Felix Andries Vening Meinesz (30 July 1887 – 10 August 1966) was a Dutch
geophysicist
Geophysics () is a subject of natural science concerned with the physical processes and physical properties of the Earth and its surrounding space environment, and the use of quantitative methods for their analysis. The term ''geophysics'' som ...
and
geodesist
Geodesy ( ) is the Earth science of accurately measuring and understanding Earth's figure (geometric shape and size), orientation in space, and gravity. The field also incorporates studies of how these properties change over time and equivale ...
. He is known for his invention of a precise method for measuring
gravity
In physics, gravity () is a fundamental interaction which causes mutual attraction between all things with mass or energy. Gravity is, by far, the weakest of the four fundamental interactions, approximately 1038 times weaker than the stro ...
(
gravimetry
Gravimetry is the measurement of the strength of a gravitational field. Gravimetry may be used when either the magnitude of a gravitational field or the properties of matter responsible for its creation are of interest.
Units of measurement
Gr ...
). Thanks to his invention, it became possible to measure gravity at sea, which led him to the discovery of
gravity anomalies above the ocean floor. He later attributed these anomalies to
continental drift
Continental drift is the hypothesis that the Earth's continents have moved over geologic time relative to each other, thus appearing to have "drifted" across the ocean bed. The idea of continental drift has been subsumed into the science of pla ...
.
He was a
Fellow of the Royal Society
Fellowship of the Royal Society (FRS, ForMemRS and HonFRS) is an award granted by the judges of the Royal Society of London to individuals who have made a "substantial contribution to the improvement of natural science, natural knowledge, incl ...
.
Biography
Vening Meinesz's father, Sjoerd Anne Vening Meinesz, was mayor, first of
Rotterdam
Rotterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Rotte'') is the second largest city and municipality in the Netherlands. It is in the province of South Holland, part of the North Sea mouth of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta, via the ''"N ...
, then of
Amsterdam
Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...
. Felix was born in
The Hague
The Hague ( ; nl, Den Haag or ) is a city and municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea. The Hague is the country's administrative centre and its seat of government, and while the official capital of ...
grew up in a protected environment. In 1910 he graduated in civil engineering in
Delft
Delft () is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of South Holland, Netherlands. It is located between Rotterdam, to the southeast, ...
. The same year he started working for the Dutch gravity survey. In 1915 he wrote his
dissertation on the defects of the gravimeters used at that time.
Vening Meinesz then designed a new gravimeter, which the
KNMI (Royal Dutch Meteorological Institute) built. The apparatus has two
pendula of the same size hanging in a frame but moving in opposite phases. With mirrors and lightbeams the difference in amplitude of the two pendula is captured on a film. Vening Meinesz had discovered that horizontal accelerations (as by waves on a boat) had no influence on the difference in amplitude between the two pendula. The recorded difference then is the amplitude of a theoretical, undisturbed pendulum. Now it became possible to measure gravity more accurately. Vening Meinesz started with measuring gravity all over the Netherlands, for which a network of 51 monitoring stations was created. This became a success, which encouraged him to do measurements at sea. A perfected gravimeter, hanging in a 'swing', was designed. The experiment was successful.
Now measuring gravity at sea had become possible. Between 1923 and 1929 the tall (over 2 metres) Vening Meinesz embarked in small submarines for some uncomfortable expeditions. His goal was to establish the exact shape of the
geoid
The geoid () is the shape that the ocean surface would take under the influence of the gravity of Earth, including gravitational attraction and Earth's rotation, if other influences such as winds and tides were absent. This surface is extended ...
and the Earth. When his expedition with the submarine Hr. Ms. K XVIII was made into a movie in 1935, Vening Meinesz became a hero of the Dutch cinema public. Besides, his research was in the international scientific spotlight. In 1927 he became a part-time professor in geodesy,
cartography
Cartography (; from grc, χάρτης , "papyrus, sheet of paper, map"; and , "write") is the study and practice of making and using maps. Combining science, aesthetics and technique, cartography builds on the premise that reality (or an im ...
and geophysics at
Utrecht University
Utrecht University (UU; nl, Universiteit Utrecht, formerly ''Rijksuniversiteit Utrecht'') is a public research university in Utrecht, Netherlands. Established , it is one of the oldest universities in the Netherlands. In 2018, it had an enrollme ...
, and in 1937 he became professor at the
Delft University of Technology
Delft University of Technology ( nl, Technische Universiteit Delft), also known as TU Delft, is the oldest and largest Dutch public technical university, located in Delft, Netherlands. As of 2022 it is ranked by QS World University Rankings among ...
as well. In 1927 he became member of the
Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences
The Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences ( nl, Koninklijke Nederlandse Akademie van Wetenschappen, abbreviated: KNAW) is an organization dedicated to the advancement of science and literature in the Netherlands. The academy is housed ...
. He was awarded the
Howard N. Potts Medal
The Howard N. Potts Medal was one of The Franklin Institute Awards for science and engineering award presented by the Franklin Institute of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It is named for Howard N. Potts. The first Howard N. Potts Medal was awarded in ...
in 1936.
In
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, Vening Meinesz was involved in the Dutch resistance. After the war he could take up his tasks as a professor again. From 1945 to 1951 he was the director of the KNMI. From 1948 to 1951, Vening Meinesz was President of the
International Union of Geodesy and Geophysics
The International Union of Geodesy and Geophysics (IUGG; french: Union géodésique et géophysique internationale, UGGI) is an international non-governmental organization dedicated to the scientific study of Earth and its space environment usi ...
. He retired in 1957, and died in
Amersfoort
Amersfoort () is a city and municipality in the province of Utrecht, Netherlands, about 20 km from the city of Utrecht and 40 km south east of Amsterdam. As of 1 December 2021, the municipality had a population of 158,531, making it the second- ...
in 1966.
Research and discoveries
The vast amounts of data that his expeditions yielded were analyzed and discussed together with other leading Dutch
Earth scientists
Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to harbor life. While large volumes of water can be found throughout the Solar System, only Earth sustains liquid surface water. About 71% of Earth's surface ...
of the time
J.H.F. Umbgrove,
B.G. Escher and
Ph.H. Kuenen, the results were published in 1948. An important result was the discovery of elongated belts of negative
gravity anomalies along the
oceanic trench
Oceanic trenches are prominent long, narrow topographic depressions of the ocean floor. They are typically wide and below the level of the surrounding oceanic floor, but can be thousands of kilometers in length. There are about of oceanic tren ...
es. The mean gravity force appeared to be the same on land and at sea, which was in agreement with the principle of
isostasy
Isostasy (Greek ''ísos'' "equal", ''stásis'' "standstill") or isostatic equilibrium is the state of gravitational equilibrium between Earth's crust (or lithosphere) and mantle such that the crust "floats" at an elevation that depends on its ...
. Vening Meinesz was especially intrigued by the oceanic trenches. The coexistence of active
volcanism
Volcanism, vulcanism or volcanicity is the phenomenon of eruption of molten rock (magma) onto the surface of the Earth or a solid-surface planet or moon, where lava, pyroclastics, and volcanic gases erupt through a break in the surface called ...
, large negative gravity anomalies and the sudden difference in terrain elevation could only be explained by assuming the
Earth's crust
Earth's crust is Earth's thin outer shell of rock, referring to less than 1% of Earth's radius and volume. It is the top component of the lithosphere, a division of Earth's layers that includes the crust and the upper part of the mantle. The ...
was somehow pushed together at these places. As a geophysicist, he was prejudiced that the crust was too rigid to deform at that scale in such a way. His discoveries could be explained only with the development of the theory of
plate tectonics
Plate tectonics (from the la, label=Late Latin, tectonicus, from the grc, τεκτονικός, lit=pertaining to building) is the generally accepted scientific theory that considers the Earth's lithosphere to comprise a number of large ...
in the 1950s.
Submarine expeditions
Vening Meinesz measured the gravity field of the
Earth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to harbor life. While large volumes of water can be found throughout the Solar System, only Earth sustains liquid surface water. About 71% of Earth's surfa ...
with his pendulum apparatus on board several submarines. The following expeditions are described in his publications, "Gravity Expeditions at Sea"
Vol 1: 1923–1930
*
HNLMS K II (1923)
*
HNLMS K XI (1925)
*
HNLMS K XIII (1926–1927)
*
HNLMS K XIII (1928–1930)
Vol II: 1923–1933
*
HNLMS O 13 (1932)
Vol III: 1934–1939
*
HNLMS K XVIII (1934–1935)
*
HNLMS O 16 (1937)
*
HNLMS O 12 (1937)
*
HNLMS O 13 (1938)
*
HNLMS O 19 (1939)
Vening Meinesz was not on board during expeditions after 1939. His experiments were performed by his students.
Vol V: 1948–1958
[Vening Meinesz, F.A., ''Gravity Expeditions 1948-1958'' (Vol. V), Drukkerij Waltman, Delft]
*
HNLMS O 24
''O 24'', laid down ''K XXIV'' was an of the Royal Netherlands Navy that saw service during World War II. The most famous occupant of ''O-24'' was Piet de Jong, who was the commanding officer from 1944 until 1946 and who later became Minister of ...
(1948 - 1949)
*
HNLMS Tijgerhaai (1951)
*
HNLMS Walrus (1957)
*
HNLMS Vos (1955)
*
HNLMS Zeeleeuw (1956)
*
HNLMS Fret (1957)
Legacy
Named after him are:
* a
gravimeter
Gravimetry is the measurement of the strength of a gravitational field. Gravimetry may be used when either the magnitude of a gravitational field or the properties of matter responsible for its creation are of interest.
Units of measurement
Gr ...
, an apparatus to measure gravity
* a mathematical function used in geodesy
* a medal of the European Geophysical Society/
European Geosciences Union
The European Geosciences Union (EGU) is a non-profit international union in the fields of Earth, planetary, and space sciences whose vision is to "realise a sustainable and just future for humanity and for the planet." The organisation has headq ...
* a research school at
Utrecht University
Utrecht University (UU; nl, Universiteit Utrecht, formerly ''Rijksuniversiteit Utrecht'') is a public research university in Utrecht, Netherlands. Established , it is one of the oldest universities in the Netherlands. In 2018, it had an enrollme ...
* the crater
Vening Meinesz on the
Moon
The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite. It is the fifth largest satellite in the Solar System and the largest and most massive relative to its parent planet, with a diameter about one-quarter that of Earth (comparable to the width of ...
.
See also
*
List of geophysicists
This is a list of geophysicists, people who made notable contributions to geophysics, whether or not geophysics was their primary field. These include historical figures who laid the foundations for the field of geophysics. More recently, some of ...
References
Bibliography
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
External links
Vening Meinesz Research School of Geodynamics at Utrecht University*
ttps://archive.today/20110718065327/http://www.egu.eu/awards-medals/award/vening_meinesz.html EGU Vening Meinesz Medal
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vening Meinesz, Felix Andries
1887 births
1966 deaths
20th-century Dutch geologists
Geophysicists
20th-century Dutch inventors
Academic staff of the Delft University of Technology
Wollaston Medal winners
Scientists from The Hague
Penrose Medal winners
Foreign Members of the Royal Society
Foreign associates of the National Academy of Sciences
Members of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences
Delft University of Technology alumni
Howard N. Potts Medal recipients
Geodesists
Presidents of the International Union of Geodesy and Geophysics