{"id":478,"date":"2020-10-01T18:00:16","date_gmt":"2020-10-01T22:00:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ajeziorski.ca\/podcast\/?p=478"},"modified":"2022-07-27T20:16:54","modified_gmt":"2022-07-28T00:16:54","slug":"20-a-history-of-paleolimnology-part2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ajeziorski.ca\/podcast\/20-a-history-of-paleolimnology-part2\/","title":{"rendered":"20: A History of Paleolimnology (Part 2: There and Back Again)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

“All have their worth and each contributes to the worth of the others” – John Ronald Reuel Tolkien<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The second episode<\/a> of our History of Paleolimnology<\/em> begins at the start of the 20th century (where we ended Part 1<\/a>), after the pioneers of modern biology, physics, chemistry, and geology had developed the tools and concepts that early paleolimnologists would use to study the many environmental indicators preserved in lake sediments. It is interesting how few of those pioneers were professional scientists. Instead they were members of the nobility, clergy, and business communities whose scientific pursuits were largely driven by passion (for example, Leeuwenhoek’s initial interest in lenses was driven by his work as a draper). However, by the late-1800s, this work had been taken up by university professors (performing their fieldwork in three-piece suits).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Fieldwork
Unfortunately, I don’t own any suits appropriate for field sampling…<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

The first true paleolimnologists wouldn\u2019t have described themselves that way. They were geologists, biologists, and ecologists using sediment processes to investigate whether elements of lake history were preserved in lake sediments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n