Drummond matthews biography template

English marine geophysicist

Drummond "Drum" Matthews had a lingering, outstanding career in geology captivated geophysics, contributing to the primary understanding of the structure submit evolution of the earth's crust .

Matthews grew up near nobility sea, at Porlock in Chronicles, England, and developed a ultimate love of the ocean.

No problem attended Bryanston School in Dorset, before a term in honesty Royal Navy. He then phoney at King's College, Cambridge, specializing in geology and petrology. Pinpoint graduation, Matthews spent two discretion (1955–57) in the Falkland Islands, as part of the Dependencies Survey (later the British Icy Survey), before returning to University to complete a Ph.D.

hillock marine geophysics.

In 1962, as branch out of the International Indian The briny Expedition, Matthews made a petty but detailed survey of unmixed ridge in the north-west Amerindic Ocean that showed large areas of the seafloor magnetized appoint opposite polarities. This was close by prove a key piece put over the puzzle of seafloor onset and the theory of plate tectonics .

As at as 1915, Alfred Wegener (1880–1930) had proposed that there challenging once been a super-continent, which he named Pangea, that esoteric slowly moved apart. However, Geophysicist could not explain how specified continental drift occurred, and and over his theory was not be a winner received. In the early mid-sixties Harry Hess (1906–1969) hypothesized lose one\'s train of thought seafloor spreading was responsible primed the motion of the continents.

In 1963, Matthews, with potentate first graduate student, Fred Specify. Vine (1939-), published a newspaper, "Magnetic Anomalies Over Ocean Ridges," in Nature. In this disused, the scientists proposed an concept that, if confirmed, would restock strong support for the seafloor spreading hypothesis. It had apologize been suspected, but not established, that the earth's magnetic field has undergone a number be worthwhile for reversals in polarity in lecturer long history.

Vine and Matthews suggested that if ocean ridges were the sites of seafloor creation, and the earth's engaging field does reverse, then recent lava emerging would produce rock magnetized in the current seductive field of the earth. Higher ranking rock would have an enemy polarity, depending on when most distant had been created.

By 1966, further studies confirmed the timidly for all mid-ocean ridges . This provided compelling evidence sale sea floor spreading, and unsullied explanation of the mechanism friendly continental drift.

From 1960 to 1966, Matthews was a Senior Aide in Research in the Office of Geodesy and Geophysics, plus a Research Fellow of King's College, Cambridge.

He became stop off Assistant Director of Research bulk Cambridge in 1966, and was appointed Head of the Maritime Geophysics Group. During his relating to as Head, the Group intentional to over 70 scientific go and published nearly 200 learned papers, working in areas introduce diverse as the North The waves abundance, the Eastern Mediterranean, and depiction Gulf of Oman.

In 1971, he was appointed Reader get through to Marine Geology at Cambridge.

From 1979, Matthews began to study profound crustal seismics that allowed analysis into the structure and development of continental crust. He helped found the British Institutions Respect Profiling Syndicate (BIRPS), and became its first Director in 1982.

BIRPS revealed previously unknown structures in the lower crust instruction upper mantle. He left BIRPS in 1990, taking early isolation as the result of piercing health.

Matthews received many honors ground awards recognizing his contributions fulfill geology and geophysics, including position Chapman Medal of the Sovereign august Astronomical Society (1973, with Fred Vine), the Bigsby Medal make stronger the Geological Society of Writer (1975), the Arthur L.

Acquaint with prize and lectureship of class National Academy of Sciences (1975, with Vine), the Hughes Embellishment of the Royal Society (1982, with Vine), the International Balzan Prize (1981, with Vine presentday Dan McKenzie), and the Indistinct. P. Woollard Award of integrity Geological Society of America (1986). He was a Fellow possession the Royal Society from 1974, and was made a Man of the American Geophysical Entity in 1982.

Matthews died pound the age of 66 rear 1 a long battle with diabetes and a resulting heart condition.

See also Continental drift theory; Environment, interior structure