Ernest Henry Rutter

Ernest Henry Rutter (* 1946 ) is a British geologist . He is a professor at the University of Manchester .

Rutter received his PhD in 1970 from the University of London ( An experimental study of the factors affecting the rheological properties of rock in simulated geological environments ). He conducts experimental and field studies of geological rock mechanics in the Rock Deformation Laboratory at the University of Manchester, which he established. He is an expert in tectonics ( structural geology ), rock deformations, earthquakes and landslides and appeared as such on British television, for example for the Tōhoku earthquake in 2011 .

In field studies, he examined, among other things, the Ivrea body in the southern Alps with important insights into shear zones in the lower part of the earth's crust and the influence of easily deformable components such as mica and clay on the folding mechanics. His field studies with Dan Faulkner in the Betic Cordilleras helped to identify the influence of the variability of the pore water pressure on, for example, the build-up of stress during earthquakes. In contrast to laboratory experiments, the tension in nature is often only reduced in small steps (recognizable by the occurrence of microquakes) and Rutter and colleagues found an explanation in the occurrence of folded layers of low pore water pressure in an environment with high pore water pressure. He also emphasized early on the chemical influence of pore liquids on rock deformations (including pressure-dependent solubility). In this context he investigated the rheology of limestones such as Carrara marble and Solnhofen limestone . His work on the microstructures that form during various deformation processes in the laboratory compared to the microstructures observed in the field were also important in studies of the rheology of partially molten rock and the processes involved in metamorphosis , and especially the interaction with liquid phases.

He also developed new experimental equipment for rock mechanics in the laboratory.

In 1999 he received the Lyell Medal and in 2011 the Louis Néel Medal . In 1994 he won the London Geological Society's Wollaston Fund .

Web links

• Editor with RJ Knipe, SM Agar u. a. Deformation mechanisms, rheology and tectonics , London Geological Society special publications, No. 54, 1990
• as editor Structures and properties of high strain zones in rocks , Journal of Geology, Volume 20, 1998, Issue 2/3
• Editor with David J. Prior, Daniel J. Tatham Deformation mechanisms, rheology and tectonics: microstructures, mechanics and anisotropy , London Geological Society special publications, No. 360, 2011

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Laudatory speech for the Néel medal