Dr. Philipp Kempf
Department of Earth Sciences
Institute of Geological Sciences
Tectonics and Sedimentary Systems
Researcher
Room B 103
12249 Berlin
Employment
| 2019 - present | Post Doctoral Researcher at FU Berlin, Germany. DFG funded, Basis Modul – Eigene Stelle |
| 2019 | Project Manager at GEOxyz (an internationally operating offshore service company) |
| 2017 - 2018 | Postdoctoral research fellow at Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences, Geological Survey of Belgium, Brussel |
| 2016 - 2017 | Research Consultant (freelance) to Prof. Dr. Anne Bernhardt, FU Berlin, Germany (3 months) |
| 2016 - 2017 | Voluntary Researcher at Ghent University at the Renard Centre of Marine Geology in the research group of Prof. Dr. Marc De Batist |
| 2016 | Doctorate of Science: Geology, Ghent University, Renard Centre of Marine Geology, Belgium. Thesis title: “Tsunamis in south central Chile – Evidence from coastal lakes” (Defended on 18-05-2016) |
| 2015 - 2016 | Assistant Researcher at Ghent University, Renard Centre of Marine Geology, Belgium, to Prof. Dr. Marc De Batist (5 months) |
| 2011 - 2015 | PhD studies, Ghent University, Renard Centre of Marine Geology, Belgium. Promoter: Prof. Dr. Marc De Batist, co-promoter: Dr. Jasper Moernaut |
| 2011 | Research Assistant at University of Tromsø, Institute for Geology, to Prof. Dr. Matthias Forwick (2 months) |
Fieldwork and research cruises
| 2018 | Coastal and limnogeological fieldwork on Shetland Island, Scotland, as field assistant to Dr. Max Engel |
| 2017 | Reconnaissance fieldwork on the central west coast of Sumatra, Indonesia, as co-principal investigator with Prof Dr. Anne Bernhardt |
| 2016 | NEKTON cruise (deep sea biology) as geological surveyor from Halifax, Canada, to Bermuda and back (5 weeks) on CGDG Hudson |
| 2014 | Limnogeological fieldwork on Eklutna Lake, Alaska (4 weeks) as field assistant |
| 2013 | Coastal fieldwork on the west coast of Chiloé Island, Chile (1 week) |
| 2013 | Marine Geology research DETSUFA cruise to Fiordo Aysen, Chile, as geological surveyor (3 weeks) on BIO Hespérides from Ushuaia, Argentina, to Punta Arenas, Chile |
| 2011/2012 | Limnogeological fieldwork on Chilean lakes (for the PhD) as field assistant (6 weeks) and as principal investigator (6 weeks) |
| 2011 | Marine Geology research cruise to continental margin of northern Norway (Røst) as Geological Surveyor (2 weeks) |
| 2010 | Marine Geology research cruise to the fjords of Svalbard, Norway, as Geological Surveyor (2 weeks) on R/V Jan Mayen (now R/V Helmer Hanssen) |
| 2008 | Basin of Graissessac in Montagne Noir, southern France (2 weeks) |
Education
| 2011 - 2016 | Doctorate of Science: Geology, Ghent University, Renard Centre of Marine Geology, Belgium. Thesis title: “Tsunamis in south central Chile – Evidence from coastal lakes”. Promoter: Prof. Marc De Batist, Co-Promoter: Dr. Jasper Moernaut |
| 2009 - 2011 | Master of Geosciences, Universitetet i Tromsø, Norway, and University Centre in Svalbard (UNIS), with a focus on quaternary geology and marine geophysics. Master thesis about “Sedimentary Processes and Palaeoenvironment in Van Keulenfjorden, Spitsbergen”. Supervisors: Prof. Dr. Tore O. Vorren, Dr. Jan-Sverre Laberg and Prof. Dr. Matthias Forwick |
| 2008 - 2009 | Master of Geosciences, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe University, Frankfurt am Main, Germany (Master degree obtained at a different institution) |
| 2005 - 2008 | Bachelor of Geosciences, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe University, Frankfurt am Main, Germany |
Awards and Fellowships
2019 – DFG Eigene Stelle 2019, Post Doctoral Fellowship for 3 years at Freie University Berlin
2015 – Invited speaker at American Geophysical Union (AGU) Fall Meeting, San Francisco, 2015
2013 – Outstanding Student Poster Award (OSPA) EGU 2013 in the Seismology (SM) section
Guest lecturer and teaching assistant, Ghent University
| Winter term 2016/2017 | Advanced Sedimentology (GL) |
| Winter term 2015/2016 | Advanced Sedimentology (GL) |
| Summer term 2015 | Structural geology excursion to the western Alps (TA) |
| Summer term 2015 | Limnogeological excursion to Lake Lucern (GL) |
| Summer term 2014 | Limnogeological excursion to Lake Lucern (TA) |
| Summer term 2013 | Limnogeological excursion to Lake Lucern (TA) |
Teaching assistant, University of Tromsø
| Summer term 2011 | Marine geology cruise on R/V Jan Mayen (now R/V Helmer Hanssen) (TA) |
| Winter term 2010/2011 | Marine geology (TA) |
Teaching assistant, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe University, Frankfurt am Main
| Summer term 2008 | Field excursion for geological mapping II (TA) |
| Winter term 2007/2008 | Mathematics for Geoscientist (TA), Crystallography I (TA) |
| Summer term 2007 | Mathematics for Geoscientist (TA), Field excursion for geological mapping II (TA) |
| Winter term 2006/2007 | Mathematics for Geoscientist (TA) |
Paleotsunamis | Paleoseismology | Process Sedimentology | Coastal Environments | Post-crisis Landscape recovery | Sedimentary Glacier-Ocean Interaction
Tsunami history, paleoseismology and their statistical exploration on subduction zones.
My research focuses on sedimentary traces of tsunamis and earthquakes in coastal, lacustrine and marine environments. This approach starts with fieldwork involving coring along coastlines, lakes and the seafloor, and acquiring acoustic data of the lake- or seafloor and their sub-surfaces. I integrate the acoustic data with core analyses, like radiocarbon dating, sediment geochemistry and geophysical data to reconstruct the sedimentary environments of the past and deciphering the tsunami or earthquake history. In previous work I reconstructed the deglaciation dynamics of landscape in transition from ice-age to interglacial.
Aims of my research efforts to date include: (1) reconstructing the deglaciation dynamics of the waning ice-sheet on Svalbard, (2) describing the sedimentary process of tsunami inundation into coastal lakes in Chile, (3) extending the history of large paleotsunamis and earthquakes along the most tsunamigenic subduction zones in Chile, Alaska, Sumatra and Japan, (4) exploring paleoseismic record data statistically towards the boundaries of can and cannot be inferred, (5) describing the post-crisis landscape recovery in coastal environments that were hit by large tsunamis.
Most recently, I investigate the earthquake and tsunami history along the central west coast of Sumatra. These efforts are currently hampered by the global COVID19 pandemic. Instead I am focusing on a statistical model of paleoseismic records.
Analytical skills
| Fieldgeology | extensive experience in marine, lacustrine and onshore fieldwork. Coring fjords, lakes and coastal environments (multi-, gravity-, piston-, percussion-/hammer-, vibra-, Eikelkamp “cores”), high resolution 2D reflection seismic, multibeam echosounder mapping, side-scan sonar mapping. |
| Labwork | lasergranulometry, multi-sensor core logging, high-resolution core imagery, X-ray CT scanning, XRF core scanning, soft-sediment resin-impregnation thin sections, loss on ignition. |
| Data analysis | R(-Studio) for statistical modelling and data visualisation, QGIS for spatial data analysis and visualisation, Kingdom Suite for 2D reflection seismic data analysis and visualisation, Fiji (ImageJ) and VG Studio for 3D image analysis of CT scans. |
Peer-reviewed publications:
2020
Kempf P, Moernaut J, Van Daele M, Pino M, Urrutia R, De Batist M (2020): Paleotsunami record of the past 4300 years in the complex coastal lake system of Lake Cucao, Chiloé Island, south central Chile. Sedimentary Geology 401, 105644.
Praet N, Van Daele M, Collart T, Moernaut J, Vandekerkhove E, Kempf P, Haeussler P J, De Batist M (2020): Turbidite stratigraphy in proglacial lakes: Deciphering trigger mechanisms using a statistical approach. Sedimentology 67, 2332–2359.
2019
Van Daele M, Araya-Cornejo C, Pille T, Moernaut J, Vanneste K, Schmidt S, Kempf P, Meyer I, Cisternas M (2019): Distinguishing intraplate from megathrust earthquakes using lacustrine turbidites. Geology 47 (2), 127-130.
2018
Kempf P, Moernaut J, De Batist M (2018): Bimodal recurrence pattern of tsunami in South-Central Chile: a statistical exploration of paleotsunami data. Seismological Research Letters, 90 (1), 194-202.
Moernaut J, Van Daele M, Fontijn K, Heirman K, Kempf P, Pino M, Valdebenito G, Urrutia R, Strasser M, De Batist M (2018): Larger earthquakes recur more periodically: New insights in the megathrust earthquake cycle from lacustrine turbidite records in south-central Chile. Earth and Planetary Science Letters 481, 9–19.
2017
Kempf P, Moernaut J, Van Daele M, Vandoorne W, Pino M, Urrutia R, De Batist M (2017): Coastal lake sediments reveal 5500 years of tsunami history in south central Chile. Quaternary Science Reviews 161, 99-116.
2016
Kempf P (2016): Tsunamis in south central Chile: evidence from coastal lakes. Doctoral Thesis, Ghent University.
Lastras G, Amblas D, Canals M, Azpiroz M, Bascuñán I, Calafat A M, Duhart P, Frigola J, Hermanns, R L, Iglesias O, Kempf P, Lafuerza S, Longva O, Micallef A, Rayo X, Sepúlveda S A, Vargas G (2016): Fjord-flank collapse and associated deformation in Aysén Fjord, Chile, Geological Society Memoir.
Forwick M, Kempf P, Laberg J-S (2016): Eskers in deglacial sediments of three Spitsbergen fjords. Atlas of Submarine Glacial Landforms: Modern, Quaternary and Ancient, J. A. Dowdeswell, M. Canals, M. Jakobsson, B. J. Todd, E. K. Dowdeswell, K. A. Hogan.
2015
Kempf P, Moernaut J, Van Daele M, Vermassen F, Vandoorne W, Pino M, Urrutia R, Schmidt S, Garrett E, De Batist M (2015): The sedimentary record of the 1960 tsunami in two coastal lakes on Isla de Chiloe, south central Chile. Sedimentary Geology 328, 73-86.
Wiemer G, Moernaut J, Stark N, Kempf P, De Batist M, Pino M, Urrutí a R, Ladro n de Guevara B, Strasser M, Kopf A (2015): The role of sediment composition and behavior under dynamic loading conditions on slope failure initiation: a study of a subaqueous landslide in earthquake-prone South-Central Chile. International Journal of Earth Sciences 104 (5), 1439-1457.
2014
Hermanns RL, Sepu lveda SA, Lastras G, Amblas D, Canals M, Azpiroz M, Bascun a n I, Calafat AM, Duhart P, Frigola J, Iglesias O, Kempf P, Lafuerza S, Longva O, Micallef A, Oppikofer T, Rayo X, Vargas G, Yugsi-Mulina F (2014): Earthquake-Triggered Subaerial Landslides that Caused Large Scale Fjord Sediment Deformation: Combined Subaerial and Submarine Studies of the 2007 Aysen Fjord Event, Chile. In: Engineering Geology for Society and Territory (vol. 4). Lollino G. et al. (eds.).
2013
Kempf P, Forwick M, Laberg JS, Vorren TO (2013): Late Weichselian and Holocene sedimentary palaeoenvironment and glacial activity in the high-arctic Van Keulenfjorden, Spitsbergen. The Holocene 23 (11), 1607-1618.
Lastras G, Amblas D, Calafat AM, Canals M, Frigola J, Hermanns RL, Lafuerza S, Longva O, Micallef A, Sepu lveda SA, Vargas G, De Batist M, Van Daele M, Azpiroz M, Bascun a n I, Duhart P, Iglesias O, Kempf P, Rayo X (2013): Landslides Cause Tsunami Waves: Insights From Ayse n Fjord, Chile. EOS 94 (34), 297-298.