Franz Kossmat
Encyclopedia
Franz Kossmat was an Austria
n-German
geologist
, for twenty years the director of the Geological Survey of Saxony under both the kingdom
and the subsequent German Republic
.
Kossmat was professor of Mineralogy and Geology at the Graz University of Technology
. From 1913 to 1934 Kossmat was the director of the Geological Survey of Saxony and director of the Geological-Paleontological Institute of the University of Leipzig
. In 1920 he presented the first gravity measures for middle Europe. It was published in 1921. In his life he published over twenty books himself, and collaborated on numerous others. He is most known for his work on isostasy
and his opposition to Wegener
's theories of continental drift
.
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
n-German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
geologist
Geologist
A geologist is a scientist who studies the solid and liquid matter that constitutes the Earth as well as the processes and history that has shaped it. Geologists usually engage in studying geology. Geologists, studying more of an applied science than a theoretical one, must approach Geology using...
, for twenty years the director of the Geological Survey of Saxony under both the kingdom
Kingdom of Saxony
The Kingdom of Saxony , lasting between 1806 and 1918, was an independent member of a number of historical confederacies in Napoleonic through post-Napoleonic Germany. From 1871 it was part of the German Empire. It became a Free state in the era of Weimar Republic in 1918 after the end of World War...
and the subsequent German Republic
Weimar Republic
The Weimar Republic is the name given by historians to the parliamentary republic established in 1919 in Germany to replace the imperial form of government...
.
Kossmat was professor of Mineralogy and Geology at the Graz University of Technology
Graz University of Technology
The Graz University of Technology is the second largest university in Styria, Austria, after the University of Graz. Austria has three universities of technology – in Graz, in Leoben, and in Vienna. The Graz University of Technology was founded in 1811 by Archduke John of Austria. TUG, as the...
. From 1913 to 1934 Kossmat was the director of the Geological Survey of Saxony and director of the Geological-Paleontological Institute of the University of Leipzig
University of Leipzig
The University of Leipzig , located in Leipzig in the Free State of Saxony, Germany, is one of the oldest universities in the world and the second-oldest university in Germany...
. In 1920 he presented the first gravity measures for middle Europe. It was published in 1921. In his life he published over twenty books himself, and collaborated on numerous others. He is most known for his work on isostasy
Isostasy
Isostasy is a term used in geology to refer to the state of gravitational equilibrium between the earth's lithosphere and asthenosphere such that the tectonic plates "float" at an elevation which depends on their thickness and density. This concept is invoked to explain how different topographic...
and his opposition to Wegener
Alfred Wegener
Alfred Lothar Wegener was a German scientist, geophysicist, and meteorologist.He is most notable for his theory of continental drift , proposed in 1912, which hypothesized that the continents were slowly drifting around the Earth...
's theories of continental drift
Continental drift
Continental drift is the movement of the Earth's continents relative to each other. The hypothesis that continents 'drift' was first put forward by Abraham Ortelius in 1596 and was fully developed by Alfred Wegener in 1912...
.
Selected works
- -- (1906) Paläogeographie : (Geologische Geschichte der Meere und Festländer) (The Geological History of the Oceans and Continents)G.J. Göschen, OCLC 11245502, a second edition was published in 1916.
- -- (1921) Die mediterranen Kettengebirge in ihrer Beziehung zum Gleichgewichtszustande der Erdrinde (The Mediterranean Mountain Chain in its relationship with the Isostasy of the Earth’s Crust ) Abh. d. Math.-Phys. Klasse der Sächs. Akad. d. Wiss. (Proceedings of Math and Physics Classes of the Saxony Academy of Science), vol. 38, no. 2, Teubner, Leipzig
- -- (1936) Paläogeographie und Tektonik (Paleogeography and Tectonics) Gebrüder Borntraeger, Berlin, OCLC 8420779
External links
- Photograph of Franz Kossmat Geological Survey and Archive of Saxony
- Photograph of Franz Kossmat University of Rostock
