- In full:
- Norman Levi Bowen
- Born:
- June 21, 1887, Kingston, Ont., Can.
- Died:
- Sept. 11, 1956, Washington, D.C. (aged 69)
- Subjects Of Study:
- igneous rock
- phase equilibrium
- silicate mineral
Norman L. Bowen
-
Who was Norman L. Bowen?
Norman L. Bowen (1887â1956) was a Canadian geologist and a pioneer in experimental petrology, recognized for his studies of silicate systems related to the origin of igneous rocks. By 1915, his experimental studies significantly contributed to petrology, establishing him as an international figure with his review, The Later Stages of the Evolution of the Igneous Rocks.
Bowen's research applied physicochemical data to field petrological problems, studying igneous rock localities such as the Bushveld of South Africa and the alkalic lavas of East Africa. His lectures at Princeton University in 1927 were published as The Evolution of the Igneous Rocks (1928), which greatly influenced petrologic thought. Bowen arranged reactions in a series, now called Bowenâs reaction series.
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What is a petrologist?
A petrologist studies rocks, focusing on their composition, texture, structure, occurrence, and origins, considering how they relate to geological processes and physical-chemical conditions. Petrology relies on mineralogy, as most rocks are composed of minerals formed under similar conditions.
Norman L. Bowen (1887â1956) was a Canadian geologist and a pioneer in experimental petrology, recognized for his studies of silicate systems related to the origin of igneous rocks. His experimental studies significantly contributed to petrology, establishing his international reputation early in his career.
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What important discovery did Norman L. Bowen make in geology?
Norman L. Bowen, a Canadian geologist, significantly contributed to experimental petrology through his phase-equilibrium studies of silicate systems related to the origin of igneous rocks.
His experimental studies, around 1915, were crucial to petrology. Bowen is recognized for Bowen's reaction series, which explains how minerals crystallize from magma as it cools. The series describes two main reaction types during magma crystallization: discontinuous and continuous reactions. This arrangement, known as Bowen's reaction series, has greatly influenced petrologic thought.
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What is Bowen's Reaction Series?
Norman L. Bowen was a Canadian petrologist and pioneer in experimental petrology. The Bowen's reaction series, named in his honor, illustrates reactions during magma crystallization. It has a discontinuous series on the left, where olivine transforms into pyroxene, amphibole, and biotite as temperature decreases, and a continuous series on the right, where plagioclase reacts with liquid to form a more albitic phase as temperature decreases.
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How did Bowen's experiments help scientists understand how rocks form?
Norman L. Bowen's experiments with silicate systems significantly advanced the understanding of how igneous rocks form. His phase-equilibrium studies and the development of Bowen's reaction series demonstrated the order in which minerals crystallize from cooling magma. This series explains both discontinuous and continuous reactions during magma crystallization, showing how early-formed minerals react with the remaining liquid to form different rock types such as basalt, andesite, and rhyolite. His work bridged experimental data with field observations, influencing petrologic thought and the study of igneous rock origins.
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Why is Norman L. Bowen considered important in the field of geology today?
Norman L. Bowen is considered an important figure in geology for his pioneering work in experimental petrology, specifically his study of the origin and chemical composition of rocks. His phase-equilibrium studies of silicate systems significantly contributed to understanding the origins of igneous rocks. Bowen's work led to the development of Bowen's reaction series, which illustrates the order in which minerals crystallize from magma as it cools. His research and publications have had a profound influence on petrologic thought and continue to be highly regarded in the field.
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Norman L. Bowen (born June 21, 1887, Kingston, Ont., Can.âdied Sept. 11, 1956, Washington, D.C.) was a Canadian geologist who was one of the most important pioneers in the field of experimental petrology (i.e., the experimental study of the origin and chemical composition of rocks). He was widely recognized for his phase-equilibrium studies of silicate systems as they relate to the origin of igneous rocks.
Bowen studied chemistry, mineralogy, and geology at Queenâs University, Kingston, Ont., earning two degrees there by 1909. He obtained his Ph.D. at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1912. That year he joined the Geophysical Laboratory of the Carnegie Institution of Washington, D.C., as an assistant petrologist. He was to spend much of his career there. By 1915 Bowen had executed a group of experimental studies that proved to be critically important to petrology and formed the basis of his critical review The Later Stages of the Evolution of the Igneous Rocks (1915), a paper of such outstanding merit that it established Bowenâs position at the age of 28 as an international figure in petrology.
Bowen resigned from the Geophysical Laboratory to return briefly to Queenâs University as professor of mineralogy (1919), but after two years he returned again to the laboratory in Washington. There he remained for 16 years, broadening his attack on silicate systems. His researches carried great weight when he applied his experimental physicochemical data to field petrological problems. To this end he diligently visited classical localities relating to problems of igneous rocks: the Bushveld of South Africa, the alkalic lavas of East Africa, and the peridotites of Skye and the Fen area of Norway.
In the spring of 1927, Bowen delivered a course of lectures to advanced students in geology at Princeton University, the substance of which was published in 1928 as The Evolution of the Igneous Rocks. In this vigorous presentation, Bowen provided a survey and a synthesis that have exerted a profound influence on petrologic thought. Later Bowen collaborated extensively with J.F. Schairer, a young and able experimenter who had joined the laboratory from Yale University. Together they worked on silicate systems containing iron oxide, beginning with ferric oxide and later ferrous oxide.
Bowen made a second and more extended break from the Geophysical Laboratory when he taught at the University of Chicago from 1937 to 1947. He rapidly developed a school of experimental petrology there and produced a succession of papers by his pupils that dealt with equilibrium studies of alkali systems. Bowen himself presented a synthesis of these results in their bearing on the origin and differentiation of alkaline rocks (1945).
After World War II, Bowen was induced to return once more to the Geophysical Laboratory in 1947 to cooperate in research on mineral systems embracing volatiles, particularly water. This work culminated in studies (published in 1958), with O.F. Tuttle as a collaborator, on the granite system.
Bowenâs association with the Geophysical Laboratory extended, in all, more than 35 years, and his long and splendid record was recognized by the award of honours from learned societies in the United States and Europe. He retired in 1952 but was still active and had an office in the Geophysical Laboratory as research associate until his death.
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