AASP Primary Records Program

PALYNOS 22(2): p. 13-15, 1999.

IN MEMORIAM
Vladimir Polikarpovich Grichuk

On January 4, 1999 the science of palynology suffered a great loss in the death of Vladimir Polikarpovich Grichuk. Research performed by Professor Grichuk not only enabled the solution of major problems in palynology, paleogeography, and Quaternary geology, but also greatly influenced research in the fields of botany, pal eoclimatology, and other areas.

V.P. Grichuk started his palynological research in the late 1930's, when he was transferred from the Moscow Geological Department to the Institute of Geography of the Academy of Sciences. Within the Institute V.P. Grichuk established the Laboratory of Pollen Analysis, which soon became a leading scientific center in the field of palynology in the Soviet Union. Prof. Grichuk worked out the method for the separation of pollen from mineral sediments, which allowed for considerable broadening of application opportunities for pollen analysis. Since that time palynology has been widely introduced into the practice of geological exploration. At the same time, V.P. Grichuk conducted methodological studies of poll en assemblages of recent deposits in various vegetation zones.

Under the guidance of Vladimir Grichuk, and with his direct participation, studies of pollen morphology were conducted and research into floral Quaternary history were begun. World War II interrupted analytical investigations, but Grichuk was able to continue his research in 1945 after being demobilized from the Soviet Army. In 1948, in collaboration with E.D. Zaklinskaya, Prof. Grichuk published a manual entitled "Analysis of fossil pollen and spores and its application to paleogeography" in which, for the first time in Russian science, the methodological basis of pollen analysis and the broad possibilities of its application to solving theoretical and practical problems were fully considered. In 1950 Grichuk coauthored the volume Pollen Analysis, which was highly appreciated by specialists. At the same time, he conducted the training of specialists in Quaternary palynology on an extensive scale. It would not be an overstatement to say that V.P. Grichuk advised virtually all palynologists from Russia, as well as some specialists from other countries.

Vladimir Grichuk regarded pollen analysis not as the final product of investigations, but rather as a tool which opens new perspectives in detecting the not-yet-known regularities of natural development. As a consequence, he successfully created palynology-based reconstructions of vegetative cover for a number of interglacial and glacial epochs, and by means of estimating the heat and moisture supply of the environment, provided explanations for major landscape changes during the glacial-interglacial climatic macrocycles. His maps, which are reconstructions of global and regional vegetation, appeared in both Russian and international publications such as paleogeographical atlases, and monographs on the regions included in Europe, Northern Eurasia, and the Northern Hcmi sphere generally.

Another principal direction of paleogeographical studies that Grichuk developed was paleoclimatology. Using his methods of paleoclimatic reconstruction, it became possible to recreate quantitatively the spatial distributions of the main climatic indexes over large areas for various epochs of the Pleistocene. in recent years such reconstructions acquired particular significance in connection with the problem of human-induced global warming; some of the reconstructions are used as analogs for possible future situations.

The main features of the evolution of floras are used generally in the fundamental paleogeography and in studies of the Quatemary. Prof. Grichuk made a significant contribution to the development of stratigraphical applications of palynology, and formulated the principles for the detailed stratigraphic subdivision of Pleistocene deposits on the basis of paleobotanical data. He also worked out the system of correlation attributes for interglacial deposits, and suggested criteria for distinguishing between glacial and interglacial floras.

V.P. Grichuk participated enthusiastically in the field of geological work and in the discussion of its results. He also participated actively in palynological conferences and congresses both in Russia and elsewhere. Since 1955 he was a member of the Bureau of Commission on the Studies of the Quaternary Period. For 12 years (1957-1969) he was the Chairman o:f the INQUA Commission on the Pliocene/ Pleistocene boundary, and the Head of the Palynological Commission. V.P. Grichuk published over 200 research papers, and a short list of his major publications appears below that gives a general idea of the wide diversity of his scientific interests, and of the broad range of problems that were studied by him.

Vladimir Polikarpovich Grichuk, being a highly talented scientist, was at the same time a kindly and modest person, always benevolent to other people. His readiness to help everyone, not only by word of advice but also by concrete example won an affectionate memory among his followers and colleagues.

Submitted by:
Prof. Lidya Rovniria
IGIRGI, Fersmana, 50, Moscow
117312, Russia
E-mail rovnina@igitgi.ru

Selected bibliography:

Grichuk, V.P., 1937, A new method of treatment of sedimentary rocks for pollen analysis: Proceedings of the Soviet section of INQUA, v. 3, Leningrad-Moscow, p. 159-165.

___________ 1940, Method of treatment of sediments with low organic content for pollen analysis: Problemy fizicheskoi geograIii, N 8, p. 53-58.

___________ 1940, On the pollen flora of Quatemary deposits (loesses and other sediments) of the southern part of the European USSR: Tzvestiya AN SSSR, seria geografii i geofiziki, N 4, p. 599-616.

___________ 1942, Pollen spectra of recent sediments in various vegetation zones in the European USSR: Problemy fizicheskoi geografii, N ii, p. 101-129. ___________ and Zaklinskaya, E.D., 1948, analysis of fossil pollen and spores and its applications for palaeogeography: Moscow, Geografgiz, 223 p.

___________ 1949, On the Quaternary history of the broad-leaved forest of the East European Plain: Voprosy geografii, N 12, p. 79-96.

___________ 1950, Vegetation of the Russian Plain during the Early and Middle Quaternary: Trudy Instituta Geografii AN SSSR, v. 46, p. 5-202.

___________ 1951, Historical stages of the evolution of vegetation in the European USSR during the Quaternary: Trudy Instituta Geografii AN SSSR, v. 50, p. 5-74.

___________ 1959, The lower boundary of the Quaternary System and its Stratigraphical position in the Russian Plain. Trudy Instituta Geografii AN SSSR, v. 77, p. 5-90.

___________ 1961, Fossil floras as the basis for the Quaternary stratigraphy, In, Rel'yef i stratigrafiya chetvertichnykh otlozheniy SeveroZapada Russkoi ravniny: lzdatel'stvo AN SSSR, p. 25-71.

___________ 1969, Glacial floras and their classification, Th, Posledniy lednikovyi pokrov na severo-zapada Evropeiskoi chasti SSSR: Moscow, Nauka, p. 57-104.

___________ 1969, An attempt of reconstruction of certain climatic indexes of the Northern Hemisphere during the Atlantic stage of the Holocene, in , M. I. Neustadt (Ed.) Golotsen, Nauka, Moscow, p. 41-57.

___________ 1973, Results of the palynol ogical study of continental Pleistocene and historical-floristic criteria of its stratigraphical subdivision, in , M.1. Neustadi, (Ed.) Problems of Palynology: Proceedings of the 3rd International Palynological Congress, Moscow, Nauka, p. 106-116.

___________ 1979, Procedure of interpretation of paleobotanical data for solving the problems of strati graphy and correlation of Late Cenozoic, in, V.P. Grichuk (Ed.) Palinologicheskkiye issledovaniya na severovostoke SSSR: Akakemiya Nauk SSSR, Dal 'nevostochnyi Nauchnyi Tsentr, Vladivostok, p. 5-22.

___________ 1981, On the problem of distant correlations of subdivisions of climatic and stratigraphical scale, in, Pieistotsenovye oledeneniya Vostochno-Evropeiskoi pavniny: Moscow, Nauka, p. 91-1 12.

___________ 1982, Vegetation of Europe during the Late Pleistocene, in, I.P. Gerasimov and A.A. Velichko (Eds.) Paleogeography of Europe during the last one hundred thousand years: Moscow, Nauka, p. 92-109.

___________ 1984, Late Pleistocene vegetation history, in, A.A. Velichko (Ed.), Late Quaternary Environments of the Soviet Union: University of Minnesota Press, Minneapolis, p. 155-178.

___________ 1985, Reconstructed climatic indexes by means of fioristic data and an estimation of their accuracy, in, A.A. Velichko and Ye Ye Gurtovaya (Eds.) Metody rekonstruktsi i pal eokl imatov: Moscow, Nauka, p. 20-28.

___________ 1987, Stratigraphical subdivision and correlation of the Quaternary deposits, in, E.D. Zakiinskaya (Ed.) Metodicheskiye aspekty palinologii: Moscow, Nauka, p. 109-130.

___________ 1989, The Quaternary history of flora and vegetation in the Russian Plain: Moscow, Nauka, 182 pp.

Velichko, A.A., ______________, Gurtnovya, Y.Y., Zelikso, E.M., and Borisova, O.K., 1982, Pal eoclirnatic reconstructions for the optimum of the Mikulino Interglacial in Europe: Izvestiya AN SSSR, seriya geograficheskaya, N 1, p. 15-19.

Velichko, A.A., ___________, Gurtovaya, Y.Y., and Zelikson, E.M., 1983, Paleoclimate of the USSR territory during the last (Mikulino) interglacial optimum: Izvestiya AN SSSR, seriya geograficheskaya, N 6, p. 30-39.