasnamedafterthe
ancientLakeBonneville.

Publications
"ReportonthegeologyoftheHenrymountains
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grove_Karl_Gilbert

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