Geologist Ludo Broothaers will be a giving a talk on ‘The geology of the Algarve’ on December 2 in the Tavira Municipal Library followed by another on the ‘Early geological theories of how the Earth’s landscapes were formed’ on December 10 in the Lagoa Municipal Library. Both events start at 6pm and are organised by the Algarve History Association.
Ludo Broothaers’ career includes prospecting for base metals, setting up mineralogical laboratories and lecturing at a school for mining engineers. He has spent much of his career overseas in Morocco, Indonesia and Surinam.
Ludo’s lecture in Tavira on The geology of the Algarve is aimed at the lay person and, as an introduction he will explain some of the basic principles of geology. He will then give a general outline of the geology of the Algarve, describing the composition and origins of local rock formations in the context of their geological date. He will make comparisons with similar rocks and geological eras in the UK.
His lecture in Lagoa will look at the development of theories about how the surface of the earth, and our landscapes in particular, came into being.
The earliest ideas (17th century) on this matter championed very dramatic catastrophes that shaped the earth almost instantaneously. Soon after that, people with field experience voiced a quite opposite idea: earth-forming processes would be extremely slow and gradual, mostly too slow to be noticed within a lifetime. Both camps had valid and rational arguments. Yet the catastrophists seemed to lose the battle. The dispute was brought to an end only late in the 20th century. The case had a deep influence on the way geologists think.
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