Fieldwork in the Alps: A Day in the Life of a Geologist

Our Day in the Life of a Geologist series is a glimpse into the lives of pro geologists and earth scientists, via the lived experiences of our tour leaders. Have you ever wondered what it’s like on a real geological field trip? How often geologists travel? What they eat for breakfast?! We asked our tour leaders about the details of their lives, from the trivial to the tectonic, so you don’t have to!

 Our leaders are experts in their fields. They are practising geologists, academics, geoscientists, writers, curators and teachers. They’re also skiers, rock climbers, foragers, environmentalists, beekeepers, gardeners, photographers, musicians, mountain bikers, hikers and bakers. We can’t think of a better group of people to go on vacation with!

 Meet Rob Butler, a specialist in tectonics and structural geology. For Rob, geology is as much about imagination, controversy and creative problem solving as it is science, earth history and rocks.

 “There’s always more to find out,” he says. “Being a geologist is all about being curious and wanting to find out more. Don’t be afraid to turn over that stone. As an academic I think it’s important to challenge ideas and interpretations – including your own.”

 As far as Rob is concerned, it always comes back to the mountains. He became a geologist because he wanted to understand how they form – he still does. “A key inspiration was a BBC TV show called Restless Earth, which explored plate tectonics – ideas that were less than 10 years old at the time. The early-to-mid 70s were exciting, with the Apollo missions too, but living in south London at the time didn’t give me immediate access to exciting places!”

Nowadays, Rob lives in Aberdeenshire, in easy reach of the Scottish Highlands in north-west Scotland  (one of the most exciting geological sites in Europe) – as well as some excellent distilleries! And when he’s not in the office, exploring new ideas about seismic imagery with his PhD students, or pondering the societal structures that inhibit the development of new ideas in geology (“I like a good controversy!”), you’ll still find him in the mountains, climbing or mountain biking.

 Rob doesn’t spend as much time as he’d like doing fieldwork, but he has had some incredible experiences through his work as a geologist, including going into the back country around Nanga Parbat in the Himalayas. “But actually,” he says, “the most exciting things are the flashes of insight or leaps of imagination that spark understanding. They can happen any time.”

Here, Rob talks us through a typical day as a geologist in the Alps, where he’s spent lots of time doing fieldwork.

 Morning

 "I’m in Briançon, staying in a small guesthouse. This being France, I have a café au lait and a croissant for breakfast, though I’ll have a pain au raisin if one’s available!

 I’m aiming to work high ground so I go to a boulangerie and pick up a pizza slice then a few apricots from a market stall for my morning snack and lunch. These I put carefully in the lid pocket of my rucksack. There’s some chocolate, dried fruit and maybe some biscuits in my rucksack too, and I always have a couple of water bottles.

 Then it’s off to a summer-running ski-lift in time for the first lift, which is usually around 9.00am. (If I’m going somewhere I can only walk to, I aim to get going by 8-8.30am, before it gets too warm.)

 Today though, it’s up on the ski-lift, sunscreen and broad sunhat on, then another 600m ascent up to the high ground. The high parts are best – lots of rock, no trees.

 I usually do Alpine fieldwork alone. The walk up is a time to ponder and explore ideas. It’s a time for free-form thinking, usually not about the coming work but it could be any geological problem that pops into my head.

Once on the outcrop, I have a little snack, a drink and a look about. I’m here to make observations, to take measurements to build up some understanding. It’s important to explore, to look for the good bits.

 I sketch observations and ideas all the time – my notebook is my thought-stream. I use an artist sketch pad with good paper and at least size A5 so there’s plenty of space. If I go with others – perhaps I’m leading a group trip – I have an A4 book, spine on the short side, so I can open it wide to build cross-sections to show the others.”

 Lunchbreak

“I don’t really do lunch. In the hills, I snack, saving my pizza slice for a more contemplative moment. The timing is always dictated by the geology!”

Afternoon

My afternoon is the same as the morning when I’m on the outcrops. But I need to walk back down, either to the top lift station to grab a return ride on the last chairlift down at around 5.00pm, or it’s a long descent on foot of around 1,200m back down to the valley.

 This walk is another time for free thinking, though generally I concentrate on moving efficiently – and safely – down the path. Many accidents in the hills happen on the descent when folk are tired and complacent having done the ‘hard work’. Concentration is important.”

 Evening

“By 5.30 or so, I’m back at base. Usually, I have a small beer on a terrace with a nice view. It’s time to write some reflections on the day’s fieldwork. Then after a shower, I have dinner at around 8.00pm and a late evening catch-up with home via Zoom or on the phone. I collapse into bed by around 10.30pm.”

Whether you’re considering joining a GeoCultura tour or wondering if geology is a hard degree, we hope this Day in the Life of a Geologist series helps guide you confidently towards taking that next step .

 You can meet Rob on our Boulders, Beasts and Battles: Geological Landscapes, Stories and Controversies of North-West Scotland tour.

 Follow Rob’s YouTube channel, The Shear Zone, for in-depth educational videos about geology.