Willi Dansgaard, 1996 Tyler Laureate
Willi Dansgaard, Professor Emeritus of Geophysics at the University
of Copenhagen, was the first paleoclimatologist to demonstrate that measurements
of the trace isotopes oxygen-18 and deuterium (heavy hydrogen) in accumulated
glacier ice could be used as an indicator of climate and atmospheric environment
as derived from samples of successive layers of polar ice, often collected
under extreme weather conditions.
The first polar deep ice core drilling expedition took place in 1966, with the collection of the American Camp Century Core from Greenland. In cooperation with other laboratories, Dr. Dansgaard and his group performed the first isotopic analysis of the ice and perfected the methods to date the ice sheets and measure acidity and dust records, thus demonstrating its value as an environmental indicator. Since that time, Dr. Dansgaard has organized or participated in 19 expeditions to the glaciers of Norway, Greenland, and Antarctica.
Dr. Dansgaard is a member of the Royal Danish Academy of Science and Letters, the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, the Icelandic Academy of Sciences, and the Danish Geophysical Society. He is the recipient of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences' Crafoord Prize, the International Glaciological Society's Seligman Crystal, and the royal Swedish Society of Geography and Anthropology's Vega medal.