Reginald Aldworth Daly

American geologist. Born in Napanee, Ontario, Canada. Earned his PhD at Harvard University. After serving as a professor at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, he served as a professor at Harvard University (1912-1942). He has a wealth of experience through geological surveys around the world and an original imagination. As shown in his works such as "Igneous Rocks and Their Origin," "The Changing Earth," and "The Strength and Structure of the Earth," he conducted multifaceted and comprehensive research on geology and geophysics. In particular, his proposal of the phenomenon of magma stopping, his glacial constraint theory that links the rise and fall of sea levels in the Quaternary Period and the formation of coral reefs to the decline and development of glaciers, and his theory that posits the existence of density currents, later named turbidity currents, as the mechanism behind the formation of undersea canyons, have had a great influence to this day.

[Toshio Kimura]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

アメリカの地質学者。カナダ、オンタリオ州ナパニーで生まれる。ハーバード大学で博士号を取得した。マサチューセッツ工科大学教授を経て、ハーバード大学教授を務めた（1912～1942）。世界各地の地質調査による豊かな経験と、独創的発想力をもつ。『火成岩とその成因』『変動する地球』『地球の強度とその構造』などの著作に示されるように、地質学および地球物理学に関する多面的、総合的研究を行った。なかでも、マグマのストーピング現象についての提唱、第四紀の海水面の上昇・沈降、サンゴ礁の生成を氷河の衰退・発達に関連づけた氷河制約説や、海底峡谷を形成する作用として、のちに混濁流（乱泥流）と名づけられた密度流の存在を推定した学説は現在まで大きな影響を与えている。

［木村敏雄］

出典　小学館　日本大百科全書(ニッポニカ)日本大百科全書(ニッポニカ)について　情報 | 凡例