Matthias Kuhle facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Matthias Kuhle
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Matthias Kuhle (Everest north slope, Central Rongbuk Glacier)
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| Born | April 20, 1948 |
| Died | April 25, 2015 (aged 67) |
Matthias Kuhle (born April 20, 1948 – died April 25, 2015) was a German geographer. He was a professor at the University of Göttingen. He also edited a book series called Geography International.
Kuhle sadly passed away on April 25, 2015. He died during a big earthquake in Nepal. This was the April 2015 Nepal earthquake.
A Life of Geography and Discovery
His Education and Early Career
Matthias Kuhle studied several subjects. He learned about German language and literature (called German philology). He also studied geography and philosophy. He did all of this at the Free University of Berlin.
In 1972, he finished his first degree. Then, he moved to the University of Göttingen for his Ph.D. He earned his Ph.D. in natural sciences in 1975. His research was about the shapes of land (called geomorphology). He studied how mountains in South Iran were shaped by old glaciers.
In 1980, he completed another important work. This was about the Dhaulagiri and Annapurna mountains in the Himalaya. It focused on how these very high mountains were formed. In 1983, he became a Professor of Geography. By 1990, he held a special position. He became the chair for Geography and High Mountain Geomorphology. This meant he led studies on how high mountains are shaped.
Exploring High Mountains
Kuhle's main research focused on mountain ranges. He explored high areas in Asia, the Andes in South America, and the Arctic. Since 1973, he went on many research trips. These trips often lasted several months.
His most important work was about high mountain environments. He studied how glaciers and ice ages shaped the land. He also looked at Climatology, which is the study of climate. A big part of his work was about the Ice Age. He wanted to understand how much ice covered High and Central Asia long ago.
Kuhle believed that the uplift of the Tibetan Plateau created a huge ice sheet. He thought this ice sheet covered almost the entire plateau. He used his measurements of energy from the sun in high-altitude areas to support his ideas.
