HR: 08:00h
AN: C51C-01    [Abstracts]
TI: The rich contributions of A.L. Washburn to permafrost and periglacial studies
AU: * Hallet, B
EM: hallet@u.washington.edu
AF: Quaternary Research Center, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, United States
AU: Anderson, S P
EM: suzanne.anderson@colorado.edu
AF: Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research and Dept. of Geography, University of Colorado at Boulder, Campus Box 450, Boulder, CO 80309-0450, United States
AB: Albert Lincoln Washburn, (1911-2007) contributed immensely to the fields of periglacial geomorphology and permafrost research through his studies, publications, leadership, and personal qualities. Link's pioneering discoveries about processes shaping Arctic landscapes are presented in numerous, carefully crafted articles, monographs, and authoritative books that are recognized worldwide. His deep interest in the "intimate workings of nature" is evident in his own meticulous and exhaustive field and laboratory studies of diverse types of periglacial processes. Here, we focus on these productive field studies in Greenland and on Cornwallis Island, and on his research in the Periglacial Laboratory at the University of Washington. The field studies include numerous, detailed surface observations and excavations of diverse types of patterned ground, and extensive long term studies of surface displacements to define quantitatively the kinematics of patterned ground activity, and slope movement. The laboratory work focused on the effects of ice growth/thaw and frost heaving/thaw settling on solifluction, vertical textural segregation, and the development of deformational structures in layered soils. Link's deep interest periglacial processes and his untiring, generous effort to properly present the work and ideas of other researchers are clearly evident in his monographs and renowned books that remain the standard references in the field decades after their publication (Periglacial Processes and Environments, 1973; Geocryology — A survey of periglacial processes and environments, 1979). In addition, Link launched and directed research centers and scientific journals that have nurtured the study of cold landscapes. Significantly, his scientific legacy also includes an exceptional, more personal dimension: the emergence of the unusually cohesive permafrost and periglacial community, as it was fostered in part by Link's and, his wife Tahoe's, warmth, generosity, and friendship that touched many members of this worldwide community.
DE: 0702 Permafrost (0475)
DE: 0706 Active layer
DE: 0710 Periglacial processes
SC: Cryosphere [C]
MN: 2007 Fall Meeting