The Relationship Between George Evelyn Hutchinson and Vladimir Ivanovic Vernadsky: Roots and Consequences of a Biogeochemical Approach

Abstract

Focusing on the relationship between two important scientists in the development of ecological thought during the first half of the twentieth century, this paper argues that Yale limnologist G. E. Hutchinson's adoption of the biogeochemical approach in the late 1930s builds on the 1920s work of the Russian scientist V. I. Vernadsky. An analysis of Hutchinson’s scientific publications shows that he first referred to Vernadsky in 1940, on two different occasions. This article analyzes the dynamics of Hutchinson’s formulation of the biogeochemical approach, providing historical context and linking its early application to the existing limnological tradition.