Lev Vilen Eppelbaum
| Lev Vilen Eppelbaum | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1959 Tbilisi, Georgian SSR, Soviet Union |
| 🎓 Alma mater | Azerbaijan State Oil and Industry University |
| 💼 Occupation | |
| Known for | * Geophysical field interpretation
|
| 🏅 Awards | * Christiaan Huygens Medal (2019)
|
Lev Vilen Eppelbaum, (in Russian: Лев Вилен Эппельбаум) born in 1959 in Tbilisi, Georgia, is a Russian‑Israeli geophysicist and research professor at Tel Aviv University. His work has focused on geophysical field interpretation in complex physical-geological environments, paleomagnetic mapping, archaeological prospection, and studies of natural hazards.
Early life and education
Eppelbaum was born in Tbilisi and later moved with his family to Baku, Azerbaijan. He studied geophysics engineering at the Azerbaijan State Oil and Industry University, graduating with a master’s degree in 1982. In 1989, he completed a PhD in geophysics (Baku-Tbilisi-Moscow), concentrating on applications of geophysical methods to ore deposits.
Academic career
After moving to Israel in 1990, Eppelbaum joined Tel Aviv University as a postdoctoral researcher. He later became a senior lecturer and, since 2005, has served as a research professor in the Department of Geophysics. He has taught courses in applied geophysics and supervised graduate students.
Eppelbaum has authored more than 470 scientific publications, including 12 books, 19 chapters, nearly 200 journal articles, about 80 proceedings, and numerous conference papers. His work has addressed geophysical potential fields, paleomagnetic-geodynamic analysis, tectonic-geodynamic studies in the Eastern Mediterranean, the African-Arabian region, and the South Caucasus, the theory of information deployment in geophysics, and borehole thermal and pressure data.
Research Contributions
Mantle and Tectonic Structures
He co‑authored studies describing mantle structures in the Eastern Mediterranean. In 2021 and 2025, he and collaborators reported a quasi‑ring counterclockwise rotating mantle structure under the African–Arabian junction, and in 2024 published on the reasons for geodynamic tension in Eastern Turkey.
Oceanic Crust
Eppelbaum and colleagues reported evidence of ancient oceanic crust in the Easternmost Mediterranean, associated with the Kiama paleomagnetic hyperzone of Permian age. This research was noted in science communication outlets.
Paleomagnetic Mapping
Eppelbaum has contributed to a new kind of paleomagnetic-geodynamic mapping of the Eastern Mediterranean. His work combined tectono‑structural analysis with paleomagnetic data to reconstruct regional geodynamic history, including ocean‑continent transition zones.
Natural Hazards
His publications include unconventional studies of earthquake processes, tsunami wave behavior, and tornado prediction, employing mathematical and geophysical approaches to hazard assessment.
Development of regional geophysical maps
L. Eppelbaum, with co-authors, has developed the first Moho (1994) and Curie (2004) discontinuity maps of Israel, and the first paleomagnetic map of the Eastern Mediterranean (2015).
Archaeological Prospection
Eppelbaum has applied magnetic and microgravity methods to archaeological sites in Israel, including Banias, Tel Megiddo, Nahal Zehora, Beit Gouvrin, Tel Kara Hadid, Rujm el-Hiri, and Emmaus‑Nicopolis. His studies examined subsurface anomalies in urban environments using advanced quantitative approaches to interpret magnetic, gravity, self-potential, thermal, piezoelectric, and paleomagnetic data. He proposed applying components of information theory to archaeological prospection.
Dead Sea Sinkholes
He has participated in research on sinkhole development around the Dead Sea. These studies employed microgravity and magnetic analyses, along with geophysical modeling, to assess karst processes and predict sinkhole formation in Israel and Jordan.
Borehole Thermal Data
Eppelbaum has collaborated on numerous modern methods for analyzing borehole temperature and pressure data, including geothermal gradient estimation and the dynamics of permafrost thaw.
Honors and recognitions
In 2019, Eppelbaum received the Christiaan Huygens Medal of the European Geosciences Union. The same year, The Jerusalem Post listed him among the “Top 10 immigrant scientists” in Israel. He was elected a foreign member of the Georgian Academy of Sciences in 2023 and became an honorary professor at the Azerbaijan State Oil and Industry University in 2020. He has also received the Vernadsky Gold Medal and the Knight of Science and Arts distinction in 2017 from the Russian Academy of Natural Sciences.
References
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