Nicholas Shackleton
Encyclopedia
Sir Nicholas John Shackleton FRS (23 June 1937—24 January 2006) was a British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
geologist
Geologist
A geologist is a scientist who studies the solid and liquid matter that constitutes the Earth as well as the processes and history that has shaped it. Geologists usually engage in studying geology. Geologists, studying more of an applied science than a theoretical one, must approach Geology using...
and climatologist who specialised in the 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...
Period. He was the son of the distinguished field geologist Robert Millner Shackleton
Robert Millner Shackleton
Robert Millner Shackleton FRS was a British field geologist who developed an interest in the geology of East Africa...
and great-nephew of the explorer Ernest Shackleton
Ernest Shackleton
Sir Ernest Henry Shackleton, CVO, OBE was a notable explorer from County Kildare, Ireland, who was one of the principal figures of the period known as the Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration...
.
Educated at Cranbrook School, Kent (thanks to the generosity of a person he called his 'fairy godmother' as she paid his school fees) Shackleton went on to read natural sciences
Natural Sciences (Cambridge)
The Natural Sciences Tripos is one of the several courses which form the University of Cambridge system of undergraduate teaching...
at Clare College, Cambridge
Clare College, Cambridge
Clare College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, England.The college was founded in 1326, making it the second-oldest surviving college of the University after Peterhouse. Clare is famous for its chapel choir and for its gardens on "the Backs"...
, graduating with the Bachelor of Arts
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
degree in 1961, and in 1964 a Master of Arts degree. In 1967 Cambridge awarded him a PhD
Doctor of Philosophy
Doctor of Philosophy, abbreviated as Ph.D., PhD, D.Phil., or DPhil , in English-speaking countries, is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities...
degree, for his thesis entitled 'The Measurement of Paleotemperatures in the Quaternary Era'.
Apart from periods abroad as Visiting Professor or Research Associate, Shackleton's entire scientific career was spent at Cambridge. He became Ad hominem Professor in 1991, in the Department of Earth Sciences
University of Cambridge Department of Earth Sciences
The Department of Earth Sciences at Cambridge is the University of Cambridge's Earth Sciences department. The main location of the department is at the Downing Site, Downing St. The Bullard Laboratories, located in West Cambridge on Madingley Rd, and the Godwin Laboratory, in the New Museums Site...
, working in the Godwin Institute for Quaternary Research
University of Cambridge Godwin Laboratory
The Godwin Laboratory is a research facility at the University of Cambridge. It was originally set up to investigate radiocarbon dating and its applications, and was one of the first laboratories to determine a radiocarbon calibration curve...
.
Paleoceanography
Paleoceanography is the study of the history of the oceans in the geologic past with regard to circulation, chemistry, biology, geology and patterns of sedimentation.- Source of information :...
, publishing over two hundred scientific papers. He was a pioneer in the use of mass spectrometry
Mass spectrometry
Mass spectrometry is an analytical technique that measures the mass-to-charge ratio of charged particles.It is used for determining masses of particles, for determining the elemental composition of a sample or molecule, and for elucidating the chemical structures of molecules, such as peptides and...
to determine changes in climate as recorded in the oxygen isotope composition of calcareous microfossils. He also found evidence that the Earth's last magnetic field reversal was 780,000 years ago. Shackleton became known, in 1976, with the publication of his paper, with James Hays and John Imbrie, in Science entitled 'Variations in the Earth's orbit: Pacemaker of the ice ages'. Using ocean sediment cores, the researchers demonstrated that oscillations in climate over the past few million years could be correlated with variations in the orbital and positional relationship between the Earth and the Sun (see Milankovitch cycles).
Much of Shackleton's later work focused on constructing precise timescales based on matching the periodic cycles in deep-sea sediment cores to calculations of incoming sunlight at particular latitudes over geological time, a method which allows a far greater level of stratigraphic precision than other dating methods, and also helped to clarify the rates and mechanisms of aspects of climate change.
In September 2000 he published an innovative study of the relationship between the oxygen isotope record of the oceans and isotope records obtained from the ice in Antarctica (glacial effect). This helped to pin down the relative contribution of deep water temperature changes and ice volume changes to the marine isotopic record, and also highlighted the close interdependency between carbon dioxide levels and temperature change over the last 400,000 years.
In 1995 Shackleton became Director of the Godwin Institute for Quaternary Research. In 1998, he was knighted for his services to earth sciences. From 1999 to 2003 he was president of the 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). In 2010 Nick Shackleton was one of ten scientists depicted on a set of postage stamps commemorating the 350th anniversary of the Royal Society
Royal Society
The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, known simply as the Royal Society, is a learned society for science, and is possibly the oldest such society in existence. Founded in November 1660, it was granted a Royal Charter by King Charles II as the "Royal Society of London"...
. Shackleton was chosen to represent 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...
.
Shackleton was also a skilled amateur clarinet player, and collector of woodwind instruments. During his lifetime he amassed the world's largest collection of clarinets, and his Cambridge home became a place of pilgrimage for many players and scholars. He was internationally known as an organologist, reflected in his many journal articles, as well as his contributions to the 1980 and 2001 editions of Grove's Dictionary of Music and Musicians, as well as the Grove Dictionary of Musical Instruments. Most of Shackleton's substantial instrument collection, numbering over 700 instruments, was bequeathed to the University of Edinburgh
University of Edinburgh
The University of Edinburgh, founded in 1583, is a public research university located in Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland, and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The university is deeply embedded in the fabric of the city, with many of the buildings in the historic Old Town belonging to the university...
together with an endowment. Part of the collection is now exhibited at the Reid Concert Hall, as part of Edinburgh University's Collection of Historic Musical Instruments. The collection has been described in a published catalogue http://www.music.ed.ac.uk/euchmi/ucis.html.
In addition to his reputation in the scientific world, Shackleton was highly respected by many musicians, and a friend to many who studied at Cambridge, including Christopher Hogwood
Christopher Hogwood
Christopher Jarvis Haley Hogwood CBE, MA , HonMusD , born 10 September 1941, Nottingham, is an English conductor, harpsichordist, writer and musicologist, well known as the founder of the Academy of Ancient Music.-Biography:...
. The fine copies, by Cambridge maker Daniel Bangham, of many clarinets in Shackleton's collection, had a significant impact on historical performance from the 1980s, and continue to be used by leading performers today.
Awards
- Doctor of ScienceDoctor of ScienceDoctor of Science , usually abbreviated Sc.D., D.Sc., S.D. or Dr.Sc., is an academic research degree awarded in a number of countries throughout the world. In some countries Doctor of Science is the name used for the standard doctorate in the sciences, elsewhere the Sc.D...
(ScD), University of Cambridge, 1984 - Fellow of the Royal SocietyRoyal SocietyThe Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, known simply as the Royal Society, is a learned society for science, and is possibly the oldest such society in existence. Founded in November 1660, it was granted a Royal Charter by King Charles II as the "Royal Society of London"...
(FRS), 1985 - Shepard Medal (SEPM) for excellence in marine geology 1985
- Carus Medal, Deutsche Akademie für Naturforscher 'Leopoldina' 1985
- Lyell MedalLyell MedalThe Lyell Medal is a prestigious annual scientific medal given by the Geological Society of London, equal in status to the Murchison Medal, awarded on the basis of research to an Earth Scientist of exceptional quality...
, Geological Society of LondonGeological Society of LondonThe Geological Society of London is a learned society based in the United Kingdom with the aim of "investigating the mineral structure of the Earth"...
1987 - Founding member, Academia EuropaeaAcademia EuropaeaAcademia Europæa is a European non-governmental scientific academy founded in 1988. Its members are scientists and scholars who collectively aim to promote learning, education and research. It publishes European Review through Cambridge Journals....
1988 - Fellow, American Geophysical UnionAmerican Geophysical UnionThe American Geophysical Union is a nonprofit organization of geophysicists, consisting of over 50,000 members from over 135 countries. AGU's activities are focused on the organization and dissemination of scientific information in the interdisciplinary and international field of geophysics...
1990 - Huntsman Medal for excellence in the marine sciences (Bedford Institute of OceanographyBedford Institute of OceanographyThe Bedford Institute of Oceanography is a major Canadian government ocean research facility located in Dartmouth in the Halifax Regional Municipality in Nova Scotia. The Bedford Institute of Oceanography is the largest ocean research station in Canada...
, Canada) 1990 - Crafoord PrizeCrafoord PrizeThe Crafoord Prize is an annual science prize established in 1980 by Holger Crafoord, a Swedish industrialist, and his wife Anna-Greta Crafoord...
, Royal Swedish Academy of SciencesRoyal Swedish Academy of SciencesThe Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences or Kungliga Vetenskapsakademien is one of the Royal Academies of Sweden. The Academy is an independent, non-governmental scientific organization which acts to promote the sciences, primarily the natural sciences and mathematics.The Academy was founded on 2...
1995 - Honorary Doctor of Laws, Dalhousie UniversityDalhousie UniversityDalhousie University is a public research university located in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. The university comprises eleven faculties including Schulich School of Law and Dalhousie University Faculty of Medicine. It also includes the faculties of architecture, planning and engineering located at...
Canada 1996 - Wollaston MedalWollaston MedalThe 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...
, Geological Society of London 1996 - Honorary Doctor of Philosophy, Stockholm UniversityStockholm UniversityStockholm University is a state university in Stockholm, Sweden. It has over 28,000 students at four faculties, making it one of the largest universities in Scandinavia. The institution is also frequently regarded as one of the top 100 universities in the world...
1997 - Knighthood for services to the earth sciences in 1998
- Milankovitch Medal, European Geophysical Society 1999
- Foreign Associate, US National Academy of Sciences, 2000
- Foreign Member, Royal Netherlands Society of Arts and Sciences, 2001
- Honorary Doctorate, Geology, University of Padova, Italy, 2002
- Maurice Ewing MedalMaurice Ewing MedalThe Maurice Ewing Medal is awarded by the American Geophysical Union for "significant original contributions to the understanding of physical, geophysical, and geological processes in the ocean; to those who advance oceanographic engineering, technology, and instrumentation; and to those who...
, American Geophysical UnionAmerican Geophysical UnionThe American Geophysical Union is a nonprofit organization of geophysicists, consisting of over 50,000 members from over 135 countries. AGU's activities are focused on the organization and dissemination of scientific information in the interdisciplinary and international field of geophysics...
, 2002 - Honorary member, EUGEuropean Geosciences UnionThe European Geosciences Union is an interdisciplinary non-profit learned society open to individuals who are professionally engaged in or associated with geosciences, planetary and space sciences, and related studies.The mission statement of the EGU is "Dedicated to the pursuit of excellence in...
, 2003 - Urey Medal, European Association of Geochemistry, 2003
- Royal MedalRoyal MedalThe Royal Medal, also known as The Queen's Medal, is a silver-gilt medal awarded each year by the Royal Society, two for "the most important contributions to the advancement of natural knowledge" and one for "distinguished contributions in the applied sciences" made within the Commonwealth of...
, Royal Society of London, 2003 - Vetlesen PrizeVetlesen PrizeThe Vetlesen Prize is awarded from Columbia University's Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory and the G. Unger Vetlesen Foundation.-Background:The Vetlesen Prize has been described as an attempt to establish an equivalent of a Nobel award for geophysics or geology...
, Lamont-Doherty Earth ObservatoryLamont-Doherty Earth ObservatoryThe Lamont–Doherty Earth Observatory is a research unit of Columbia University located on a campus in Palisades, N.Y., north of Manhattan on the Hudson River.- History :...
of Columbia University, 2004 - Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of ScienceAmerican Association for the Advancement of ScienceThe American Association for the Advancement of Science is an international non-profit organization with the stated goals of promoting cooperation among scientists, defending scientific freedom, encouraging scientific responsibility, and supporting scientific education and science outreach for the...
, 2004 - Founder's Medal, Royal Geographical SocietyRoyal Geographical SocietyThe Royal Geographical Society is a British learned society founded in 1830 for the advancement of geographical sciences...
, 2005 - Blue Planet Prize, Asahi Glass Foundation, Japan, 2005
External links
- A special issue of Quaternary Science Reviews dedicated to Nick Shackleton; includes several articles by and about him, as well as a complete list of his publications.
- Tributes to Nicholas Shackleton