Abstract
CORRESPONDENCE prompted by an article in the Petroleum Times of January 1, entitled "A Modern Geological Survey" by "A Petroleum Geologist", reveales a desire on the part of many geologists in industry and Civil servants in British and Colonial government institutions for reform of the existing survey organisation. A second article (Petroleum Times, April 8) by the same writer outlines a plan for co-ordination and expansion of purvey facilities throughout the Empire. The suggestron is made that a permanent authoritative committee of twelve be appointed to represent geology and its related sciences. One member would be co-opted from each of the learned societies concerned : Geological Society, Institution of Mining and Metallurgy and Institute of Petroleum ; three members from government institutions ; three from the universities ; and three from industry. A parallel organisation, the Institute of Geology, representing eleven national societies and about ten thousand professional geologists, has recently been formed in the United States ; although the size of the profession in the British Empire may not warrant the cost of an institute, it does call for a standing committee empowered to speak with authority for the profession. To implement formation of this central geological committee, it is suggested that a government departmental committee of inquiry be appointed to review and report on the present organisation of British and Colonial geology, to consider the position of existing institutions and make recommendations in relation to them. There has been a marked lag in development of British geological survey organisation during the past twenty years. Furthermore, there is a scarcity of entrants into the profession, due possibly to the break in training during the war years, but more probably to conditions of pay and service, which are not comparable with those offered by industry. The writer of the article believes that mariyjresent difficulties might be resolved by a speedy reorganisation of institutions in the United Kingdom to meet the needs of a joint British and Colonial survey.
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Co-ordination of British Geological Surveys. Nature 164, 1033–1034 (1949). https://doi.org/10.1038/1641033d0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/1641033d0