Eberli recognized with inaugural Johannes Walther Medal for outstanding efforts in sedimentology
The International Association of Sedimentologist (IAS) named Dr. Gregor Paul Eberli from the University of Miami (UM) Rosenstiel School of Marine & Atmospheric Science as the first recipient of the Johannes Walther Award. The award will be presented to a mid-career scientist and commemorates the 60th anniversary of the IAS and the 50th anniversary of its journal, Sedimentology, the world's leading journal in the field.
Eberli has been a leader in the development of new approaches to understanding carbonate sediments and rocks, with a focus in the areas of: seismic sequence stratigraphy; comparative sedimentology; physical properties and petrophysics; exploration of deep-water corals; and the utility of outcrop analogues in stratigraphy.
While at UM Eberli has developed new concepts for the anatomy and evolution of carbonate platforms both in the Bahamas and in Italy. In a series of seminal papers Eberli established a revolutionary new model of carbonate platform development. Eberli's research has played a key role in assessing the effects of sea level fluctuations and climate change on carbonate sediments. He is recognized for revealing the complicated internal architecture of Great Bahama Bank and changing the view of the growth pattern of such carbonate platforms. In addition, Eberli has conducted several successful petrophysical experiments that help to better understand the log and seismic signature of carbonates.
Eberli is also the director and principal investigator (PI) of the CSL - Center for Carbonate Research that is largely supported by industrial asscoiates. The CSL, started by UM sedimentology pioneer Dr. Robert Ginsburg in 1970, has grown to include more than 15 oil companies and supports four PIs, as well as 20 graduates students. The CSL has had major breakthroughs in documenting how sedimentologic and geochemical processes produce variations of porosity/velocity are related to differences in rock pore types and established criteria for identifying facies in seismic sections—both of which serve as special utilities to geologists and engineers in the petroleum industry.
"Gregor is a singularly appropriate candidate for the inaugural Johannes Walther Award. He has an outstanding record of scholarly publications, and is a superb colleague, teacher and mentor to young geoscientists," said Dr. Peter Swart, chair of Marine Geology and Geophysics and professor at UM's Rosenstiel School.
The award, which was presented last week at the IAS conference in Austria, is named for Johannes Walther, a renowned 19th century German geologist. Walther's Law states that sedimentary facies found adjacent to each other, come to lie superimposed on each other in the sedimentary record —a fundamental tenet in the study of sedimentary geology.
A native of Switzerland, Eberli received his doctorate from Swiss Institute of Technology (ETH) Zürich in 1985. He and his wife, Mara, live in Key Biscayne, Fla.
Provided by University of Miami
