THE INFLUENCE AND GEOLOGICAL LEGACY OF WALTER E. DEAN, Jr

Walter Dean was a committed and devoted geologist. But there was so much more to him than that. He certainly enjoyed relaxing with friends with certain adult beverages in hand, whether in his hot tub at home--or just about any other venue. And, he could spout poetry from memory while doing so. Walt mentored me when I first joined the U.S. Geological Survey in 1979. We worked in different branches, but we had common interests in carbonate and organic-carbon rich facies. I had access to organic and stable isotope measurements and he to inorganic geochemistry, and we joined forces on several projects. Although he was well-known for his modern and ancient lacustrine systems research, Walt also had a toe in the marine realm. That was the beginning of a nearly 40-year collaboration between us--lots of parties, oceanographic and field expeditions, and more. In 1981 I left the USGS for academia, but Walt and I continued to collaborate, and he had a hand in mentoring many of my PhD students as well. As the deposition of Western Interior Cretaceous marine strata was one focus of our research, many of these students would often stay at his house in Evergreen and experience Walt’s (and his wife Bev’s) fine hospitality.

Walt sailed on the Glomar Challenger on Deep Sea Drilling Project (DSDP) Leg 41, and that kindled his interest in Milankovitch cycles and marine black shales. He subsequently sailed on several other DSDP expeditions, as well as oceanographic expeditions to modern marine environments, including the Peru Margin and the Black Sea with me. His geological legacy includes a large number of significant publications, a huge compendium of geochemical data, mentoring of many successful young geologists, and a host of good friends and colleagues. This presentation will highlight some of his later research.