Meyer Rubin

Meyer Rubin (February 17, 1924 – May 2, 2020) was an American geologist known for his radiocarbon dating work with the United States Geological Survey.

Meyer Rubin
Born(1924-02-17)February 17, 1924
Chicago, Illinois
DiedMay 2, 2020(2020-05-02) (aged 96)[1][2]
Manassas, Virginia
NationalityAmerican
Alma materUniversity of Chicago
Awards
  • Washington Academy of Sciences Award, 1959
  • Department of the Interior Meritorious Service Award, 1974
Scientific career
FieldsGeology, Geochemistry
InstitutionsUnited States Geological Survey

Early career

After graduating from Englewood High School, South Side, Chicago, in 1941, Rubin enlisted into a University of Chicago run pre-meteorology training program (class "B") for the United States Army Air Forces (AAF); active duty effective March 3, 1943.[3] Basic training was at Fort Sheridan with classes held at the University of Michigan. Rubin finished his training in September 1943, and was shipped off first to Port Moresby, New Guinea, and then later to the Philippines, to help forecast weather for AAF long range flights in the Pacific Theater of World War II.[4] After Japan surrendered, Rubin was sent to Tokyo as part of the post war occupation.

Rubin returned to the States in 1946 and attended the University of Chicago, from which he earned his master's degree, and later his Ph.D. in Geology.[5]

Rubin joined the U.S. Geological Survey, Washington, D.C., on June 14, 1950 as a member of the Branch of Military Geology, then led by Frank C. Whitmore, Jr.

Radiocarbon laboratory

In 1952, Hans E. Suess was hired by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) to set up a radiocarbon dating laboratory in Washington, D.C. and built the radiocarbon apparatus in a basement space in the GSA Building (former Department of the Interior Building) located at 1800 F St., NW. A basement space was needed due to the extreme mass of the two steel and lead shielded counter assemblies. In early 1953, Corrine Alexander joined the radiocarbon project, followed by Rubin in December of the same year.[6] Routine radiocarbon 14
C measurements were begun in the summer of 1953.[7]

Willard Libby, inventor of the 14
C dating method and 1960 Nobel Prize winner used a solid carbon method for sample determination, whereas Suess, upon seeing Libby's method in Chicago knew that he would try the gas, acetylene C2H2, as he had success with acetylene in the 1930s in Germany for other radiochemical determinations.[8][9] This was a significant step as it allowed more efficient counting and easy movement of the counting material between the extraction apparatus, gas purification line and the two counters. Rubin initially assisted in the acetylene preparation, and as a geologist provided valuable input on the selection of samples and interpretation of results.[6] In the first two years, the laboratory produced approximately 200 14
C age determinations, which were critically important to unravel the various details of the most recent Pleistocene glaciation, the Wisconsin stage, among other geological problems.[6][10]

Rubin became director of the USGS Radiocarbon Laboratory in 1955 when Suess left to set up a new laboratory at Scripps Institute of Oceanography, La Jolla, CA.[11]

The next few years at the USGS were devoted to perfecting the acetylene technique and applying it to a multitude of geological and archaeological research. Rubin continued his research on the Wisconsin glacial stage and used the results for his doctoral dissertation, earning his Ph.D. from the University of Chicago in 1956.[12][5]

In 1973, Rubin and the laboratory moved into a newly built USGS national headquarters in Reston, Virginia.[13]

Rubin kept a room full of samples in the lab as part of the "tour," which included samples he said were wood relics from King Solomon's mines and the Queen of Sheba's palace, linen wraps from the Dead Sea Scrolls, and a large piece of whale baleen.[2] He also kept a guest book he would ask visitors to sign.

History of work

In April 1955, Rubin and Suess published the second set of 14
C results from the lab's first year of operation.[10] One of their main focuses was on establishing an absolute time scale for the Wisconsin glaciation substages prior to what was known as the Mankato substage (the most recent glacial advance, around 9,000-11,000 years ago).[10][14] Suess's acetylene method for carbon counting extended the dating range back to approximately 45,000 years, making it possible to fix in time pre-Mankato glacial events by dating wood and other organic material from older glacial deposits.[15] Richard Foster Flint assembled a collection of samples that were dated at the lab.[15] Some of the samples were collected by Rubin in collaboration with other geologists such as J Harlen Bretz (who was Rubin's Geomorphology professor at UChicago), Carl Leland Horberg, William John Wayne, Richard Parker Goldthwait, James Zumberge, and Donald Eschman.[15] Samples were collected by other collectors as well. Flint and Rubin published a brief assessment of the stratigraphic meaning of these samples and their 14
C age determinations in May 1955.[15] One of the conclusions was that a major glaciation began 25,000 or more years ago and reached a maximum about 20,000 years ago.[10][15] The 14
C results were consistent.[15]

In 1963, Rubin questioned the validity of 14
C dates from sea snail shells. Experiments showed that snails could uptake 10-12 percent inorganic carbonate from limestone, yielding an uncertainty in the 14
C dates of approximately one thousand years.[16]

In 1964, Rubin and A. A. Rosen, of the U.S. Public Health Service, showed that by measuring 14
C content of surface water it is possible to determine the relative contributions of industrial pollution (from fossil fuels) and domestic pollution (from domestic sewage and garbage) in streams—desirable information for planning abatement measures.[17][18][19] An activated carbon filter system was used to collect samples of organic contaminants in water, which were then extracted using chloroform and ethanol, and converted to acetylene for 14
C measurement, making use of a double-tube combustion system developed to completely burn the highly flammable samples in a controlled manner.[17][18] Fossil carbon such as petroleum, natural gas, and coal is depleted in 14
C compared to the contemporary carbon in animal and plant matter.[17][18] Their data was reported as a proportion of contemporary carbon to fossil carbon, and the results where consistent with the known pollution sources at the chosen sample sites, and provided new information at sites where this proportion could not be predicted by other means.[18] This work was expanded upon in 1975 by Spiker and Rubin, when they published a water pollution study describing the measurement of 14
C activity of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) in surface water and groundwater, this time applying high-intensity ultraviolet radiation to large water samples to convert DOC to CO
2 via photo-oxidation, for 14
C measurement.[20] This was one of the early investigations of groundwater DOC impacted by industrial and municipal pollution.[19]

In 1965, Bruce B. Hanshaw, William Back, and Rubin determined the origin of saline water contaminating the Ocala Limestone aquifer near Brunswick, Georgia by measuring the 14
C activity of water in and around the aquifer.[21] They found that the contamination was coming from the underlying Claiborne Group, which had relatively low 14
C content due to lack of exposure to atmospheric carbon, and not from the nearby ocean.[21] These results were in agreement with previous investigations using piezometric maps and other more traditional hydrologic data.[21] This work laid the foundation for the use of carbon isotopes to delineate flow systems in regional carbonate aquifers.[22]

First publishing together in 1967, George Plafker, Rubin, and their colleagues did painstaking fieldwork after the magnitude 9.2 Alaskan earthquake in 1964, covering hundreds of kilometers of Alaskan shoreline in small boats, helicopters, and float-equipped aircraft after the 1964 quake helped to launch a new field of megathrust earthquake geology, which used observations of the placement and 14
C dating of intertidal organisms such as acorn barnacles, mussels and rockweed to determine the amounts of vertical change in land relative to sea level near subduction zones.[23][24][25] Plafker and his colleagues determined that the massive Alaskan quake was caused by rupture along a deeply buried fault in a subduction zone where the Pacific tectonic plate thrusts north below the North American plate.[26] Earlier accounts of the Alaskan earthquake had suggested that the quake took place as slip along a vertical fault, as the Pacific plate rotated counter-clockwise against the North American plate. These studies by Plafker, Rubin and colleagues were very important evidence for the existence of subduction processes during the early debates of plate tectonics. See Plafker, Lajoie & Rubin 1992, pp. 436–453 for a geological and historical summary.

In 1968, Rubin co-authored with John Chapman Frye, H. B. Willman, and R. F. Black the official USGS "Definition of Wisconsinan Stage," which defined and described the Wisconsinan Stage of the Pleistocene and its substages as time-stratigraphic units for use in Illinois and Wisconsin.[14]

In 1973, Rubin dated charcoal from campfires used by Paleo-Indians at Flint Run Complex in the Shenandoah Valley, Virginia, to be 10,000 years old—the oldest evidence of man in the state at the time.[27]

Rubin thoroughly analyzed Mount St. Helens in the years and months preceding its 1980 eruption.[28] He worked with Dwight Crandell and Donal R. Mullineaux on their paper published in 1975, which correctly predicted an eruption could occur before the turn of the century.[29]

In 1977, Rubin collaborated with Harry E. Gove and others in early demonstrations of successful 14
C measurement using accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) at the University of Rochester.[30] Development of this technique made possible the 1988 radiocarbon dating of the Shroud of Turin, as it allowed for much smaller samples to be used. Gove had a central role in the Shroud project and brought Rubin in for his expertise.[31]

What is today the Great Salt Lake in Utah was previously a massive Lake Bonneville which covered most of northern Utah. Rubin and colleagues determined the changing levels of this ancient lake including a catastrophic flood caused by a sudden overflow of the lake, known as the Bonneville flood. This very exciting epoch in the geologic history of North America was followed chronologically by Rubin in a series a radiocarbon dates, which contributed to publications such as "Great Salt Lake, and precursors, Utah: the last 30,000 years" (1984).[32][33]

In August 1986, thousands of people were found dead on the shores of Lake Nyos, Cameroon. John P. Lockwood and Rubin found that the lake's maar may have been formed by an explosive eruption, and that CO
2 could still be trapped under the lake—it's gradual release into the waters setting the stage for the tragic gas-release event.[34]

Rubin and colleagues contributed to our understanding of the evolution of Hawaiian volcanoes through hundreds of 14
C measurements starting in the late 60's, sample selection refinements, and significant publications in 1987.[35][36][37][38]

Rubin carried out 14
C work, in collaboration with Lucio Lirer and Giuseppe Rolandi (University of Naples Federico II), a collaboration arranged by Rubin's long-time friend and fellow geologist Harvey E. Belkin, determining the age of the Breccia Museo (museum breccia), a proximal deposit attributed to the 39,000 BCE eruption of the Campanian Ignimbrite.[39][40] The Breccia Museo deposit is controversial regarding its chronology and origin and this study added to that discussion and the realization that the deposit may be more complex and varied than had been understood.

Awards and honors

In 1956, Rubin received a Washington Academy of Sciences Award in the Physical Sciences.[41]

In 1974, Rubin received a Department of the Interior Meritorious Service Award.[42]

Rubin has been designated as a Scientist Emeritus for the Eastern Geology & Paleoclimate Science Center, now renamed the Florence Bascom Geoscience Center, Reston, VA, by the USGS.[43]

On a less serious note, Rubin was also given the 1962 Geological Society of Washington Sleeping Bear Award for best humor during a GSW meeting.[44]

Personal life

Rubin was born in Chicago to Jewish immigrants from Kiev.[2] He met his wife, Mary Louise Rubin (née Tucker), in high school. They raised three sons, John, Robert, and Mark, and were married for 72 years before she died in 2015.[45]

Rubin made close friends through the US Army Air Force weatherman training, in Frank Wrobel, Mick McCullough, and Frank Getz, who were all shipped to different Pacific theaters during the war. Rubin was also close friends with Edward C. T. Chao, who is known for coesite, stishovite, and tektites, as they were both at one time in the USGS Branch of Military Geology, though they had no scientific relationship.

Rubin and Art Buchwald had at least two things in common—humor and kidney stones.[2] Enabled by go-between Frank Forrester, "Project BUCHWALDSTONE" was a spoof project in which Rubin, Ed Dwornik and other scientists studied Buchwald's kidney stones, which were, according to Rubin, much smaller than his own.[46]

Rubin was an avid kayaker in his prime, known on the Potomac River as "Dr. Kayak" by many. He wrote a spoof advice column in "The Cruiser" (newsletter of the Canoe Cruisers Association) under the same title.[47] Rubin was also an enthusiastic collector of found bobbers.[5]

Publications

References
  1. Certificate of death: Meyer Rubin. Filed 5 May 2020. Commonwealth of Virginia, Dept. of Health Div. of Vital Records, Richmond, File No. 20-025140. Informant: Mark R. Rubin, Manassas, Virginia
  2. Rosenwald, Michael S. "Geochemist Meyer Rubin, who predicted the Mount St. Helens eruption, dies of covid-19 at 96". Washington Post. Retrieved 29 May 2020.
  3. HEADQUARTERS, SIXTH SERVICE COMMAND, SERVICES OF SUPPLY, Special Orders No. 31. (5 February 1943)
  4. HEADQUARTERS, DETROIT CIVILIAN SCHOOLS AREA, AAF CENTRAL TECHNICAL TRAINING COMMAND, Special Orders No. 52 (21 Sept., 1943)
  5. Stewart, Sharla A. (October 2001). "Forever bobbing baubles". University of Chicago Magazine. Vol. 94 no. 1. ISSN 0041-9508. Archived from the original on July 2, 2003.
  6. Suess, Hans E. (24 Sep 1954). "U.S. Geological Survey Radiocarbon Dates I". Science. 120 (3117): 467–473. Bibcode:1954Sci...120..467S. doi:10.1126/science.120.3117.467. ISSN 0036-8075. PMID 17829655.
  7. Suess, Hans E. (1992), The Early Radiocarbon Years: Personal Reflections. In: Taylor R.E., Long A., Kra R.S. (eds) Radiocarbon After Four Decades., New York, NY: Springer, p. 12, doi:10.1007/978-1-4757-4249-7_2, ISBN 978-1-4757-4251-0
  8. Libby, Willard F. (December 12, 1960), Radiocarbon dating (PDF), Nobel Lecture
  9. Suess, Hans E. (2 July 1954). "Natural Radiocarbon Measurements by Acetylene Counting". Science. 120 (3105): 5–7. doi:10.1126/science.120.3105.5. ISSN 0036-8075. PMID 17797499.
  10. Rubin, Meyer; Suess, Hans E. (8 April 1955). "U.S. Geological Survey Radiocarbon Dates II". Science. 121 (3145): 481–488. Bibcode:1955Sci...121..481R. doi:10.1126/science.121.3145.481. ISSN 0036-8075. PMID 17817378.
  11. "Anniversary of Radiocarbon Laboratory" (PDF) (Press release). San Diego, California: University of California, San Diego. September 19, 1967. Retrieved September 15, 2018.
  12. Rubin, Meyer (1956), A Radiocarbon Chronology of Glacial Events During Wisconsin Time (Doctoral dissertation, University of Chicago, Department of Geology)
  13. Schmidt, William A. (1993), Planning and Acquiring A National Center for the United States Geological Survey (PDF), archived from the original (PDF) on February 24, 2017
  14. Frye, John Chapman; Willman, H. B.; Rubin, Meyer; Black, Robert F. (1968), Definition of Wisconsinan Stage (PDF), Contributions to stratigraphy, Geological Survey bulletin, 1274-E, Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, doi:10.3133/b1274E
  15. Flint, Richard Foster; Rubin, Meyer (6 May 1955). "Radiocarbon Dates of Pre-Mankato Events in Eastern and Central North America". Science. 121 (3149): 649–658. Bibcode:1955Sci...121..649F. doi:10.1126/science.121.3149.649. ISSN 0036-8075. PMID 17769451. S2CID 23848648.
  16. Rubin, Meyer; Likins, Robert C.; Elmer, G. Berry (January 1963). "On the Validity of Radiocarbon Dates from Snail Shells". The Journal of Geology. 71 (1): 84–89. Bibcode:1963JG.....71...84R. doi:10.1086/626878. S2CID 129644650.
  17. Rosen, A. A.; Rubin, Meyer (1964). "Natural carbon-14 activity of organic substances in streams". Science. 143 (3611): 1163–1164. Bibcode:1964Sci...143.1163R. doi:10.1126/science.143.3611.1163. ISSN 0036-8075. PMID 17833900. S2CID 206564726.
  18. Rosen, A. A.; Rubin, Meyer (September 1965). "Discriminating between Natural and Industrial Pollution through Carbon Dating". Journal of the Water Pollution Control Federation. 37 (9): 1302–1307. ISSN 1554-7531. JSTOR 25035373. PMID 5825885.
  19. Aelion, C. Marjorie; Höhener, Patrick; Hunkeler, Daniel; Aravena, Ramon (2009), "11.6.1.1", Environmental Isotopes in Biodegradation and Bioremediation, CRC Press, p. 367, ISBN 9781566706612
  20. Spiker, E. C.; Rubin, Meyer (10 January 1975). "Petroleum Pollutants in Surface and Groundwater as Indicated by the Carbon-14 Activity of Dissolved Organic Carbon". Science. 187 (4171): 61–64. Bibcode:1975Sci...187...61S. doi:10.1126/science.187.4171.61. ISSN 0036-8075. PMID 17844210. S2CID 22094386.
  21. Hanshaw, Bruce B.; Back, William; Rubin, Meyer; Wait, Robert L. (March 1965). "Relation of Carbon 14 Concentrations to Saline Water Contamination of Coastal Aquifers". Water Resources Research. 1 (1): 109–114. Bibcode:1965WRR.....1..109H. doi:10.1029/WR001i001p00109.
  22. "Memorial To Bruce B. Hanshaw 1930–1998" (PDF). geosociety.org. U.S. Geological Society. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 12, 2019. Retrieved July 18, 2019.
  23. Plafker, George; Rubin, Meyer (1967). "Vertical tectonic displacements in south-central Alaska during and prior to the great 1964 earthquake". Geosci. Osaka City Univ. 10: 53–66.
  24. Plafker, G.; Hudson, T.; Bruns, T.; Rubin, M. (1978). "Late Quaternary offsets along the Fairweather fault and crustal plate interactions in southern Alaska". Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences. 15 (5): 805–816. doi:10.1139/e78-085.
  25. Plafker, George; Rubin, Meyer (1978). "Uplift history and earthquake recurrence as deduced from marine terraces on Middleton Island, Alaska" (PDF). US Geol. Surv. Open File Rep., 78. 943: 687–721. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 6, 2019.
  26. Plafker, G.; Lajoie, K.R.; Rubin, M. (1992), Determining recurrence intervals of great subduction zone earthquakes in southern Alaska by radiocarbon dating. In: Radiocarbon After Four Decades., New York, NY: Springer, pp. 436–453, doi:10.1007/978-1-4757-4249-7_28
  27. "Oldest evidence of man in state is 10,000 years". The Free Lance-Star. Fredericksburg, Virginia. June 4, 1973. p. 11. Retrieved January 7, 2019.
  28. O'Toole, Thomas (April 7, 1980). "Geologists Say Large Eruption Could Trigger 20 Years of Activity". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on August 28, 2017. Retrieved January 9, 2019.
  29. Crandell, Dwight R.; Mullineaux, Donal R.; Rubin, Meyer (7 February 1975). "Mount St. Helens Volcano: Recent and Future Behavior". Science. 187 (4175): 438–441. Bibcode:1975Sci...187..438C. doi:10.1126/science.187.4175.438. ISSN 0036-8075. PMID 17835309. S2CID 206569097.
  30. Gove, Harry E.; Elmore, David; Ferraro, R. D.; Beukens, R. P.; Chang, K. H.; Kilius, L. R.; Lee, H. W.; Litherland, A. E.; Purser, K. H.; Rubin, Meyer (1980). "Radiocarbon Dating with Tandem Electrostatic Accelerators" (PDF). Radiocarbon. 22 (3): 785–793. doi:10.1017/S003382220001016X.
  31. Gove, Harry E. (1996). Relic, Icon or Hoax?: Carbon Dating the Turin Shroud. CRC Press. pp. 17, 22, 46, 57, 59–60, 77. ISBN 0750303980.
  32. Scott, W.E.; McCoy, W.D.; Shroba, R.R.; Rubin, M. (1983). "Reinterpretation of the exposed record of the last two cycles of Lake Bonneville, Western United States". Quaternary Research. 20 (3): 261–285. Bibcode:1983QuRes..20..261S. doi:10.1016/0033-5894(83)90013-3. Archived from the original on Jan 2, 2017.
  33. Spencer, R.J.; Baedecker, M.J.; Eugster, H.P.; Forester, R.M.; Goldhaber, M.B.; Jones, B.F.; Kelts, K.; McKenzie, J.; Madsen, D.B.; Rettig, S.L.; Rubin, M.; Bowser, C.J. (December 1984). "Great Salt Lake, and precursors, Utah: The last 30,000 years". Contributions to Mineralogy and Petrology. 86 (4): 321–334. Bibcode:1984CoMP...86..321S. doi:10.1007/BF01187137. ISSN 0010-7999. S2CID 128621985.
  34. Lockwood, John P.; Rubin, Meyer (1989). "Origin and age of the Lake Nyos maar, Cameroon". Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research. 39 (2–3): 117–124. Bibcode:1989JVGR...39..117L. doi:10.1016/0377-0273(89)90052-8.
  35. Sulivan, Beverly Marsters; Spiker, Elliott; Rubin, Meyer (1970). "U. S. Geological Survey Radiocarbon Dates XI". Radiocarbon. 12 (1): 319–334. doi:10.1017/S0033822200036365.
  36. Kelley, M L; Spiker, E C; Lipman, P W; Lockwood, J P; Lipman, P W; Holcomb, R T; Rubin, M (1979). "U. S. Geological Survey, Reston, Virginia, Radiocarbon Dates XV: Mauna Loa and Kilauea Volcanoes, Hawaii". Radiocarbon. 21 (2): 306–320. doi:10.1017/S0033822200004434.
  37. Rubin, Meyer; Lockwood, John P.; Friedman, Irving (1987), Effects of volcanic emanations on carbon-isotope content of modern plants near Kilauea Volcano (PDF), US Geol. Surv. Prof. Pap., 1350, pp. 209–211, archived from the original (PDF) on 25 Feb 2017
  38. Rubin, Meyer; Gargulinski, Lea Kelley; McGeehin, John P. (1987), Hawaiian radiocarbon dates (PDF), US Geol. Surv. Prof. Pap., 1350, pp. 213–242, archived from the original (PDF) on 25 Feb 2017
  39. Lirer, L.; Rolandi, G.; Rubin, M. (1991). "14
    C     Age of the "Museum Breccia" (Campi Flegrei) and its relevance for the origin of the Campanian Ignimbrite"    . Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research. 48 (1–2): 223–227. doi:10.1016/0377-0273(91)90044-Z.
  40. De Vivo, B.; Rolandi, G.; Gans, P. B.; Calvert, A.; Bohrson, W. A.; Spera, F. J.; Belkin, H. E. (2001). "New constraints on the pyroclastic eruptive history of the Campanian volcanic Plain (Italy)". Mineralogy and Petrology. 73 (1–3): 47–65. doi:10.1007/s007100170010. S2CID 129762185.
  41. "Awards History - Washington Academy of Sciences". washacadsci.org. Archived from the original on January 30, 2018. Retrieved January 8, 2019.
  42. "Meritorious Service Award Recipients - App 2 N through S" (PDF). omsa.org. Archived from the original (PDF) on January 9, 2019. Retrieved January 8, 2019.
  43. "Office of Science Quality and Integrity - Scientist Emeritus List". usgs.gov. Archived from the original on January 9, 2019. Retrieved January 9, 2019.
  44. "GSW: 1962 MEETING MINUTES". gswweb.org. Archived from the original on 21 August 2008. Retrieved 27 April 2019.
  45. "Mary Louise Rubin Notice". The Washington Post. January 11, 2016. Retrieved February 18, 2019.
  46. Belkin, Harvey E. (Spring 2007). "Project BUCHWALDSTONE". The Geologic Division Retirees Newsletter. No. 56. Geologic Division, U.S. Geological Survey. pp. 6–9.CS1 maint: date and year (link)
  47. Gertler, Ed (May 2020). "Meyer Rubin". The Cruiser. Canoe Cruisers Association of Greater Washington, DC. pp. 5–6. Retrieved 1 June 2020.CS1 maint: date and year (link)
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