AASP Primary Records Program

PALYNOS 11(1): p. 4, 1988.

LIDIA GAVRILOVNA MARKOVA
(1912-1986)

On August 12, 1986 we lost one of the leading palynologists of Siberia- Lidia Gavrilovna Markova, who to the end of her days had headed the group of palynologists-biostratigraphers in the Siberian Scientific Research Institute of Geology, Geophysics and Mineral Raw Materials (SNIIGIMS). We have lost our great friend, a devoted colleague in the struggle for harmonic development of both the scientific and practical aspects of palynology in the USSR.

Because her undergraduate major at Tomsk University was in biology, she spent a number of years doing research in plant cytology. However, in 1956 she initiated palynological studies aimed at solving fundamental problems of Meso-Cenozoic evolution of floras, vegetation and climates in the West Siberian Plain. Her doctoral dissertation (1960) was entitled "The History of Jurassic and Early Cretaceous Floras in the West Siberian Plain"-this was based on palynological data. All of her later publications placed special emphasis on the use of palynology in solving stratigraphic problems.

Seven postgraduate students prepared their candidatures under the direction of Dr. Markova. She continually gave much of her time and efforts towards the training of new generations of scientists. She also contributed her share to the very interesting research on the reconstructions of West Siberian palaeolandscapes, whose evolution she claimed to be associated with palaeoclimatic reconstructions. She considered climatic successions within the whole complex of ecological problems to be at least partially solvable by means of palynological data. Although some of her concepts were occasionally regarded as controversial, she was persistent in adhering to her viewpoints, which she was able to defend because of her broad background in biostratigraphy, palaeobiology and systematics.

During her illustrious scientific career, Dr. Markova authored or coauthored 106 publications, including five monographs. These monographs include palaeolandscapes and palaeoclimatic reconstructions, stratigraphic data on West Siberian deposits of Cretaceous age, and Jurassic spore morphology. One of her most recent monographs concerns the stages of evolution of Cretaceous and Jurassic floras in the region that is now the southeastern part of West Siberia. She has also contributed a large number of reports on biostratigraphy of the West Siberian Plain to the archives of SNIIGIMS; these will be of practical value to government geologists for many years to come. Her death came shortly after she completed editing the collective monograph "Methodical Aspects of Palynology," which discussed palaeofloristic grounds of environmental evolution in the vast epicontinental basin of Siberia.

Although somewhat isolated by her position in Tomsk, 'The Star of the North' (as she was called by her colleagues) maintained close contacts with a broad range of both Soviet and foreign palynologists. She had been looking forward to attending the forthcoming 7th International Palynological Congress in Australia and had already submitted her abstract. Unfortunately, fate intervened-Lidia Markova is gone, leaving her last series of slides under her microscope. She will be long remembered by her family, friends, co-workers and students of several generations.

Let "The Star of the North" that shone so brightly throughout the years of rapid progress of our palynology never fade!

E.D. Zaklinskaya
Geological Institute
Acad. Sci. USSR
109017 Moscow