Institute of Geophysics of the Czech Academy of Sciences

The Institute of Geophysics, GFÚ (

History

The Institute of Geophysics of the

During the Second World War and under the Communist regime from 1948, the institute was subsumed into other institutions before once again becoming independent within the newly created national Academy of Sciences.^[5] The Institute of Geophysics of the Czechoslovak Academy of Sciences was inaugurated on 1 January 1953.^[1][2]

Directors of the Institute of Geophysics

Source:^[1]

• Aleš Špičák (2017–present)
• Pavel Hejda (2007–2017)
• Aleš Špičák (1998–2007)
• Vladimír Čermák (1990–1998)
• Václav Bucha (1969–1990)
• Miloš Pick (1960–1969)
• Jan Bouška (1957–1960)
• Bedřich Šalamon (1933–1952)
• Václav Láska (1920–1933)

Staff

Aleš Špičák has served as institute director since 2017.^[1] As of 2022, the institute employs a total of 104 staff, including 76 scientists, 11 doctoral candidates, and 28 technical and administrative staff. Since 2018, the institute has recruited a number of international scientists to senior researcher positions.^[6]

Research fields

Research activities

The institute maintains several long-term Earth observation facilities, including the National Geomagnetic Observatory Budkov,^[8] four Earth tides observatories,^[9] and the Czech regional seismic network.^[10] In addition, the institute operates two local seismic networks (WEBNET^[11] and REYKJANET^[12]) and a pool of mobile seismic stations (MOBNET^[13]), which is deployed temporarily in tectonically active regions.^[7]

Impact

The Institute of Geophysics is among the leading centres of Earth science research in the Czech Republic.^[2] Its scientists have made several key contributions to the field of geophysics, including:

• the first comprehensive catalogue of
  earthquakes in Europe by V. Kárník^[14][15]
• development of the first broadband seismometer by A. Plešinger and J. Horálek^[16][17]
• advancement of ray methods in seismology by the group led by V. Červený (Charles University), including I. Pšenčík (GFÚ)^[18]
• standardisation of
  earthquake magnitude determination by J. Vaněk (in collaboration with L. Christoskov and N.V. Kondorskaya)^[19]
• the first map of terrestrial heat flow in Europe by V. Čermák (in collaboration with L. Rybach)[20]
• pioneering work on seismic anisotropy by V. Babuška and J. Plomerová (in collaboration with M. Cara).^[21]
• the 'castle meetings', a series of thematic gatherings held in Czechoslovakia (and later the Czech Republic) that brought together scientists from the East and West ^[2]
• a conference series convened by the International Heat Flow Commission, building on the 'castle meetings' and named in honour of V. Čermák^[22]

The institute is the seat of the Czech National Commission for Geodesy and Geophysics, affiliated with the International Union of Geodesy and Geophysics (IUGG). The 26th IUGG General Assembly was held in Prague in 2015.^[23]

Institute scientists participate in

The institute established a scientific journal, Studia Geophysica et Geodaetica,[24] in 1956, now distributed by Springer Nature.

References