Professor Robert Butler

Professor Robert Butler
Professor Robert Butler
Professor Robert Butler

Emeritus Professor

About
School/Department
School of Geosciences

Biography

Since August 2025 I am an emeritus professor at the University of Aberdeen, having "retired" from my position as Professor of Tectonics. Aberdeen was my final port of call in a career that began after education at the Universities of Leeds and Wales (Swansea) back in the mists of time. I went on to positions at Durham University and the Open University before moving back to my alma mater, Leeds, in 1991. I moved to Scotland and the University of Aberdeen in 2008. Most of my research (and publications) has dealt with contractional tectonics - evolution of mountain belts, thrust systems and basin inversion - chiefly integrating diverse geological information (especially stratigraphy) with structural geology, I continue to research the geology and tectonics of mountain belts and sedimentary basins, especially to understand the distribution and geological context of their earth resources.

I share knowledge through The Shear Zone - a YouTube Channel along with an associated website. There you'll find extensive open teaching materials, films about classic (and not so classic) geo-sites and "work-along" exercises in topics on geological interpretation and analysis - from seismic profiles through geological maps and cross-section construction. 

External Memberships

Fellow of Geological Society of London - and Chartered Geologist

Member: Scottish Geology Trust, Italian Geological Society and European Geosciences Union.

Prizes and Awards

President's Award, Geological Society of London.

Awarded Wollaston Fund of GSL

Inaugural recipient o the Dewey Medal, GSL. 

Publications

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  • Stratigraphic variations control deformation patterns in evaporite basins: Messinian examples, onshore and offshore Sicily (Italy)

    Butler, R. W. H., Maniscalco, R., Sturiale, G., Grasso, M.
    Journal of the Geological Society , vol. 172, no. 1, pp. 113– 124
    Contributions to Journals: Articles
  • Identifying multiple detachment horizons and an evolving thrust history through cross-section restoration and appraisal in the Moine Thrust Belt, NW Scotland

    Watkins, H., Bond, C. E., Butler, R. W. H.
    Journal of Structural Geology, vol. 66, pp. 1-10
    Contributions to Journals: Articles
  • Decent exposure

    Butler, R. W. H.
    Geoscientist, vol. 24, no. 6, pp. 16-19
    Contributions to Journals: Articles
  • Area balancing as a test of models for the deep structure of mountain belts, with specific reference to the Alps

    Butler, R. W.
    Journal of Structural Geology, vol. 52, pp. 2-16
    Contributions to Journals: Articles
  • Photograph of the month: Large-scale basement-cover deformation in the alps

    Butler, R. W. H.
    Journal of Structural Geology, vol. 52, pp. 1-1
    Contributions to Journals: Comments and Debates
  • The mode of deformation in the orogenic mid-crust revealed by seismic attribute analysis

    Torvela, T., Moreau, J., Butler, R. W. H., Korja, A., Heikkinen, P.
    Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems , vol. 14, no. 4, pp. 1069-1086
    Contributions to Journals: Articles
  • Seismic imaging of thrust faults and structural damage: a visualization workflow for deepwater thrust belts

    Iacopini, D., Butler, R. W. H., Purves, S.
    First Break, vol. 5, no. 30, pp. 39-46
    Contributions to Journals: Articles
  • Stress, faulting, fracturing and seismicity: the legacy of Ernest Masson Anderson

    Healy, D., Butler, R. W. H., Shipton, Z. K., Sibson, R.
    Faulting, Fracturing and Igneous Intrusion in the Earth's Crust. Healy, D., Butler, R., Shipton, Z., Sibson, R. (eds.). Geological Society of London, pp. 1-6, 6 pages
    Chapters in Books, Reports and Conference Proceedings: Chapters
  • Shallow erosion beneath turbidity currents and its impact on the architectural development of turbidite sheet systems

    Eggenhuisen, J. T., McCaffrey, W. D., Haughton, P. D., Butler, R. W. H.
    Sedimentology, vol. 58, no. 4, pp. 936-959
    Contributions to Journals: Articles
  • Imaging deformation in submarine thrust belts using seismic attributes

    Iacopini, D., Butler, R. W.
    Earth and Planetary Science Letters, vol. 302, no. 3-4, pp. 414-422
    Contributions to Journals: Articles
  • Constraints on the seismic properties of the middle and lower continental crust

    Lloyd, G. E., Butler, R. W. H., Casey, M., Tatham, D. J., Mainprice, D.
    Geological Society Special Publications , vol. 360, pp. 7-32
    Contributions to Journals: Articles
  • From crystal to crustal: petrofabric-derived seismic modelling of regional tectonics

    Lloyd, G. E., Halliday, J., Butler, R. W. H., Casey, M., Kendall, J., Wookey, J., Mainprice, D.
    Geological Society Special Publications , vol. 360, pp. 49-78
    Contributions to Journals: Articles
  • Reconstructing large-scale remobilisation of deep-water deposits and its impact on sand-body architecture from cored wells: the Lower Cretaceous Britannia Sandstone Formation, UK North Sea

    Eggenhuisen, J. T., McCaffrey, W. D., Haughton, P. D. W., Butler, R. W. H., Moore, I., Jarvie, I., Hakes, W. G.
    Marine and Petroleum Geology, vol. 27, no. 7, pp. 1595-1615
    Contributions to Journals: Articles
  • Gravitational collapse at continental margins: processes and products; An introduction

    Butler, R. W. H., Turner, J.
    Journal of the Geological Society , vol. 167, no. 3, pp. 569-570
    Contributions to Journals: Editorials
  • Structural evolution and sediment entrainment in mass-transport complexes: outcrop studies from Italy

    Butler, R. W. H., McCaffrey, W. D.
    Journal of the Geological Society , vol. 167, no. 3, pp. 617-631
    Contributions to Journals: Articles
  • Depositional processes across the Sinu Accretionary Prism, offshore Colombia

    Vinnels, J. S., Butler, R. W. H., McCaffrey, W. D., Paton, D. A.
    Marine and Petroleum Geology, vol. 27, pp. 794–809
    Contributions to Journals: Articles
  • Evaluating lateral compaction in deepwater fold and thrust belts: how much are we missing from “nature’s sandbox”?

    Butler, R. W. H., Paton, D. A.
    GSA Today, vol. 20, no. 3, pp. 4-10
    Contributions to Journals: Articles
  • Sediment distribution and architecture around a bathymetrically complex basin: an example from the Eastern Champsaur Basin, SE France

    Vinnels, J. S., Butler, R. W. H., McCaffrey, W. D., Lickorish, W. H.
    Journal of Sedimentary Research, vol. 80, no. 3, pp. 216-235
    Contributions to Journals: Articles
  • Small-scale spatial variability in turbidity current flow controlled by roughness resulting from substrate erosion: field evidence for a feedback mechanism

    Eggenhuisen, J. T., McCaffrey, W. D., Haughton, P. D. W., Butler, R. W. H.
    Journal of Sedimentary Research, vol. 80, no. 2, pp. 129-136
    Contributions to Journals: Articles
  • Structure and internal deformation of the Arnaboll Thrust Sheet, NW Scotland: implications for structural styles and strain localization

    Wibberley, C., Butler, R. W. H.
    Geological Society Special Publications , vol. 335, pp. 321-331
    Contributions to Journals: Articles
  • The geological structure of the North-West Highlands of Scotland - revisited: Peach et al. one hundred years on.

    Butler, R. W. H.
    Geological Society Special Publications , vol. 335, pp. 7-27
    Contributions to Journals: Articles
  • The role of thrust tectonic models in understanding structural evolution in NW Scotland

    Butler, R. W. H.
    Geological Society Special Publications , vol. 335, pp. 293-320
    Contributions to Journals: Articles
  • Mica, deformation fabrics and the seismic properties of the continental crust

    Lloyd, G. E., Butler, R. W., Casey, M., Mainprice, D.
    Earth and Planetary Science Letters, vol. 288, no. 1-2, pp. 320-328
    Contributions to Journals: Articles
  • Relationships between the Apennine thrust belt, foredeep and foreland revealed by marine seismic data, offshore Calabria

    Butler, R. W. H.
    Bollettino della Societa Geologica Italiana, vol. 128, no. 2, pp. 269-278
    Contributions to Journals: Articles
  • Lewisian, Torridonian and Moine Rocks of Scotland

    Mendum, J. R., Barber, A. J., Butler, R. W. H., Flinn, D., Goodenough, K. M., Krabbendam, M., Park, R. G., Stewart, A. D.
    Vol. 34, Joint Nature Conservation Committee, Peterborough, United Kingdom. 721 pages
    Books and Reports: Books
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