A.A. Meyerhoff papers, 1918-1996

Arthur Augustus Meyerhoff (1928-1994) was born in Northampton, Massachusetts, to Howard Meyerhoff, a well known professor of geology. He earned a B.A. in Geology form Yale in 1947 and completed a Ph.D. in Botany and Geology from Stanford in 1952. From 1948 to 1952, he was a geologist for the United States Geological Survey. He was a geologist and geophysicist with Standard Oil of California in South America, Central America, and the West Indies from 1952-1965. He was senior geologist for the company from 1956-1965 and he became publications manager for the American Association of Petroleum Geologists, from 1965 to 1974. Between 1975 and 1977, he was Professor of Geology at Oklahoma State and in 1978 he was Professor of Geology at the University of Calgary. Begining in 1974 he was a partner in Meyerhoff and Cox Inc. Tulsa. Thereafter, he was primarily a geological consultant, doing work for government agencies of many countries (including the former Soviet Union), for most major oil companies (including Exxon and Shell), and many smaller companies. Meyerhoff became known for his alternative hypothesis for plate tectonics. By 1988 Meyerhoff had developed an alternative global hypothesis called "surge tectonics." He suggested that all major features of the earth, including those beneath the sea, are underlaid by fluid igneous rocks, which tend to flow parallel to these features. He argued these channels are interconnected, forming a worldwide hydraulic network. Meyerhoff was also known for his knowledge of the Soviet petroleum industry, and he traveled to the USSR several times to lecture and see Soviet petroleum production. In 1951, Meyerhoff married Kathryn (Kay) Laskaris and they had three children, James, Richard, and Donna. Meyerhoff died in 1994.