Fred J. Vine

Fred J. Vine, born in 1939, British marine geologist and geophysicist who has made important contributions to the theory of plate tectonics and the history of ocean basins. The theory of plate tectonics states that the earth’s crust is made up of plates that move over a more-fluid layer of rock called the asthenosphere. See also Earth; Ocean and Oceanography.

Vine was born in London, England, and grew up in the difficult years during and after World War II (1939-1945). In his teens as a Scout and while studying geography, he started to travel and to discover his love of the outdoors. His interest in the natural world led to his study of geology and other natural sciences at Cambridge University.

After his undergraduate degree, Vine worked as a graduate student for British geoscientist Drummond Matthews in marine geophysics. In the early 1960s, Vine began working on the concept of seafloor spreading, the theory that the oceanic crust was spreading apart at mountainous regions on the seafloor called midocean ridges allowing new material to surface and become crust. He also studied how the spreading related to continental drift theory, the precursor of plate tectonics. When Matthews assigned Vine to work on geophysical properties of the Carlsberg Ridge in the Indian Ocean, Vine came up with the idea that magnetic anomalies, or differences, associated with this ridge were a record of the seafloor spreading. These differences in the magnetic properties of rock from the seafloor reflected how the earth’s magnetic field had changed over time; they also indicated how the seafloor had changed over time. In 1963 Vine and Matthews published this idea, later called the “Vine-Matthews hypothesis.” At first, other scientists were skeptical of the concept, but they soon embraced it as more evidence supporting the theory of plate tectonics. In 1965, Vine joined the faculty at Princeton University, another center, like Cambridge, for the emerging study of plate tectonics. He returned to Britain in 1970.

Throughout his career, Vine continued to study various aspects of paleomagnetism (the magnetism of ancient rocks) and plate tectonics, focusing on the nature of oceanic crust. In 1965, he and J. Tuzo Wilson published another paper about magnetic anomalies on the seafloor. Vine also helped to reconstruct a history of the ocean basins since the breakup of the hypothetical supercontinent of Pangaea about 200 million years ago. Related to this work, he has made contributions to magnetostratigraphy, the history of the earth's magnetic field as recorded in rocks. Vine also has studied the petrology, or origin, and geophysical properties of oceanic crust. Because it is difficult for scientists to sample the crust under the deep ocean, Vine has worked extensively with various colleagues on an uplifted, or exposed, piece of ancient ocean floor, the Troodos Ophiolite in Cyprus.

From 1974 to 1988, Vine held the position of professor of environmental science at the University of East Anglia in England, and then he became the dean of the School of Environmental Sciences. The Royal Society in London, a group that supports work in the sciences, named Vine a fellow of the Society for his many contributions, particularly his work in plate tectonics. He has also received the International Balzan Prize with Matthews and Dan McKenzie, as well as several other awards.