MYSTERIES BEHIND EARTH’S CONTINENTAL
PUZZLE EXAMINED AT UH
Kevin Burke, Noted Plate Tectonics Geoscientist,
Honored for Contributions
HOUSTON, Nov. 9, 2004 – To celebrate one of the early pioneers
in plate tectonics – the concept that explains the evolving
puzzle of the movements of the Earth’s continents –
the University of Houston’s Department of Geosciences is hosting
a symposium on the subject Nov. 12-15.
In honor of UH Geosciences Professor Kevin Burke’s 75th birthday,
the university’s four-day symposium – “Plate Tectonics,
Plumes and Planetary Lithospheres” – will be held at
the UH Hilton Hotel. Co-sponsored by The Lunar Planetary Institute,
The Houston Geological Society and UH Geosciences Alumni Association,
the event will feature many of Burke’s friends and long-time
colleagues as keynote speakers, including notable members from the
U.S. National Academy of Sciences, the Carnegie Institution, the
National Science Foundation and major oil companies. More than 60
talks will be given by scientists from several countries, in addition
to abstract and poster presentations by UH students and faculty.
“Burke has been contributing scientific articles for the last
54 years, which is pretty amazing,” said John F. Casey, UH
chairman of geosciences and organizer of the symposium. “In
the late ‘60s and early ‘70s, the big theory that came
about in geosciences was plate tectonics, and Burke was on the ground
floor of that revolution, contributing a host of ideas to the early
work that helped to test that theory and its implication for continental
geology.”
Introduced nearly 40 years ago and revolutionizing scientists’
understanding of the Earth’s geography and formation, the
theory of plate tectonics explains that our planet’s outermost
layer is fragmented into a dozen or more large and small plates
that move relative to one another as they ride on top of hotter
and more mobile material, shifting over time. In particular, the
Wilson Cycle theorizes that most mountain belts are formed by the
opening and closure of ocean basins.
An expert on the tectonics of Africa, the Caribbean and Asia, as
well as in the geology of rifts and the geological implications
of the Wilson Cycle, Burke is still trying to solve mysteries dating
back billions of years that tell the stories of the continents and
the oceans beneath. Current applications of such research shed light
upon climate changes, meteorite impacts and catastrophic volcanic
episodes. How this affects planetary geology, including recent Mars
rover results, also will be discussed at the conference. The NASA
Mars Voyager presentation will be open to the public in UH’s
Science and Research One Building in room 116 at 5:30 p.m., Saturday,
Nov. 13.
An internationally respected geoscientist, Burke will receive a
lifetime achievement award from the Geological Society of America
a week before the UH symposium. The American Association for the
Advancement of Science also recently awarded him the distinction
of Fellow for these fundamental contributions to geosciences in
interpreting the Earth’s history through plate tectonics and
the cycles of ocean basin openings and closings.
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