Ascending the evolutionary ladder from mineral explorationist to graduate student to lecturer, my early focus on high-grade metamorphism and migmatization evolved into an appreciation for structural mapping and strain analysis within the Precambrian terranes of South Africa, Namibia, and Swaziland. Arriving in Texas in 1980 forced a switch to softer, deeper, younger rocks. I immediately became interested in salt domes, despite the fact that this was then one of the most moribund topics in structural geology. After learning the ropes in the East Texas salt basin, my attention wandered to the Gulf of Mexico and thence to all over the world, with a special interest in the Paradox Basin, Iran, the Red Sea, and the South Atlantic margins. I've also been attracted to some of the more bizarre manifestations of diapirism, such as that on Triton (a satellite of Neptune) and in the puzzling relics of salt tectonics in complex Precambrian orogens.

A stay at the Hans Ramberg Tectonic Laboratory in Uppsala in 1984 introduced the fascinating world of tectonic modeling. In 1988, I established the Bureau's Applied Geodynamics Laboratory, which has flourished since then in generating models and focusing research on salt tectonics worldwide. My current research focuses on seismic interpretation of the continental margins of southwest Africa and Brazil and in helping to compile The Salt Mine, a digital atlas of salt structures.

Education

B.Sc. Geology, University of London, 1968

B.Sc. Special Honours Geology, University of London, 1969 (First Class)

Ph.D. Geology, University of Cape Town, 1976

Professional History

Lecturer, Department of Geology, University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg, South Africa, 1976–1979

Research Associate, Precambrian Research Unit, University of Cape Town, 1972–1976

Project Geologist, Cominco (Canada), South Africa, 1970–1972

Selected Publications

Hudec, M. R., and Jackson, M. P. A., 2007, Terra infirma: understanding salt tectonics: Earth-Science Reviews, v. 82, p. 1–24.

Dooley, T. P., Jackson, M. P. A., and Hudec, M. R., 2007, Initiation and growth of salt-based thrustbelts on passive margins: results from physical models: Basin Research, v. 19, p. 165–177.

Hudec, M. R., and Jackson, M. P. A., 2006, Advance of allochthonous salt sheets in passive margins and orogens: American Association of Petroleum Geologists Bulletin, v. 90, no. 10, p. 1535–1564.

Jackson, M. P. A., and Harrison, J. C., 2006, An allochthonous salt canopy on Axel Heiberg Island, Sverdrup Basin, Arctic Canada: Geology, v. 34, no. 12, p. 1045–1048.

Jackson, M. P. A., and Hudec, M. R., 2005, Stratigraphic record of translation down ramps in a passive-margin salt detachment: Journal of Structural Geology, v. 27, p. 889–911.

Jackson, M. P. A., Hudec, M. R., and Hegarty, K. A., 2005, The great West African Tertiary coastal uplift: fact or fiction? A perspective from the Angolan divergent margin: Tectonics, v. 24, TC6014, doi:10.1029/2005TC001836.

Selected Committees

Co-Convener, Hedberg International Research Conference on Salt Tectonics, Bath, United Kingdom; sponsored by the American Association of Petroleum Geologists, 1993

Associate Editor for Geological Society of America Bulletin, 1989–1994

Associate Editor for American Association of Petroleum Geologists Bulletin, 1985–1990

Co-Organizer, Symposium on Salt Tectonics, Geological Society of America, 1990

Awards

Robert H. Dott, Sr., Memorial Award, American Association of Petroleum Geologists, 1998 (Best Special Publication Published by AAPG)

Distinguished Lecturer, American Association of Petroleum Geologists, 1991–1992

George C. Matson Award, American Association of Petroleum Geologists, 1990 (Best oral presentation at Annual Convention

J. C. Sproule Memorial Award, American Association of Petroleum Geologists, 1985 (Best paper by authors aged 35 or less)

Macgregor Medal for Outstanding Achievement, University of Rhodesia, 1969

Contact

Martin P. A. Jackson, Ph.D.
Senior Research Scientist
Bureau of Economic Geology
The University of Texas at Austin
University Station, Box X
Austin, Texas 78713-8924
E-mail:
Telephone: 512-475-9548

Professional Summary (Word format)

April 2006