John J. Clague
Encyclopedia
John Joseph Clague PhD
FRSC
(born 1946) is an award-winning Canadian
authority in Quaternary
and environmental earth science
s. He is a Professor of Earth Sciences at Simon Fraser University
and an Emeritus Scientist of the Geological Survey of Canada.
Clague was the Editor-in-Chief
of the Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences
, President of the Canadian Geomorphology Research Group and Vice President of International Union for Quaternary Research
(INQUA).
Clague is an expert in the science of the last 2 million years of earth geological history, and specializes in geological hazards, such as earthquake
s, tsunami
s, landslide
s, and flood
s. He has 35 years experience in surficial/terrain mapping, Quaternary stratigraphic investigations, engineering and environmental interpretations of surficial geological information, and natural hazard studies. He is noted for international research collaboration with other geologists, geographers, biologists, and physicists. He has published 250 papers, reports, and monographs on a wide range of earth science topics of regional and national importance. He has prepared innovative geoscience products for educators and the public, has had numerous television and radio interviews, and has been featured in newspaper and magazine articles.
He has been recognized for his internationally renowned research, his innovative communication of science to the public, and his exceptional service and leadership in geoscience
in Los Angeles, California
. Two years later he obtained a M.A. in Geology from the University of California
in Berkeley, California
. In 1973 defended his thesis and was given a Ph.D. in Geology from the University of British Columbia
in Vancouver
, B.C.
.
Clague spent many years mapping the glacial deposits
over a large area of the Fraser drainage basin
of central British Columbia. This research allowed him to describe the character and extent of the ice sheet that once covered the area, the pattern and timing of ice growth and decay, and the effects of the ice sheet on the crust of western Canada.
In 1984, he and fellow geologist Prof. G.H. Eisbacher had their book Destructive Mass Movements in High Mountains published.
In 1998, Clague took the position of Professor and Shrum Chair at the Department of Earth Science at Simon Fraser University (SFU). He established an interdisciplinary research program drawing together researchers from different fields together, for example, geologists, biologists, physicists, and physical geographers. His collaborators include scientists at the Geological Survey of Canada, the U.S. Geological Survey
, and the British Columbia Geological Survey, and faculty at SFU, University of British Columbia
and Carlton University.
In 2003, Clague was appointed Canada Research Chair in Natural Hazards Research at Simon Fraser University.
, urban developers
, and the siting of highway
s, pipelines
and railroads. With this background, he went on to investigate other natural hazards such as earthquakes and tsunamis. Clague's concern about potential earthquakes on the west coast led to research on recent subsurface deformation of the Earth's crust, and on geological evidence of past tsunamis.
Correlation of earthquake and tsunami events showed that magnitude 6 to 7 earthquakes have affected southern Vancouver Island about once every 100 years. Not content with this academic success, he became a leading voice in alerting people and governments to the challenges of coping with and planning for future disasters. It is expected that the threat of large magnitude earthquakes will lead to changes in the National Building Code and improvements in emergency preparedness procedures in the Vancouver area.
Clague has vigorously led efforts to make scientific understanding of earthquakes, landslides, and floods more available to the general public, educators and politicians. He has had numerous television and radio interviews (CBC Newsworld
, CBC Radio
, CTV Television
) and has been featured in newspaper and magazine articles (Vancouver Sun, Victoria Times-Colonist
, Equinox, Beautiful B.C., Westside News, The Westerly News). Clague’s research was featured in a 1997 Discovery Channel
documentary on earthquakes and tsunamis on the west coast of Canada.
He has also been a leader in the creation of educational materials for students and the general public and has revolutionized the presentation of geoscience to the public with lucid, jargon-free text and visually appealing graphics.
Clague has made presentations to federal politicians on earthquakes and tsunamis as part of a series designed to increase politicians' knowledge of the impact of science in Canada.
Doctorate
A doctorate is an academic degree or professional degree that in most countries refers to a class of degrees which qualify the holder to teach in a specific field, A doctorate is an academic degree or professional degree that in most countries refers to a class of degrees which qualify the holder...
FRSC
Royal Society of Canada
The Royal Society of Canada , may also operate under the more descriptive name RSC: The Academies of Arts, Humanities and Sciences of Canada , is the oldest association of scientists and scholars in Canada...
(born 1946) is an award-winning Canadian
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
authority in Quaternary
Quaternary
The Quaternary Period is the most recent of the three periods of the Cenozoic Era in the geologic time scale of the ICS. It follows the Neogene Period, spanning 2.588 ± 0.005 million years ago to the present...
and environmental earth science
Earth science
Earth science is an all-embracing term for the sciences related to the planet Earth. It is arguably a special case in planetary science, the Earth being the only known life-bearing planet. There are both reductionist and holistic approaches to Earth sciences...
s. He is a Professor of Earth Sciences at Simon Fraser University
Simon Fraser University
Simon Fraser University is a Canadian public research university in British Columbia with its main campus on Burnaby Mountain in Burnaby, and satellite campuses in Vancouver and Surrey. The main campus in Burnaby, located from downtown Vancouver, was established in 1965 and has more than 34,000...
and an Emeritus Scientist of the Geological Survey of Canada.
Clague was the Editor-in-Chief
Editing
Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, visual, audible, and film media used to convey information through the processes of correction, condensation, organization, and other modifications performed with an intention of producing a correct, consistent, accurate, and complete...
of the Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences
Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences
The Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences is a monthly journal, published since 1963 , which reports current research in the earth sciences, geochemistry, geophysics, etc...
, President of the Canadian Geomorphology Research Group and Vice President of International Union for Quaternary Research
International Union for Quaternary Research
The International Union for Quaternary Research was founded in 1928. It has members from a number of scientific disciplines who study the environmental changes that occurred during the glacial ages, the last 2.6 million years...
(INQUA).
Clague is an expert in the science of the last 2 million years of earth geological history, and specializes in geological hazards, such as earthquake
Earthquake
An earthquake is the result of a sudden release of energy in the Earth's crust that creates seismic waves. The seismicity, seismism or seismic activity of an area refers to the frequency, type and size of earthquakes experienced over a period of time...
s, tsunami
Tsunami
A tsunami is a series of water waves caused by the displacement of a large volume of a body of water, typically an ocean or a large lake...
s, landslide
Landslide
A landslide or landslip is a geological phenomenon which includes a wide range of ground movement, such as rockfalls, deep failure of slopes and shallow debris flows, which can occur in offshore, coastal and onshore environments...
s, and flood
Flood
A flood is an overflow of an expanse of water that submerges land. The EU Floods directive defines a flood as a temporary covering by water of land not normally covered by water...
s. He has 35 years experience in surficial/terrain mapping, Quaternary stratigraphic investigations, engineering and environmental interpretations of surficial geological information, and natural hazard studies. He is noted for international research collaboration with other geologists, geographers, biologists, and physicists. He has published 250 papers, reports, and monographs on a wide range of earth science topics of regional and national importance. He has prepared innovative geoscience products for educators and the public, has had numerous television and radio interviews, and has been featured in newspaper and magazine articles.
He has been recognized for his internationally renowned research, his innovative communication of science to the public, and his exceptional service and leadership in geoscience
Education
In 1967, Clague earned an A.B. magna cum laude from the Occidental CollegeOccidental College
Occidental College is a private, coeducational liberal arts college located in the Eagle Rock neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. Founded in 1887, Occidental College, or "Oxy" as it is called by students and alumni, is one of the oldest liberal arts colleges on the West Coast...
in Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
. Two years later he obtained a M.A. in Geology from the University of California
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley , is a teaching and research university established in 1868 and located in Berkeley, California, USA...
in Berkeley, California
Berkeley, California
Berkeley is a city on the east shore of the San Francisco Bay in Northern California, United States. Its neighbors to the south are the cities of Oakland and Emeryville. To the north is the city of Albany and the unincorporated community of Kensington...
. In 1973 defended his thesis and was given a Ph.D. in Geology from the University of British Columbia
University of British Columbia
The University of British Columbia is a public research university. UBC’s two main campuses are situated in Vancouver and in Kelowna in the Okanagan Valley...
in Vancouver
Vancouver
Vancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...
, B.C.
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
Career
From 1973 to 1998, Clague worked for the Geological Survey of Canada in Vancouver studying the evidence and effects of historic disasters. Specializing in the study of major earthquakes in the Pacific NorthwestPacific Northwest
The Pacific Northwest is a region in northwestern North America, bounded by the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains on the east. Definitions of the region vary and there is no commonly agreed upon boundary, even among Pacific Northwesterners. A common concept of the...
.
Clague spent many years mapping the glacial deposits
Till
thumb|right|Closeup of glacial till. Note that the larger grains in the till are completely surrounded by the matrix of finer material , and this characteristic, known as matrix support, is diagnostic of till....
over a large area of the Fraser drainage basin
Fraser River
The Fraser River is the longest river within British Columbia, Canada, rising at Fraser Pass near Mount Robson in the Rocky Mountains and flowing for , into the Strait of Georgia at the city of Vancouver. It is the tenth longest river in Canada...
of central British Columbia. This research allowed him to describe the character and extent of the ice sheet that once covered the area, the pattern and timing of ice growth and decay, and the effects of the ice sheet on the crust of western Canada.
In 1984, he and fellow geologist Prof. G.H. Eisbacher had their book Destructive Mass Movements in High Mountains published.
In 1998, Clague took the position of Professor and Shrum Chair at the Department of Earth Science at Simon Fraser University (SFU). He established an interdisciplinary research program drawing together researchers from different fields together, for example, geologists, biologists, physicists, and physical geographers. His collaborators include scientists at the Geological Survey of Canada, the U.S. Geological Survey
United States Geological Survey
The United States 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, and the natural hazards that threaten it. The organization has four major science disciplines, concerning biology,...
, and the British Columbia Geological Survey, and faculty at SFU, University of British Columbia
University of British Columbia
The University of British Columbia is a public research university. UBC’s two main campuses are situated in Vancouver and in Kelowna in the Okanagan Valley...
and Carlton University.
In 2003, Clague was appointed Canada Research Chair in Natural Hazards Research at Simon Fraser University.
Work
Clague's maps and reports have provided information vital to land-use planning, the forestry industryLogging
Logging is the cutting, skidding, on-site processing, and loading of trees or logs onto trucks.In forestry, the term logging is sometimes used in a narrow sense concerning the logistics of moving wood from the stump to somewhere outside the forest, usually a sawmill or a lumber yard...
, urban developers
Urban planning
Urban planning incorporates areas such as economics, design, ecology, sociology, geography, law, political science, and statistics to guide and ensure the orderly development of settlements and communities....
, and the siting of highway
Highway
A highway is any public road. In American English, the term is common and almost always designates major roads. In British English, the term designates any road open to the public. Any interconnected set of highways can be variously referred to as a "highway system", a "highway network", or a...
s, pipelines
Pipeline transport
Pipeline transport is the transportation of goods through a pipe. Most commonly, liquids and gases are sent, but pneumatic tubes that transport solid capsules using compressed air are also used....
and railroads. With this background, he went on to investigate other natural hazards such as earthquakes and tsunamis. Clague's concern about potential earthquakes on the west coast led to research on recent subsurface deformation of the Earth's crust, and on geological evidence of past tsunamis.
Correlation of earthquake and tsunami events showed that magnitude 6 to 7 earthquakes have affected southern Vancouver Island about once every 100 years. Not content with this academic success, he became a leading voice in alerting people and governments to the challenges of coping with and planning for future disasters. It is expected that the threat of large magnitude earthquakes will lead to changes in the National Building Code and improvements in emergency preparedness procedures in the Vancouver area.
Clague has vigorously led efforts to make scientific understanding of earthquakes, landslides, and floods more available to the general public, educators and politicians. He has had numerous television and radio interviews (CBC Newsworld
CBC Newsworld
CBC News Network is a Canadian English language Category C specialty news channel owned and operated by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation . It broadcasts into over 10 million homes in Canada. It is the world's third-oldest television service of this nature, after CNN in the United States and...
, CBC Radio
CBC Radio One
CBC Radio One is the English language news and information radio network of the publicly-owned Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. It is commercial free and offers both local and national programming...
, CTV Television
CTV television network
CTV Television Network is a Canadian English language television network and is owned by Bell Media. It is Canada's largest privately-owned network, and has consistently placed as Canada's top-rated network in total viewers and in key demographics since 2002, after several years trailing the rival...
) and has been featured in newspaper and magazine articles (Vancouver Sun, Victoria Times-Colonist
Victoria Times-Colonist
The Times Colonist is an English-language daily newspaper in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. It was formed by the merger, in 1980, of the Victoria Daily Times, established in 1884, and the British Colonist , established in 1858 by Amor De Cosmos, who was also British Columbia's second...
, Equinox, Beautiful B.C., Westside News, The Westerly News). Clague’s research was featured in a 1997 Discovery Channel
Discovery Channel
Discovery Channel is an American satellite and cable specialty channel , founded by John Hendricks and distributed by Discovery Communications. It is a publicly traded company run by CEO David Zaslav...
documentary on earthquakes and tsunamis on the west coast of Canada.
He has also been a leader in the creation of educational materials for students and the general public and has revolutionized the presentation of geoscience to the public with lucid, jargon-free text and visually appealing graphics.
Clague has made presentations to federal politicians on earthquakes and tsunamis as part of a series designed to increase politicians' knowledge of the impact of science in Canada.
Accolades
- 2007, awarded the Logan MedalLogan MedalThe Logan Medal is the highest award of the Geological Association of Canada. Named after Sir William Edmond Logan, noted 19th century Canadian geologist. It is presented annually to an individual for sustained distinguished achievement in Canadian earth science.-References:*...
by the Geological Association of CanadaGeological Association of CanadaThe Geological Association of Canada promotes and develops the geological sciences in Canada. The organization holds conferences, meetings and exhibitions for the discussion of geological problems and the exchange of views in matters related to geology... - 2006, awarded the Neale MedalE. R. Ward Neale MedalThe Neale Medal is named after the E. R. Ward Neale, past Geological Association of Canada president. It is awarded by the GAC to an individual for sustained outstanding efforts in sharing earth science with Canadians...
of the Geological Association of Canada - 2003, first in the country to obtain a Canada Research Chair in Natural Hazards
- 2002, awarded the Bancroft AwardBancroft AwardThe Bancroft Award is an award of the Royal Society of Canada "given for publication, instruction, and research in the earth sciences that have conspicuously contributed to public understanding and appreciation of the subject". It is named in honour of Joseph Austin Bancroft . It is awarded...
by the Royal Society of Canada - 1999, awarded the C. J. Westerman Memorial Award by the Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of British ColumbiaAssociation of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of British ColumbiaThe Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of British Columbia is the licensing body for Professional Engineers and Geoscientists in the Province of British Columbia, Canada....
- 1998, elected to be a Fellow of the Royal Society of CanadaRoyal Society of CanadaThe Royal Society of Canada , may also operate under the more descriptive name RSC: The Academies of Arts, Humanities and Sciences of Canada , is the oldest association of scientists and scholars in Canada...
- 1995, awarded the W. A. Johnston Medal by the Canadian Quaternary Association
- 1988, awarded the E. B. Burwell Jr. Memorial Award by the Geological Society of AmericaGeological Society of AmericaThe Geological Society of America is a nonprofit organization dedicated to the advancement of the geosciences. The society was founded in New York in 1888 by Alexander Winchell, John J. Stevenson, Charles H. Hitchcock, John R. Proctor and Edward Orton and has been headquartered at 3300 Penrose...
Select publications
- Clague, J.J. and Evans, S.G. 1998. Natural hazards in the Canadian Cordillera. In Engineering Geology; A Global View from the Pacific Rim. Edited by D.P. Moore and O. Hungr. A.A. Balkema, Rotterdam, Proceedings, 8th International Congress, International Association for Engineering Geology and the Environment, Vancouver, B.C., v. 1, p. 17-44.
- Mustard, P.S., Clague, J.J., Woodsworth, G.J., Hickson, C.J., Jackson, L.E., Jr., Luternauer, J.L., Monger, J.W.H., Ricketts, B.D., Turner, R.J.W., Hunter, J.A., and Monahan, P.A. 1998. Geology and geological hazards of the Greater Vancouver area. In Urban Geology of Canadian Cities. Edited by P.F. Karrow and O.L. White. Geological Association of Canada, Special Paper 42, p. 39-70.
- Thompson, S.C., Clague, J.J., and Evans, S.G. 1997. Holocene activity of the Mt. Currie scarp, Coast Mountains, British Columbia, and implications for its origin. Environmental and Engineering Geoscience, v. 3, p. 329-348.
- Hyndman, R.D., Rogers, G.C., Dragert, H., Wang, K., Clague, J.J., Adams, J., and Bobrowsky, P.T. 1996. Giant earthquakes beneath Canada’s west coast. Geoscience Canada, v. 23, p. 63-72.
- Turner, R.J.W., Clague, J.J., and Groulx, B.J. 1996. Geoscape Vancouver -- poster. Geological Survey of Canada, Open File 3309, one sheet.
- Nelson, A.R., Atwater, B.F., Bobrowsky, P.T., Bradley, L.-A., Clague, J.J., Carver, G.A., Darienzo, M.E., Grant, W.C., Krueger, H.W., Sparks, R., Stafford, T.W., Jr., and Stuiver, M. 1995. Radiocarbon evidence for extensive plate-boundary rupture about 300 years ago at the Cascadia subduction zone. Nature, v. 378, p. 371-374.