Hans Röthlisberger
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Hans Röthlisberger (1 February 1923 – 10 September 2009) was a Swiss
earth scientist Earth science or geoscience includes all fields of natural science related to the planet Earth. This is a branch of science dealing with the physical, chemical, and biological complex constitutions and synergistic linkages of Earth's four spheres ...
and
glaciologist Glaciology (; ) is the scientific study of glaciers, or, more generally, ice and natural phenomena that involve ice. Glaciology is an interdisciplinary Earth science that integrates geophysics, geology, physical geography, geomorphology, clim ...
best known for his work on glacier hazards and their prevention,
glacier A glacier (; or ) is a persistent body of dense ice, a form of rock, that is constantly moving downhill under its own weight. A glacier forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its ablation over many years, often centuries. It acquires ...
geophysics Geophysics () is a subject of natural science concerned with the physical processes and Physical property, properties of Earth and its surrounding space environment, and the use of quantitative methods for their analysis. Geophysicists conduct i ...
and subglacial hydrology.


Early life and education

Hans (his given name) was born on February 1, 1923, in Langnau, Canton Bern,
Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...
. After completing formal education as a teacher training in Bern he began studies in the earth sciences at
ETH Zürich ETH Zurich (; ) is a public university in Zurich, Switzerland. Founded in 1854 with the stated mission to educate engineers and scientists, the university focuses primarily on science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. ETH Zurich ra ...
(ETHZ) in 1943, where he earned his diploma in 1947. Röthlisberger then embarked on a PhD on the topic of seismic investigations of
molasse __NOTOC__ In geology, "molasse" () are sandstones, shales and conglomerates that form as terrestrial or shallow marine deposits in front of rising mountain chains. The molasse deposits accumulate in a foreland basin, especially on top of flys ...
rocks, under the guidance of Professor Dr. F. Gassmann at the Geophysical Institute of ETH Zürich. His interest in
glaciers A glacier (; or ) is a persistent body of dense ice, a form of rock, that is constantly moving downhill under its own weight. A glacier forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its ablation over many years, often centuries. It acquires ...
was fostered by his mountaineering activities, and while working on his PhD, Hans Röthlisberger participated in scientific expeditions in eastern
Greenland Greenland is an autonomous territory in the Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark. It is by far the largest geographically of three constituent parts of the kingdom; the other two are metropolitan Denmark and the Faroe Islands. Citizens of Greenlan ...
(1951; EGIG, Expédition Glaciologique Internationale au Groenland) and on
Baffin Island Baffin Island (formerly Baffin Land), in the Canadian territory of Nunavut, is the largest island in Canada, the second-largest island in the Americas (behind Greenland), and the fifth-largest island in the world. Its area is (slightly smal ...
(1950 and 1953), where he performed seismic
geophysical Geophysics () is a subject of natural science concerned with the physical processes and properties of Earth and its surrounding space environment, and the use of quantitative methods for their analysis. Geophysicists conduct investigations acros ...
experiments on glaciers.


Further work

His work on glaciers led him to be awarded a tenured position in 1954 in the
Hydrology Hydrology () is the scientific study of the movement, distribution, and management of water on Earth and other planets, including the water cycle, water resources, and drainage basin sustainability. A practitioner of hydrology is called a hydro ...
Section of the "Versuchsanstalt für Wasserbau und Erdbau"(Laboratory of Hydraulics and Earthworks) (VAWE, ETH Zürich) under the leadership of Prof.Ing. Peter Kasser. From 1957 to 1961, Hans worked as a contract scientist at the US Army Snow, Ice and Permafrost Research Establishment (SIPRE, now known as the US Army Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory, USA CRREL) then in
Wilmette, Illinois Wilmette is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States. Bordering Lake Michigan, Kenilworth, Winnetka, Skokie, Northfield, Glenview, and Evanston, Illinois, it is located north of Chicago's downtown district. Wilmette had a populatio ...
. During that time, he participated in scientific expeditions to
Thule Thule ( ; also spelled as ''Thylē'') is the most northerly location mentioned in ancient Greek and Roman literature and cartography. First written of by the Greek explorer Pytheas of Massalia (modern-day Marseille, France) in about 320 BC, i ...
, West Greenland. From 1961 until his retirement in 1988, "Tschoon" (John), as he came to be known, continued his career at the VAWE, (VAW, after 1970). Röthlisberger produced two important monographs when at CRREL; one on seismic properties of ice the other on ice and glacier resistivity measurements that remain significant contributions to the properties of ice. At VAW, under Professor Peter Kasser, Hans Röthlisberger performed pioneering work on risk management and problems related to glacier hazards (e.g., Mattmark/Allalin glacier 1965, Bisgletscher/Randa 1972, and the potential ice dammed lake ( GLOF) failure at Grubengletscher above Saas Balen in Kanton Wallis. He also devised quantitative engineering measures of determining the bearing capacity for frozen lakes, specifically the frozen Lake Zürich, or "Seegfrörni" in 1963. As well as being associated with the annual glaciological reports on Swiss glaciers (now called 'The Swiss Glaciers' ) with Peter Kasser and Markus Aellen, Röthlisberger and Hebert Lang focused on the area of subglacial hydrology as a consequence of the ice-dammed lake work. He made a name with his theory of subglacial channel hydraulics, first described in one of the most frequently cited papers of the Journal of Glaciology now known as "R (for Röthlisberger)-channels. This work also served as his
habilitation thesis Habilitation is the highest university degree, or the procedure by which it is achieved, in Germany, France, Italy, Poland and some other European and non-English-speaking countries. The candidate fulfills a university's set criteria of excellen ...
for his qualification as a "Dozent" at ETH Zürich, a degree awarded in 1972. Röthlisberger's 1972 paper follows Robert Haefeli's work on sliding of the Unteraargletscher and is reviewed in the light of subsequent work by Joseph Walder. Röthlisberger also produced papers on glacial
geomorphology Geomorphology () is the scientific study of the origin and evolution of topographic and bathymetric features generated by physical, chemical or biological processes operating at or near Earth's surface. Geomorphologists seek to understand wh ...
, on glacier erosion and glacier mapping.Kasser, P. and Röthlisberger, H. 1966: Some problems of glacier mapping experienced with the 1: 10 000 map of the Aletsch glacier. Can. Journal of Earth Sciences, Vol. 3, No. 6, p. 799-809. In recognition of his scientific work, Hans Röthlisberger was awarded the title of Professor by the Swiss Federal Government in 1984, and the
Seligman Crystal The Seligman Crystal is an award of the International Glaciological Society. The prize is "awarded from time to time to one who has made an outstanding scientific contribution to glaciology so that the subject is now enriched" and named after Ger ...
from the
International Glaciological Society The International Glaciological Society (IGS) was founded in 1936 to provide a focus for individuals interested in glaciology, practical and scientific aspects of snow and ice. It was originally known as the "Association for the Study of Snow an ...
(IGS) in 1992 and was President of the Society from 1984 to 1987. In retirement, Hans Röthlisberger became Professor Emeritus in 1988.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Röthlisberger, Hans Swiss glaciologists 20th-century Swiss geologists 1923 births 2009 deaths People from Emmental District Academic staff of ETH Zurich