Heinz Kohnen
Heinz Kohnen (born February 5, 1938 in Oberhausen ; † July 25, 1997 in Münster-Nienberge ) was a German geophysicist and polar researcher .
Life
After graduating from high school in 1959, Heinz Kohnen studied geophysics in Mainz and Münster . In 1960 he joined the KDB Nibelungen zu Münster in the RKDB . He took part in the 2nd International Glaciological Greenland Expedition in 1967, during which he carried out seismic refraction measurements of ice thickness. This work formed the basis of his dissertation, completed in 1969 at the University of Münster, on the structure of the Greenland ice sheet . Subsequently, he worked as an assistant at the Institute for Geophysics at the Westphalian Wilhelms University in Münster and carried out scientific expeditions to the Antarctic and the Canadian Arctic , during which he studied the physical properties of large glacier systems.
In 1978 Kohnen was sent to the SCAR Working Group on Glaciology and Logistics as the German representative , which coordinates the scientific activities of Antarctic research. In the southern summer of 1979/80 he explored the location for the German Georg von Neumayer wintering station in the Antarctic and managed its construction the following year. In the 1982/83 season he took part in the first expedition to the interior of the Antarctic, organized by the Alfred Wegener Institute , with the goal of the Kraulberge .
From 1982 until his death he was head of the logistics department at the Alfred Wegener Institute. During this period, the Polarstern was put into service , the new Neumayer Station II and the Koldewey Station on Spitzbergen were built .
The Alfred Wegener Institute named the summer station opened in 2001 at the EPICA drilling location in Dronning Maud Land Kohnen Station . He has been namesake for Mount Kohnen in Antarctica since 1974 .
Memberships in scientific organizations
- Chairman of the “Standing Committee on Antarctic Logistics and Operations” 1988–1992
- Managing Director of the German Society for Polar Research 1967–1981
Web links
- Heinz Kohnen on the Alfred Wegener Institute website , accessed on September 8, 2009.
- Obituary in the journal Polarforschung , accessed September 8, 2009.
- Heinz Kohnen collection in the University and State Library of Münster
Individual evidence
- ↑ Reports on Polar Research, Volume 13, pp. 13–26 (PDF, 2.29MB), accessed on January 9, 2013
- ↑ COMNAP homepage ( Memento from February 16, 2011 in the Internet Archive )
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Kohnen, Heinz |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | German geophysicist and polar explorer |
| DATE OF BIRTH | February 5, 1938 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Oberhausen |
| DATE OF DEATH | July 25, 1997 |
| Place of death | Munster-Nienberge |