Abstract
AbstractThe untimely death of Charley Hollister in a climbing accident robbed the contourite community of the principal originator and proponent of the concept of deep-ocean current-controlled sedimentation. He possessed boundless enthusiasm, a strong belief that science should be and was fun, a wonderful ability to get disparate groups of people to work together and a fine capacity to see connections between varied strands of data. The latter ability in particular allowed him as a graduate student at Lamont Geological Observatory in the 1960s to put together physical oceanography from Georg Wust, early seismic profiler results from the Ewings, deep-sea photographs, stratigraphic and sedimentological data from cores with his supervisor Bruce Heezen, and develop the notion of sedimentation controlled by deep geostrophic flows.Charley was born into a landed Californian family whose fortunes were founded on cattle ranching. Eschewing the role of sedate conformity and leadership normally reserved for elder sons, his boyhood was, by his own account (thoroughly confirmed by his family), happily irresponsible. His schooling was chequered and his undergraduate academic performance at Oregon State University undistinguished. However, although his best developed abilities were as a marksman and mountaineer, late in the day the spark of what he really wanted to do struck. Doc Ewing, director of Lamont was persuaded that Charley's enthusiasm once channelled, could lead to a successful career as a marine geologist and admitted him to the graduate programme in 1960.In the late 1950s ideas about the deep circulation developed rapidly with Wust's (1955) recalculation
Publisher
Geological Society of London