Geological Society of America

The Geological Society of America (GSA) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to the advancement of the geosciences.

History The society was founded in Ithaca, New York, in 1888 by Alexander Winchell, John J. Stevenson, Charles H. Hitchcock, John R. Procter and Edward OrtonEditor (August 26, 1938) "The Semi-Centennial Meeting of the Geological Society of America" Science (New Series) 88(2278): p. 183 and has been headquartered at 3300 Penrose Place, Boulder, Colorado, US, since 1967.Eckel, Edwin, 1982, GSA Memoir 155, The Geological Society of America — Life History of a Learned Society, p. 79,

GSA began with 100 members under its first president, James Hall. In 1889 Mary Emilie Holmes became its first female member. It grew slowly but steadily to 600 members until 1931, when a nearly $4 million endowment from 1930 president R. A. F. Penrose Jr. jumpstarted GSA's growth. As of December 2017, GSA had more than 25,000 members in over 100 countries.

The society has six regional sections in North America and twenty-two scientific divisions. The oldest such regional interest group is the Cordilleran section, which first met December 29–30, 1899 at the California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco. At the time, travel back east was difficult for western geologists during that period of the year. This led to the foundation of a regional geological club.

Activities The stated mission of GSA is "to advance geoscience research and discovery, service to society, stewardship of Earth, and the geosciences profession". Its main activities are sponsoring scientific meetings and publishing scientific literature, particularly the peer-reviewed journals Geological Society of America Bulletin, published continuously since 1889, and Geology, published since 1973. In 2005, GSA introduced its online-only journal Geosphere, and in February 2009, GSA began publishing Lithosphere (both also peer-reviewed). Geosphere and Lithosphere are open access as of 2018. GSA's monthly news and science magazine, GSA Today, is also open access online. GSA also publishes three book series: Special Papers, Memoirs, and Field Guides. A third major activity is awarding research grants to graduate students.Eckel, Edwin, 1982, GSA Memoir 155, The Geological Society of America — Life History of a Learned Society, p. 121, .

Position statements GSA issues Position Statements "in support of and consistent with the GSA's Vision and Mission to develop consensus on significant professional, technical, and societal issues of relevance to the geosciences community. Position Statements, developed and adopted through a well-defined process, provide the basis for statements made on behalf of the GSA before government bodies and agencies and communicated to the media and the general public."GSA Position Statements

For example, in 2006, the GSA adopted a Position Statement on Global Climate Change: The Geological Society of America (GSA) supports the scientific conclusions that Earth's climate is changing; the climate changes are due in part to human activities; and the probable consequences of the climate changes will be significant and blind to geopolitical boundaries. Furthermore, the potential implications of global climate change and the time scale over which such changes will likely occur require active, effective, long-term planning. Current predictions of the consequences of global climate change include: (1) rising sea level, (2) significant alteration of global and regional climatic patterns with an impact on water availability, (3) fundamental changes in global temperature distribution, (4) melting of polar ice, and (5) major changes in the distribution of plant and animal species. While the precise magnitude and rate of climate change cannot be predicted with absolute certainty, significant change will affect the planet and stress its inhabitants.Global Climate Change

Past presidents Past presidents of the Geological Society of America: James Hall, 1889 James Dwight Dana, 1890 Alexander Winchell, 1891 Grove Karl "G. K." Gilbert, 1892 J. William Dawson, 1893 Thomas C. Chamberlin, 1894 Nathanial S. Shaler, 1895 Joseph Le Conte, 1896 Edward Orton Sr., 1897 J. J. Stevenson, 1898 Benjamin K. Emerson, 1899 George Mercer Dawson, 1900 Charles D. Walcott, 1901 N. H. Winchell, 1902 Samuel F. Emmons, 1903 John Casper Branner, 1904 Raphael Pumpelly, 1905 Israel Cook Russell, 1906 C. R. Van Hise, 1907 Samuel Calvin, 1908 G. K. Gilbert (2nd term), 1909 Arnold Hague, 1910 William M. Davis, 1911 H.L. Fairchild, 1912 Eugene A. Smith, 1913 George F. Becker, 1914 Arthur P. Coleman, 1915 John M. Clarke, 1916 Frank D. Adams, 1917 Whitman Cross, 1918 J. C. Merriam, 1919 Israel C. White, 1920 James F. Kemp, 1921 Charles Schuchert, 1922 David White, 1923 Waldemar Lindgren, 1924 William B. Scott, 1925 Andrew Lawson, 1926 Arthur Keith, 1927 Bailey Willis, 1928 Heinrich Ries, 1929 R.A.F. Penrose Jr., 1930 Alfred C. Lane, 1931 Reginald Aldworth Daly, 1932 C. K. Leith, 1933 W. H. Collins, 1934 Nevin M. Fenneman, 1935 W. C. Mendenhall, 1936 Charles Palache, 1937 Arthur Louis Day, 1938 T. Wayland Vaughan, 1939 Eliot Blackwelder, 1940 Charles P. Berkey, 1941 Douglas W. Johnson, 1942 E. L. Bruce, 1943 Adolph Knopf, 1944 Edward W. Berry, 1945 Norman L. Bowen, 1946 A. I. Levorsen, 1947 James Gilluly, 1948 Chester Ray Longwell, 1949 William Walden Rubey, 1950 Chester Stock, 1951 Thomas S. Lovering, 1952 Wendell P. Woodring, 1953 Ernst Cloos, 1954 Walter H. Bucher, 1955 George S. Hume, 1956 Richard J. Russell, 1957 Raymond Cecil Moore, 1958 Marland P. Billings, 1959 Hollis Dow Hedberg, 1960 Thomas B. Nolan, 1961 M. King Hubbert 1962 Harry H. Hess 1963 Francis Birch 1964 Wilmot H. Bradley 1965 Robert Ferguson Legget 1966 Konrad B. Krauskopf 1967 Ian Campbell, 1968 Morgan J. Davis, 1969 John Rodgers, 1970 Richard H. Jahns, 1971 Luna Leopold, 1972 John C. Maxwell, 1973 Clarence R. Allen, 1974 Julian R. Goldsmith, 1975 Robert E. Folinsbee, 1976 Charles L. Drake, 1977 Peter T. Flawn, 1978 Leon T. Silver, 1979 Laurence L. Sloss, 1980 Howard R. Gould, 1981 Digby J. McLaren, 1982 Paul A. Bailly, 1983 M. Gordon Wolman, 1984 Brian J. Skinner, 1985 W. Gary Ernst, 1986 Jack E. Oliver, 1987 Albert W. Bally, 1988 Randolph Bromery, 1989 Raymond A. Price, 1990 Doris Malkin Curtis, 1991 E-An Zen, 1992 Robert D. Hatcher, 1993 William R. Dickinson, 1994 David A. Stephenson, 1995 Eldridge M. Moores, 1996 George A. Thompson, 1997 Victor R. Baker, 1998 Gail M. Ashley, 1999 Mary Lou Zoback, 2000 Sharon Mosher, 2001 Anthony J. Naldrett, 2002 B. Clark Burchfiel, 2003 Rob Van der Voo, 2004 William A. Thomas, 2005 Stephen G. Wells, 2006 John M. "Jack" Sharp Jr., 2007 Judith Totman Parrish, 2008 Jean M. Bahr, 2009 Joaquin Ruiz, 2010 John Geissman, 2011 George H. Davis, 2012 Suzanne Mahlburg Kay, 2013 Harry "Hap" McSween, 2014 Jonathan G. Price, 2015 Claudia I. Mora, 2016 Isabel P. Montañez, 2017 Robbie Gries, 2018 Donald I. Siegel, 2019 J. Douglas Walker, 2020 Barbara Dutrow, 2021 Mark G. Little, 2022 Christopher "Chuck" Bailey, 2023 Carmala N. Garzione, 2024 Nathan A. Niemi, 2025

Geological Society of America

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