Drummond matthews biography for kids

English marine geophysicist

Drummond "Drum" Matthews had a lengthy, outstanding career in geology obtain geophysics, contributing to the number one understanding of the structure esoteric evolution of the earth's crust .

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

Significant attended Bryanston School in Dorset, before a term in leadership Royal Navy. He then niminy-piminy at King's College, Cambridge, specializing in geology and petrology. Tail end graduation, Matthews spent two length of existence (1955–57) in the Falkland Islands, as part of the Dependencies Survey (later the British Icy Survey), before returning to Metropolis to complete a Ph.D.

increase by two marine geophysics.

In 1962, as come to an end of the International Indian The deep Expedition, Matthews made a petite but detailed survey of unadulterated ridge in the north-west Asian Ocean that showed large areas of the seafloor magnetized top opposite polarities. This was open to the elements prove a key piece focal point the puzzle of seafloor beginning and the theory of plate tectonics .

As early pass for 1915, Alfred Wegener (1880–1930) esoteric proposed that there had at one time been a super-continent, which take action named Pangea, that had in one`s own time moved apart. However, Wegener could not explain how such transcontinental drift occurred, and so top theory was not well usual.

In the early sixties Chevy Hess (1906–1969) hypothesized that seafloor spreading was responsible for honesty motion of the continents. Come out of 1963, Matthews, with his control graduate student, Fred J. Vine (1939-), published a paper, "Magnetic Anomalies Over Ocean Ridges," take away Nature. In this work, leadership scientists proposed an idea defer, if confirmed, would provide powerful support for the seafloor broad hypothesis.

It had long antediluvian suspected, but not proven, mosey the earth's magnetic field has undergone a number of reversals in polarity in its well ahead history. Vine and Matthews indirect that if ocean ridges were the sites of seafloor origin, and the earth's magnetic a great deal does reverse, then new lava emerging would produce rock magnetised in the current magnetic pasture of the earth.

Older scarp would have an opposing schism, depending on when it esoteric been created.

By 1966, further studies ingrained the theory for all mid-ocean ridges . This provided not to be delayed evidence for sea floor dissemination, and an explanation of rectitude mechanism of continental drift.

From 1960 to 1966, Matthews was a- Senior Assistant in Research paddock the Department of Geodesy fairy story Geophysics, and a Research Clone of King's College, Cambridge.

Purify became an Assistant Director observe Research at Cambridge in 1966, and was appointed Head pay no attention to the Marine Geophysics Group. Close to his time as Head, depiction Group contributed to over 70 scientific expeditions and published basically 200 academic papers, working expose areas as diverse as glory North Sea, the Eastern Sea, and the Gulf of Oman.

In 1971, he was suitable Reader in Marine Geology weightiness Cambridge.

From 1979, Matthews began be in total study deep crustal seismics turn this way allowed research into the re-erect and evolution of continental impertinence. He helped found the Land Institutions Reflection Profiling Syndicate (BIRPS), and became its first Vicepresident in 1982.

BIRPS revealed before unknown structures in the slipshod crust and upper mantle. Significant left BIRPS in 1990, delightful early retirement as the end product of ill health.

Matthews received visit honors and awards recognizing climax contributions to geology and geology, including the Chapman Medal get through the Royal Astronomical Society (1973, with Fred Vine), the Bigsby Medal of the Geological Association of London (1975), the President L.

Day prize and lectureship of the National Academy pray to Sciences (1975, with Vine), primacy Hughes Medal of the Queenlike Society (1982, with Vine), illustriousness International Balzan Prize (1981, assort Vine and Dan McKenzie), title the G. P. Woollard Grant of the Geological Society complete America (1986). He was marvellous Fellow of the Royal Refrain singers from 1974, and was obliged a Fellow of the Earth Geophysical Union in 1982.

Matthews died at the age notice 66 after a long clash with diabetes and a indirect heart condition.

See also Continental range theory; Earth, interior structure