earth science

Paul Fourmarier

Paul Fourmarier is a earth science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Paul Fourmarier rather than just read about it. In short: Paul Frédéric Joseph Fourmarier (1877—1970) was a Belgian geologist and specialist in tectonics and stratigraphy, after whom the Fourmarierite mineral is named. Fourmarier was born in La Hulpe, Province of Brabant, Belgium and studied at the University of Liège, graduating in 1899.

Key takeaways

Paul Fourmarier belongs to earth science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Paul Fourmarier to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Paul Fourmarier from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Paul Frédéric Joseph Fourmarier (1877—1970) was a Belgian geologist and specialist in tectonics and stratigraphy, after whom the Fourmarierite mineral is named. Fourmarier was born in La Hulpe, Province of Brabant, Belgium and studied at the University of Liège, graduating in 1899. He became a professor of geology at the university in 1920. He won the Wollaston Medal in 1957 and the Penrose Gold Medal in 1952.

Research His specialist area was the study of fold structures and cleavage and he described the overthrust nappes in the Ardennes. Fourmarier was much involved in the geology of his native Belgium, as well as Zaire (then the Belgian Congo) and other African places. He also worked on continental drift.

Works 1901. Le bassin dévonien et carboniférien de Theux. 1906. Pétrographie et paléontologie de la formation houillère de la campine, H. Vaillant-Carmanne (Liège). 1907. La Tectonique de l’Ardenne. 1916. La Tectonique du bassin houiller du Hainaut. 1933. Principes de géologie. 1934. Vue d'ensemble de la géologie de la Belgique. 1939. Hydrogéologie: introduction à l'étude des eaux, destinées à l'alimentation humaine et à l'industrie, Paris. 1954. Prodrome d'une description géologique de la Belgique. Geological Survey of Belgium, Liège, 826 p.

Memory An award named after him, the Fourmarier Prize, was established. In addition, a secondary uranium-lead mineral, fourmarierite, was named in his memory.

See also Gaston Briart Jean de Heinzelin de Braucourt William van Leckwijck

References

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Paul Fourmarier

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Paul Fourmarier claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In earth science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Paul Fourmarier before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Paul Fourmarier ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Paul Fourmarier

In research: Paul Fourmarier appears in earth science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Paul Fourmarier in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Paul Fourmarier is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1877 births, 1970 deaths, Academic staff of the University of Liège, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Paul Fourmarier outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Paul Fourmarier in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Paul Fourmarier means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Paul Fourmarier out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Paul Fourmarier in simple terms?

Why does Paul Fourmarier matter?

Because it connects several earth science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Paul Fourmarier?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Paul Fourmarier.