19 Facts About Konrad Steffen

Konrad "Koni" Steffen was a Swiss glaciologist, known for his research into the impact of global warming on the Arctic.

Konrad Steffen was born on January 2,1952, in Zurich, Switzerland to Ernst and Maria Steffen, nee Kurzinski.

Konrad Steffen's father was a fashion designer and his mother ran an accounting firm.

In 1986, Konrad Steffen went to the United States as a visiting fellow at the Cooperative Institute at the University of Colorado Boulder.

Konrad Steffen was an associate professor of geography at the University of Colorado Boulder from 1991 to 1997, whereupon he became a full professor there.

Konrad Steffen served as the director of the Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences at Boulder from 2005 to 2012.

Konrad Steffen took office as the director of the Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research on July 1,2012.

Konrad Steffen was known for his research into Arctic sea ice and the glaciers of Greenland, and how they are affected by global warming.

Konrad Steffen often traveled to Greenland to study these glaciers firsthand; for example, when studying Petermann Glacier for three weeks in 2004, Steffen did so from a camp set up 4,000 feet up the flanks of the glacier's ice cap.

Konrad Steffen operated a network of 20 weather stations on the Greenland ice sheet, the first of which, Swiss Camp, he established in 1990.

Konrad Steffen argued that due to this ice sheet melting faster than anticipated, sea levels could rise by about 3 feet by 2100, considerably higher than the IPCC's upper limit of 59 centimetres, and that Greenland might lose all its ice in 10,000 years, but Antarctica would take considerably longer, since it is so much bigger.

Konrad Steffen was a lead author of the "Observations: Cryosphere" chapter of the IPCC AR5, released in 2013.

Konrad Steffen's legacy included conducting extensive geoscience research, then translating the value and implications of the scientific data for nonspecialists, including many journalists who then could inform the public and policymakers.

Konrad Steffen served on the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

In October 2017, Konrad Steffen received the Lowell Thomas Award from the Explorers Club, a non-profit group that promotes scientific exploration.

Konrad Steffen had two children with first wife Regula Werner, who died in 2011 from cancer.

Konrad Steffen later married Bianca Perren, a paleoclimatologist working with the British Antarctic Survey.

Konrad Steffen died on 8 August 2020 in an accident while on a field trip in Greenland.

Konrad Steffen fell into a crevasse near the Swiss Camp research station.