Jökull - 01.12.1960, Page 12

Sveinn Pálsson.
1760 (in Die Eisgebirge des Schweizerlandes.I,]).
30,45) and their formation is discussed there for
the first time by S.Studer in 1783 (in Auszug
eines Briefs aus dem Múhlethal im Oberhasli,
von 22ten Heumond 1783. Höpfners Mag. Nat.
Helv. I. Zurich 1787, pp. 210-211). Ólafsson
thinks that the sand, covering the dirt cones,
has been blown in over the glaciers from ice-
free areas outside in wintertime and he main-
tains that it is a harcl blowing wind that causes
their form to be conical (op. cit.).
Ólafsson and Pálsson were the first to climb
the ice capped cone volcano Snæfellsjökull,
on July lst, 1754.
The big name in the 18th century glaciology'
in Iceland is Sveinn Pálsson (1762—1840). The
son of a farnier in Skagafjördur, N.-Iceland, he
studied medicine and natural history at the
University of Copenhagen in 1787—1791. Hav-
ing finished his academic studies in natural
history he spent four summers (1791—1794) on
journeys through Icelancl for geographical,
botanical and geological studies.
In 1799 Pálsson was appointed doctor for
the South of Iceland, serving an area stretching
right from Hellisheidi to Skeidarársanclur as
well as the Westman Islands. Besides, he fre-
quently had to attend patients in Austur-Skafta-
fellssýsla. Pálsson held this extremely difficult
office until 1824, living for most of the time
on the farm Sydri Vík in Mýrdalur. Whenever
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