Hans-Ulrich Schmincke

Last updated
Hans-Ulrich Schmincke
Born (1937-10-21) 21 October 1937 (age 86)
Awards Hans-Stille-Medaille (2001)
Gustav-Steinmann-Medaille (2012)
Scientific career
Fields Volcanology
Institutions Ruhr University Bochum (1969–90),
Helmholtz-Zentrum für Ozeanforschung Kiel (1990–2003)
Laacher See, a German caldera lake, researched by H.-U. Schmincke LaacherSee2.JPG
Laacher See, a German caldera lake, researched by H.-U. Schmincke
Paektu Mountain Laika ac Mt. Paekdu (7998657081).jpg
Paektu Mountain

Hans-Ulrich Schmincke (born 21 October 1937) is a German volcanologist.

Contents

Formation

Hans-Ulrich Schmincke studied between 1957 and 1964 geology and petrology at different universities in Germany and the USA: Universität Göttingen, Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg, RWTH Aachen as well as Johns Hopkins University and University of California, Santa Barbara

Employment

He was a research fellow at University of Tübingen in 1964–65 and at University of Heidelberg 1965–1969.

He worked at the Ruhr University Bochum (1969–90), before being the chief of the department of volcanology and petrology (1990–2003) of the "GEOMAR Helmholtz-Zentrum für Ozeanforschung Kiel" (former "Leibniz-Instituts für Meereswissenschaften", IFM-Geomar), University of Kiel.

Hans-Ulrich Schmincke was secretary general of the International Association of Volcanology and Chemistry of the Earth's Interior (IAVCEI, 1983–91). [1]

Publications (selection)

Schmincke was co-author with RV Fisher of the book Pyroclastic Rocks, in 1984. [2] His book Volcanism, first edition in 1986 (under the German title “Vulkanismus”), is still one of the most important books regarding this subject. The first edition was published in 1986; its second edition appeared 2000 with translations into English (2004) and Japanese (2009, with considerable additions); the third edition appeared 2010. [3]

He is also the founder of the well-known volcanological journal Bulletin of Volcanology of which he was the editor in chief from 1985-95. [1]

Additionally, he published over 300 articles re. volcanology and petrology.

Special interests

He did a lot of research on German volcanoes, esp. the Eifel volcanoes. [4] [5]

The Canary Islands are also among his favorite subjects of research. [6] [7]

And in 1993, he did field work in China at the Paektusan volcano and was the first to make this big caldera known to the western world. [8]

Honours

He was honoured e.g. with the Leibniz-Preis der Deutschen Forschungsgemeinschaft (1991), with the Thorarinsson Medal of the IAVCEI (1993), [1] with the Hans-Stille Medal (2001) and with the Gustav-Steinmann Medal (2012). [1]

Selected publications

Notes and references

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Hans-Ulrich Schmincke, IUGG Fellow" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2015-10-19. Retrieved 2015-11-21.
  2. Fisher, Richard V.; Schmincke, Hans-Ulrich (1984). Pyroclastic Rocks. doi:10.1007/978-3-642-74864-6. ISBN   978-3-540-51341-4.
  3. Schmincke, Hans-Ulrich (2000). Vulkanismus. Darmstadt: Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft. ISBN   978-3-534-14102-9. OCLC   246125602.
  4. Schmincke, Hans-Ulrich (2009). Vulkane der Eifel : Aufbau, Entstehung und heutige Bedeutung (in German). Heidelberg: Spektrum. ISBN   978-3-8274-2366-5. OCLC   426481899.
  5. BOGAARD, PAUL v.d.; SCHMINCKE, HANS-ULRICH (1985). "Laacher See Tephra: A widespread isochronous late Quaternary tephra layer in central and northern Europe". Geological Society of America Bulletin. Geological Society of America. 96 (12): 1554. Bibcode:1985GSAB...96.1554B. doi:10.1130/0016-7606(1985)96<1554:lstawi>2.0.co;2. ISSN   0016-7606.
  6. Funck, Thomas; Dickmann, Thomas; Rihm, Roland; Krastel, Sebastian; Lykke-Andersen, Holger; Schmincke, Hans-Ulrich (1996). "Reflection Seismic Investigations In the Volcaniclastic Apron of Gran Canaria and Implications For Its Volcanic Evolution". Geophysical Journal International. Oxford University Press (OUP). 125 (2): 519–536. Bibcode:1996GeoJI.125..519F. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-246x.1996.tb00015.x . ISSN   0956-540X.
  7. TROLL, V. R. (1 February 2002). "Magma Mixing and Crustal Recycling Recorded in Ternary Feldspar from Compositionally Zoned Peralkaline Ignimbrite A', Gran Canaria, Canary Islands". Journal of Petrology. Oxford University Press (OUP). 43 (2): 243–270. doi: 10.1093/petrology/43.2.243 . ISSN   1460-2415.
  8. Der Spiegel, Heft 27/2014, S. 110 ff.

Related Research Articles

A caldera is a large cauldron-like hollow that forms shortly after the emptying of a magma chamber in a volcano eruption. When large volumes of magma are erupted over a short time, structural support for the rock above the magma chamber is gone. The ground surface then collapses into the emptied or partially emptied magma chamber, leaving a large depression at the surface. Although sometimes described as a crater, the feature is actually a type of sinkhole, as it is formed through subsidence and collapse rather than an explosion or impact. Compared to the thousands of volcanic eruptions that occur each century, the formation of a caldera is a rare event, occurring only a few times per century. Only seven caldera-forming collapses are known to have occurred between 1911 and 2016. More recently, a caldera collapse occurred at Kīlauea, Hawaii in 2018.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Volcano</span> Rupture in a planets crust where material escapes

A volcano is a rupture in the crust of a planetary-mass object, such as Earth, that allows hot lava, volcanic ash, and gases to escape from a magma chamber below the surface.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tuff</span> Rock consolidated from volcanic ash

Tuff is a type of rock made of volcanic ash ejected from a vent during a volcanic eruption. Following ejection and deposition, the ash is lithified into a solid rock. Rock that contains greater than 75% ash is considered tuff, while rock containing 25% to 75% ash is described as tuffaceous. Tuff composed of sandy volcanic material can be referred to as volcanic sandstone.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eifel</span> Low mountain range in Germany

The Eifel is a low mountain range in western Germany, eastern Belgium and northern Luxembourg. It occupies parts of southwestern North Rhine-Westphalia, northwestern Rhineland-Palatinate and the southern area of the German-speaking Community of Belgium.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Basanite</span> Type of volcanic rock

Basanite is an igneous, volcanic (extrusive) rock with aphanitic to porphyritic texture. It is composed mostly of feldspathoids, pyroxenes, olivine, and plagioclase and forms from magma low in silica and enriched in alkali metal oxides that solidifies rapidly close to the Earth's surface.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Extrusive rock</span> Mode of igneous volcanic rock formation

Extrusive rock refers to the mode of igneous volcanic rock formation in which hot magma from inside the Earth flows out (extrudes) onto the surface as lava or explodes violently into the atmosphere to fall back as pyroclastics or tuff. In contrast, intrusive rock refers to rocks formed by magma which cools below the surface.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pyroclastic rock</span> Clastic rocks composed solely or primarily of volcanic materials

Pyroclastic rocks are clastic rocks composed of rock fragments produced and ejected by explosive volcanic eruptions. The individual rock fragments are known as pyroclasts. Pyroclastic rocks are a type of volcaniclastic deposit, which are deposits made predominantly of volcanic particles. 'Phreatic' pyroclastic deposits are a variety of pyroclastic rock that forms from volcanic steam explosions and they are entirely made of accidental clasts. 'Phreatomagmatic' pyroclastic deposits are formed from explosive interaction of magma with groundwater. The word pyroclastic is derived from the Greek πῦρ, meaning fire; and κλαστός, meaning broken.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ignimbrite</span> Type of volcanic rock

Ignimbrite is a type of volcanic rock, consisting of hardened tuff. Ignimbrites form from the deposits of pyroclastic flows, which are a hot suspension of particles and gases flowing rapidly from a volcano, driven by being denser than the surrounding atmosphere. New Zealand geologist Patrick Marshall (1869–1950) coined the term ignimbrite from the Latin igni- [fire] and imbri- [rain].

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Laacher See</span> Volcanic caldera lake in Ahrweiler, Rhineland-Palatinate

Laacher See, also known as Lake Laach or Laach Lake, is a volcanic caldera lake with a diameter of 2 km (1.2 mi) in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, about 24 km (15 mi) northwest of Koblenz, 37 km (23 mi) south of Bonn, and 8 km (5.0 mi) west of Andernach. It is in the Eifel mountain range, and is part of the East Eifel volcanic field within the larger Volcanic Eifel. The lake was formed by a Plinian eruption approximately 13,000 years BP with a Volcanic Explosivity Index (VEI) of 6, on the same scale as the Pinatubo eruption of 1991. The volcanic discharge observable as mofettas on the southeastern shore of the lake are signs of dormant volcanism.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">International Association of Volcanology and Chemistry of the Earth's Interior</span> International non-governmental organization

The International Association of Volcanology and Chemistry of the Earth's Interior (IAVCEI) is a learned society that focuses on research in volcanology, efforts to mitigate volcanic disasters, and research into closely related disciplines, such as igneous geochemistry and petrology, geochronology, volcanogenic mineral deposits, and the physics of the generation and ascent of magmas in the upper mantle and crust. It is one of eight constituent associations of the International Union of Geodesy and Geophysics (IUGG).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cinder cone</span> Steep hill of pyroclastic fragments around a volcanic vent

A cinder cone is a steep conical hill of loose pyroclastic fragments, such as volcanic clinkers, volcanic ash, or scoria that has been built around a volcanic vent. The pyroclastic fragments are formed by explosive eruptions or lava fountains from a single, typically cylindrical, vent. As the gas-charged lava is blown violently into the air, it breaks into small fragments that solidify and fall as either cinders, clinkers, or scoria around the vent to form a cone that often is symmetrical; with slopes between 30 and 40°; and a nearly circular ground plan. Most cinder cones have a bowl-shaped crater at the summit.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eifel hotspot</span>

The Eifel hotspot is a volcanic hotspot in Western Germany. It is one of many recent volcanic formations in and around the Eifel mountain range and includes the volcanic field known as Volcanic Eifel. Although the last eruption occurred around 10,000 years ago, the presence of escaping volcanic gases in the region indicates that it is still weakly active.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Volcanic Eifel</span> German geologic formation with crater lakes

The Volcanic Eifel or Vulkan Eifel, also known as the East Eifel Volcanic Field (EEVF), is a region in the Eifel Mountains in Germany that is defined to a large extent by its volcanic geological history. Characteristic of this volcanic field are its typical explosion crater lakes or maars, and numerous other signs of volcanic activity such as volcanic tuffs, lava streams and volcanic craters like the Laacher See. The Volcanic Eifel is still volcanically active today. One sign of this activity is the escaping gases in the Laacher See.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peralkaline rock</span> Igneous rocks which have a deficiency of aluminium

Peralkaline rocks include those igneous rocks which have a deficiency of aluminium such that sodium and potassium are in excess of that needed for feldspar. The presence of aegerine and riebeckite are indicative of peralkaline conditions. Examples are the peralkaline rhyolites, comendite and pantellerite, with comendite being the more felsic (silica-rich) rock. Another example is the peralkaline granite that forms the islet of Rockall in the North Atlantic Ocean.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lateral eruption</span> Volcanic eruption which goes sideways

A lateral eruption or lateral blast is a volcanic eruption which is directed laterally from a volcano rather than upwards from the summit. Lateral eruptions are caused by the outward expansion of flanks due to rising magma. Breaking occurs at the flanks of volcanoes making it easier for magma to flow outward. As magma is pushed upward towards the volcano it diverges towards the flanks before it has a chance to erupt from the crater. When the expanding flank finally gives it releases a flow of magma. More explosive lateral eruptions are referred to as lateral blasts. Some of the most notable examples of a lateral eruption include Mount St. Helens, Mount Pelée, and Mount Etna.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hisashi Kuno</span>

Hisashi Kuno was professor at the Institute of Geology, University of Tokyo. He was first son of Kamenosuke Kuno and Tome Kuno.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Meerfelder Maar</span>

The Meerfelder Maar is a maar by the village of Meerfeld not far from the town of Manderscheid in the Eifel in the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rockeskyller Kopf</span> Mountain in Germany

The Rockeskyller Kopf near Rockeskyll in the county of Vulkaneifel in the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate is a hill, 554.6 m above sea level (NHN), in the Eifel mountains. It is an extinct volcano complex from the Quaternary period, around 360,000 years old and is designated as a natural monument (ND-7233-420).

Richard Virgil “Dick” Fisher also known as 'R.V.' was an American volcanologist and Professor of Geology at University of California, Santa Barbara.

Edward Wesley Hildreth III, is an American field geologist and volcanologist employed by the United States Geological Survey (USGS). He is a fellow of both the Geological Society of America (GSA), and the American Geophysical Union (AGU). Hildreth was described as "one of the great volcanologists/petrologists of our time" in the magazine Wired.