Scientists
John Tuzo Wilson
Geophysicist
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A Canadian geophysicist who supplied two of plate tectonics' decisive arguments: that the age progression of the Hawaiian islands records a plate sliding over a fixed mantle hotspot, and that mid-ocean ridges are offset by a then-unrecognized kind of fault, the transform, whose predicted motion was soon confirmed by seismology. A late and vocal convert from fixed-continent thinking, he became one of the new theory's most effective champions.
Facts
BirthplaceOttawa, Ontario, Canada 1 Defining ContributionExplained the Hawaiian island chain as the track of a plate moving over a stationary hotspot (1963) and introduced the transform fault (1965), two of the keystones that turned seafloor spreading into the full theory of plate tectonics; the Wilson cycle of ocean basins opening and closing bears his name. 1 Cross-Tradition Connections
Associated With
Transform faults and the hotspot explanation of Hawaii are two of plate tectonics' keystone arguments.
Concepts Credited
Mantle plumes were first proposed by J. Tuzo Wilson in 1963.
Wilson conceived of the transform fault, a major plate boundary where two plates move past each other horizontally.
Namesake Of
Named in recognition of Wilson's observation that the present-day Atlantic appears along a former suture zone.
Works In
Canadian geophysicist acclaimed for his contributions to plate tectonics.
Sources
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