Boris Sergeyevich Sokolov (russian: Борис Серге́евич Соколов) (April 9, 1914 – September 2, 2013)
was a Russian
geologist
A geologist is a scientist who studies the solid, liquid, and gaseous matter that constitutes Earth and other terrestrial planets, as well as the processes that shape them. Geologists usually study geology, earth science, or geophysics, althou ...
and
paleontologist
Paleontology (), also spelled palaeontology or palæontology, is the scientific study of life that existed prior to, and sometimes including, the start of the Holocene epoch (roughly 11,700 years before present). It includes the study of fossi ...
. Sokolov authored reference works on the
stratigraphy
Stratigraphy is a branch of geology concerned with the study of rock (geology), rock layers (Stratum, strata) and layering (stratification). It is primarily used in the study of sedimentary rock, sedimentary and layered volcanic rocks.
Stratigrap ...
of Eastern Europe, in particular the fossil
coral
Corals are marine invertebrates within the class Anthozoa of the phylum Cnidaria. They typically form compact colonies of many identical individual polyps. Coral species include the important reef builders that inhabit tropical oceans and sec ...
records, and created the concept of ''Vendian period'', currently recognized as largely overlapping, but not fully equivalent to
Ediacaran
The Ediacaran Period ( ) is a geological period that spans 96 million years from the end of the Cryogenian Period 635 million years ago (Mya), to the beginning of the Cambrian Period 538.8 Mya. It marks the end of the Proterozoic Eon, and th ...
.
Biography
Sokolov, the son of a village
feldsher (medic), was born in
Vyshny Volochyok. In 1931 he moved to
Leningrad
Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...
and became an apprentice electrician. A blue-collar work experience was a prerequisite for admission into the university. After a year of work Sokolov was allowed to enroll at the Department of Geology and Soil Sciences of
Leningrad University. He graduated with honors in 1937 and remained there to take a course of postgraduate studies. Sokolov's early work concentrated on the
stratigraphy
Stratigraphy is a branch of geology concerned with the study of rock (geology), rock layers (Stratum, strata) and layering (stratification). It is primarily used in the study of sedimentary rock, sedimentary and layered volcanic rocks.
Stratigrap ...
of the
Russian Platform
East European Platform or Russian Platform is a large and flat area covered by sediments in Eastern Europe spanning from the Ural Mountains to the Tornquist Zone and from the Peri-Caspian Basin to the Barents Sea. Over geological time the platfor ...
, in particular the diagnostics of fossil
coral
Corals are marine invertebrates within the class Anthozoa of the phylum Cnidaria. They typically form compact colonies of many identical individual polyps. Coral species include the important reef builders that inhabit tropical oceans and sec ...
s for the identification of
Carboniferous
The Carboniferous ( ) is a geologic period and system of the Paleozoic that spans 60 million years from the end of the Devonian Period million years ago ( Mya), to the beginning of the Permian Period, million years ago. The name ''Carbonifero ...
period deposits.
[Dobretsov et al.]
Shortly before the outbreak of
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
Sokolov was appointed to lead a Soviet field research company in
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
. After two years of field work in
Tian Shan
The Tian Shan,, , otk, 𐰴𐰣 𐱅𐰭𐰼𐰃, , tr, Tanrı Dağı, mn, Тэнгэр уул, , ug, تەڭرىتاغ, , , kk, Тәңіртауы / Алатау, , , ky, Теңир-Тоо / Ала-Тоо, , , uz, Tyan-Shan / Tangritog‘ ...
, the
Turpan Depression and
Tarim Basin
The Tarim Basin is an endorheic basin in Northwest China occupying an area of about and one of the largest basins in Northwest China.Chen, Yaning, et al. "Regional climate change and its effects on river runoff in the Tarim Basin, China." Hydr ...
(1941–1943) he returned to Soviet Central Asia to search for
petroleum
Petroleum, also known as crude oil, or simply oil, is a naturally occurring yellowish-black liquid mixture of mainly hydrocarbons, and is found in geological formations. The name ''petroleum'' covers both naturally occurring unprocessed crud ...
deposits on the northern side of Tian Shan. In 1945 he returned to Leningrad to complete his postgraduate thesis on Chaetetida, based on his pre-war studies. In 1950 he published ''Chaetetida of the Carboniferous Period'', followed by five reference volumes of ''Paleozoan Tables'' (1951–1955). These works earned him his
doctorate
A doctorate (from Latin ''docere'', "to teach"), doctor's degree (from Latin ''doctor'', "teacher"), or doctoral degree is an academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism ''l ...
. A revised edition, included in the 16-volume ''Foundations of Paleontology'', was awarded the
State Prize for 1967.
[Dobretsov et al.]
In the early 1950s Sokolov joined a group of geologists tasked with the analysis of recent
deep boring samples. Sokolov discovered what he believed was a hitherto unknown geographical layer preceding the
Cambrian
The Cambrian Period ( ; sometimes symbolized C with bar, Ꞓ) was the first geological period of the Paleozoic Era, and of the Phanerozoic Eon. The Cambrian lasted 53.4 million years from the end of the preceding Ediacaran Period 538.8 million ...
, which he called ''Vend'' (''Vendian Period''). The name ''Vend'' appeared in his papers from 1950; in 1952 academician
Alexander Vinogradov endorsed Sokolov's theory and ''Vend'' appeared on Soviet geological charts as an independent
period.
[Dobretsov et al.]
In 1958 Sokolov accepted an invitation to join the newly formed
Siberian Division of the Academy of Sciences as a
corresponding member, and moved to
Novosibirsk
Novosibirsk (, also ; rus, Новосиби́рск, p=nəvəsʲɪˈbʲirsk, a=ru-Новосибирск.ogg) is the largest city and administrative centre of Novosibirsk Oblast and Siberian Federal District in Russia. As of the Russian Census ...
. Together with
Vladimir Saks (1911–1979) Sokolov created a new Siberian school of stratigraphy and paleontology, which survived into the 21st century as the Institute of Oil and Gas Geology. Sokolov continued production of geological references, but eventually concentrated on his theory of the transition from Vendian (Ediacaran) biota to Cambrian, which he believed was critical to our understanding of evolution. He coined the Russian term for ''
Precambrian
The Precambrian (or Pre-Cambrian, sometimes abbreviated pꞒ, or Cryptozoic) is the earliest part of Earth's history, set before the current Phanerozoic Eon. The Precambrian is so named because it preceded the Cambrian, the first period of the ...
Paleontology'' (Палеонтология докембрия), which evolved into a separate branch of science.
[Dobretsov et al.]
Sokolov was elected to full membership of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR in 1968, and headed the Department of Geology of the Academy from 1975 to 1987, the longest tenure since the establishment of the Department. He chaired the International Stratigraphic Commission and the International Paleontology Association from 1972 until his death, and the national Paleontological Society from 1974 until his death. In 1998 Sokolov became the first geologist to be awarded the
Lomonosov Gold Medal.
[Dobretsov et al.]
Footnotes
References
* N. Dobretsov et al. (2004, in Russian).
Академик Борис Сергеевич Соколов'. Nauka v Sibiri, No. 14 (2450), April 9, 2004. Retrieved October 31, 2010.
*
The 95th Birthday of Boris Sergeevich Sokolov'. Stratigraphy and Geological Correlation, Volume 17, no. 2 (April 2009), pp. 113–116. . Translated from a Russian editorial in ''Stratigrafia i geologicheskaya korrelacia'', 2009, vol. 17 no. 2, pp. 3–6.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sokolov, Boris Sergeyevich
1914 births
2013 deaths
People from Vyshny Volochyok
Russian geologists
Russian paleontologists
Full Members of the USSR Academy of Sciences
Full Members of the Russian Academy of Sciences
Soviet geologists
Soviet paleontologists
Burials in Troyekurovskoye Cemetery