Martin Bott

Bott was educated at Clayesmore School in Dorset and Magdalene College, Cambridge, where he was awarded a Master of Arts degree and PhD.{{Who's Who | title=BOTT, Prof. Martin Harold Phillips | id = U8187 | volume = 2014 | edition = online Oxford University Press}}{{cite thesis |degree=PhD |first=Martin Harold Phillips|last=Bott |title=Part I. The deep structure of Northumberland and Co. Durham. Part II. A geophysical study of the granites in relation to crystal structure |publisher=University of Cambridge |year=1954 |url=http://www.theses.com|authorlink=Martin Bott}} {{subscription required}}

Bott worked throughout his academic career at the University of Durham. In 1954 he started as Turner & Newall Research Fellow. In 1956 he received an appointment as lecturer in Geophysics, was promoted to Reader in Geophysics in 1963 and in 1966 appointed Professor of Geophysics. This place he held until his retirement in 1988, interrupted only in 1970 by a year abroad at the Lamont–Doherty Geological Observatory of Columbia University.

Bott dealt first with the interpretation of magnetic and gravimetric anomalies in England, including Devon and Cornwall{{Cite journal | doi = 10.1098/rsta.1958.0013| title = The Geological Interpretation of Gravity and Magnetic Surveys in Devon and Cornwall| journal = Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A: Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Sciences| volume = 251| issue = 992| pages = 161| year = 1958| last1 = Bott | first1 = M. H. P.| last2 = Day | first2 = A. A.| last3 = Masson-Smith | first3 = D.|bibcode = 1958RSPTA.251..161B | s2cid = 128578859}} and in the eastern Alps.Interpretation of the gravity field of the Eastern Alps. MHP Bott – Geological Magazine, 1954 – Cambridge Univ Press In the late 1950s he began studies on the mechanism of geological disturbances, and published work on various problems in relation to the structure of the crust.{{Cite journal | doi = 10.1144/GSL.JGS.1956.112.01-04.04| title = A geophysical study of the granite problem| journal = Quarterly Journal of the Geological Society| volume = 112| issue = 1–4| pages = 45–67| year = 1956| last1 = Bott | first1 = M. H. P.| bibcode = 1956QJGS..112...45B| s2cid = 130570943}}

In the 1960s Bott published papers on the use of digital computation methods for solving geophysical problems{{Cite journal | doi = 10.1111/j.1365-246X.1960.tb00065.x| title = The use of Rapid Digital Computing Methods for Direct Gravity Interpretation of Sedimentary Basins| journal = Geophysical Journal International| volume = 3| issue = 1| pages = 63–67| year = 1960| last1 = Bott | first1 = M. H. P.| bibcode = 1960GeoJ....3...63B| doi-access = free}} and further work on the structure of the crust, regional geophysical studies in England and Ireland. In the early 1970s he published his textbook The Interior of the Earth, in which he summarised the current knowledge about the structure of the earth. In addition to theoretical work on the interpretation of magnetic and gravimetric anomalies that appeared over the next few years, he published other geophysical papers on regions such as the Faroe Islands,{{Cite journal | doi = 10.1038/248202a0| title = Evidence for continental crust beneath the Faeroe Islands| journal = Nature| volume = 248| issue = 5445| pages = 202| year = 1974| last1 = Bott | first1 = M. H. P.| last2 = Sunderland | first2 = J.| last3 = Smith | first3 = P. J.| last4 = Casten | first4 = U.| last5 = Saxov | first5 = S.| bibcode = 1974Natur.248..202B| s2cid = 4274999}} South Greenland{{Cite journal | doi = 10.1111/j.1365-246X.1977.tb01282.x| title = Structure of the continental margin of South-eastern Greenland| journal = Geophysical Journal International| volume = 48| issue = 1| pages = 15–27| year = 1977| last1 = Featherstone | first1 = P. S.| last2 = Bott | first2 = M. H. P.| last3 = Peacock | first3 = J. H.| bibcode = 1977GeoJ...48...15F| doi-access = free}} and the Lesser Antilles.{{Cite journal | doi = 10.1038/physci244118a0| title = Lesser Antilles Subduction Zone in the Vicinity of Barbados| journal = Nature Physical Science| volume = 244| issue = 138| pages = 118| year = 1973| last1 = Westbrook | first1 = G. K.| last2 = Bott | first2 = M. H. P.| last3 = Peacock | first3 = J. H.| bibcode = 1973NPhS..244..118W}} Even after his retirement, he remained true to his research and published numerous scientific papers and books.1971: The Interior of the Earth. London: Edward Arnold {{ISBN|0-7131-2274-9}}1976: Sedimentary Basins of Continental Margins and Cratons; based on the symposium ... Durham, 1976. Amsterdam: Elsevier {{ISBN|0-444-41549-1}} (as editor) (also issued as: Tectonophysics; vol. 36, nos. 1–3)1982: The Interior of the Earth: its structure, constitution and evolution; 2nd ed. London: Edward Arnold {{ISBN|0-7131-2842-9}}1983: Structure and Development of the Greenland-Scotland Ridge: new methods and concepts. New York: Plenum {{ISBN|0-306-41019-2}} (as joint editor)Bott, M.H.P 2003. The story of the Weardale granite. OUGS Journal 24.

{{Cite journal | doi = 10.1029/2001JB000908| title = Easter microplate dynamics| journal = Journal of Geophysical Research| volume = 108| issue = B4| pages = 2213| year = 2003| last1 = Neves | first1 = M. C.| bibcode = 2003JGRB..108.2213N| hdl = 10400.1/11125| url = https://durham-repository.worktribe.com/output/1597038| hdl-access = free}}{{Cite journal | doi = 10.1144/0016-764903-014| title = The Cenozoic uplift and earthquake belt of mainland Britain as a response to an underlying hot, low-density upper mantle| journal = Journal of the Geological Society| volume = 161| pages = 19–29| year = 2004| last1 = Bott | first1 = M. H. P. | last2 = Bott | first2 = J. D. J. | issue = 1| bibcode = 2004JGSoc.161...19B| s2cid = 129807173}}{{Cite journal | doi = 10.1016/j.tecto.2004.06.010| title = Patterns of stress at midocean ridges and their offsets due to seafloor subsidence| journal = Tectonophysics| volume = 386| issue = 3–4| pages = 223| year = 2004| last1 = Neves | first1 = M. C. | last2 = Bott | first2 = M. H. P. | last3 = Searle | first3 = R. C. | bibcode = 2004Tectp.386..223N}}

Bott was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society (FRS) in 1976, and was the 1992 recipient of the Wollaston Medal from the Geological Society of London.{{cite ODNB|url=http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/theme/93211?&back=30523|title=Holders of the Wollaston medal (1831–2005)|year=2007 |doi=10.1093/ref:odnb/93211 |isbn=978-0-19-861412-8 |accessdate=13 February 2009}} His nomination for the Royal Society reads: {{centred pull quote|Distinguished for his investigations into gravity anomalies related to granitic intrusions and into methods for discriminating them from anomalies due to concealed sedimentary basins. His results throw new light upon the mechanism of emplacement of acid igneous intrusions in the Earth's crust. His prediction that a buried granite must be present beneath Weardale was substantiated by deep boring. He has elucidated problems of crustal dynamics in terms of ductile flow of isostatic origin in the upper mantle, and has proposed a new explanation for cyclic sedimentation. Since the advent of digital computers he has developed a wide range of computer techniques for the interpretation of gravity and magnetic anomalies, of very general applicability. His classic earlier studies of crustal structure in northern England and the Cornubian peninsular have been extended off-shore, notably to the Irish Sea, the continental shelf area north-west of Scotland, and the Iceland-Faroes ridge, all of these studies contributing very significantly to a better understanding of the origin and evolution of the North Atlantic basin and margins in the vicinity of the British Isles.{{cite web |url=https://collections.royalsociety.org/DServe.exe?dsqIni=Dserve.ini&dsqApp=Archive&dsqDb=Catalog&dsqCmd=show.tcl&dsqSearch=(RefNo==%27EC%2F1977%2F08%27) |title=EC/1977/08: Bott, Martin Harold Phillips Library and Archive Catalogue |publisher=The Royal Society |archivedate=9 July 2019 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20190709134139/https://collections.royalsociety.org/DServe.exe?dsqIni=Dserve.ini&dsqApp=Archive&dsqDb=Catalog&dsqCmd=show.tcl&dsqSearch=%28RefNo%3D%3D%27EC%2F1977%2F08%27%29 |location=London |url-status=dead }}}}

Bott was a Vice-President of Christians in Science.[http://www.cis.org.uk/about/vice-presidents CIS Vice-Presidents] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080819193618/http://www.cis.org.uk/about/vice-presidents |date=19 August 2008 }}

He died on 20 October 2018 at the age of 92.[http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/thetimes-uk/obituary.aspx?n=martin-bott&pid=190725332 Professor Martin Bott]

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Category:1926 births

Category:2018 deaths

Category:Academics of Durham University

Category:Alumni of Magdalene College, Cambridge

Category:English Christians

Category:English geologists

Category:English geophysicists

Category:Fellows of the Royal Society

Category:Members of the International Society for Science and Religion

Category:People educated at Clayesmore School

Category:Wollaston Medal winners

Category:Murchison Medal winners