Augusto Gansser-Biaggi
Encyclopedia
Augusto Gansser-Biaggi is a Swiss geologist
who specialised in the geology of the Himalayas. He was born in Milan
.
He got the Tibetan variant of malaria
at the First Swiss Himalaya Expedition, and thereafter a lifelong resistance. He circumambulated Mount Kailash
disguised as a pilgrim, discovering at the foot of the mountain the origin of one rock seen in the Indian part of the Himalaya
s and a sensation: seafloor rocks. Later on, he interpreted this Indus-Yarlung-Tsangpo Suture Zone
(ISZ) as the border between the Indian and the Eurasian Plate
.
Iran: using his field notes and relief pictures taken by the Iranian Air Force, he chose a 50x 12 km area. Four drillings were not able to go through a huge salt and gypsum layer. Only Number 5 was successful, the largest known 'wildcat
' oil gusher
, North of Qom
(Iran) on 26 August 1956 (3,000 m deep, 80,000 tons oil/day). The gas got lighted up on 13 September, sometime later the well closed itself.
From 1958 until 1977, he was professor of Geology at the University and the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich
, from where he carried out several researches in the Himalayas (Nepal
, India
and Bhutan
). There were five expeditions between 1963 and 1977 to Bhutan. In 1980 and 1985 he was invited by Deng Xiao Ping to Tibet
.
Notes: the Greenland expedition included Professor Eugen Wegmann (University of Neuchâtel
), Swiss geologists René Masson and Eduard Wenk. The Bhutan expeditions were possible with the help of Jigme Dorje Wangchuks, King of Bhutan and his adviser Fritz von Schulthess.
. The family has two sons and four daughters: Ursula (1941), Mario (1943), Luca (1945), Manuela
(1949), Francesca (1956), Rosanna (1959). He named Pico Toti, Sierra Nevada del Cocuy
(Colombia) after his wife following their joint first ascent. She died in 2000 (Alzheimer's disease
). Gansser-Biaggi turned 100
on 28 October 2010.
's literature about the Himalayas. Note: It is about the Guyana Shield, the Tepuys and Mount Roraima.
Geologist
A geologist is a scientist who studies the solid and liquid matter that constitutes the Earth as well as the processes and history that has shaped it. Geologists usually engage in studying geology. Geologists, studying more of an applied science than a theoretical one, must approach Geology using...
who specialised in the geology of the Himalayas. He was born in Milan
Milan
Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...
.
Career
His geological researches were global in scope:- East GreenlandGreenlandGreenland is an autonomous country within the Kingdom of Denmark, located between the Arctic and Atlantic Oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Though physiographically a part of the continent of North America, Greenland has been politically and culturally associated with Europe for...
(1934), a 4 month expedition under Lauge KochLauge KochLauge Koch was a Danish geologist and Arctic explorer.He was the renowned leader of 24 Danish government expeditions to Greenland, and the central character in the Lauge Koch Controversy, an international and intra-national conflict...
. - Himalaya (1936), a 8 month expedition under Arnold Heim.
- ColombiaColombiaColombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
(1937–1945, for ShellRoyal Dutch ShellRoyal Dutch Shell plc , commonly known as Shell, is a global oil and gas company headquartered in The Hague, Netherlands and with its registered office in London, United Kingdom. It is the fifth-largest company in the world according to a composite measure by Forbes magazine and one of the six...
) - TrinidadTrinidadTrinidad is the larger and more populous of the two major islands and numerous landforms which make up the island nation of Trinidad and Tobago. It is the southernmost island in the Caribbean and lies just off the northeastern coast of Venezuela. With an area of it is also the fifth largest in...
(1947–1950, for Shell) - IranIranIran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
(1951–1958, chief geologist of the National Iranian Oil CompanyNational Iranian Oil CompanyThe National Iranian Oil Company , a government-owned corporation under the direction of the Ministry of Petroleum of Iran, is an oil and natural gas producer and distributor headquartered in Tehran. It was established in 1948...
)
He got the Tibetan variant of malaria
Malaria
Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease of humans and other animals caused by eukaryotic protists of the genus Plasmodium. The disease results from the multiplication of Plasmodium parasites within red blood cells, causing symptoms that typically include fever and headache, in severe cases...
at the First Swiss Himalaya Expedition, and thereafter a lifelong resistance. He circumambulated Mount Kailash
Mount Kailash
Mount Kailash is a peak in the Gangdisê Mountains, which are part of the Himalayas in Tibet...
disguised as a pilgrim, discovering at the foot of the mountain the origin of one rock seen in the Indian part of the Himalaya
Geology of the Himalaya
The geology of the Himalaya is a record of the most dramatic and visible creations of modern plate tectonic forces. The Himalayas, which stretch over 2400 km between the Namche Barwa syntaxis in Tibet and the Nanga Parbat syntaxis in Pakistan, are the result of an ongoing orogeny — the result...
s and a sensation: seafloor rocks. Later on, he interpreted this Indus-Yarlung-Tsangpo Suture Zone
Indus-Yarlung suture zone
The Indus-Yarlung suture zone or the Indus-Yarlung Zangbo suture is a tectonic suture in southern Tibet and across the north margin of the Himalayas which resulted from the collision between the Indian plate and the Eurasian plate starting about 52 Ma. The north side of the suture zone is the...
(ISZ) as the border between the Indian and the Eurasian Plate
Eurasian Plate
The Eurasian Plate is a tectonic plate which includes most of the continent of Eurasia , with the notable exceptions of the Indian subcontinent, the Arabian subcontinent, and the area east of the Chersky Range in East Siberia...
.
Iran: using his field notes and relief pictures taken by the Iranian Air Force, he chose a 50x 12 km area. Four drillings were not able to go through a huge salt and gypsum layer. Only Number 5 was successful, the largest known 'wildcat
Wildcatter
A wildcatter is an American term for a person who drills wildcat wells, which are oil wells drilled in areas not known to be oil fields. A wildcatter notable for his success was Texan oil tycoon Glenn McCarthy....
' oil gusher
Blowout (well drilling)
A blowout is the uncontrolled release of crude oil and/or natural gas from an oil well or gas well after pressure control systems have failed....
, North of Qom
Qom
Qom is a city in Iran. It lies by road southwest of Tehran and is the capital of Qom Province. At the 2006 census, its population was 957,496, in 241,827 families. It is situated on the banks of the Qom River....
(Iran) on 26 August 1956 (3,000 m deep, 80,000 tons oil/day). The gas got lighted up on 13 September, sometime later the well closed itself.
From 1958 until 1977, he was professor of Geology at the University and the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich
ETH Zurich
The Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich or ETH Zürich is an engineering, science, technology, mathematics and management university in the City of Zurich, Switzerland....
, from where he carried out several researches in the Himalayas (Nepal
Nepal
Nepal , officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked sovereign state located in South Asia. It is located in the Himalayas and bordered to the north by the People's Republic of China, and to the south, east, and west by the Republic of India...
, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
and Bhutan
Bhutan
Bhutan , officially the Kingdom of Bhutan, is a landlocked state in South Asia, located at the eastern end of the Himalayas and bordered to the south, east and west by the Republic of India and to the north by the People's Republic of China...
). There were five expeditions between 1963 and 1977 to Bhutan. In 1980 and 1985 he was invited by Deng Xiao Ping to Tibet
Tibet
Tibet is a plateau region in Asia, north-east of the Himalayas. It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people as well as some other ethnic groups such as Monpas, Qiang, and Lhobas, and is now also inhabited by considerable numbers of Han and Hui people...
.
Notes: the Greenland expedition included Professor Eugen Wegmann (University of Neuchâtel
University of Neuchâtel
The University of Neuchâtel is a French-speaking university in Neuchâtel, Switzerland. The University has five faculties and more than a dozen institutes, including arts and human sciences, natural sciences, law, economics and theology. The Faculty of Arts and Human Sciences is the largest...
), Swiss geologists René Masson and Eduard Wenk. The Bhutan expeditions were possible with the help of Jigme Dorje Wangchuks, King of Bhutan and his adviser Fritz von Schulthess.
Family
After the first Himalayan expedition he married Linda Biaggi (Toti) from LuganoLugano
Lugano is a city of inhabitants in the city proper and a total of over 145,000 people in the agglomeration/city region, in the south of Switzerland, in the Italian-speaking canton of Ticino, which borders Italy...
. The family has two sons and four daughters: Ursula (1941), Mario (1943), Luca (1945), Manuela
Manuela Darling-Gansser
Manuela Darling-Gansser is a writer of food and travel cookbooks, a contributor to lifestylemagazines and has appeared as a repeat guest on Australian television shows...
(1949), Francesca (1956), Rosanna (1959). He named Pico Toti, Sierra Nevada del Cocuy
Sierra Nevada del Cocuy
The Sierra Nevada del Cocuy Chita o Guican National Natural Park The Sierra Nevada del Cocuy Chita o Guican National Natural Park The Sierra Nevada del Cocuy Chita o Guican National Natural Park (or Sierra Nevada de Chita or Sierra Nevada de Güicán, is a national park and a set of highlands within...
(Colombia) after his wife following their joint first ascent. She died in 2000 (Alzheimer's disease
Alzheimer's disease
Alzheimer's disease also known in medical literature as Alzheimer disease is the most common form of dementia. There is no cure for the disease, which worsens as it progresses, and eventually leads to death...
). Gansser-Biaggi turned 100
Centenarian
A centenarian is a person who is or lives beyond the age of 100 years. Because current average life expectancies across the world are less than 100, the term is invariably associated with longevity. Much rarer, a supercentenarian is a person who has lived to the age of 110 or more, something only...
on 28 October 2010.
Awards
- Patrons MedalGold Medal (RGS)The Gold Medal are the most prestigious of the awards presented by the Royal Geographical Society. The Gold Medal is not one award but consists of two separate awards; the Founder's Medal 1830 and the Patron's Medal 1838. The award is given for "the encouragement and promotion of geographical...
of the Royal Geographical SocietyRoyal Geographical SocietyThe Royal Geographical Society is a British learned society founded in 1830 for the advancement of geographical sciences...
in London for the book: “The Geology of the Himalayas“ - Wollaston MedalWollaston MedalThe Wollaston Medal is a scientific award for geology, the highest award granted by the Geological Society of London.The medal is named after William Hyde Wollaston, and was first awarded in 1831...
(the highest award granted by the Geological Society of LondonGeological Society of LondonThe Geological Society of London is a learned society based in the United Kingdom with the aim of "investigating the mineral structure of the Earth"...
). - Prix Gaudry (the highest award granted by the French Geological Society)
- Steinmann Medal of the Geological Society of West Germany
- King Albert Medal of Merit for his mountain research
- In 1983 the University of PeshawarUniversity of PeshawarThe University of Peshawar is a public sector university in the city of Peshawar, Pakistan. The university was established in October 1950 by Mr...
in Pakistan gave him the title of "Baba Himalaya" (Father of the Himalayas). - in 2005 he became honorary member of the Nepal Geological Society.
Publications
It gratefully acknowledges Sven HedinSven Hedin
Sven Anders Hedin KNO1kl RVO was a Swedish geographer, topographer, explorer, photographer, and travel writer, as well as an illustrator of his own works...
's literature about the Himalayas. Note: It is about the Guyana Shield, the Tepuys and Mount Roraima.