Identification for acidic volcanoes

Bascom contributed to a special type of identification for acidic volcanoes. Her article, "The Structures, Origin, and Nomenclature of Acidic Volcanic Rocks of South Mountain", begins by identifying various rock structures formed by the volcano. Bascom argues that South Mountain's rock formations have changed over time, with some rocks originally showing signs of being rhyolite, but now holocrystalline rock. These rocks defy the nomenclature used to identify rocks invented by German and English scientists, so she created prefixes to add to these pre-existing names, to identify acidic changes in rocks. The prefixes she came up with are meta-, epi-, and apo-. Bascom presented a second notable new conclusion regarding the cycles of erosion within Pennsylvania; earlier scientific thought was that the Piedmont province of Pennsylvania was made by two to three erosion cycles, while she discovered that there were at least nine cycles. Bascom found this by compiling a stratigraphic record of Atlantic deposit in the province, listing the depth, unconformities, and different grain sizes (like sand, clay, or gravel). The cycles occurred over a large period of time, with six cycles occurring in the post-Cretaceous period and three occurring in the Cretaceous period. This conclusion gave scientists new ideas about erosion cycles regarding their rate of occurrence and how to define a cycle. In 1896, Bascom worked as an assistant for the USGS. Her role in the team was to study crystalline schists in a square degree of area along eastern Pennsylvania and Maryland, as well as a portion of northwest Delaware. For part of her life as a teacher, Bascom simultaneously worked in the geological survey and her work lead to a multitude of comprehensive reports of geologic folios.

None

Category:
Geology - Volcanoes

Completion Status:
yes

Patent Number:
N/A

Co-Inventor:
None