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ROBERT
BERNER (1993)
Few
scientists can be said to have invented or discovered an active field of
research. Dr. Robert Berner, the sixteenth recipient of the A.G. Huntsman
Award, is one of these rare individuals. His ideas on mathematical
modelling of kinetics has transformed sedimentary geochemistry from an
almost purely descriptive science to one of prediction and quantitative
understanding. The focus of scientific writing in this area of science
changed radically as a result of the publication of Dr. Berner's papers
through the 1960s and 1970s. His two monographs on this subject
(Principles of Chemical Sedimentology and Early Diagenesis: A Theoretical
Approach) are the definitive texts on the subject, and the first is
considered by many as a true classic of the geological literature. In his
writings on sedimentary geochemistry he has argued that sediments are not
mere repositories for chemicals, but are dynamic "reactors" that
return transformed material to the oceans. (A sobering thought today, when
man simply dumps massive amounts of human wastes and industrial effluents
into coastal oceans, hoping that these will permanently settle there). As
an experimental physical chemist he has established values of fundamental
constants, such as the solubility of sulfide minerals, and he has
introduced the first use of the now-ubiquitous pH-Stat in studying the
kinetics of dissolution and precipitation of marine minerals. His
"G-kinetics" for composition of organic matter are the most
commonly used and tested models in sedimentary geochemistry. His efforts
in paleoceanography have provided a quantitative way to distinguish
between oxic and euxinic environments based on sulfur chemistry. More
recently, Dr. Berner has extended his thinking about kinetic modelling to
the coupling between geochemical cycles in the ocean and on land with the
climate over geologic time. In conjunction with A.C. Lasaga and the late
Bob Garrels, he illustrated how the long-term CO2 content of the
atmosphere responds to oceanic processes, such as the removal of calcium
and magnesium and the rate of sea-floor spreading. This work has been the
basis for much of today's work on global geochemical climate. |