| Description | Correspondence covering the period when Dan McKenzie was based at the Department of Geodesy and Geophysics, University of Cambridge, England, January-March 1969.
Correspondents and subjects include:
JANUARY 1969
Alan Cook, chair of geophysics, University of Edinburgh, Scotland, about the computing facilities available at the University, 3 January 1969; copy letter from McKenzie to Patrick L Willmore, International Seismological Research Centre, Edinburgh, keen to visit Willmore to see data from the Mediterranean region, 8 January 1969; Owen Martin Phillips, Professor of Geophysical Mechanics, Department of Mechanics, John Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland, USA, seeking recommendations for 'bright young men in the area of Solid Earth Geophysics', 31 December 1968, with copy reply from McKenzie suggesting five names, 8 January 1969; Robert E Wallace, Research Geologist, US Geological Survey, California, USA, forwarding his paper on the Varto earthquake and eager to hear McKenzie's interpretation of the results from the recent Bartin earthquake, 9 January 1969; copy letter from McKenzie to John Hodgson, Observatories Branch, Dominion Observatory, Ottawa, Canada, requesting data on the stations and directions of motion for specific earthquakes from the Mediterranean area, 13 January 1969; Fred Vine, Assistant professor of geology and geophysics at Princeton University, New Jersey, USA, praising McKenzie's draft paper on triple junctions [published as McKenzie, D & W J Morgan, "The evolution of triple junctions", 'Nature' vol 224 (1969), pp125-133] and providing feedback and bibliographic recommendations to both McKenzie and Jason Morgan, briefly discussing Vine's and Hess' latest paper on seafloor spreading and magnetic bight, age of the oceanic structures of the East Pacific Rise, Vine is considering applying for a lecturing job at the University of Edinburgh now that Alan Cook is there, 15 January 1969*; Kazim Ergin, Director, Institute of Physics the Earth, Technical University of Istanbul, Turkey, forwarding McKenzie a number of publications on the seismicity of Turkey, 16 January 1969; William 'Bill' Kaula, UCLA Space Center, Institute of Geophysics and Planetary Physics, University of California, Los Angeles, California, USA, short letter wondering if McKenzie has received a copy of his latest book, and wanting feedback on Kaula's latest paper on plate tectonics, 20 January 1969; Don L Anderson, Director, Seismological Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California, USA, concerning academic publication matters and the likely date of the next AGU meeting, 21 January 1969; Leon Knopoff, Department of Planetary and Space Science, University of California, Los Angeles, California, USA, inviting McKenzie to become a Visiting Associate Professor of Geophysics for the academic year 1969-1970 in his department, and hoping that McKenzie might consider a more permanent appointment, 15 January 1969, with copy letter reply from McKenzie, expressing his wish to stay at Cambridge now that he has been awarded a four year Senior Fellowship, and although tempted by the offer of a visiting professorship cannot accept it due to his commitment as an annual Visiting Associate at Caltech and his desire to become more established in Britain, 23 January 1969; Peter Vogt, US Naval Oceanographic Office, Washington DC, USA, sends Mediterranean data, 28 January 1969; Robert 'Bob' Parker, Institute of Geophysics & Planetary Physics, La Jolla Laboratories, University of California, San Diego, USA, update on the recent 'Computers/Sea Conference' where compatible methods of computer data gathering and exchange between US and international oceanographic institutions was discussed, Parker purchasing a house, John Sclater working with SUPERMAP II and has reassembled Gondwanaland on the basis of palaeomagnetic data, other colleagues' work, 30 January 1969; John Sclater, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California, San Diego, USA, travel arrangements for McKenzie's visit to Caltech, the recent computer conference and the results of the data transfer meeting, details the compatible data system which has been adopted, 30 January 1969;
FEBRUARY 1969
Michael 'Mike' McElhinny, Department of Geophysics & Geochemistry, Research School of Physical Sciences, Australian National University, Canberra, Australia, glad that the McKenzie found the preprint of his palaeomagnetic paper useful, keen to see McKenzie's paper on the fast spreading of the Indian Ocean when it is complete, 3 February 1969; Henry William 'Bill' Menard, Professor of Geology, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California, San Diego, USA, awaiting the return of Tanya Atwater to be able to answer McKenzie's query properly, suggests using bathymetric maps instead of digitised topography and describes his approach to dealing with magnetic anomalies, 5 February 1969; receipt showing a copy of a cheque made out to Susan Vine, Princeton University [wife of Fred Vine], for drafting expenses, 5 February 1969; Fred Vine, Assistant professor of geology and geophysics at Princeton University, thanks McKenzie for information about the Edinburgh University post as Vine wishes to leave Princeton in mid-1970, comments on McKenzie's draft paper on triple junctions ["The evolution of triple junctions", ibid], Vine's current work with the JOIDES [Joint Oceanographic Institutions for Deep Earth Sampling] drilling ship surveying the seafloor spreading rate of the South Atlantic, 6 February 1969*; John Sclater, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, arrangements to meet up with McKenzie in the US, Sclater's forthcoming oceanographic trips, encloses a notice for a proposed symposium organised by the International Association of Seismology and Physics of the Earth's Interior (IASPEI) on Geothermal Problems, 10 February 1969; copy letter from McKenzie to Professor Seiya Uyeda, Earthquake Institute, University of Tokyo, Japan, wishing to present a paper at the IASPEI symposium, [n.d.]; brief copy letter from McKenzie to Lynn R Sykes, Lamont-Doherty Geological Observatory of Columbia University, New York, USA, regretting that he cannot review a paper [probably by Bill Kaula], 12 February 1969; Michele Caputo, Institute of Physics, University of Bologna, Italy, inviting McKenzie to become a member of an ad hoc committee to organize a Symposium on Postglacial Uplift of the Earth's Crust, 18 February 1969; William 'Bill' Sowerbutts, School of Physics, University of Newcastle upon Tyne, England, asking for McKenzie's opinion on his paper on gravity anomalies over East Africa, 20 February 1969; G N J Beck, Associate and Foreign Editor, 'Endeavour', London, England, on the recommendation of Edward 'Teddy' Bullard, wonders if McKenzie is willing to write an article for the publication on 'the new tectonics', 21 February 1969, with brief, copy reply from McKenzie agreeing [published as: McKenzie, D, "Plate tectonics and continental drift", 'Endeavour', vol 29 (1970), pp 39-44], 3 March 1969; Robert K McConnell jnr, Arthur D Little Inc, Cambridge Massachusetts, USA, briefly stating that both he and McKenzie are converging on a consistent model for the viscosity [of the mantle] structure and his keenness to stay in touch, 21 February 1969; John Brackett Hersey, Deputy Assistant Oceanographer, Department of the Navy, Office of Naval Research, Washington DC, USA, sending McKenzie references, 24 February 1969;
MARCH 1969
Gordon Gastil, San Diego State College, San Diego, California, USA, requesting permission to reproduce McKenzie's and Robert 'Bob' Parker's paper "The North Pacific: an example of Tectonics on a Sphere" (1967) for a new publication 'Resource for Global Tectonics', 12 March 1969; Robert 'Bob' Parker, Institute of Geophysics & Planetary Physics, University of California, offprints of their recent joint paper [Farrell, W E, D McKenzie & R L Parker, "On the note emitted from a mug while mixing instant coffee", 'Proceedings of the Cambridge Philosophical Society', vol 65 (1969) pp365-367], Parker turning his focus to Fourier analysis of magnetic stripe data to clean up the results, criticism of John Sclater's and Jean Francheteau's latest paper on palaeomagnetism and plate theory, 24 March 1969; timetable of organisational meetings for the third term of the California Institute of Technology (Caltech), showing one class given by McKenzie on 1 April, [1968-1969]; Leon Knopoff, Chairman, Upper Mantle Committee and Eugene C Robertson, Chairman, Harvard Committee, inviting McKenzie to present a paper at a forthcoming symposium jointly organised by the US Upper Mantle Committee and the Department of Geological Sciences, Harvard [note: McKenzie has annotated the letter 'Yes'], 31 March 1969; David 'Dai' Davies, Department of Geodesy & Geophysics, University of Cambridge, England, disagreements at the Royal Society's discussion meeting 'The Structure and Evolution of the Red Sea and the Nature of the Red Sea, Gulf of Aden and Ethiopian Rift Junction' the previous week [see: LDGSL/1107/B/2/5], briefly refers to submission of a paper [probably McKenzie, D, "Speculations on the consequences and causes of plate motions", 'Geophysical Journal of the Royal Astronomical Society', vol 18 (1969) pp1-32], 31 March 1969 |