40 years since BM26; time for a look back, and a brief re-assessment. The 'Benchmark Papers' was a concept that came to prominence in the early 1970s, when the publishing house of Dowden, Hutchinson & Ross of Stroudsburg, Pa. organised a series of hard-bound books containing classic literature. The editor for the geology series was Rhodes W.Fairbridge and he wrote:
"The philosophy behind the 'Benchmark Papers in Geology' is one of collection, sifting, and rediffusion. Scientific literature today is so vast, so dispersed, and, in the case of old papers, so inaccessible for readers not in the immediate neighbourhood of major libraries that much valuable information has been ignored by default. It has become just so difficult, or so time consuming, to search out the key papers in any basic area of research that one can hardly blame a busy person for skimping on the 'homework'.'"
A lot has changed since Rhodes wrote those words; now we have internet access to books that were for many years very difficult to reach- but the basic BM philosophy probably still applies. Loess entered the BM Geology series at 26; Julius Fink of the INQUA Loess Commission wanted the loess BM to focus on lithology & genesis rather than on stratigraphy & chronology because he felt that there was too much controversy in the stratigraphic world; lithology & genesis was more settled and straightforward.
Loess Lithology & Genesis: Benchmark Papers in Geology 26: edited by Ian J.Smalley. Dowden Hutchinson & Ross, Stroudsburg Pa. 430p. ISBN 0470799013
see review by George Kukla in Quaternary Research 9(1), 135-136, 1978.
50 papers; still relevant. The very earliest section would benefit from some re-arrangement. Its not bad, the Lyell 1834 paper was well chosen but it would be nice to have Von Leonhard (1824) and Bronn (1830) as the very first appearance of loess. The key Von Leonhard and Bronn writings are now available in Loess Letter 67 (at www.loessletter.msu.edu). An English translation of the key Von Leonhard section was provided by Hibbert (1832; also in LL67). Now that things have settled down a bit perhaps we should have a collection dedicated to Stratigraphy & Chronology, and perhaps one for Geotechnology.
"The philosophy behind the 'Benchmark Papers in Geology' is one of collection, sifting, and rediffusion. Scientific literature today is so vast, so dispersed, and, in the case of old papers, so inaccessible for readers not in the immediate neighbourhood of major libraries that much valuable information has been ignored by default. It has become just so difficult, or so time consuming, to search out the key papers in any basic area of research that one can hardly blame a busy person for skimping on the 'homework'.'"
A lot has changed since Rhodes wrote those words; now we have internet access to books that were for many years very difficult to reach- but the basic BM philosophy probably still applies. Loess entered the BM Geology series at 26; Julius Fink of the INQUA Loess Commission wanted the loess BM to focus on lithology & genesis rather than on stratigraphy & chronology because he felt that there was too much controversy in the stratigraphic world; lithology & genesis was more settled and straightforward.
Loess Lithology & Genesis: Benchmark Papers in Geology 26: edited by Ian J.Smalley. Dowden Hutchinson & Ross, Stroudsburg Pa. 430p. ISBN 0470799013
see review by George Kukla in Quaternary Research 9(1), 135-136, 1978.
50 papers; still relevant. The very earliest section would benefit from some re-arrangement. Its not bad, the Lyell 1834 paper was well chosen but it would be nice to have Von Leonhard (1824) and Bronn (1830) as the very first appearance of loess. The key Von Leonhard and Bronn writings are now available in Loess Letter 67 (at www.loessletter.msu.edu). An English translation of the key Von Leonhard section was provided by Hibbert (1832; also in LL67). Now that things have settled down a bit perhaps we should have a collection dedicated to Stratigraphy & Chronology, and perhaps one for Geotechnology.
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