Canadian
geologist whose work helped found modern petrology. He demonstrated the
principles governing the formation of magma by partial melting, and the
fractional crystallization of magma.
Born in Kingston, Ontario, Bowen was educated at the local Queen's University,
then moved to the recently founded Geophysical Laboratory in Washington
DC, USA. His findings on the experimental melting and crystallization
behaviour of silicates and similar mineral substances were published from
1912 onwards. In The Evolution of Igneous Rocks 1928 he dealt particularly
with magma, becoming known as the head of the 'magmatist school' of Canadian
geology. |