Embedded Files
Douglas Wilson Johnson
Douglas Wilson Johnson
Douglas Wilson Johnson (1878-1944) was a professor of geography and geology at Columbia University and he made significant contributions to the field of geomorphology. However, he was not drawn to geology until he was in college. He was studying for a public or literary career when he was invited to become a field assistant in New Mexico for a professor. His experience in the field influenced him greatly, and because of this he changed his career path to geology.
The beginning of Johnson's geology career was heavily influenced by William Morris Davis's "Physical Geography", which had been released several years prior. Eventually, Johnson went to do his own work, which focused on coastal processes and landforms. He traveled down the Atlantic coast and made observations on marine terraces. His other work included the development of steam systems, which lead him to write "Stream Sculpture on the Atlantic Slope", which challenged Davis's ideals. Arguably, his most important contribution to geomorphology was the development of rock (or alluvial) fans, specifically in arid regions. Additionally, throughout his life, he became more and more invested with scientific reasoning and the principles behind it, which helped strengthen his work.
His work interested me because I would like to know more about both coastal processes and streams, which were some of his main focuses. Looking through some of his papers, I noticed that a lot of his work involved glaciers as well, so I chose to read one of them. I also found it interesting that Johnson was on a completely different career path and had only switched to geology because he was invited to do field work.
Alluvial Fan in the southwestern US. Johnson enjoyed studying alluvial fans in arid climates. https://pages.uoregon.edu/millerm/fan.html
I read two of Johnson's papers: "The Southernmost Glaciation in the United States" and "Is the Atlantic Coast Sinking?". Given that they were written in the early 1900s before more significant contributions were made in the geology field, the papers were off to a good start.
Johnson's Southernmost Glaciation paper discussed his observations of glacial evidence as far south as New Mexico and Arizona. Previously, the Sierra Nevadas were thought to have been the southernmost area where glaciation occurred, but Johnson described features that he believed to be cirques or moraines. Given the high elevation of these areas, he was somewhat confident that glaciers could have been present. However, it was also likely that the landforms he saw had resulted from landslides or rock streams instead.
The next paper, "Is the Atlantic Coast Sinking?", more accurately represented his specific area of study. He was influenced by the ideas of Professor George H. Cook, who had suggested land subsidence on the east coast of the United States. One of Cook's reasons was the gradual transformation of farmland to salt marsh in certain areas. Johnson mentions several other studies that took place in France, Halifax, and New Jersey. The elevations above sea level were measured in each location, but the changes were far smaller than the room for probable errors. The scientists have different opinions; some arguing that the land is sinking but most were saying there had been no recent subsidence. Johnson did not clearly portray his personal viewpoint, but it was likely that he did not agree that the Atlantic Coast was sinking.
Sources
Bucher, Walter H. Biographical Memoir, Douglas Wilson Johnson 1878-1944. Presented to the Academy at the Annual Meeting, 1946. http://www.nasonline.org/publications/biographical-memoirs/memoir-pdfs/johnson-douglas-w.pdf Accessed 09-09-20.
The Southernmost Glaciation in the United States, D. W. Johnson, Science, New Series, Vol. 31, No. 789 (Feb. 11, 1910), pp. 218-220, American Association for the Advancement of Science, https://www.jstor.org/stable/1635511, Accessed 09-09-2020 16:44 UTC
Sea-Level Surfaces and the Problem of Coastal Subsidence, Douglas Johnson and Elizabeth Winter, Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society, Vol. 66, The Record of theCelebration of the Two Hundredth Anniversary of the Founding of the AmericanPhilosophical Society (1927), pp. 465-496, American Philosophical Society, https://www.jstor.org/stable/3301079, Accessed 09-09-2020 16:56 UTC
Page updated
Google Sites
Report abuse