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{{short description|Italian volcanologist and priest (1850–1914)}}
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{{Infobox scientist
{{Infobox scientist
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| name = Giuseppe Mercalli
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| caption = Giuseppe Mercalli
| caption = Giuseppe Mercalli
| birth_date = May 21, 1850
| birth_date = 21 May 1850
| birth_place =
| birth_place = [[Milan]], [[Kingdom of Lombardy–Venetia]]
| death_date = {{Death date and age|1914|3|19|1850|5|21}}
| death_date = {{Death date and age|1914|3|19|1850|5|21|df=y}}
| death_place =
| death_place = [[Naples]], [[Kingdom of Italy]]
| residence =
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'''Giuseppe Mercalli''' (May 21, 1850 – March 19, 1914) was an [[Italy|Italian]] [[Volcanology|volcanologist]] and [[Catholic Church|Catholic]] [[priest]]. He is best remembered for the [[Mercalli intensity scale]] for measuring [[earthquake]]s.
'''Giuseppe Mercalli''' (21 May 1850 – 19 March 1914) was an Italian [[volcanologist]] and [[Catholic Church|Catholic]] [[priest]]. He is known best for the [[Mercalli intensity scale]] for measuring [[earthquake]] intensity.


==Biography==
==Biography==
{{See also|List of Roman Catholic cleric–scientists}}
{{See also|List of Roman Catholic cleric–scientists}}


Born in [[Milan]], Mercalli was ordained a [[Roman Catholic]] priest and soon became a professor of the Natural Sciences at the seminary of Milan. The [[Italy|Italian]] government appointed him a professor at [[Domodossola]], followed by a post at [[Reggio di Calabria]]. He was professor of geology at the [[University of Catania]] in the late 1880s and finally was given a post at the [[Naples University]]. He was also director of the [[Vesuvius Observatory]] until the time of his death.
Born in [[Milan]], Mercalli was ordained a [[Roman Catholic]] priest and soon became a professor of Natural Sciences at the seminary of Milan. The [[Italy|Italian]] government appointed him a professor at [[Domodossola]], followed by a job at [[Reggio di Calabria]]. He was professor of geology at the [[University of Catania]] during the late 1880s and finally was given a job at [[Naples University]]. He was also director of the [[Vesuvius Observatory]] until the time of his death.


⚫
[[File:Vezuviy 1906 apres.jpg|thumb|right|Mercalli's photograph of Vesuvius, taken immediately after its eruption in 1906]]
⚫
He is best remembered for the [[Mercalli intensity scale]] for measuring [[earthquake]]s which, in modified form, is still used today.<ref>{{citation|title=International Handbook of Earthquake & Engineering Seismology|series=Part B, Volume 81B|chapter=Biographies of interest to earthquake and engineering seismologists|first=B. F.|last=Howell, Jr.|year=2003|publisher=[[Academic Press]]|edition=First|isbn=978-0124406582|page=1761}}</ref> Unlike the [[Richter magnitude scale]], which measures the energy released by an earthquake, the Mercalli intensity scale measures the subjectively assessed effects of an earthquake. It is poorly suited for measuring earthquakes in sparsely populated areas but ideal for comparing damage done by various tremors, and is useful in [[earthquake engineering]]. The scale in use today assigns indices ranging from I - "Not felt, except by a few under favorable conditions", to XII - "Damage total; objects thrown into the air."


⚫
Giuseppe Mercalli also observed eruptions of the volcanoes [[Stromboli]] and [[Vulcano]] in the [[Aeolian Islands]]. His descriptions of these eruptions became the basis for two indices of the [[volcanic explosivity index]]: 1 – [[Strombolian eruption]], and 2 – [[Vulcanian eruption]]. He also photographed [[Vesuvius]] immediately after its eruption in 1906.
⚫
[[File:Vezuviy 1906 apres.jpg|thumb|right|Mercalli's photograph of Vesuvius, taken immediately after its eruption in 1906.]]


⚫
In 1914, Mercalli burnt to death under suspicious circumstances, allegedly after knocking over a paraffin lamp in his bedroom.<ref>{{cite news|title=Prof. G. Mercalli Burned To Death; Famous Director of Vesuvian Observatory Upsets Oil Lamp Upon Himself|url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F70B16FD3A5B13738DDDA90A94DB405B848DF1D3|date=March 20, 1914|newspaper=The New York Times}}</ref> He is thought to have been working through the night, as he often did (he once was found working at 11 a.m. when he had set an examination, upon hearing which he replied, "It surely can't be daylight yet!"), when the fatal accident occurred. His body was found, carbonized, by his bed, holding a blanket which he apparently attempted to use to fend off the flames. The authorities, however, stated a few days later that the professor was quite possibly murdered by strangling and soaked in petrol and burned to conceal the crime because they determined that some money (now worth about $1,400) was missing from the professor's apartment.
⚫
Giuseppe Mercalli also observed eruptions of the volcanoes [[Stromboli]] and [[Vulcano]] in the [[Aeolian Islands]]. His descriptions of these eruptions became the basis for two indices in the [[Volcanic Explosivity Index]]: 1 - [[Strombolian eruption]], and 2 - [[Vulcanian eruption]]. He also photographed [[Vesuvius]] immediately after its eruption in 1906.

⚫
In 1914, Mercalli burnt to death under suspicious circumstances, allegedly after knocking over a paraffin lamp in his bedroom.<ref>{{cite news|title=PROF. G. MERCALLI BURNED TO DEATH; Famous Director of Vesuvian Observatory Upsets Oil Lamp Upon Himself|url=http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F70B16FD3A5B13738DDDA90A94DB405B848DF1D3|date=March 20, 1914|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]}}</ref> He is thought to have been working through the night, as he often did (he once was found working at 11 a.m. when he had set an examination, upon hearing which he replied, “It surely can't be daylight yet!”), when the fatal accident occurred. His body was found, carbonized, by his bed, holding a blanket which he attempted to use to fend off the flames. The authorities, however, stated a few days later that the professor was quite possibly murdered by strangling and soaked in petrol and burned to conceal the crime because they determined that money now worth about $1,400 was missing from the professor's apartment.


==Intensity scales==
==Intensity scales==
{{See also|Seismic scale}}
{{See also|Seismic scale}}


Mercalli devised two earthquake intensity scales, both modifications of the [[Rossi–Forel scale]]. The first,<ref>{{cite book|last=Mercalli|first=Giuseppe|publication-date=1883|series=Geologia d’Italia|volume=3|title=Vulcani e Fenomeni Vulcanici in Italia|publisher=Francesco Vallardi|place=Milan|pages=217–218}}</ref> now largely forgotten, had six degrees whereas the Rossi–Forel scale had ten.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Davison |first=C |date=1921 |title=On scales of seismic intensity and on the construction of isoseismal lines |work=Bull. Seismol. Soc. Am. |issue=11 |pages=95–129}}</ref> The second, now known as the [[Mercalli intensity scale]], had ten degrees, and expanded on the descriptions in the Rossi–Forel scale.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Mercalli|first=Giuseppe|date=1902|title=Sulle modificazioni proposte alla scala sismica De Rossi-Forel|work=Boll Soc Sismol Ital|issue=8|pages=184–191}}</ref>
Mercalli devised two earthquake intensity scales, both modifications of the [[Rossi–Forel scale]]. The first,<ref>{{cite book|last=Mercalli|first=Giuseppe|publication-date=1883|series=Geologia d’Italia|volume=3|title=Vulcani e Fenomeni Vulcanici in Italia|publisher=Francesco Vallardi|place=Milan|pages=217–218}}</ref> now largely forgotten, had six degrees whereas the Rossi–Forel scale had ten.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Davison |first=C |date=1921 |title=On scales of seismic intensity and on the construction of isoseismal lines |journal=Bull. Seismol. Soc. Am. |issue=11 |pages=95–129|doi=10.1785/BSSA0110020095 }}</ref> The second, now known as the [[Mercalli intensity scale]], had ten degrees, and elaborated the descriptions in the Rossi–Forel scale.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Mercalli|first=Giuseppe|date=1902|title=Sulle modificazioni proposte alla scala sismica De Rossi-Forel|journal=Boll Soc Sismol Ital|issue=8|pages=184–191}}</ref>

⚫
The [[Mercalli intensity scale]] is, in modified form, still used.<ref>{{citation|title=International Handbook of Earthquake & Engineering Seismology|series=Part B, Volume 81B|chapter=Biographies of interest to earthquake and engineering seismologists|first=B. F.|last=Howell, Jr.|year=2003|publisher=[[Academic Press]]|edition=First|isbn=978-0124406582|page=1761}}</ref> Unlike the [[Richter scale]], which measures the energy released by an earthquake, the Mercalli intensity scale measures the effects of an earthquake on structures and people. It is poorly suited for measuring earthquakes in sparsely populated areas but useful for comparing damage done by various tremors and historical earthquakes, and for [[earthquake engineering]]. The scale currently in use assigns indices ranging from I ("Not felt, except by a few under favorable conditions"), to XII ("Damage total; objects thrown into the air").


Italian physicist [[Adolfo Cancani]] expanded the ten-degree Mercalli scale with the addition of two degrees at the top of the scale: XI (catastrophe) and XII (enormous catastrophe).<ref>{{cite journal|last=Cancani|first=Adolfo|date=1904|title=Sur l’emploi d’une double echelle sismique des intensitès, empirique et absolue|work=Gerlands Beitr Geophys|issue=2|pages=281–283}}</ref> This was later completely rewritten by the German geophysicist [[August Heinrich Sieberg]] and became known as the Mercalli–Cancani–Sieberg (MCS) scale. This was modified and published in English by [[Harry O. Wood]] and [[Frank Neumann]] in 1931 as the Mercalli–Wood–Neumann (MWN) scale. It was later improved by [[Charles Francis Richter|Charles Richter]], developer of the [[Richter magnitude scale|Richter scale]]. The scale is known today as the Modified Mercalli intensity scale (MM or MMI).
Italian physicist Adolfo Cancani expanded the ten-degree Mercalli scale with the addition of two degrees at the more intense of the scale: XI (catastrophe) and XII (enormous catastrophe).<ref>{{cite journal|last=Cancani|first=Adolfo|date=1904|title=Sur l'emploi d'une double echelle sismique des intensitès, empirique et absolue|journal=Gerlands Beitr Geophys|issue=2|pages=281–283}}</ref> This was later modified by the German geophysicist [[August Heinrich Sieberg]] and became known as the Mercalli–Cancani–Sieberg (MCS) scale. This was modified again and published in English by [[Harry O. Wood]] and Frank Neumann in 1931 as the Mercalli–Wood–Neumann (MWN) scale. It was later improved by [[Charles Francis Richter|Charles Richter]],<ref>Charles F. Richter; 1958. Elementary Seismology. W. H. Freeman & Company, San Francisco & London, 768 p</ref><ref>Eiby G. A., 1966. The Modified Mercalli Scale of Earthquake Intensity and Its Use in New Zealand. N.Z. Journal of Geology and Geophysics, 9, pp. 122-129.</ref> developer of the [[Richter magnitude scale|Richter scale]].


==References==
==References==
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==External links==
==External links==
* {{Internet Archive author |sname=Giuseppe Mercalli}}
* {{Internet Archive author |sname=Giuseppe Mercalli}}
* {{DBI |title= MERCALLI, Giuseppe |url=https://www.treccani.it/enciclopedia/giuseppe-mercalli_(Dizionario-Biografico)|last= Gasparini|first= Paolo|volume= 73}}


{{Authority control}}
{{Authority control}}
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[[Category:1850 births]]
[[Category:1850 births]]
[[Category:1914 deaths]]
[[Category:1914 deaths]]
[[Category:People from Milan]]
[[Category:Clergy from Milan]]
[[Category:Italian geologists]]
[[Category:19th-century Italian geologists]]
[[Category:Seismologists]]
[[Category:Seismologists]]
[[Category:Volcanologists]]
[[Category:Italian volcanologists]]
[[Category:Earthquake engineering]]
[[Category:Earthquake engineering]]
[[Category:Roman Catholic cleric-scientists]]
[[Category:Catholic clergy scientists]]
[[Category:19th-century Roman Catholic priests]]
[[Category:19th-century Italian Roman Catholic priests]]
[[Category:20th-century Roman Catholic priests]]
[[Category:20th-century Italian Roman Catholic priests]]
[[Category:Scientists from Milan]]
[[Category:20th-century Italian geologists]]

Latest revision as of 03:51, 26 November 2024

Giuseppe Mercalli
Giuseppe Mercalli
Born21 May 1850
Milan, Kingdom of Lombardy–Venetia
Died19 March 1914(1914-03-19) (aged 63)
Naples, Kingdom of Italy
NationalityItalian
Known forMercalli intensity scale
Scientific career
FieldsVolcanology

Giuseppe Mercalli (21 May 1850 – 19 March 1914) was an Italian volcanologist and Catholic priest. He is known best for the Mercalli intensity scale for measuring earthquake intensity.

Biography

[edit]
See also: List of Roman Catholic cleric–scientists

Born in Milan, Mercalli was ordained a Roman Catholic priest and soon became a professor of Natural Sciences at the seminary of Milan. The Italian government appointed him a professor at Domodossola, followed by a job at Reggio di Calabria. He was professor of geology at the University of Catania during the late 1880s and finally was given a job at Naples University. He was also director of the Vesuvius Observatory until the time of his death.

Mercalli's photograph of Vesuvius, taken immediately after its eruption in 1906

Giuseppe Mercalli also observed eruptions of the volcanoes Stromboli and Vulcano in the Aeolian Islands. His descriptions of these eruptions became the basis for two indices of the volcanic explosivity index: 1 – Strombolian eruption, and 2 – Vulcanian eruption. He also photographed Vesuvius immediately after its eruption in 1906.

In 1914, Mercalli burnt to death under suspicious circumstances, allegedly after knocking over a paraffin lamp in his bedroom.[1] He is thought to have been working through the night, as he often did (he once was found working at 11 a.m. when he had set an examination, upon hearing which he replied, "It surely can't be daylight yet!"), when the fatal accident occurred. His body was found, carbonized, by his bed, holding a blanket which he apparently attempted to use to fend off the flames. The authorities, however, stated a few days later that the professor was quite possibly murdered by strangling and soaked in petrol and burned to conceal the crime because they determined that some money (now worth about $1,400) was missing from the professor's apartment.

Intensity scales

[edit]
See also: Seismic scale

Mercalli devised two earthquake intensity scales, both modifications of the Rossi–Forel scale. The first,[2] now largely forgotten, had six degrees whereas the Rossi–Forel scale had ten.[3] The second, now known as the Mercalli intensity scale, had ten degrees, and elaborated the descriptions in the Rossi–Forel scale.[4]

The Mercalli intensity scale is, in modified form, still used.[5] Unlike the Richter scale, which measures the energy released by an earthquake, the Mercalli intensity scale measures the effects of an earthquake on structures and people. It is poorly suited for measuring earthquakes in sparsely populated areas but useful for comparing damage done by various tremors and historical earthquakes, and for earthquake engineering. The scale currently in use assigns indices ranging from I ("Not felt, except by a few under favorable conditions"), to XII ("Damage total; objects thrown into the air").

Italian physicist Adolfo Cancani expanded the ten-degree Mercalli scale with the addition of two degrees at the more intense of the scale: XI (catastrophe) and XII (enormous catastrophe).[6] This was later modified by the German geophysicist August Heinrich Sieberg and became known as the Mercalli–Cancani–Sieberg (MCS) scale. This was modified again and published in English by Harry O. Wood and Frank Neumann in 1931 as the Mercalli–Wood–Neumann (MWN) scale. It was later improved by Charles Richter,[7][8] developer of the Richter scale.

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Prof. G. Mercalli Burned To Death; Famous Director of Vesuvian Observatory Upsets Oil Lamp Upon Himself". The New York Times. March 20, 1914.
  2. ^ Mercalli, Giuseppe (1883). Vulcani e Fenomeni Vulcanici in Italia. Geologia d’Italia. Vol. 3. Milan: Francesco Vallardi. pp. 217–218.
  3. ^ Davison, C (1921). "On scales of seismic intensity and on the construction of isoseismal lines". Bull. Seismol. Soc. Am. (11): 95–129. doi:10.1785/BSSA0110020095.
  4. ^ Mercalli, Giuseppe (1902). "Sulle modificazioni proposte alla scala sismica De Rossi-Forel". Boll Soc Sismol Ital (8): 184–191.
  5. ^ Howell, Jr., B. F. (2003), "Biographies of interest to earthquake and engineering seismologists", International Handbook of Earthquake & Engineering Seismology, Part B, Volume 81B (First ed.), Academic Press, p. 1761, ISBN 978-0124406582
  6. ^ Cancani, Adolfo (1904). "Sur l'emploi d'une double echelle sismique des intensitès, empirique et absolue". Gerlands Beitr Geophys (2): 281–283.
  7. ^ Charles F. Richter; 1958. Elementary Seismology. W. H. Freeman & Company, San Francisco & London, 768 p
  8. ^ Eiby G. A., 1966. The Modified Mercalli Scale of Earthquake Intensity and Its Use in New Zealand. N.Z. Journal of Geology and Geophysics, 9, pp. 122-129.
[edit]
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