Richard Hugh Sibson (born 1945) is a New Zealand structural geologist and emeritus professor at the

University of Otago , image_name = University of Otago Registry Building2.jpg , image_size = , caption = University clock tower , motto = la, Sapere aude , mottoeng = Dare to be wise , established = 1869; 152 years ago , type = Public research collegiate u ...

, who has received numerous honors and awards for his work in the field of earthquake research. He has caused a 'fundamental shift' in the interpretation of the relationship between earthquakes and fault zone geology and on the origin of fault-hosted mineral deposits.

Academic career

Richard Sibson is the son of

ornithologist Ornithology is a branch of zoology that concerns the "methodological study and consequent knowledge of birds with all that relates to them." Several aspects of ornithology differ from related disciplines, due partly to the high visibility and th ...

Richard B. Sibson (1911-1994). From 1959 to 1963 he attended King's College in Auckland. Sibson's subsequent decision to study geology was significantly influenced by his uncle, the paleontologist and naturalist Sir Charles Fleming, who suggested this subject to him. In 1968, he gained his BSc at the

University of Auckland , mottoeng = By natural ability and hard work , established = 1883; years ago , endowment = NZD $293 million (31 December 2021) , budget = NZD $1.281 billion (31 December 2021) , chancellor = Cecilia Tarrant , vice_chancellor = Dawn F ...

, 1970, and MSc at

Imperial College London Imperial College London (legally Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine) is a public research university in London, United Kingdom. Its history began with Prince Albert, consort of Queen Victoria, who developed his vision for a cu ...

. Where in 1977 he also received his PhD. From 1982 to 1990 he worked at the Institute for Crustal Studies and Department of Geological Sciences,

University of California, Santa Barbara The University of California, Santa Barbara (UC Santa Barbara or UCSB) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Santa Barbara County, California, Santa Barbara, California with 23,196 undergraduate ...

. From 1990 to 2009 he was a professor at the University of Otago. He is associate professor of the University of Canterbury in Christchurch. In 2005, he co-founded the Institute of Earth Science and Engineering at the University of Auckland.

Research

Sibson studied structural geology at Imperial College under

John G. Ramsay John Graham Ramsay (17 June 1931 – 12 January 2021) was a British structural geologist who was a professor at Imperial College London, the University of Leeds and the University of Zurich. Career Born in suburban London in 1931, John Graham ...

, Neville J. Price and Ernie Rutter. His particular interest was in the study of the structure and mechanics of fault zones of the Earth's crust and their relationship to earthquakes. His doctoral thesis dealt with pseudotachylites of the

Outer Hebrides The Outer Hebrides () or Western Isles ( gd, Na h-Eileanan Siar or or ("islands of the strangers"); sco, Waster Isles), sometimes known as the Long Isle/Long Island ( gd, An t-Eilean Fada, links=no), is an island chain off the west coast ...

, he proved that these rocks are due to earthquake events, as is currently accepted. Sibson studied rock mechanics and rock deformation, and attempted to derive geological information from seismic and seismological measurements. From 1981 he worked in the

USGS The United States Geological Survey (USGS), formerly simply known as the Geological Survey, is a scientific agency of the United States government. The scientists of the USGS study the landscape of the United States, its natural resources, a ...

earthquake program in Menlo Park, later in the Archaikum of Canada he examined the influence of fluids (gases and liquids) on the formation and the course of earthquakes and the formation of ore deposits in fault zones due to hydrothermal processes. Sibson has been involved in public education about the risk posed by New Zealand's numerous active faults particularly the

Alpine Fault The Alpine Fault is a geological fault that runs almost the entire length of New Zealand's South Island (c. 480 km) and forms the boundary between the Pacific Plate and the Indo-Australian Plate. The Southern Alps have been uplifted on the fa ...

Honors and prizes

* Fellow of the Royal Society of New Zealand * 2003 Fellow of the

Royal Society The Royal Society, formally The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, is a learned society and the United Kingdom's national academy of sciences. The society fulfils a number of roles: promoting science and its benefits, re ...

Originalwebseite nicht mehr verfügbar * 2006 Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science Originalwebseite nicht mehr verfügbar * 2010 Wollaston Medal of the Geological Society of London * 2010 Distinguished Alumni Award from the University of Auckland Originalwebseite nicht mehr verfügbar

References

External links

*
Professor Emeritus Richard H. Sibson on the University of Otago website
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''Award of the ''
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Wollaston Medal The Wollaston Medal is a scientific award for geology, the highest award granted by the Geological Society of London. The medal is named after William Hyde Wollaston, and was first awarded in 1831. It was originally made of gold (1831–1845), t ...

2010''
Falling Off Hubbert's Peak. Online Sibson's article on

Peak Oil Peak oil is the hypothetical point in time when the maximum rate of global oil production is reached, after which it is argued that production will begin an irreversible decline. It is related to the distinct concept of oil depletion; while ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sibson, Richard H. Structural geologists New Zealand educators Academic staff of the University of Otago Living people 1945 births 20th-century New Zealand geologists 21st-century New Zealand geologists Fellows of the Royal Society