Otto Ampferer

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Otto Ampferer, around 1900

Otto Ampferer (born December 1, 1875 in Hötting near Innsbruck; † July 9, 1947 there ) was an Austrian alpinist and geologist . In order to explain the complex processes of mountain formation , he developed his undercurrent theory with the idea of ​​a partially plastic earth crust . This made him - even before Alfred Wegener - a pioneer of the modern view of mobility .

Here, west of the Stanser Joch in Tyrol, Ampferer described the shift in relief.

life and work

Ampferer attended grammar school and then studied physics, mathematics and geology at the University of Innsbruck from 1895 , where he received his doctorate in 1899. In 1901 he entered the service of the Vienna Federal Geological Institute , which at that time was still called Imperial Geological Institute . There he was appointed chief geologist in 1919 and vice director of the federal institute in 1925. From 1935 to 1937 he was director of this research institute, but continued his tectonic, glacial and regional geological work. He created geological maps and guides in the Gesäusegebirge and Kaisergebirge and dealt with glacial glaciation of the Alps. He wrote a total of 260 publications and numerous geological map sheets. In 1939 Ampferer was a member of the " Reich Office for Soil Research, Vienna Branch ".

Otto Ampferer's name is linked , among other things, to the undercurrent theory (from 1906), a hypothesis on the formation of mountains that later contributed to the development of plate tectonics . His main field of work was the geology of the Alps . In the course of his thorough mapping of the Tyrolean Limestone Alps , he recognized the Karwendel thrust as early as 1901 , which also played an important role in the implementation of the thrust theory around 1905. In 1906 he wrote an analysis about the moving image of the fold mountains , where he is the contraction theory of Albert Heim confronted, but this was definitively disproved until about 1960th Ampferer advocated an undercurrent theory that is one of the forerunners of today's explanatory model of plate tectonics. As the cause of the unevenly distributed lithosphere in the time of the primary continent Pangea , Ampferer considered a detachment of the moon from the earth ( formation of the moon ). At that time he was exposed to ridicule and scorn, which, in his own words, made him unable to continue working for years.

In 1928 he described a relief overlay using the Stanser Joch as an example , which became an example for later work. Furthermore, Ampferer coined the terms dead fold and mountain tearing .

Ampferer was not only an outstanding geologist, he also made a name for himself as a mountaineer . In 1899, he and Karl Berger were the first to climb the Guglia di Brenta (also called Campanile Basso) in the Brenta Group . In addition, Ampferer was a good draftsman who did not limit himself to geological motifs.

Private

In 1902 he married Olga Sander, the sister of the well-known Innsbruck geologist Bruno Sander .

Honors

In 1937 he received the Eduard Suess Medal for his geoscientific work , and in 1939 the Geological Association first awarded him the Gustav Steinmann Medal with the additional dedication "the thinker in the depths of the mountains" . Ampferer was u. a. In 1936 he was elected a member of the Leopoldina Scholars' Academy and in 1940 a full member of the Vienna Academy of Sciences .

In 1956, Ampferergasse in Vienna- Favoriten (10th district) was named after him. Also in the Innsbruck area Höttinger Au there is a Ampfererstraße in Graz him since 1973 the Ampfererweg dedicated.

Since 1983, the Austrian Geological Society (ÖGG), of which Ampferer was president from 1938 to 1939, has awarded the Otto Ampferer Prize to geoscientists (under 35 years of age) every two years for outstanding achievements in the field of geosciences.

Fonts

  • About the movement of fold mountains. Jb. Geol. R.-A., 56, 539–622, 42 Tab., Vienna 1906.
  • Geometric considerations on the construction of the Alps. Mitt. Geol. Ges. Wien, 12, 135–174, Vienna 1920.
  • About continent shifts . Natural Sciences, 13, 669–675, 8 figs., 1925.
  • Geology's value for life. Verh. Geol. B.-A., 1937, 89–98, Vienna 1937.
  • About some basic questions about mountain building. Jb. Geol. B.-A., 87, 375–384, 5 figs., Vienna 1937.
  • Basics and statements of geological undercurrent theory. Natur & Volk, 69, 337–349, 9 illustrations, Frankfurt 1939.
  • Against nappism and for the ceiling theory. Z. Dt. Geol. Ges., 92, 313-332, 7 figs., Berlin 1940.
  • Thoughts on the motion picture of the Atlantic area. Sber. Austrian Academic Science, Math.-Naturwiss. KL, 150, 19-35, 6 Figs., Vienna 1941.
  • Comparison of the tectonic effectiveness of contraction and undercurrent. Mitt. Alpenländ. geol. Ver., 35, 107-123, 10 Figs., Vienna 1944.
  • with W. Hammer: Geological cross-section through the Eastern Alps from Allgäu to Lake Garda. Jb. Geol. R.-A., 61, 531–710, 50 ills., 3 plates, Vienna 1911.

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. The vast majority of biographies and obituaries mention July 9, 1947 as the date of death. Deviating from this, the final report of the Expert Commission for Street Names Graz mentions July 8, 1947 as the date of death.
  2. a b c final report of the expert commission for street names Graz , Graz 2017, p. 26f
  3. Otto Ampferer: Comparison of the tectonic effectiveness of contraction and undercurrent
  4. Helmut W. Flügel: The virtual world of Otto Ampferer and the reality of his time
  5. Helmut W. wing: Wegener-Ampferer-Schwinner: A contribution to the history of geology in Austria . In: Mitt. Österr. Geol. Ges. . 73, December 1980. , p. 238
  6. ^ About continent shifts Natural Sciences, 13, 1925, page 672.
  7. Helmut Hölder: Brief history of geology .. p.89-92, Springer 1989
  8. ^ Karl Krainer and Christoph Hauser: Otto Ampferer (1875–1947): pioneers in geology, mountaineers, collectors and draftsmen , in: Geo.Alp special volume 1, pp. 91–100, Innsbruck 2007. pdf file