Otto Martin Torell

Otto Martin Torell ( born June 5, 1828 in Varberg, † September 11, 1900 in Stockholm) was a Swedish geologist, glaciologist and polar explorer.

Torell was from 1870 to 1897 the first director of the Swedish Geological Institute. From 1866 he was professor of zoology and geology at the University of Lund.

Due to cut tracks ( Deter Sion), he proved that North Germany was covered during the Pleistocene ice sheet from. He refuted the so called drift theory, which said that only individual blocks of ice broke into a shallow sea in Central Europe. The Rüdersdorfer limestone mountains, where the ground traces were found, are the classic place of the North German ice age research. Torrell presented his Theses on Inlandeistheorie prior to the meeting of the Geological Society in November 1875.

Torell conducted in the years 1858, 1861, 1864 and 1868 expeditions to Svalbard. He also undertook expeditions to Greenland, Iceland, Spitsbergen and in the Alps, where he also studied glaciers and was able to study a lot of icing tracks.

According to him, Torell Land and other geographic places in Spitsbergen and Torell Stone named in Chemnitz. He was a member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences.