Google doodle marks father of geology's birthday

Today’s ‘Google doodle’ marks what would have been the 374th birthday of Nicolas Steno, known as ‘the father of geology’.

Nicolas Steno's Google Doodle

Steno is famous for his ‘principle of original horizontality’ – the theory that rocks are formed in horizontal layers.  From this, he concluded that unless they have been disturbed, the bottom layers are the oldest.  In his time, this was revolutionary thinking.

Horizontal rock formations, Petra, Jordan.
Picture copyright: Gill Lockett, 2011. Used with permission.

Were he around today, Steno would be dazzled by the range of geological data available online.  At www.findmaps.co.uk you can instantly access geology maps and datasets including Ground Stability, Boreholes, Areas of Potential Underground Mining, Areas of Potential Coal Mining and Areas of Potential Brine Extractions.  In addition, under our new MarineFIND service we now offer undersea geology maps and related datasets.

Find out more about Nicolas Steno:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicolas_Steno
Find out more about modern stratigraphy:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stratigraphy