| Authorised form of name | Sclater; John George; geophysicist and oceanographer |
| Dates | 1940 - 2024 |
| Nationality | British |
| Place of birth | Edinburgh, Scotland, United Kingdom |
| Date of birth | 17/06/1940 |
| Place of death | San Diego, California, USA |
| Date of death | 20/10/2024 |
| DatesAndPlaces | Celebration of life: Martin Johnson House, Scripps Institution of Oceanography campus (31 January 2025) |
| Occupation | Geophysicist and oceanographer |
| Research field | Plate tectonics |
| Earth Science |
| Geophysics |
| Oceanography |
| Activity | Education:
Early education at Clark Cemp, boarding school run by Jesuits, Edinburgh; Stonehurst, English boarding school until age of 18; Edinburgh University; Cambridge University PhD 1966
Career:
Researcher, Scripps Institution of Oceanography (1967-1972); Massachusetts Institute of Technology (1972), becoming Professor (1977); Shell Distinguished professor of geophysics, and Associate Director to the Institute for Geophysics, University of Texas, Austin (1983-1990); Professor of geophysics, Scripps Institution of Oceanography University of California at San Diego (1990-2017); retired (2017).
Memberships:
American Geophysical Union in 1981
Guggenheim Fellow 1998
National Academy of Sciences 1989 |
| Membership category | Fellow |
| Date of election | 18/03/1982 |
| Age at election | 41 |
| Relationships | Siblings: Elizabeth Sclater and Marjory Lally.
Spouse: Naila Gloria Sclater
Children: Daniela Elyza Sclater, Iain Sclater and Stuart Sclater of San Diego (from his first marriage)
Stepchildren: Fabio De Faria and Felipe Da Costa |
| OtherInfo | Known for his work on the evolution of ocean basins. He convincingly demonstrated that the age of the sea floor controls its depth, and then used this empirical relationship to investigate the thermal structure of plates, to work out the evolution of he Central Eastern Pacific where magnetic anomalies could not be recognised and to produce paleobathymetric maps. This use of plate tectonics to understand oceanic bathymetry was one of his major successes. His other major contribution concerned the complicated evolution of the Indian Ocean. This work produced an evolutionary framework from magnetic anomalies which he among others confirmed by drilling, and later lead to new ideas about the evolution of aseismic ridges. He also made important contributions to understanding the evolution of margin basins, and the hydrothermal circulation in the oceanic crust. |
| Source | The Royal Society Fellows Directory, Professor John Sclater FRS, [URL: https://royalsociety.org/people/john-sclater-12243/; last accessed: 15/04/2025]
Ever Loved, Obituary, In memory of Dr. John G Sclater, PhD [URL: https://everloved.com/life-of/john-sclater/obituary/; last accessed: 15/04/2025]
UC San Diego, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, John G. Sclater: 1940-2024, Robert Monroe, 07 Novemver 2024 [URL: https://scripps.ucsd.edu/news/john-g-sclater-1940-2024; last accessed: 14/04/2025] |
| Code | NA4785 |
Archives associated with this Fellow
| RefNo | Title | Date |
| EC/1982/35 | Sclater, John George: certificate of election to the Royal Society | 1976 |
| IM/004034 | Sclater, John George | nd |