Wiesław Nowak (1928-1987)

Abstract

Being still at his full creative abilities, Docent Dr Wiesław Nowak has died on April, 25 th, 1987. He was a distinguished geologist and biostratigrapher, employed at the Carpathian Branch of the State Geological Institute in Kraków. He was a specialist on the Carpathian orogen. His bibliography comprises about 150 publications including geological maps, papers on stratigraphy and palaeontology. He has edited, based on his own studies, archival data, and publications of other authors, the following sheets of the Detailed Geological Map of Poland 1 : 50 000 (provisional version): Pszczyna, Skoczów, Kęty, Bielsko-Biała, Wadowice, Lachowice, and as a co-author, sheet Strzyżów. He was a geologist who especially appreciated the usefulness of microfossils, especially foraminifers, calpionellids and stomiospherids as stratigraphie as well as sedidmenatary facies indicators. He has largely contributed to the correction of the geological age of various lithostratigraphical divisions in the Jurassic, Cretaceous, and Tertiary of the Carpathians. Within the field of palaeontology he was especially interested in calpionellids, stomiospherids, cadosinids, pithonellids, and nannoconids. He has described several new species of stratigraphically useful calpionellids and stomiospherids. He also studied trace fossils of the Carpathian flysch, broadening our knowledge of the star-like forms as well as of Paleodictyon and Belorhaphe. W. Nowak was actively engaded in the study of the inital and final stages of the Carpathian geosyncline evolution. He studied exotics from the lowermost lithostratigraphical divisions of this geosyncline, as well as the problem of the Lower Cretaceous teschenite intrusions and the manifestations of the Late-Cimmerian movements; he has also elaborated the detailed biostratigraphy of the Jurassic - Cretaceous boundary strata. He was trying to define the position of the Oligocene - Miocene boundary in the flysch sequences of the Carpathians, defending his concept that this boundary is situated in the Skole unit near the top of the Menilite Beds, within the member of Niebylec Shales. He was also dealing with the stratigraphy of Miocene deposits in southern Poland, postulating that the main orogenic phase in the Outer Carapathians has taken place in the late Burdigalian. Results of many of his studies have been not published, or appeared in form of short notes only. W. Nowak was ever ready to aid his younger colleagues, and his exceptionally valuable indications and comments introduced important ideas to their work. The untimely death interrupted the work of this unfatigable geologist.