Paul Louis Mercanton
Paul-Louis Mercanton | |
|---|---|
 Mercanton in 1919 | |
| Born | 11 May 1876 |
| Died | 25 February 1963 (aged 86) Lausanne, Switzerland |
| Alma mater | University of Lausanne |
| Occupation(s) | Glaciologist, meteorologist |
| Employer | Central Meteorological Institute |
Paul-Louis Mercanton (11 May 1876 – 25 February 1963) was a Swiss glaciologist, meteorologist and Arctic explorer.
Biography
[edit]Mercanton was born in Lausanne on 11 May 1876, the son of Eugène Mercanton, a lawyer, and Félicie Marie Lavanchy.[1] He graduated in electrical engineering from the University of Lausanne in 1899, and obtained a doctorate in physics from the same university in 1901.[1] Mercanton was a professor of physics and electricity, then of meteorology and geophysics, at Lausanne from 1904 to 1938.[1] He married Alice Marguerite Colomb in 1907.[1]
Mercanton directed Vaud's meteorological service from 1911 to 1941 and the Swiss Central Meteorological Station in Zurich from 1934 to 1941, and was editor and co-author of Variations périodiques des glaciers des Alpes suisses ("Periodic Variations of the Glaciers of the Swiss Alps") between 1907 and 1954.[1] He also regularly wrote reports on other glaciers of Europe.[1] Mercanton was a pioneer by publishing in 1916 a work on modern observation of glaciers entitled Vermessungen am Rhonegletscher 1874-1915.[1] From 1909 until his death, Mercanton was a member of the Glacier Commission of the Swiss Society of Natural Sciences, a commission he chaired for thirty-two years.[1] He died in Lausanne on 25 February 1963.[1]
Arctic expeditions
[edit]Mercanton was a member of expeditions to Spitsbergen (1910), Greenland (1912–1913) and Jan Mayen (1921 and 1929). In 1921 he was part of a team which successfully climbed the Beerenberg volcano on Jan Mayen island for the first time. Mercantonfjellet, a mountainous area on Svalbard, is named after him.[2]
See also
[edit]- Xavier Guillaume Mertz, contemporary Swiss polar explorer
Footnotes
[edit]Bibliography
[edit]- Lauritzen, P. R., ed. (2009). "Mercantonfjellet". Norsk Fjelleksikon (in Norwegian). Arendal: Friluftsforlaget. ISBN 9788291495477.
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| People | |
| Other | |
 | This article about a Swiss scientist is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
 | This biographical article about a glaciologist is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |