Klaus Wyrtki (February 7, 1925 – February 5, 2013) was an American
physical oceanographer.
Born in
Tarnowitz,
Upper Silesia
Upper Silesia ( pl, Górny Śląsk; szl, Gůrny Ślůnsk, Gōrny Ślōnsk; cs, Horní Slezsko; german: Oberschlesien; Silesian German: ; la, Silesia Superior) is the southeastern part of the historical and geographical region of Silesia, locate ...
,
Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...
, in 1925, from 1945-1948 Wyrtki attended the
University of Marburg
The Philipps University of Marburg (german: Philipps-Universität Marburg) was founded in 1527 by Philip I, Landgrave of Hesse, which makes it one of Germany's oldest universities and the oldest still operating Protestant university in the wor ...
in
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
, and received his Ph.D. from the
University of Kiel
Kiel University, officially the Christian-Albrecht University of Kiel, (german: Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel, abbreviated CAU, known informally as Christiana Albertina) is a university in the city of Kiel, Germany. It was founded in ...
in 1950. He was a professor at
Scripps Institution of Oceanography until 1964, when he became a member of the faculty of the Department of Oceanography at the
University of Hawaii Manoa. From 1993 he was an
emeritus professor
''Emeritus'' (; female: ''emerita'') is an adjective used to designate a retired chair, professor, pastor, bishop, pope, director, president, prime minister, rabbi, emperor, or other person who has been "permitted to retain as an honorary title ...
.
Among other things, Wyrtki is known for his work on understanding and forecasting
El Nino
EL, El or el may refer to:
Religion
* El (deity), a Semitic word for "God"
People
* EL (rapper) (born 1983), stage name of Elorm Adablah, a Ghanaian rapper and sound engineer
* El DeBarge, music artist
* El Franco Lee (1949–2016), American po ...
. He established a tidal gauge network, gave an explanation for the Pacific
oxygen minimum zone
The oxygen minimum zone (OMZ), sometimes referred to as the shadow zone, is the zone in which oxygen saturation in seawater in the ocean is at its lowest. This zone occurs at depths of about , depending on local circumstances. OMZs are found worl ...
under the
thermocline
A thermocline (also known as the thermal layer or the metalimnion in lakes) is a thin but distinct layer in a large body of fluid (e.g. water, as in an ocean or lake; or air, e.g. an atmosphere) in which temperature changes more drastically with ...
, and discovered the ocean current jet that now bears his name, the "Wyrtki Jet". He is also known for his work on
thermohaline circulation
Thermohaline circulation (THC) is a part of the large-scale ocean circulation that is driven by global density gradients created by surface heat and freshwater fluxes. The adjective ''thermohaline'' derives from '' thermo-'' referring to temp ...
.
Wyrtki died on February 5, 2013, in
Honolulu, Hawaii
Honolulu (; ) is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, which is in the Pacific Ocean. It is an unincorporated county seat of the consolidated City and County of Honolulu, situated along the southeast coast of the island o ...
. He was survived by his wife, Erika; his son, Oliver; his daughter, Undine; and three grandchildren.
Awards and honors
In 1991, Wyrtki was awarded the
Sverdrup Gold Medal Award
Sverdrup Gold Medal Award – is the American Meteorological Society's award granted to researchers who make outstanding contributions to the scientific knowledge of interactions between the oceans and the atmosphere.
Recipients
SourceAmerican M ...
by the
American Meteorological Society
The American Meteorological Society (AMS) is the premier scientific and professional organization in the United States promoting and disseminating information about the atmospheric, oceanic, and hydrologic sciences. Its mission is to advance th ...
, for "outstanding contributions to the dynamics of ocean currents, especially the
Gulf Stream". In 2003, Wyrtki was awarded the
Prince Albert I Medal. In 2004, he was awarded the
Alexander Agassiz Medal
The Alexander Agassiz Medal is awarded every three years by the U.S. National Academy of Sciences for an original contribution in the science of oceanography. It was established in 1911 by Sir John Murray in honor of his friend, the scientist Ale ...
of the
National Academy of Sciences "for fundamental contributions to the understanding of the oceanic general circulation of
abyssal
The abyssal zone or abyssopelagic zone is a layer of the pelagic zone of the ocean. "Abyss" derives from the Greek word , meaning bottomless. At depths of , this zone remains in perpetual darkness. It covers 83% of the total area of the ocean a ...
and
thermocline
A thermocline (also known as the thermal layer or the metalimnion in lakes) is a thin but distinct layer in a large body of fluid (e.g. water, as in an ocean or lake; or air, e.g. an atmosphere) in which temperature changes more drastically with ...
waters and for providing the intellectual underpinning for our understanding of ENSO (El Niño)".
He is also the winner of the Rosenstiel Award of the
Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science
The Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science (RSMAS ) is the University of Miami's academic and research institution for the study of oceanography and atmospheric sciences.
Founded in 1943, the University of Miami's Rosenstiel Schoo ...
,
the Albert Defant Medal of the German Meteorological Society, and the
Maurice Ewing Medal Two international geophysical societies offer awards each year which are named in honor of Maurice Ewing; these are the American Geophysical Union and the Society of Exploration Geophysicists:
__TOC__
AGU Ewing Medal
The Maurice Ewing Medal is awa ...
from the
American Geophysical Union
The American Geophysical Union (AGU) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization of Earth, atmospheric, ocean, hydrologic, space, and planetary scientists and enthusiasts that according to their website includes 130,000 people (not members). AGU's a ...
.
In 2007, he was elected a
Fellow
A fellow is a concept whose exact meaning depends on context.
In learned or professional societies, it refers to a privileged member who is specially elected in recognition of their work and achievements.
Within the context of higher education ...
of the
American Academy of Arts & Sciences
The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (abbreviation: AAA&S) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, and ...
.
"UH emeritus professor elected a fellow of the American Academy of Arts & Sciences"
''University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, External Affairs & University Relations,'' 4 May 2007. A research vessel
A research vessel (RV or R/V) is a ship or boat designed, modified, or equipped to carry out research at sea. Research vessels carry out a number of roles. Some of these roles can be combined into a single vessel but others require a dedicated ...
at the University of Hawaii is named in his honor.
According to friend and colleague Axel Timmermann
Axel Timmermann is a German climate physicist and oceanographer with an interest in climate dynamics, human migration, dynamical systems' analysis, ice-sheet modeling and sea level. He served a co-author of the IPCC Third Assessment Report and a ...
, Wyrtki "was really one of the two or three greatest oceanographers of all time, I think. Without him we wouldn't do El Nino forecasting on a regular basis. Without him perhaps we wouldn't understand the effects of global warming on sea level tides. He made some amazing contributions to science and society."
See also
* El Niño-Southern Oscillation
EL, El or el may refer to:
Religion
* El (deity), a Semitic word for "God"
People
* EL (rapper) (born 1983), stage name of Elorm Adablah, a Ghanaian rapper and sound engineer
* El DeBarge, music artist
* El Franco Lee (1949–2016), American p ...
* Kelvin wave
A Kelvin wave is a wave in the ocean or atmosphere that balances the Earth's Coriolis force against a topographic boundary such as a coastline, or a waveguide such as the equator. A feature of a Kelvin wave is that it is non-dispersive, i.e., the ...
s
References
External links
An Interview with Klaus Wyrtki
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wyrtki, Klaus
American oceanographers
1925 births
2013 deaths
University of Kiel alumni
Fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
University of Hawaiʻi faculty
Sverdrup Gold Medal Award Recipients
German emigrants to the United States
Polish emigrants to Germany