EDUARD SUESS' FORAY INTO ‘GEOLOGY & HEALTH'

Eduard Suess (1831-1914) for many today is remembered only for his major contributions to unraveling the nature of mountain building and the monumental synoptic overview of the regional geology of the Earth published in the four-volume ‘The Face of the Earth.’ However, Suess himself considered his work in the field of applied geology as his most important accomplishment in geology. Within the field of applied geology, his most prominent publication is his book – published in 1862 – ‘Der Boden der Stadt Wien - Nach Seiner Bildungsweise, Beschaffenheit und Seinen Beziehungen zum Bürgerlichen Leben’ [The Ground of the City of Vienna - According to its Mode of Formation, Constitution and its Relationship to the Life of the Citizenry]. This book described comprehensively the geology of Vienna (morphology, bedrock, Quaternary cover deposits, anthropogenically reworked deposits, hydrogeology, geologic map) and is in fact an outstanding early exercise in urban geology. Vienna was ravaged by cholera epidemics in 1831 and 1855, with the epidemic of 1831 resulting in 2,188 deaths (out of a population of 330,000). The rapid expansion of the city led to the proliferation of water wells, all of them drawing water from the porous gravel and sand units above the Tertiary ‘Tegel.’ Inadequate sanitation and the locating of cemeteries resulted in contamination of the citizen’s water supply causing the cholera epidemics. Suess, through his diligent geologic survey in combination with data from the 1855 Cholera epidemic, was able to identify pathogen sources and disease outbreak locations, linked through Earth materials and hydrologic processes; he further was able to recommend remediation process to combat potential future disease outbreaks. Suess’ book, connecting the health of the citizens to the local geology, resulted eventually in a major engineering project: the construction of a long-distance fresh water supply line (Hochquellenleitung) from the Alps to the city of Vienna (1873). The establishment of freshwater supply significantly reduced (and eventually eliminated) epidemic outbreaks in Vienna. For certain, a discussion on the history of geology and health would be incomplete without recognizing the work of Eduard Suess.