(1951- ) British Structural Geologist, Tectonics
One of the main driving forces that kept the search for the plate tectonic theory alive through the years of opposition was the fact that the continents appear to fit together like a jigsaw puzzle. When there was enough data to prove plate tectonics and reconstructions of ancient worlds began, it was found that indeed the plates had once fit together in such a manner. About 250 million years ago, all of the continents were together and formed a single supercontinent called Pangea surrounded by a single ocean called Pan-thalassa. As research has continued, we have learned that there was a prior supercontinent to Pangea called Rodinia about 750 million years ago and that it broke apart and dispersed much like Pangea has. Damian Nance took this concept one step further by proposing that there are cycles of supercontinent construction and destruction. His theory is that on a regular 500-million-year cycle, all of the continents will join together through a series of collisions to form a single su-percontinent and a single superocean. Because having all of the continental mass in one place on the Earth is gravitationally unstable, that single continent will necessarily split apart and the resulting continental fragments will disperse in all directions. Since the Earth is a sphere, eventually they will all reassemble in another place forming another supercontinent and the cycle begins again. His paper, “The Supercontinent Cycle,” summarizes this work.
Damian Nance is a classic regional tectonic geologist and as such he utilizes all types of information to construct regional geologic interpretations. These data include structural geology, stratigraphy, paleontology, Ar/Ar thermochronol-ogy, and igneous and metamorphic petrology, among others. The geographic region of expertise for Nance is the Avalon terrane, an exotic volcanic-continental fragment that extends from Rhode Island through coastal Massachusetts and Maine and into maritime Canada. He mostly worked on these rocks in Nova Scotia, Canada, which resulted in the publication of many articles and several books. A summary paper on this research is entitled, “Model for the Evolution of the Avalonian-Camodian Belt.” However, he has performed research in many areas from Greece to North Carolina.
Nance also was involved in a rather unique teaching experiment. When the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) was ratified by Congress, there was a small obscure section on education. Nance masterminded a project that involved comparing and contrasting orogenic belts from Canada to Mexico to utilize the funds available in the bill. He collaborated with universities in Canada and Mexico as well as his own and designed a field course in which students from all of the schools would visit the orogenic belts together. It was a very successful project that received multiple years of funding and reportedly was a great benefit to the participants.
Damian Nance on the coast in Nova Scotia, Canada
Damian Nance was born on October 25, 1951, in Saint Ives in Cornwall, United Kingdom. He attended the University of Leicester, England, where he graduated with a bachelor of science degree in geology with honors in 1972. He completed his graduate studies at Cambridge University, England, where he earned a Ph.D. in geology in 1978. He joined the faculty at St.
Francis Xavier University in Nova Scotia, Canada, in 1976. He moved to Ohio University in Athens in 1980 and has remained there ever since. He served as department chairperson from 1995 to 2000. He was also a senior research geologist at Exxon Production Research Company (1982), a research consultant with Cominco American Inc. (1984), a research adviser at Argonne National Laboratories, and a visiting research scientist at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge. Damian Nance also has a passion for beam engines and engine houses in mines and canals. He and his wife have published some 15 professional articles on these topics.
Damian Nance has had a very productive career. He is an author of some 67 articles in international journals and professional books and volumes. He is an author or editor of six books and volumes. One such book is entitled Physical Geology Today. He is an author of 21 government reports and of three published maps. He has received several acknowledgments for his achievements both in research and teaching. The Atlantic Provinces Intercollegiate Council named him Distinguished Lecturer for the Sciences in 1989. He received both the Distinguished Faculty Award and the Outstanding Teacher Award from Ohio University in 1992. He was named the W. F. James Professor of Pure and Applied Science by St. Francis Xavier University in 1994. Nance’s service to the profession includes serving on the editorial board for Geological Magazine.
