Bootstrap Geologist: My Life in Science

311 Pages·2013·15.805 MB·English

by  E. A. Shinn

Bootstrap Geologist
University Press of Florida
Florida A&M University, Tallahassee
Florida Atlantic University, Boca Raton
Florida Gulf Coast University, Ft. Myers
Florida International University, Miami
Florida State University, Tallahassee
New College of Florida, Sarasota
University of Central Florida, Orlando
University of Florida, Gainesville
University of North Florida, Jacksonville
University of South Florida, Tampa
University of West Florida, Pensacola
Gene poses aboard USGS drill barge T. W. Vaughan while installing monitoring wells in
south Biscayne Bay, 1995.
Bootstrap Geologist
My Life in Science
Gene Shinn
University Press of Florida
Gainesville | Tallahassee | Tampa | Boca Raton | Pensacola
Orlando | Miami | Jacksonville | Ft. Myers | Sarasota
Copyright 2013 by Eugene A. Shinn
All rights reserved
Printed in the United States of America. This book is printed on Glatfelter Natures Book,
a paper certified under the standards of the Forestry Stewardship Council (FSC). It is a
recycled stock that contains 30 percent post-consumer waste and is acid-free.
This book may be available in an electronic edition.
18 17 16 15 14 13 6 5 4 3 2 1
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Shinn, Eugene A.
Bootstrap geologist : my life in science / Gene Shinn.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-8130-4436-1 (alk. paper)
1. Shinn, Eugene A. 2. Geologists—United States—Biography. 3. Geology—
United States—History. I. Title.
QE22.S556A3 2013
551.092—dc23 [B] 2012039464
The University Press of Florida is the scholarly publishing agency for the State University
System of Florida, comprising Florida A&M University, Florida Atlantic University, Florida
Gulf Coast University, Florida International University, Florida State University, New
College of Florida, University of Central Florida, University of Florida, University
of North Florida, University of South Florida, and University of West Florida.
University Press of Florida
15 Northwest 15th Street
Gainesville, FL 32611-2079
http://www.upf.com
I dedicate this book to my wife, Patricia Shinn, who has been part
of my life and adventures since the beginning, and to my parents,
Ellsworth and Olivia Shinn (aka Papa-San and Mama-San),
who encouraged me to be adventurous and to work overseas
at the first opportunity.

Contents
Preface: A Modern Horror Story ix
1. Beginnings and Early Years 1
2. The Shell Years 32
3. The Netherlands and the Persian Gulf 60
4. Return to Stateside Shell 85
5. The U.S. Geological Survey 117
6. St. Petersburg and a New Beginning 191
Epilogue 257
Acknowledgments 279
Notes 281
Index 287

Preface: A Modern Horror Story
As he pushed his scraggly flock down the dry wadi, the turbaned
old goat herder puzzled over the strange metal tower behind the
bordering dunes. Camel drivers had told him such towers were for
mobile phones—whatever mobile phones were.
But the camel men knew, from their travels, all about cell phones
and Internet cafés; the camel men roamed the Western Sahara from
here in Mauritania as far north as Morocco. The wizened, barefooted
Arab just shook his gray head. He had all he could do, just looking
after his goats.
He rapped the backs of a few deserters with his spindly goat stick,
keeping the errant animals in line, away from the ominous tower.
Why did the towers need soldiers to guard them, way out here in
the desert? He had learned to keep his distance, to avoid the armed
soldiers who appeared whenever he and his goats came too close.
Several of his flock had disappeared previously, when their natural
curiosity led them to inspect the tower. A few other goats that he
was able to reclaim behaved strangely thereafter, sickened, and
died. The camel drivers relayed similar accounts—camels, goats, and
birds, even people behaved strangely.