1984 WOLFGANG BERGER
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Dr. Wolfgang Berger, the seventh recipient of the A.G. Huntsman Award, is being recognized for his contribution to the understanding of the carbonate preservation and dissolution cycles in pelagic sediments. Dr. Berger's studies of ocean-basin history have focused on the climate and productivity of the oceans by analyzing carbonates and their stable isotopes in deep-sea sediments. He developed the concept of the "lysocline" - the depth level on the seafloor which separates well preserved from poorly preserved calcareous fossils - and its application to paleoceanography. This research has focused on the variations through time of the maximum depth of carbonate deposition. His studies of sediments as historical records of the earth's climate have yielded important parameters for assessing and ultimately predicting the effects of carbon dioxide emissions on climate change.
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