Scientists
Kevin C. A. Burke
Geologist
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British-American geologist and a leading figure in the plate tectonics revolution, whose early fieldwork across the Gold Coast (Ghana), the United Kingdom, Korea, Jamaica and Nigeria grounded his later synthesis of continental rifting, hotspot volcanism and mantle processes. As a visiting professor at the University of Toronto in 1972 and 1973 he became a close colleague of J. Tuzo Wilson, and in 1975 he named the recurring pattern of ocean basin opening and closing along old continental sutures the Wilson cycle.
Facts
Death PlaceGloucester, Massachusetts 1 Defining ContributionNamed the Wilson cycle in 1975, the recurring pattern of ocean basin opening and closing along old continental sutures 1 Notable WorkBurke and Dewey's rifting and triple-junction studies (1973 to 1975), which framed the Wilson cycle 1 Cross-Tradition Connections
Associated With
Burke named the concept the Wilson cycle in 1975 in recognition of J. Tuzo Wilson's 1966 identification of the pattern, during Burke's time as a close colleague of Wilson's at the University of Toronto.
Works In
His synthesis of continental rifting, hotspots and mantle processes shaped the physical mechanics side of plate tectonics.
Sources
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