Louis de Loczy
Encyclopedia
Louis de Loczy. He was the son of Lajos Lóczy, probably the most famous Hungarian geologist. Lajos de Loczy was the first western geologist to describe the structure, geomorphology
and stratigraphy
of mountain chains bordering the Tibetan Plateau
that links the Kunlun Mountains with the north-south-oriented belt of mountains and gorges in central China.
in the University of Zurich
, the famous E.T.H. (Eidgenossische Technische Hochschule) where he also got his Ph.D. in 1919. He studied further with the famous tectonicist Maurice Lugeon
at the University of Lausanne. Loczy joined in 1920 the Geological Survey of Hungary. He was assigned the mission of geological mapping in parts of his country. From 1922 onwards he worked under contract with Royal Dutch Shell, when he carried out geological exploration in Sumatra, Java, Borneo, Timor and Celebes (presently Indonesia); and also in Ecuador, Peru, Romania, Yugoslavia, Polonia and Hungary. In 1926 he followed in his father's footsteps by becoming the chair of Geology at the University of Budapest.
On September 14, 1926 he married Madeleine Gomperz. They had a son, Lajos, born in 1929 in Budapest. de Loczy was Director of the Geological Institute of Hungary until 1933. During this time he devoted himself to education and training of Hungarian students of geology and with this team discovered the oil
fields as well as the deposits of bauxite
, iron
and manganese
ores, and coal
. His group in the Institute under his direction helped to launch the projects of irrigation of the Hungarian plains and location of dam sites in the valley of Wagg, then part of Czechoslovakia.
began and he was urged to return immediately to his country under the threat of confiscation of his estates, money assets and even his nationality. Since de Loczy was not formally warned about these threats, he continued his work abroad. However, the threats soon became a reality.
Even after these losses, de Loczy carried on with his research in numerous parts of the world. From 1950 to 1951 as a consultant to the Institute of Soil Research of the Ministry of Coordination of Greece, Loczy carried out geological mapping and oil exploration in West Tratia, Epyrus. About this time he gave an advanced course in geological sciences for the Hellenic geologists. He was a delegate of the Institute of Soil Research of Greece in the 1951 Petroleum World Congress. By the end of 1951 he was hired by the Government of Paraguay
to execute geological work in Asuncion
aimed at solving hydrogeological problems in that country.
. With the creation of PETROBRÁS, the Brazilian State Petroleum Company, he became a consultant geologist and in 1954 he took charge of the geological exploration program in the states of Santa Catarina
and Paraná. In 1957 he was invited to teach historical geology in the Geological Course of Petrobrás in a covenant with the University of Bahia (UFBa). In 1958 he proceeded with the geological exploration study in the Paraná Basin and starts a similar one in the large Amazon Basin. In the end of 1958 his contract with PETROBRÁS ends and he soon gets a position for 1959 with the National Iranian Oil Company. He was able to combine this function with the one of professor of Advanced Geology with emphasis in petroleum exploration at the University of Tehran
. In the meantime, the Brazilian Commission of Nuclear Research and the School of Geology of the University of Rio de Janeiro succeeded in attracting him to come to Brazil to teach Structural Geology and Tectonics in the cited institutions.
de Loczy became a naturalized Brazilian and established his residence in Rio de Janeiro. As a professor of the School of Geology he used his university holidays for field work, always taking with him students and collaborators. In the School of Geology hundreds of students passed through his lectures both in classes and the field. He was an active member of the American Association of Petroleum Geologists, USA; Academy of Sciences of Saint Estevan of Budapest; Finnish Geographic Society, Helsinki; Geologische Vereinigung of Stuttgart; Brazilian Geological Society, and Brazilian Society of Paleontology. He was a full member of the Academia Brasileira de Ciências to which he was elected and took oath on May 14, 1968. He participated actively with papers and talks in the geological congresses of Madrid(1926), London, England(1948), Mexico City(1956), India (1964) and in nearly all the Brazilian geological congresses.
His numerous publications deal with structural geology, tectonics and petroleum geology practically on every country he worked. He had an outstanding interest in the building processes of mountain chains particularly the Himalayas, the Alps
and the North and South America cordilleras. During the sixties he published most of his synthesis on the geological evolution on the Brazilian Paleozoic
sedimentary basins. He also made a major contribution to the first Tectonic Map of South America. He was one of the first geologists to introduce and publish on Plate Tectonics
in Brazil and thus caused many polemics during debates with the geosynclinal theory-oriented geologists. In November 1974, de Loczy retired and was honored with a silver plate inscribed with words of gratitude by the faculty, former students and young students in the Institute of Geosciences of UFRJ (which succeeded the former School of Geology). During 1973 and 1974 he was an invited visiting professor to some universities particularly to the Universidade de Brasilia (Unb), during which he created new friends and scientific ties with the faculty of this university. His last work was the preparation of a book he was working on for many years in co-authorship with Professor Eduardo A. Ladeira and published in 1976 Geologia Estrutural e Introdução à Geotectônica (Structural Geology and Introduction to Geotectonics).
Geomorphology
Geomorphology is the scientific study of landforms and the processes that shape them...
and stratigraphy
Stratigraphy
Stratigraphy, a branch of geology, studies rock layers and layering . It is primarily used in the study of sedimentary and layered volcanic rocks....
of mountain chains bordering the Tibetan Plateau
Tibetan Plateau
The Tibetan Plateau , also known as the Qinghai–Tibetan Plateau is a vast, elevated plateau in Central Asia covering most of the Tibet Autonomous Region and Qinghai, in addition to smaller portions of western Sichuan, southwestern Gansu, and northern Yunnan in Western China and Ladakh in...
that links the Kunlun Mountains with the north-south-oriented belt of mountains and gorges in central China.
Early career
Inspired by his father's work, Louis de Loczy pursued eagerly his undergraduate course of geologyGeology
Geology is the science comprising the study of solid Earth, the rocks of which it is composed, and the processes by which it evolves. Geology gives insight into the history of the Earth, as it provides the primary evidence for plate tectonics, the evolutionary history of life, and past climates...
in the University of Zurich
University of Zurich
The University of Zurich , located in the city of Zurich, is the largest university in Switzerland, with over 25,000 students. It was founded in 1833 from the existing colleges of theology, law, medicine and a new faculty of philosophy....
, the famous E.T.H. (Eidgenossische Technische Hochschule) where he also got his Ph.D. in 1919. He studied further with the famous tectonicist Maurice Lugeon
Maurice Lugeon
Maurice Lugeon was a Swiss geologist, and the pioneer of nappe tectonics. He was a pupil of Eugène Renevier. Named for Maurice Lugeon, the lugeon is a measure of transmissivity in rocks, determined by pressurized injection of water through a bore hole driven through the rock...
at the University of Lausanne. Loczy joined in 1920 the Geological Survey of Hungary. He was assigned the mission of geological mapping in parts of his country. From 1922 onwards he worked under contract with Royal Dutch Shell, when he carried out geological exploration in Sumatra, Java, Borneo, Timor and Celebes (presently Indonesia); and also in Ecuador, Peru, Romania, Yugoslavia, Polonia and Hungary. In 1926 he followed in his father's footsteps by becoming the chair of Geology at the University of Budapest.
On September 14, 1926 he married Madeleine Gomperz. They had a son, Lajos, born in 1929 in Budapest. de Loczy was Director of the Geological Institute of Hungary until 1933. During this time he devoted himself to education and training of Hungarian students of geology and with this team discovered the oil
Oil
An oil is any substance that is liquid at ambient temperatures and does not mix with water but may mix with other oils and organic solvents. This general definition includes vegetable oils, volatile essential oils, petrochemical oils, and synthetic oils....
fields as well as the deposits of bauxite
Bauxite
Bauxite is an aluminium ore and is the main source of aluminium. This form of rock consists mostly of the minerals gibbsite Al3, boehmite γ-AlO, and diaspore α-AlO, in a mixture with the two iron oxides goethite and hematite, the clay mineral kaolinite, and small amounts of anatase TiO2...
, iron
Iron
Iron is a chemical element with the symbol Fe and atomic number 26. It is a metal in the first transition series. It is the most common element forming the planet Earth as a whole, forming much of Earth's outer and inner core. It is the fourth most common element in the Earth's crust...
and manganese
Manganese
Manganese is a chemical element, designated by the symbol Mn. It has the atomic number 25. It is found as a free element in nature , and in many minerals...
ores, and coal
Coal
Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock usually occurring in rock strata in layers or veins called coal beds or coal seams. The harder forms, such as anthracite coal, can be regarded as metamorphic rock because of later exposure to elevated temperature and pressure...
. His group in the Institute under his direction helped to launch the projects of irrigation of the Hungarian plains and location of dam sites in the valley of Wagg, then part of Czechoslovakia.
Post World War II
After the 2nd World War by the suggestion of Professor Martonne he executed geological exploration in the French Morocco for the Societé Chérifiennne des Petroles. He worked during 3 years for the Maden Tetkikvo Arama Enstitusu, at Ankara. During this time he did geological explorations in the Adama Basin and in the southeast of Anatolia and contributed significantly for the development of the oil field of Raman Dagh. While de Loczy was working abroad the Hungarian Communist revolutionPeople's Republic of Hungary
The People's Republic of Hungary or Hungarian People's Republic was the official state name of Hungary from 1949 to 1989 during its Communist period under the guidance of the Soviet Union. The state remained in existence until 1989 when opposition forces consolidated in forcing the regime to...
began and he was urged to return immediately to his country under the threat of confiscation of his estates, money assets and even his nationality. Since de Loczy was not formally warned about these threats, he continued his work abroad. However, the threats soon became a reality.
Even after these losses, de Loczy carried on with his research in numerous parts of the world. From 1950 to 1951 as a consultant to the Institute of Soil Research of the Ministry of Coordination of Greece, Loczy carried out geological mapping and oil exploration in West Tratia, Epyrus. About this time he gave an advanced course in geological sciences for the Hellenic geologists. He was a delegate of the Institute of Soil Research of Greece in the 1951 Petroleum World Congress. By the end of 1951 he was hired by the Government of Paraguay
Paraguay
Paraguay , officially the Republic of Paraguay , is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to the east and northeast, and Bolivia to the northwest. Paraguay lies on both banks of the Paraguay River, which runs through the center of the...
to execute geological work in Asuncion
Asunción
Asunción is the capital and largest city of Paraguay.The "Ciudad de Asunción" is an autonomous capital district not part of any department. The metropolitan area, called Gran Asunción, includes the cities of San Lorenzo, Fernando de la Mora, Lambaré, Luque, Mariano Roque Alonso, Ñemby, San...
aimed at solving hydrogeological problems in that country.
Career in Brazil
Also in 1951, the Conselho Nacional de Petroleo do Brasil (CNP) hired him to start an exploration geological program in the Paraná BasinParana Basin
The Paraná Basin is a large sedimentary basin situated in the central-eastern part of South America. About 75% of its areal distribution occurs in Brazil, from Mato Grosso to Rio Grande do Sul states. The remainder area is distributed in eastern Paraguay, northeastern Argentina and northern...
. With the creation of PETROBRÁS, the Brazilian State Petroleum Company, he became a consultant geologist and in 1954 he took charge of the geological exploration program in the states of Santa Catarina
Santa Catarina (state)
Santa Catarina is a state in southern Brazil with one of the highest standards of living in Latin America. Its capital is Florianópolis, which mostly lies on the Santa Catarina Island. Neighbouring states are Rio Grande do Sul to the south and Paraná to the north. It is bounded on the east by...
and Paraná. In 1957 he was invited to teach historical geology in the Geological Course of Petrobrás in a covenant with the University of Bahia (UFBa). In 1958 he proceeded with the geological exploration study in the Paraná Basin and starts a similar one in the large Amazon Basin. In the end of 1958 his contract with PETROBRÁS ends and he soon gets a position for 1959 with the National Iranian Oil Company. He was able to combine this function with the one of professor of Advanced Geology with emphasis in petroleum exploration at the University of Tehran
University of Tehran
The University of Tehran , also known as Tehran University and UT, is Iran's oldest university. Located in Tehran, the university is among the most prestigious in the country, and is consistently selected as the first choice of many applicants in the annual nationwide entrance exam for top Iranian...
. In the meantime, the Brazilian Commission of Nuclear Research and the School of Geology of the University of Rio de Janeiro succeeded in attracting him to come to Brazil to teach Structural Geology and Tectonics in the cited institutions.
de Loczy became a naturalized Brazilian and established his residence in Rio de Janeiro. As a professor of the School of Geology he used his university holidays for field work, always taking with him students and collaborators. In the School of Geology hundreds of students passed through his lectures both in classes and the field. He was an active member of the American Association of Petroleum Geologists, USA; Academy of Sciences of Saint Estevan of Budapest; Finnish Geographic Society, Helsinki; Geologische Vereinigung of Stuttgart; Brazilian Geological Society, and Brazilian Society of Paleontology. He was a full member of the Academia Brasileira de Ciências to which he was elected and took oath on May 14, 1968. He participated actively with papers and talks in the geological congresses of Madrid(1926), London, England(1948), Mexico City(1956), India (1964) and in nearly all the Brazilian geological congresses.
His numerous publications deal with structural geology, tectonics and petroleum geology practically on every country he worked. He had an outstanding interest in the building processes of mountain chains particularly the Himalayas, the Alps
Alps
The Alps is one of the great mountain range systems of Europe, stretching from Austria and Slovenia in the east through Italy, Switzerland, Liechtenstein and Germany to France in the west....
and the North and South America cordilleras. During the sixties he published most of his synthesis on the geological evolution on the Brazilian Paleozoic
Paleozoic
The Paleozoic era is the earliest of three geologic eras of the Phanerozoic eon, spanning from roughly...
sedimentary basins. He also made a major contribution to the first Tectonic Map of South America. He was one of the first geologists to introduce and publish on Plate Tectonics
Plate tectonics
Plate tectonics is a scientific theory that describes the large scale motions of Earth's lithosphere...
in Brazil and thus caused many polemics during debates with the geosynclinal theory-oriented geologists. In November 1974, de Loczy retired and was honored with a silver plate inscribed with words of gratitude by the faculty, former students and young students in the Institute of Geosciences of UFRJ (which succeeded the former School of Geology). During 1973 and 1974 he was an invited visiting professor to some universities particularly to the Universidade de Brasilia (Unb), during which he created new friends and scientific ties with the faculty of this university. His last work was the preparation of a book he was working on for many years in co-authorship with Professor Eduardo A. Ladeira and published in 1976 Geologia Estrutural e Introdução à Geotectônica (Structural Geology and Introduction to Geotectonics).
Selected publications
- Loczy, L., 1969. "Tectonismo transversal na América do Sul e suas Relações Genéticas com as Zonas de Fratura das Cadeias Meio-Oceânicas." Na. Acad. Bras. Ciênc., v. 42, 185-205.
- Louis de Loczy 1970, "Role of transcurrent faulting in South American tectonic framework; Evidence for separation of South American and African continents before Ordovician time." American Associagion of Petroleum Geologists Bulletin. November; v. 54; no. 11; p. 2111-2119.
- Loczy, L., 1971. "Gondwana Problems in the Light of Recent Paleontologic and Tectonic Recognitions." Anais da Academia Brasileira de Ciências, v. 43, suplemento, 363-386.
- Loczy, L., 1973. "Some problems of the tectonic framework of the Guiana Shield with special regard for the Roraima Formation." Geologische Rundschau, Band. 62,Heft 2, p. 318-342.
- Loczy, L., 1974. "Possibilidades de petróleo e mineralização na Amazônica." Mineração e Metalurgia, n.º 354, Ano XXXVII, p. 6-13.