Gerhard Spaeth

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Gerhard Spaeth (born December 14, 1930 in Dankmarshausen ) is a German geologist and polar explorer .

Gerhard Spaeth on the Lönsfelsen near Lammersdorf (1995)

Life

After graduating from high school in Gerstungen in 1949, Spaeth first worked as a mining enthusiast in various underground mines . From 1951 to 1957 he studied mining, geology, mineralogy and zoology at RWTH Aachen and ETH Zurich . He received his doctorate in 1964 with the thesis Investigations for the detection of quartz structure regulation of metamorphic psammites, mainly carried out on samples from the High Fens - Rhenish Slate Mountains - and its immediate surroundings .

In April 1972 he was appointed to the newly created professorship for Geology-Endogenous Dynamics at RWTH Aachen University. Spaeth mainly works in the fields of tectonics and structure science ; The geographical focus of work is the Rhenish Slate Mountains , the Ardennes , the Eastern Alps , Iran and Zimbabwe . Retired in 1996, he continues to research and publish on the geology of the Antarctic .

Antarctic exploration

Spaeth belonged to the group of scientists who took part in the first expedition to the interior of the Antarctic continent organized by the Alfred Wegener Institute in the southern summer of 1982/83 and who explored the Kraulberge in western New Swabia. In the following summer he took part in a South African expedition to Ahlmannryggen , where he examined the Proterozoic volcanic rocks on the Grunehogna craton . An expedition to Heimefrontfjella followed in 1985/86 , which he visited two more times until 1994 in order to geologically map these mountains together with colleagues from the University of Göttingen . In the southern summer of 1987/88, Spaeth was able to study the mafic gangue rocks of this mountain range during the "GEISHA" expedition to the Shackleton Range , organized by the Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources .

Spaeth's research focuses on the geological connections between East Antarctica and the continent Africa, which is directly adjacent in Gondwana . The focus is on the tectonic and volcanic processes that took place during the formation and decay of Gondwana and its predecessor continent Rodinia .

A nunatak in Heimefrontfjella was named Spaethpfeiler in 2010 .

literature

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ HJ Behr et al .: The geological expedition to the Kraul Mountains, western Neuschwabenland . (pdf) In: Reports on polar research . 13, 1983, pp. 13-26. Retrieved April 24, 2009.
  2. ^ G. Spaeth & M. Peters: Geological investigations in the northern Ahlmann ridge, middle Neuschwabenland, Antarctica . (pdf) In: Reports on polar research . 19, 1984, pp. 174-185. Retrieved April 24, 2009.
  3. ↑ N. Arndt et al .: The 2nd Neuschwabenland Expedition to the Kottas Mountains . (pdf) In: Reports on polar research . 33, 1983, pp. 134-158. Retrieved April 24, 2009.
  4. ↑ Manfred Pietschmann: The long way to Gondwana . In: Geo-Knowledge . 4, 1990, pp. 30-41.
  5. ^ G. Spaeth et al .: Mafic dykes in the Shackleton Range, Antarctica . In: Polar Research . 63, 1993, pp. 101-121. Retrieved April 24, 2009.
  6. ↑ Standing Committee on Geographical Names : New German-Language Name Proposals, Proposal No. 719. Accessed June 11, 2019
personal data
SURNAME Spaeth, Gerhard
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German geologist and polar researcher
DATE OF BIRTH December 14, 1930
PLACE OF BIRTH Dankmarshausen