Frederick John Vine FRS (17 June 1939 – 21 June 2024) was an English marine geologist and geophysicist. He made key contributions to the theory of

plate tectonics Plate tectonics (, ) is the scientific theory that the Earth's lithosphere comprises a number of large tectonic plates, which have been slowly moving since 3–4 billion years ago. The model builds on the concept of , an idea developed durin ...

, helping to show that the seafloor spreads from

mid-ocean ridge A mid-ocean ridge (MOR) is a undersea mountain range, seafloor mountain system formed by plate tectonics. It typically has a depth of about and rises about above the deepest portion of an ocean basin. This feature is where seafloor spreading ...

s with a symmetrical pattern of magnetic reversals in the

basalt Basalt (; ) is an aphanite, aphanitic (fine-grained) extrusive igneous rock formed from the rapid cooling of low-viscosity lava rich in magnesium and iron (mafic lava) exposed at or very near the planetary surface, surface of a terrestrial ...

rocks on either side.

Early life

Vine was born in Chiswick, London, and educated at Latymer Upper School and

St John's College, Cambridge St John's College, formally the College of St John the Evangelist in the University of Cambridge, is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge, founded by the House of Tudor, Tudor matriarch L ...

Profile at Bookrags.com
/ref> where he studied Natural Sciences (BA, 1962) and marine geophysics (PhD, 1965). He married Susan 'Sue' Vine (née McCall), who worked as a research assistant for Drummond Matthews in the Department of Geodesy and Geophysics, University of Cambridge, contributing to the development of the sea-floor spreading hypothesis associated with Matthews and her husband.

Plate tectonics

East_Pacific_Rise_seafloor_magnetic_profile_-_observed_vs_calculated

Vine's PhD thesis was on 'Magnetism in the Seafloor' and supervised by Drummond Matthews. Having met Harry Hess he was aware of sea floor spreading, where the ocean bed acts as a 'conveyor belt' moving away from the central ridge.

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

Open University The Open University (OU) is a Public university, public research university and the largest university in the United Kingdom by List of universities in the United Kingdom by enrolment, number of students. The majority of the OU's undergraduate ...

broadcast series ''Earth Story'', Vine interviewed by Professor Aubrey Manning Vine's work, with that of Drummond Matthews and Lawrence Morley of the Geological Survey of Canada, helped put the variations in the magnetic properties of the

ocean crust Oceanic crust is the uppermost layer of the oceanic portion of the Plate tectonics, tectonic plates. It is composed of the upper oceanic crust, with pillow lavas and a dike (geology), dike complex, and the lower oceanic crust, composed of troct ...

into context in what is now known as the Vine–Matthews–Morley hypothesis. Specifically they supported Dietz's (''Nature'' 1961) idea that sea floor spreading was occurring at

s. Vine and Matthews showed that

created at a mid-ocean ridge records earth's current magnetic field polarity (and strength), thus turning Hess's theoretical 'conveyor belt' into a 'tape recorder'. Furthermore, they showed that magnetic reversals 'frozen' into these rocks, as suggested by Allan Cox (''Nature'' 1963), can be seen as parallel strips as you travel perpendicularly away from the ridge crest.

Academic career

Vine worked with E. M. Moores on the

Ophiolite An ophiolite is a section of Earth's oceanic crust and the underlying upper mantle (Earth), upper mantle that has been uplifted and exposed, and often emplaced onto continental crustal rocks. The Greek word ὄφις, ''ophis'' (''snake'') is ...

in the Troodos Mountains of southern

Cyprus Cyprus (), officially the Republic of Cyprus, is an island country in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Situated in West Asia, its cultural identity and geopolitical orientation are overwhelmingly Southeast European. Cyprus is the List of isl ...

. He worked with R. A. Livermore and A. G. Smith on the history of the Earth's magnetic field. He worked on the electrical conductivity of rocks from the lower continental crust with R. G. Ross and P. W. J. Glover, which culminated in 1992 with measurements of the

electrical conductivity Electrical resistivity (also called volume resistivity or specific electrical resistance) is a fundamental specific property of a material that measures its electrical resistance or how strongly it resists electric current. A low resistivity in ...

graphite Graphite () is a Crystallinity, crystalline allotrope (form) of the element carbon. It consists of many stacked Layered materials, layers of graphene, typically in excess of hundreds of layers. Graphite occurs naturally and is the most stable ...

-rich

amphibolite Amphibolite () is a metamorphic rock that contains amphibole, especially hornblende and actinolite, as well as plagioclase feldspar, but with little or no quartz. It is typically dark-colored and dense, with a weakly foliated or schistose ...

s and granulites at lower crustal temperatures and pressures with a full water saturation and pore fluid pressure and graphite-free In 1967, Vine became assistant professor of geology and geophysics at

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial ...

. In 1970 he moved to the School of Environmental Sciences at the

University of East Anglia The University of East Anglia (UEA) is a Public university, public research university in Norwich, England. Established in 1963 on a campus university, campus west of the city centre, the university has four faculties and twenty-six schools of ...

, becoming professor there in 1974. He served as dean from 1977 to 1980, and again from 1993 to 1998. After 1998, he was a professorial fellow of the University of East Anglia. and then in 2008 he became an

emeritus professor ''Emeritus/Emerita'' () is an honorary title granted to someone who retires from a position of distinction, most commonly an academic faculty position, but is allowed to continue using the previous title, as in "professor emeritus". In some c ...

there.

Death

Vine died on 21 June 2024, at the age of 85.

Honours

Vine's honours included: * Day Medal in 1968 * Bigelow Medal of

Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution The Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI, acronym pronounced ) is a private, nonprofit research and higher education facility dedicated to the study of marine science and engineering. Established in 1930 in Woods Hole, Massachusetts, it i ...

in 1970 * Bigsby Medal of the Geological Society of London in 1971 * Chapman Medal of the

Royal Astronomical Society The Royal Astronomical Society (RAS) is a learned society and charitable organisation, charity that encourages and promotes the study of astronomy, planetary science, solar-system science, geophysics and closely related branches of science. Its ...

(1973) * Fellowship of the

Royal Society The Royal Society, formally The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, is a learned society and the United Kingdom's national academy of sciences. The society fulfils a number of roles: promoting science and its benefits, re ...

in March 1974 * The Chree Medal and Prize of the Institute of Physics (1977) * Hughes Medal of the

(1982) * International Balzan Prize (1981) * Prestwich Medal of the Geological Society of London in 2007

Publications

* University of East Angliea – Fred Vine profile
/ref> * * * * * First edition: 1990, second edition: 1996.

References

External links

Faculty page
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Vine, Frederick John 1939 births 2024 deaths People educated at Latymer Upper School Alumni of St John's College, Cambridge Princeton University faculty Academics of the University of East Anglia British geologists British geophysicists Fellows of the Royal Society People from Chiswick Marine geologists Tectonicists Marine geophysicists