An English Translation of palageographie – Geologische Geschichte Der Meere Und Festlnder / paleography – Geologic History of the Seas and Continents (1924)

Description

Awarded the Adele Mellen Prize for Distinguished Contribution to Scholarship Franz Kossmats rare 1924 edition of Palageographie (Geologische Geschicte der Meere und Festlnder) [Paleogeography (Geographic History of the Seas and Continents), to be published here in a bilingual edition] is a remarkable book that hosts an early encounter between classical geology and plate tectonic theory. Kossmat generates an interesting critique of Wegeners continental drift model while providing some intriguing theories of his own regarding continental motion. More importantly, Kossmat documented the interplay between transgressive and regressive marine phases in a unique graphical format that deserves to be better known. Kossmats theories in this regard are virtually unknown in the Anglophone world, as none of Kossmats books (nor any of his articles that I am aware of) have been translated into English. Kossmat is often portrayed as a opponent of continental drift (this explains lack of attention to his work), but the story is not so simple, because he did, unlike G.G. Simpson and other Anglophone geologists, accept both mantle convection plus an interesting and unusual version of continental mobility that has been an intriguing and unrecognized link to modern inertial interchange true polar wander theory. A publication of this translation is now timely as we approach the centenary of Wegeners 1912 publication of the continental drift theory.