Carl Griesbach
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Carl Ludolf Griesbach (1847–1907), was an Austrian
paleontologist Paleontology (), also spelled palaeontology or palæontology, is the scientific study of life that existed prior to, and sometimes including, the start of the Holocene epoch (roughly 11,700 years before present). It includes the study of fossi ...
and
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, althou ...
who worked in East Africa and India.


Life

Carl was born in
Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...
on 11 December 1847 to George Ludolph Griesbach. He studied at the University of Vienna and worked with the Geological Survey of Vienna. He joined a German expedition to East Africa in 1869-70 and returned to live in London. He wrote on the geology of Natal, with numerous illustrations made by himself. In 1878 he joined the Geological Survey of India in Calcutta. He was part of the
Afghan Boundary Commission The Afghan Boundary Commission (or Joint Anglo-Russian Boundary Commission) was a joint effort by the United Kingdom and the Russian Empire to determine the northern border of Afghanistan The Boundary Commission traveled and documented the northern ...
between 1884 and 1886. For his work during this period, he was created
C.I.E. The Most Eminent Order of the Indian Empire is an order of chivalry founded by Queen Victoria on 1 January 1878. The Order includes members of three classes: #Knight Grand Commander (GCIE) #Knight Commander ( KCIE) #Companion ( CIE) No appo ...
in February 1887 and awarded the Afghan medal and clasp. He succeeded
William King William King may refer to: Arts *Willie King (1943–2009), American blues guitarist and singer *William King (author) (born 1959), British science fiction author and game designer, also known as Bill King *William King (artist) (1925–2015), Ame ...
as Director of the Geological Survey of India in 1894. Griesbach discovered fossils of the ammonoid '' Otoceras'' which he suggested as marking the earliest
Triassic The Triassic ( ) is a geologic period and system which spans 50.6 million years from the end of the Permian Period 251.902 million years ago ( Mya), to the beginning of the Jurassic Period 201.36 Mya. The Triassic is the first and shortest period ...
period thus marking the boundary of the Permian and the Triassic. The term Griesbachian is sometimes applied to strata belonging to this early period. In 1896, Johann Mojsisovics named the '' Griesbachites'' genus after Griesbach's work in this area. Griesbach described what he called the Haimanta System, a series of rocks made of quartz, slate and conglomerate in a layer over the Vaikrita system in the central Himalayas of Kumaon. Griesbach was elected Fellow of the Geological Society of London in 1874. He married his cousin Emma, daughter of the Reverend W.R. Griesbach, in 1869. They had a daughter and a son and following Emma's death in 1892, Griesbach lived in Graz, Austria, with his daughter. He died on 13 April 1907. In recognition of his work, Tim Tozer of the Geological Survey of Canada named a creek on northwest
Axel Heiberg Island Axel Heiberg Island ( iu, ᐅᒥᖕᒪᑦ ᓄᓈᑦ, ) is an uninhabited island in the Qikiqtaaluk Region, Nunavut, Canada. Located in the Arctic Ocean, it is the 32nd largest island in the world and Canada's seventh largest island. According ...
(Canadian High Arctic) after him, and subsequently defined the Early Triassic sub-stage of Griesbachian time at that site.


See also

* Griesbachites


References


External links


Geological Survey of India
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Griesbach, Carl Ludolf 19th-century Austrian geologists Companions of the Order of the Indian Empire 1847 births 1903 deaths Scientists from Vienna University of Vienna alumni