Eduard Suess

Eduard Suess (August 20th 1831 - April 26th 1914) is a Austrian geologist specialist in the the Alps. He discovers the two of features geographical major of the Earth now disappeared, the Supercontinent Gondwana and the sea Téthys. He is one of the representatives of the Théorie of the contraction of the Earth.

Biography

He is born with London from a commercial father Saxon. Its family settles with Prague when it is 3 years old then with Vienna at 14 years. He receives initially an education for commercial pursuits but is interested young person in geology. He publishes its first article at 19 years on the geology of Karlovy Vary.

In 1852 he becomes assistant with the imperial Musée of Vienna where he studies the fossils of brachiopod S. In 1857 he is engaged as professor of geology to the Université of Vienna, station which he occupies until in 1901.

Seek

In 1862 it leaves its station with the museum to devote itself to teaching and research. It develops little by little its sights on connections between the Africa and the Europe and finally arrives at the conclusion that the the Alps of north come from the funds of an ocean whose the Mediterranean is a remainder. Although its theory is not entirely correct (mainly because the Plate tectonics had not been découverte< yet! -- He used the earlier Geosyncline theory: premise of the theory of the geosynclines? -->), its model is sufficiently close to the truth so that one credits it with discovered with the sea Téthys which it thus names as of 1893.

Its other major discovery relates to similar Fossile S of fern S Glossopteris discovered in South America, Africa and with the India S (as in the Antarctic although this discovery is posterior). Its explanation is that these three continents were connected in a Supercontinent which it names Gondwana Land . Once again its theory is not entirely correct: Suess thinks that the oceans invaded the grounds between these continents whereas in fact they moved away from/to each other.

Publications

In 1862 it publishes a test on the water provision of Vienna. It is at the origin of the creation of the drain leading water to Vienna since the the Alps like one of the promoters of the regulation of the the Danube. It publishes two important articles in 1873 on the earthquakes in Austria and in the south of the Italy. It is also him which names thus the Canadian Bouclier in 1883. Although it chooses this name on its erroneous belief of a form in dome of this geological formation this continuous denomination to be used.

The face of the Earth

Suess is regarded as one of the precursors of the ecology. It publishes a synthesis of its ideas in a book Das Antlitz der Erde - the face of the Earth -- who is very popular during many years. Into this work it introduces also the concept of Biosphère which will be deepened by Vladimir Ivanovich Vernadsky in 1926. Three volumes are published in 1885,1888 and 1901.

It develops to with it a comprehensive view of tectonics of surface and emphasizes the fundamental features of the Ground.

Public life

Apart from its Suess scientific career also sat at the Parliament where one notices it like one of the most brilliant speakers of the German left wing. It sits at the council of the town of Vienna and at the basic diet Austria of 1869 with 1896.

Distinctions

He becomes member of the Institut of France in 1889 and member of the Royal Society in 1894. Of 1898 with 1911 he is president of the Austrian Academy of Science. It receives the Médaille Wollaston in 1896 and the Médaille Copley in 1903.

A crater on the the Moon and one on Mars received its name.

Publications

Bœhmische Graplotithen -- the Graptolite S of Bohemia 1852
Ueber den Loess -- Of the sediments 1866
Die tertiaeren Landfaunen Mittelatiliens (1871);
Die Entstehung der Alpen -- birth of the Alps 1875
Die Zukunft of Goldes future of gold --> (1877);
Das Antlitz der Erde -- the face of the Earth 1883 with 1901
Die Zukunft of Silbers future of the money --> (1892),

April 26th 1894 -->

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