Wright, H. E., Jr. 1917-2015

Herbert Edgar Wright Jr. (13 September 1917 – 12 November 2015) was an American Quaternary scientist. He conducted research on changes to the landscape and environment that occurred over the past 100,000 years. Wright's research focused on arid-region geomorphology and landscape evolution, with an emphasis on glacial geology and climate history. He subsequently studied vegetation development and environmental history. As part of this, he analyzed the timing and mechanisms of climate-driven vegetational shifts in North America during the last 18,000 years. He also worked on recognizing the role of natural fires in the dynamics of northern coniferous forests and in wilderness conservation and landscape management. His other works include aspects of paleoecology, lake development, paleolimnology, and the history and development of the vast patterned peatlands of Minnesota and elsewhere in the Northern Hemisphere. Although his work was concentrated in Minnesota, he was involved in a synthesis of global paleoclimatology. Beyond Minnesota and the Great Lakes region, Wright also studied research questions in other parts of North America and in the Near East, Europe, Asia, Latin America, and Antarctica.