Erwin Suess
Erwin Suess (born July 11, 1939 in Wetzlar ) is a German geochemist and oceanographer. He was director of the GEOMAR research center in Kiel. He is considered a pioneer in marine methane hydrate research.
Suess studied geology at the University of Giessen with an intermediate diploma in 1963 and at Kansas State University in Manhattan (Kansas) with a master’s degree in 1966. In 1968 he received his doctorate in geosciences from Lehigh University in Bethlehem (Pennsylvania) . From 1967 to 1969 he was a research assistant at the University of Hawaii in Honolulu and from 1970 to 1976 at the University of Kiel , where he completed his habilitation in 1976.
He was from 1976 Associate Professor of Oceanography at Oregon State University in Corvallis and from 1981 Professor. In 1989 he went to Kiel University as a professor in the marine environmental geology department. There he was deputy director from 1992 and executive director of the Geomar research center from 1995 to 1999. In 2005 he retired. He is an honorary professor at Oregon State University and has been executive director of the German Marine Research Consortium since 2004.
In 1986/87 he was visiting professor at the University of Paris VI (Pierre et Marie Curie).
In 1996 he discovered for the first time larger gas hydrate deposits on the ocean floor in the Pacific off the coast of Oregon on a voyage with the research vessel Sonne and explained their formation in subduction zones. They are considered a possible source of energy, but also have an impact on the climate (greenhouse effect from released methane) and the potential to trigger landslides and, as a result, tsunamis. He researched the latter effects as a co-founder and temporary head of the Collaborative Research Center 574. He took part in numerous oceanographic research expeditions, often on board small submersibles.
Since 2000 he has been a member of the Academia Europaea . In 2004 he received the Gustav Steinmann Medal and in 2006 the Elisabeth Mann Borgese Sea Prize with Klaus Töpfer, which was awarded for the first time . In 2001 he received the Philip Morris Research Prize with his colleagues Gerhard Bohrmann , Peter Linke , Jens Greinert and the chemist Dirk Rickert . In 1964 he received a Fulbright Award.
Trivia
He also appears in the novel The Swarm by Frank Schätzing as well Gerhard Bohrmann. Schätzing researched for his book at Geomar at Suess, among others.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ^ Membership directory: Erwin Suess. Academia Europaea, accessed on July 23, 2017 .
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Suess, Erwin |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | German geologist and oceanographer |
| DATE OF BIRTH | July 11, 1939 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Wetzlar |