Ernest Frederick Roots
|
Fred Roots OC FRSC |
|
|---|---|
| Born |
Ernest Frederick Roots 5 July 1923 Salmon Arm, British Columbia |
| Died | 18 October 2016 (aged 93) East Sooke, British Columbia |
| Nationality | Canadian |
| Alma mater |
University of British Columbia Princeton University |
| Occupation | Geologist, explorer, educator and public servant |
| Years active | 1945–2016 |
| Organization |
Scott Polar Research Institute Geological Survey of Canada Polar Continental Shelf Program Environment Canada Students on Ice |
Ernest Frederick "Fred" Roots OC FRSC (5 July 1923 – 18 October 2016) was a Canadian geologist, polar explorer, educator and public servant. After graduating with undergraduate and master's degrees in geology from the University of British Columbia and a doctorate from Princeton University, Roots joined the Scott Polar Research Institute and was appointed Chief Geologist for the 1949 to 1952 Norwegian–British–Swedish Antarctic Expedition. During the expedition, in addition to ground-breaking geological and glaciological research studies, he made a 189-day, unsupported dog sled journey across the continent; a record that still stood at the time of his death over six decades later. On his return to Canada he joined the Geological Survey of Canada with whom he served as a field geologist until 1958, when he left to help found the Polar Continental Shelf Program. After 14 years with PCSP, Roots left to act as science advisor to the newly created federal Department of the Environment, where he remained on staff until 1989. After retirement, Roots remained an active participant in polar research, and also became a key mentor within the Students on Ice educational program. He continued to participate in expeditions for Students on Ice well into his tenth decade, his last being to Greenland only two months before his death.
Fred Roots was born in Salmon Arm, in the Shuswap Country of southern British Columbia, Canada, on 5 July 1923. He was the second child of Margaret and Ernest Roots. His father was an engineer with the Canadian Pacific Railway, and while Fred was a small child the family moved to Banff, Alberta, when Ernest was appointed Chief Engineer at the company's Banff Springs Hotel. As a result, Roots spent much of his childhood surrounded by the high ranges of the Canadian Rockies. Growing up among the mountains instilled in Roots a lasting love of outdoor exploration and geology.
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