Charles Babbage is best known as a pioneer of computer science, but his contributions to the study of the Earth are not as well known. A curious and tireless traveler, on one of his trips to Italy, he dwelt on the remains of the Temple of Serapis, located about one-hundred feet from the coast of the small bay near Pozzuoli, south-west of Naples. On his return to England, also using his Difference Engine, he developed a theory to explain the phenomena related to the area of Serapeo, accompanied by illustrations and mathematical calculations, aimed at explaining the geological phenomena that had helped to make the site so interesting. With the same precision used for his calculation engine, Babbage proposed innovative techniques for the printing of diagrams and tables to be used in earth sciences. Just as his calculation engine had to be reliable by helping to eliminate human error, so the innovative techniques proposed had to allow a representation of geology as a reliable scientific experience.

查尔斯·巴贝奇（Charles Babbage）最出名的是计算机科学的先驱，但是他对地球研究的贡献并不广为人知。一位好奇而孜孜不倦的旅行者，在前往意大利的一次旅行中，住在那不勒斯西南部波佐利附近小海湾海岸约一百英尺处的塞拉皮斯神庙的遗迹上。回到英国后，他还使用差分引擎，开发了一种理论来解释与塞拉皮奥地区有关的现象，并附有插图和数学计算，旨在解释有助于使该遗址变得如此有趣的地质现象。巴贝奇以与他的计算引擎相同的精度，提出了创新的技术，用于印刷要用于地球科学的图表。