Alfred Wegener
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Origin of Continents and Oceans, The (Wegener/first edition), 329–338, 449–450; and causes of displacement, 335–336; Cloos as adviser on 329–330, 332–333, 334, 336–337; isostasy as factor in, 331–32; and the origin of mountain ranges, 332–334. See also continental displacements, Wegener’s hypothesis of
Origin of Continents and Oceans, The (Wegener/second edition), 396–423, 427–428, 450, 510; astronomical measurements as applied in, 419–422; and causes of displacement, 419–421; as clarification of critics’ concerns, 402–403, 405–406; as effort to address new interests and concerns, 408–409; as geophysical perspective, 407–410, 416–419; Köppen as adviser on, 396–399; map projections used in, 400–402, 413–416; and the origin of mountain ranges, 410–411; publication of, 432, 435–436, 438; scientists recruited to review the manuscript, 403–404. See also continental displacements, Wegener’s hypothesis of
Origin of Continents and Oceans, The (Wegener/third edition), 445–446, 448, 449–464; alternative theories as addressed in, 453–454; elucidations and inferences in, 454–456; English translation of, 482, 525; as influential version of Wegener’s theory, 455–456; maps used in, 451–453; paleoclimatological arguments in, 460–462; retractions and reformulations in, 456–460. See also continental displacements, Wegener’s hypothesis of
Origin of Continents and Oceans, The (Wegener/fourth edition), 543–558; geological evidence presented in, 546–550; isostasy in 545–546; measurement of displacement in, 544–545; paleoclimatological evidence presented in, 550–551; paleontological evidence presented in, 550; plasticity as factor in, 546; pole displacements as discussed in, 551–555. See also continental displacements, Wegener’s hypothesis of
orogeny. See mountain building
Ortega y Gasset, José, 44, 47
Orwell, George, 2
Ostwald, Wilhelm, 352, 372
paleobotany: Irmscher’s book on, 485–486
paleoclimatology: and continental displacements, 449, 460–462, 550–551; geological indicators as applied to, 472–477, 503–504; Köppen and Wegener as coauthors of book on 469–477, 486–494
paleocontinents (Urkontinente), 269
paleogeography, 245, 337–338. See also fossils
paleontology: and continental displacements, 234, 267–268; and geophysics, 365–366, 432–435
palinspastic mapping, 483–484
Pangäa: shifting of, 414, 415, 420, 492
parhelia (Haupthalos), 146, 508, 528, 600
Pasteur, Louis, 214
Paulsen, Adam, 86–87, 91
Paulsen, Friedrich, 42; as influence on Wegener, 46–48
Peary, Robert E., 130, 132, 182
Penck, Albrecht, 267, 270, 338, 398, 409, 413, 450, 454, 456, 475, 478, 493, 503, 509, 514–515, 542; as commentator on Wegener’s lecture, 438, 439, 442–443, 444, 445
permanence of continents and oceans: debate surrounding, 365–371, 406, 425, 452, 454. See also continental displacements, Wegener’s hypothesis of
Permian: geological markers in, 472
Pernter, Josef M., 124, 201, 508
Petermann, August, 129
Peters, Jean, 32
Pfeffer, Georg, 374, 396, 397, 543
philosophy: Wegener’s studies in, 41–42. See also life-philosophy
photography: from the Danmark Expedition, 102, 104, 125, 127, 136, 138, 139, 141, 147, 152, 158; as used in scientific investigation, 26
physics: of the atmosphere, 76, 81, 175, 186, 190, 192–197, 202; cosmic, 54–58; theoretical, 56, 170, 237. See also cosmic physics
Pickering, W. H., 251
Pilgrim, Ludwig, 470
Planck, Max, 31, 33, 53–54, 56, 64, 65, 193, 194
plate tectonics, 511, 524, 557–558, 599–600
Poincaré, Henri, 251, 252
polar exploration: Drygalski’s expeditions, 57, 79, 96, 93, 98, 99, 182, 501; fixed-wing aircraft as used in, 539–540, 561; Germany’s lack of success in, 129–130; risks inherent in 595–596; Wegener’s early interest in, 57. See also Antarctica; Danmark Expedition; Greenland expedition (1912–1913); Greenland expedition (1930–1931); Vorexpedition to Greenland (1929)
pole displacement (Polwanderungen), 56–57, 121–122, 223–224, 416, 419; and climate change, 427, 429, 470, 475, 489–490; challenges to, 504–505; and continental displacements, 336, 367, 370, 374–375, 421, 447, 491–492, 551–555, 557–558; contradictions in Wegener’s theory regarding, 551–555; as discussed in Klimate der geologischen Vorzeit, 491–494; as a geophysical process, 416–417; and the history of climate, 423, 449, 460–462; Kelvin’s observation regarding, 417; Köppen’s article on, 432–435; measurement of, 273, 417–418; possible explanations for 237–238, 264, 271–273, 282, 417–421; in the Quaternary, 472, 504; relativity of, 552–555
pole-fleeing (Polflucht) force, 411, 419–420, 443, 458, 459–460, 510, 554, 556–557; questioning of, 504–505
Polflucht. See pole-fleeing force
Polwanderungen (migrations of the pole). See pole displacement
Porstmann, Walter, 352, 372
Potonié, Henry, 473–474, 487, 488, 507
precipitation staircase, 200
Prey, Adalbert, 531–532
Prussian Meteorological Institute, 438, 466; Bezold as head of, 33, 67
Pummerer, Paul, 392
Quaternary: displacement of the poles during, 472, 504; ice ages during, 470
Quincke, Georg Hermann, 28
Radakovic, Michael, 498
radioactively generated heat: as cause of continental displacements, 558
radioactive transmutation, 73–74
radio telegraphy (Funkentelegraphie), 392–393
radio time signals: as means of measuring continental displacements, 320, 458, 507, 519–520
Rasmus. See Villumsen, Rasmus
Rasmussen, Knud, 106, 596, 598
Ravna, Ole, 221
Reck, Hans, 233
Reibisch, Paul, 416–417, 418, 428
Reichel, Manfred, 485
Reinhold, Erasmus, 60
Rella, Anton, 503
Rhine Graben, 266
Richardson, Lewis Fry, 174, 280, 318, 517
Richarz, Franz, 190, 256, 277, 360, 436; ballooning as interest of, 181, 226; as director of the Physics Institute at Marburg, 170, 175, 176, 186; as supportive of Wegener’s career, 196, 202, 229, 282, 312, 320–321, 340, 349, 378, 391; as supportive of Wegener’s Greenland expedition, 282
Richthofen, Ferdinand von, 333, 409
Riefenstahl, Leni, 598
Rignano, Eugenio, 527
Ring, Karl, 104, 106, 117, 119, 134
Rink, Hinrich, 142
Rink, Johannes, 222
Ronaldshay, Lawrence Dundas, Earl of, 481
Rotch, A. Lawrence, 67
Roxbury Conglomerate, 522
Royal Danish Geographical Society: Wegener named honorary member of, 528
Royal Dutch Shell, 520
Royal Observatory (Berlin-Potsdam), 24–25
Royal Prussian Aeronautical Observatory. See Lindenberg Observatory
Rudzki, Maurycy, 318, 338, 348, 377, 407, 442, 513, 527; Physics of the Earth, 243, 251, 261
Rühl, Alfred, 515
Ruprecht-Karls University, Heidelberg: Wegener as student at, 27–30
Rutherford, Ernest, 73, 74
Sabine, Edward, 274
Sagan, Carl, 49
Sal/Sial (silica and aluminum), 245, 260, 262, 263, 455–456. See also continental block; isostasy, principle of
Salisbury, Rollin D., 486
salt deposits, 473, 474, 475, 488
San Andreas Fault, 273, 410, 411
sandstones, aeolian, 473, 488
Sandström, Johan, 430, 517
Scheidegger, Adrian, 546
Scheiner, Julius, 24, 31, 189
Schiaparelli, Giovanni, 272–273, 375, 416
Schif, Kurt, 576, 584, 587
Schiller, Friedrich, 7, 15, 45, 343
Schindler Orphanage: description of, 8–9;
educational and cultural ideals of, 2–4; “graduate” of as Wegener’s medical officer in war, 325; Wegeners as managers of, 2–4, 5–6
Schmauß, August, 160, 177, 178–179, 466, 467, 468
Schmidt, Wilhelm, 318, 340–341, 467, 468
Schmidt-Ott, Friedrich, 563, 572, 594, 598
Schmitthenner, Heinrich, 405
Schnädelbach, Herbert, 51
Schopenhauer, Arthur, 6
Schrödinger, Erwin, 54, 237, 498, 503
Schrumpfungshypothese. See contraction theory
Schuchert, Charles, 414, 522, 524
Schulz, Bruno, 445
Schwarz, Hermann Amandus, 23
Schwarzbach, Martin, 465
Schwarzschild, Karl, 251, 270
Schweitzer, Albert, 44
Schweydar, Ernst, 459–460, 492, 504, 527, 557; as commentator on Wegener’s lecture, 438, 439, 443, 444, 454
Schwinner, Robert, 558
science: changes in the world of, 64–65; Copernican Revolution in, 239–241; history of, 55–56; philosophical perspective applied to, 46–48
Scott, Robert Falcon, 154, 183, 480, 519, 596
Scott Polar Research Institute, 480
Scott’s Antarctic Expedition, 480, 481, 519
seismology, 256; and geography, 408; Gutenberg’s research on, 529, 530–531; as relevant to continental displacements, 247, 258, 527, 530–531. See also explosion seismology
selenology, 385. See also Moon
Semper, Max, 368–369, 370, 374, 404, 443
Sengör, A. M. Celal, 455
Shackleton, Ernest, 93–94, 129, 182, 183, 224, 596
Sigurdsson, Vigfus: as member of the Greenland expedition (1912–1913), 278, 284, 286, 288–289, 291, 292, 293, 297, 298–299, 301, 302, 303, 308, 309, 310, 311; as member of the Greenland expedition (1930–1931), 575, 577, 579, 582, 587
Sima (silica and magnesium), 245, 258–259, 260, 261–262, 263, 266, 331–335, 375, 376, 412, 420, 455–456, 460. See also continental block; isostasy, principle of
Simmel, George, 43
Simpson, George Clarke: as supporter of Wegener’s theory, 518–519
Simroth, Heinrich, 416–417, 428, 434
Singewald, Joseph, 523
Skerl, J. G. A., 455, 485
Smith, Robert, 599
Smit Sibinga, G. L., 549
Smoluchowski, Marian, 498
snow: as subject of scientific investigation, 300, 307
Soddy, Frederick, 73, 74
Soergel, Wolfgang, 369, 395, 404, 407
Sofia, Bulgaria: Wegener transferred to, 371–374
solar radiation, variation in: as cause of climate change, 470–471, 493, 504
Solger, Friedrich, 474
Sorge, Ernst: and the Greenland expedition (1930–1931), 575, 578, 582, 587, 588, 591, 593, 598; and the Vorexpedition, 560, 563, 565, 566, 568 569, 570
Sonnblick (Austria): scientific meeting at, 466–467
South America: and congruence with the coast of Africa, 214–217, 233–234, 235–236, 245, 252, 259, 267, 268, 269, 337, 367, 376, 415, 434, 440, 450–451, 547–549
Southern Hemisphere: ice age in, 238; paleocontinent of, 269–270
Spender, Michael, 598
Spengler, Oswald, 44–45, 46
Sprung, Adolf, 197, 198, 361
Squantum Tillite, 522
Sreznevskij, Boris Ismailovich, 379
state curve (Zustandskurve): of the atmosphere, 168–169
Steinbach, Pastor, 6
Steinmann, Gustav, 413
Stoll, Otto, 359
Storestrømmen Glacier, 148, 149, 289, 290, 293, 297
storm systems: evolution of, 174–175. See also cyclonic storms; tornadoes
Störmer, Carl, 528
stratosphere: discovery of, 73–76, 77, 162–163, 174; laminar motion of, 317
Stuchtey, Karl, 197, 203, 210, 214, 217, 219, 226
Sueß, Eduard, 252, 253, 256, 265, 266, 267, 268, 332, 333, 338, 367, 399, 503; and chemical differentiation of Earth, 245; and the contraction theory, 264, 270, 331, 469; The Face of the Earth, 242, 243–244, 263, 385, 438, 449, 469; on lunar craters, 385–386
Sun: Wegener’s observations of, 130–131
Supan, Alexander Georg, 425
Süring, Reinhard, 159, 161, 167–168
Sverdrup, Harald, 318
Sverdrup, Otto, 221
Take, Emil, 214
Tams, Ernst, 403–404, 431, 529
Taylor, Frank Bursley, 251–252, 267, 421, 459, 523
tectonic plates: mechanism of motion of, 335; measurement of motion of, 274. See also continental displacement, Wegener’s hypothesis of
Teisserenc de Bort, Léon, 67, 70, 71, 80, 95, 130, 156, 158, 162, 183, 187, 362; and discovery of the stratosphere, 73, 74–76, 85, 174, 194; on the “upper inversion,” 177
Termier, Pierre, 531, 573
Tetens, Otto, 185
Teutonic peoples, 49
theodolites: as applied in meteorology, 58, 72–73, 79–80, 446, 448, 462–463; magnetic, 122
theoretical physics, 56, 170; and unified theory, 237
thermodynamics of the atmosphere, 192–197; Wegener’s approach to, 199–201; Wegener’s publications on, 201, 203–213, 218–219, 229, 252, 276; Wegener’s lectures on, 196–197
thermodynamics: laws of, 53–54
Thermodynamik der Atmosphäre (Wegener), 201, 209–213, 218–219, 229, 252, 276, 358, 361, 362, 384, 403, 507; Exner’s review of, 278–279, 327
Thesing, Curt, 317, 319, 322
Thompson, William. See Kelvin, William Thompson, Lord
Thompson, Wyville, 215
Thorade, Hermann, 518
Thostrup, Bendix, 112, 117, 118, 119, 120, 123
Thostrup, Gustav, 135–137, 138, 139, 147, 220; as member of the Greenland expedition, 288
Tietjen, Friedrich, 31
tornadoes (Windhosen), 343–344; catalogue of, 348, 353–355, 600; in Graz, 534–535; origins of, 355–356, 538; terminology used in study of, 344, 353; Wegener’s study of, 344, 353–356, 357, 538, 600
Tornquist, Alexander, 348, 349
trade winds: conflicting positions regarding, 183
Treysa: meteorite found at, 350–352, 360, 384
Trolle, Alf, 101, 103, 105, 106, 143, 150, 153, 154
Tromben. See tornadoes; whirlwinds
tropopause, 76, 80–81, 162–163, 173; and link between altitude and surface temperature, 176–179, 187
troposphere, 76, 162–163; turbulent motion of, 317
turbulence, atmospheric, 88, 317–319; measurement of, 373–374
Twain, Mark, 1
Uhlig, Viktor, 486
Umanak Fjord, 582, 583; as approach to the Inland Ice, 559, 566–567, 578–579
Uiberreither, Siegfried, 598
University of Berlin: Wegener as student at, 21–27, 30–34
University of Dorpat, 379
University of Graz, 466; Kurt Wegener as professor at, 598; Wegener as professor at, 495–496, 497–499, 502–511, 512, 529–530, 559–560; Wegener offered position at, 468, 494; Wegener’s negotiations with, 494–495
University of Hamburg: cutbacks in programs at, 446; geophysical colloquium at, 431; Wegener as instructor at, 395–396, 398, 428, 431, 446–447; Wegener named professor at, 449
University of Marburg: Wegener as teacher at, 182, 186, 196–197, 206, 207–209, 226; professorship offered to Wegener, 312–313; Wegener’s appointment to, 170–172; Wegener’s “demonstration lecture” at, 172–174
University of Straßburg: Meteorological Institute at, 359
upper inversion: Wegener’s paper on, 176–179
uranium, 73
Urkontinente. See paleocontinents
Valentiner, Wilhelm, 28, 29
van Bemmelen, Willem, 156, 431, 469
van der Gracht, Willem A. J. M. van Waterschoot, 531, 549; symposium organized by, 520–522, 523–524
Vatnajøkul ice cap, 233, 285, 286, 287, 288; Koch’s account of, 288
&n
bsp; Verdun, Battle of, 352
Vieweg, Friedrich, 319, 356, 405
Villumsen, Johann, 593
Villumsen, Rasmus, 589, 590–593, 594, 595, 596
Voeikov, Aleksandr Ivanovich, 279, 425, 426
volcanism, 263–264. See also Krakatoa
volcanology, 385
von Bebber, Jacob, 487
von der Goltz, Colmar, 40, 325
von Ihering, Hermann, 544
Vorexpedition to Greenland (1929): assistance provided to, 565–566; boat used for, 563–564; departure of, 565; equipment used in, 563–564; planning for, 540, 541, 542, 558–565; photographs of, 573–574, 577; return home from, 570–571, 572; route planned for, 564; at Scheideck (base camp), 568–569, 570; scientific program of, 559, 562–563, 564–565, 569–570; training required for, 565; Wegener as leader of, 558–571; Wegener’s book on, 566, 569, 573, 577
vortex motions, 317–319. See also tornadoes; waterspouts; whirlwinds
Waagen, Lukas, 487, 510
Wadia, Darashaw, 487
Waetzmann, Erich, 513
Wagner, Arthur, 218
Wagner, Richard, 49
Walther, Johannes, 413, 474–475
Warburg, Emil, 23–24, 53
Warming, Johannes, 161, 167, 175, 249
Wasserhosen. See waterspouts
waterspouts, 141, 344, 348, 353, 355
weather: forecasting of, 174–175, 281, 357–358, 364–365, 517; as interest of Alfred and Kurt in Hamburg, 393. See also aerology; climatology; cyclonic storms; meteorological research
Weber, Max, 343
Wegener, Alfred: at the Austrian Summit Meeting (1922), 466–468; as compared with Darwin, 599; engagement and marriage to Else Köppen, 226–228, 232, 280, 314–315; financial problems of, 190–191, 202–203, 340, 372, 467, 505; as geophysicist, 407–409; at the German Marine Observatory, 382–383, 391–394, 398, 404, 497; landmarks named for, 136, 138–139, 596; legacy of, 596, 599–601; sea voyage across the Atlantic (1922), 463–464, 465–466; thought processes of, 204, 236–238, 499, 506, 590, 599. See also continental displacements, Wegener’s hypothesis of
—atmospheric theories of: 124–125, 183–185, 186–190; and thermodynamics of the atmosphere, 192–197, 199–201, 203–209, 281, 362, 436, 518. See also atmosphere
—death of, 592–594, 596; burial in Greenland, 595; news coverage of, 594–595
—depression and moodiness of, 232, 358–359; during polar expeditions, 116–117, 123–124, 126, 128–129, 144, 148, 298–299
—early years of: birth of, 2; boyhood of, 3, 11–13; at Cöllnische Gymnasium, 14–16; at die Hütte, 11–13, 18, 30, 58–59; and early interest in science, 15–18; family background of, 4–8, 9–10; perseverance (Sitzfleisch) of, 20; physical appearance of, 19–20; sailing as hobby of, 18