Recalling the 'father' of geology

A new display opens on Dubliner Robert Mallet, the 'father' of modern geology, in cooperation with The Irish Times

YOU MIGHT expect the “father of seismology” would come from somewhere prone to earthquakes. Yet Robert Mallet was born in Dublin 200 years ago, in 1810. A major exhibition to mark his bi-centenary and celebrate his work opens at the RDS, in Dublin, tomorrow.

Mallet was a scientifically-minded engineer, whose work laid the basis for modern seismology. He performed the first controlled seismic explosions, designed a sensitive seismometer to measure quakes, coined many of the terms we still use – including “seismology” and “epicentre” – and, in the wake of a devastating Italian quake, undertook the first detailed analysis of an earthquake.

That massive quake shook Naples on December 16th, 1857, killing more than 10,000 people. When the news reached Dublin, Mallet realised that the damage could reveal clues about the quake’s nature and cause. With support from Charles Darwin and British geologist Charles Lyell, he raised funding from London’s Royal Society.

Arriving in Italy in January 1858, he spent more than a month analysing the destruction, such as the patterns of where masonry fell, and he employed the relatively new technique of photography to record the scenes.

From the evidence, he calculated the location and depth of the focal point, several miles below the Earth's surface. When he presented his report, entitled The First Principles of Observational Seismology, numerous awards and honours followed.

Mallet’s interest in earthquakes may have begun with explosions to make a railway tunnel at Killiney years before, and by 1846 he had presented early ideas about seismology to the Royal Irish Academy.

But, if you want to study seismology, you need some earthquakes. So, in 1849, with his son John – later a professor of chemistry in Louisiana – Mallet detonated kegs of gunpowder at Killiney and Dalkey, and they measured how fast the energy travelled through the Killiney sand (251.5 metres/second) and the Dalkey rock (355.1 metres/second).

Prospectors still use this principle to reveal the underlying geology in a region, and Mallet's "groundbreaking" experiments were recreated last year for the BBC TV series, Coast.

Robert and his son also compiled the first comprehensive catalogue of earthquakes, starting with biblical accounts, and produced the first atlas of the Earth’s seismically active regions, something that would not be fully understood until the discovery of plate tectonics, how sections of the earth’s crust move and collide, in the 20th century.

For the most part though Robert Mallet was an engineer who built his fathers iron foundry into one of Ireland’s biggest engineering companies. Their Victoria Foundry supplied much of the ironwork for Irelands new railways, as well as lightweight metal bridges in Ireland and London, a barrel-washing plant for Guinness’s brewery, the railings around TCD, and much more.

Robert Mallet is also remembered for designing one of the world’s biggest mortar guns during the Crimean War. Built in sections for transport, it could throw a massive one-tonne shell more than 2km, but came late in the war and was never fired.

In 1861 Mallet moved to London, where he died in 1881. A plaque at Ryders Row, off Dublin’s Capel Street, marks his birthplace. His many achievements posed a challenge for the team curating the new bi-centenary exhibition. Karen Sheeran, RDS science assistant, said they’ve had trouble deciding what to leave out.

The exhibition is supported by the Heritage Council, the Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies and The Irish Times. The exhibition takes place in the RDS library (rds.ie) until September 24th, when it will tour to the Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies and Dublin city libraries. Admission free.

Mary Mulvihill, ingeniousireland.ie