Nils Gustaf Ekholm (9 October 1848 – 5 April 1923) was a Swedish meteorologist who led a Swedish geophysical expedition to
Spitsbergen
Spitsbergen (; formerly known as West Spitsbergen; Norwegian: ''Vest Spitsbergen'' or ''Vestspitsbergen'' , also sometimes spelled Spitzbergen) is the largest and the only permanently populated island of the Svalbard archipelago in northern Norw ...
in 1882–1883.
Biography
Ekholm was born in
Smedjebacken
Smedjebacken is a locality and the seat of Smedjebacken Municipality, Dalarna County, Sweden, with 5,100 inhabitants in 2010.
Geographically, the town Smedjebacken is situated by the lake Barken, with an area of , which in turn belongs to the K ...
in
Dalarna
Dalarna () is a '' landskap'' (historical province) in central Sweden. English exonyms for it are Dalecarlia () and the Dales.
Dalarna adjoins Härjedalen, Hälsingland, Gästrikland, Västmanland and Värmland
Värmland () also known a ...
, son of a pharmacist. Having completed his ''
mogenhetsexamen'' in 1868, he enrolled at the
University of Uppsala
Uppsala University ( sv, Uppsala universitet) is a public research university in Uppsala, Sweden. Founded in 1477, it is the oldest university in Sweden and the Nordic countries still in operation.
The university rose to significance during ...
in September 1869, and graduated with a
Candidate of Philosophy Candidate of Philosophy can refer to the US degree or status of Candidate in Philosophy (C.Phil. or Ph.C.) granted to Ph.D. students who have been accepted as candidates for that degree, or (as a direct translation) to degrees or former degrees at b ...
degree in 1876, completing a
Licentiate degree
A licentiate (abbreviated Lic.) is an academic degree present in many countries, representing different educational levels.
It may be similar to a master's degree when issued by pontifical universities and other universities in Europe, Latin Ame ...
in 1887 and a Ph.D. in 1888. He was a student of Robert Rubenson and
Hugo Hildebrand Hildebrandsson.
He worked at the Meteorological department at
Uppsala University
Uppsala University ( sv, Uppsala universitet) is a public university, public research university in Uppsala, Sweden. Founded in 1477, it is the List of universities in Sweden, oldest university in Sweden and the Nordic countries still in opera ...
from 1876 until 1881, and again, after returning from his Spitsbergen expedition, 1884–1890, and was docent of meteorology at the university 1888–1892. From 1890 he worked as an assistant at the Swedish Meteorological Institute in Stockholm (one of the predecessor institutions of the current
Swedish Meteorological and Hydrological Institute
The Swedish Meteorological and Hydrological Institute ( sv, Sveriges meteorologiska och hydrologiska institut, abbreviated SMHI) is a Government agency in Sweden and operates under the Ministry of the Environment. SMHI has expertise within the ...
, SMHI, now located in
Norrköping
Norrköping (; ) is a city in the province of Östergötland in eastern Sweden and the seat of Norrköping Municipality, Östergötland County, about 160 km southwest of the national capital Stockholm, 40 km east of county seat Linköp ...
). He became professor and head of the institute in 1913, retiring at the age of 70 in 1918.
Ekholm was originally responsible only for the meteorological research of
Andrée's Arctic balloon expedition
Andrée's Arctic balloon expedition of 1897 was a failed effort to reach the North Pole, resulting in the deaths of all three Swedish expedition members, S. A. Andrée, Knut Frænkel, and Nils Strindberg. Andrée, the first Swedish balloonist, ...
(1897-1898). Ekholm was made head of the expedition as a whole after his predecessor, Commander F. Malmberg, had become unable to participate because of illness.
The projected 1896 launch of engineer and balloonist
S. A. Andrée's balloon from Spitsbergen was called off because of contrary winds. Ekholm later started to question that the tightness of the balloon was going to be sufficient to keep hydrogen leakage to the minimum necessary for the success of the expedition. When Andrée disregarded his warnings, Ekholm abandoned the expedition. Ekholm was replaced by
Knut Frænkel
Knut Hjalmar Ferdinand Frænkel (14 February 1870 – c. 10 October 1897) was a Swedish engineer and arctic explorer who perished in the Arctic balloon expedition of 1897 of S. A. Andrée in 1897.
Biography
Frænkel was born in Karlstad, Swede ...
. Following the 1897 balloon launch, the entire expedition perished.
Ekholm is regarded as the founder of the Swedish
storm warning
At sea, a storm warning is a warning issued by the National Weather Service of the United States when winds between 48 knots (89 km/h, 55 mph) and 63 knots (117 km/h, 73 mph) are occurring or predicted to occur soon. The wi ...
system, which he initiated during his time at the Meteorological Institute. The system began in 1905 with 27 storm warning stations on the Swedish west coast, and expanded over the following years until it finally covered the entire Swedish coastline from 1913.
Ekholm was elected a Fellow of the British
Royal Meteorological Society
The Royal Meteorological Society is a long-established institution that promotes academic and public engagement in weather and climate science. Fellows of the Society must possess relevant qualifications, but Associate Fellows can be lay enthus ...
in 1892, and a Member of the
Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences
The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences ( sv, Kungliga Vetenskapsakademien) is one of the Swedish Royal Academies, royal academies of Sweden. Founded on 2 June 1739, it is an independent, non-governmental scientific organization that takes special ...
in 1905.
In 1899, Ekholm, an early and eager spokesman for anthropogenic climatic control, pointed out that at present rates, the burning of coal eventually could double the concentration of atmospheric CO
2. According to Ekholm, being influenced by the thoughts of his lifelong friend and colleague
Svante Arrhenius
Svante August Arrhenius ( , ; 19 February 1859 – 2 October 1927) was a Swedes, Swedish scientist. Originally a physicist, but often referred to as a chemist, Arrhenius was one of the founders of the science of physical chemistry. He received ...
, this would "undoubtedly cause a very obvious rise of the mean temperature of the Earth." By controlling the production and consumption of CO
2, he thought humans would be able to "regulate the future climate of the Earth and consequently prevent the arrival of a new ice age (Fleming 1998). An English version published in 1901 in the Quarterly Journal of the Royal Meteorological Society
[Ekholm, 1901, op cit.] resulted in wide dissemination of Ekholm's ideas, including the use of the term "greenhouse" to describe the effect of carbon dioxide).
Publications
Notes
References
*Ångström, Anders: "Ekholm, Nils Gustaf", in ''Svenskt biografiskt lexikon'', vol. 12 (1949), p. 720–725.
SMHI och dess föregångare i årtal fr o m 1873, a timeline of the history of SMHI and its predecessor institutions
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ekholm, Nils Gustaf
1848 births
1923 deaths
People from Smedjebacken Municipality
Swedish explorers
Explorers of the Arctic
Swedish meteorologists
Members of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences