(1) Early stage of industrialization: Geological work moved from decentralized activities to standardization.

17th century and earlier, in Britain, geological work was only scattered, and geology was far from an independent and systematic discipline. The contents of geology are often scattered in natural history, ancient cultural relics research, topography and cosmology, with a strong religious color. During this period, geological work was mainly done by priests, doctors and wealthy gentlemen. During the period of 1790 ~ 1830, great progress was made in British geological work, and a number of "geological heroes" represented by Smith, Hutton and Lyle emerged. 1830 ~ 1833, Lyle's Principles of Geology came out in three volumes, which made geology form its own theory and method. With the acceleration of the industrial revolution in the18th century, Britain's demand for coal and iron and foreign demand for British mineral products are increasing. Therefore, the steam engine was invented to extract groundwater from coal mines. 18 in the 1960s, the coke ironmaking technology was invented, which made the pig iron output increase rapidly. Due to the development of national industrialization and the continuous growth of population, the demand for mineral resources is increasing at an unprecedented rate; At the same time, the development of new methods and technologies has also promoted the development and utilization of mineral resources. In this case, the scattered geological survey can no longer meet the demand, so it is necessary to establish a national geological team to engage in geological survey and mineral exploration. Social demand and the development of geology put forward requirements for scientific and professional geological work. 1835, Britain established the first national geological survey institution in the world-British Geological Survey. Its establishment is in line with British national interests, because the rapid development of British domestic industry requires a large number of useful minerals to be mined, geological data to be provided for various constructions, and nationwide geological surveys and mineral surveys are needed.

At that time, three experts from the Geological Society of London predicted: "The great achievement of this event (referring to the establishment of the British Geological Survey) should not only be reflected in promoting the development of geological science, but also in its great practical value, that is, its influence on agriculture, mining, road construction, canal opening and railway restoration, as well as other industrial departments of the country." This prediction pointed out the direction for the development of the British Geological Survey at that time.

After the American Civil War, due to the acceleration of territorial expansion, technological innovation and industrialization, it is necessary to know more about the natural resources in the west, and the federal government spent money on geoscience research for the first time. From 1867 to 1879, the parliament authorized four geographical and geological surveys in the west. These surveys are often called "big surveys". A group of scientists, surveyors, photographers and journalists have completed these regional surveys. This survey report has made great contributions to understanding the western United States.

In 1862, the US Congress passed the Law on Resettlement and Migrant Farmland, and in 1872, it passed the Mining Law, which encouraged people to settle inland, promoted the exploitation of minerals, energy and other resources, and promoted industrialization. According to the Law on Cultivated Land for Settled Migrants, people can get 65,438+060 hectares of public land free of charge as long as they prove that they have lived there for five years. The early mining law allowed people to mark the mining land with boundary markers on the federal land in the western United States without paying the mining lease fee to the federal government or obtaining the ownership of the land itself. Therefore, in most parts of the country, the development of natural resources is carried out in an uncoordinated and sometimes reckless way, which eventually leads to calls for more careful management of resources. Although most people think that natural wealth is inexhaustible, some individuals and groups support the protection of resources. 1872, Congress passed the mining law; In the same year, Yellowstone National Park was designated as a national park.

From 65438 to the 1970s, the United States entered a period of economic recession. By the end of 1878, due to financial problems, only King's investigation report had been completed. How to complete the rest of the investigation with less money has become an important issue to be considered. Congress turned to the National Academy of Sciences for help, asking it to prepare a plan for investigating and mapping American territory, so as to achieve the best results at the lowest cost. According to the recommendation of the National Academy of Sciences, the federal geological work is unified into one organization, namely the United States Geological Survey, and 1879 is under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of the Interior.

The establishment of Anglo-American Geological Survey marks the transformation of geological work from decentralization to specialization, and has initially realized the normalization of public welfare geological work.

Table 2- 1 Establishment time of geological survey institutions in some countries in the world

Since then, most countries in the world have established geological survey institutions according to the British model (see Table 2- 1). By the end of 19, the distribution pattern of world geological survey institutions has basically taken shape. According to the data provided by American Geological Society (1994), there are 140 countries in the world with "Ministry of Mining or Ministry of Mineral Resources" or equivalent institutions, and about 85 countries have geological surveys or geological surveys.