Amund Helland (11 October 1846 – 15 November 1918) was a Norwegian

geologist A geologist is a scientist who studies the solid, liquid, and gaseous matter that constitutes Earth and other terrestrial planets, as well as the processes that shape them. Geologists usually study geology, earth science, or geophysics, alth ...

, politician and non-fiction writer. He is particularly known for his works on

glacial erosion Erosion is the action of surface processes (such as water flow or wind) that removes soil, rock, or dissolved material from one location on the Earth's crust, and then transports it to another location where it is deposited. Erosion is dist ...

and the role of

glacier A glacier (; ) is a persistent body of dense ice that is constantly moving under its own weight. A glacier forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its ablation over many years, often centuries. It acquires distinguishing features, such as ...

s in the formation of

valley A valley is an elongated low area often running between hills or mountains, which will typically contain a river or stream running from one end to the other. Most valleys are formed by erosion of the land surface by rivers or streams over ...

fjord In physical geography, a fjord or fiord () is a long, narrow inlet with steep sides or cliffs, created by a glacier. Fjords exist on the coasts of Alaska, Antarctica, British Columbia, Chile, Denmark, Germany, Greenland, the Faroe Islands, Icel ...

s and

lake A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much larger ...

s. He is also known for starting the series '' Norges Land og Folk'', published in 20 volumes from 1885 to 1921.

Personal life

Helland was born in

Bergen Bergen (), historically Bjørgvin, is a city and municipality in Vestland county on the west coast of Norway. , its population is roughly 285,900. Bergen is the second-largest city in Norway. The municipality covers and is on the peninsula ...

as the son of merchant Hans Helland (1817–1859) and Karen Marie Folkedal. He had six siblings. When his father died in 1859, his mother earned to the family's living by running a

pension A pension (, from Latin ''pensiō'', "payment") is a fund into which a sum of money is added during an employee's employment years and from which payments are drawn to support the person's retirement from work in the form of periodic payments ...

. He died in

Kristiania Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of i ...

in 1918.

Career

Helland was a student from 1864, and graduated as cand.min. in 1868. In his early career he made excursions to

Greenland Greenland ( kl, Kalaallit Nunaat, ; da, Grønland, ) is an island country in North America that is part of the Kingdom of Denmark. It is located between the Arctic and Atlantic oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Greenland is ...

Iceland Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its s ...

and other European countries. In his first work, the monography ''Ertsforekomster i Søndhordland og Forekomster af Kise i visse Skifere i Norge'' from 1871, he claimed unconventional views which were not appreciated by elder colleagues. His pioneering works on

and the role of

s in the formation of

s and

s, from the mid-1870s, have later become classics. His views on glacial erosion opposed the mainstream theories of the time, but have later been adopted in the

geological sciences Geology () is a branch of natural science concerned with Earth and other astronomical objects, the features or rocks of which it is composed, and the processes by which they change over time. Modern geology significantly overlaps all other Eart ...

. He also suggested that the deposits on the

North European Plain The North European Plain (german: Norddeutsches Tiefland – North German Plain; ; pl, Nizina Środkowoeuropejska – Central European Plain; da, Nordeuropæiske Lavland and nl, Noord-Europese Laagvlakte ; French : ''Plaine d'Europe du Nor ...

and the

North Sea The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Norway, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. An epeiric sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegia ...

shelf originated from erosion of

Scandinavia Scandinavia; Sámi languages: /. ( ) is a subregion in Northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. In English usage, ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, Norway, and Swed ...

n fjords. In 1878 he published a popular book on the structure of Earth, '. From 1879 he lectured in mining operations, and he was appointed extraordinary professor in 1885. He published a book on the

Kongsberg Silver Mines Kongsberg Silver works () was a mining operation at Kongsberg in Viken county in Norway. The town of Kongsberg is the site of the Norwegian Mining Museum (). History Operating from over 80 different sites, Kongsberg silver mines constituted t ...

, ', in 1885, three volumes of a handbook of mining, ', in 1887. and ' from 1892. His works on soils include ' from 1893, ' from 1894, and ' from 1895. Other geological works include ' from 1886 and ' from 1897. He initiated the monumental work ', a book series published from 1885 until after his death. He was a member of Nordlendingenes Forening and in 1912 he was awarded the Petter Dass Metal (''Petter Dass-medaljen''). The mountain of Hellandfjellet at

Prins Karls Forland Prins Karls Forland or Forlandet, occasionally anglicized as Prince Charles Foreland, is an island off the west coast of Oscar II Land on Spitsbergen in the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard, Norway. The entire island and the surrounding sea area ...

Svalbard Svalbard ( , ), also known as Spitsbergen, or Spitzbergen, is a Norwegian archipelago in the Arctic Ocean. North of mainland Europe, it is about midway between the northern coast of Norway and the North Pole. The islands of the group rang ...

, is named after him, as is the Helland Glacier of

South Georgia South Georgia ( es, Isla San Pedro) is an island in the South Atlantic Ocean that is part of the British Overseas Territory of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands. It lies around east of the Falkland Islands. Stretching in the east� ...

Selected works

* (1885-1921; 20 volumes)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Helland, Amund 1846 births 1918 deaths Scientists from Bergen Quaternary geologists Norwegian glaciologists 19th-century Norwegian geologists 20th-century Norwegian geologists