51cg

People

Professor Robert Butler

Professor Robert Butler
Professor Robert Butler
Professor Robert Butler

Emeritus Professor

51cg
School/Department
School of Geosciences

Biography

Since August 2025 I am an emeritus professor at the 51cg, 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 51cg 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 - a YouTube Channel along with an associated . 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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  • Deciphering the structural style of the deformation front in the western Central Andes: insight from the Sierra de Moreno in northern Chile

    Martínez, F., López, C., Fuentes, G., Ayala-Carazas, L., Butler, R., Arriagada, C., Mandiola, L., Torres, C.
    Tectonophysics, vol. 932, 231227
    Contributions to Journals: Articles
    • [ONLINE] DOI:
    • [OPEN ACCESS]

  • Acquiring expertise in geosciences: an autoethnographic study in seismic interpretation

    Robledo, F., Butler, R., Bond, C. E.
    Earth Science, Systems and Society , vol. 6, no. 1, esss2025-008
    Contributions to Journals: Articles
    • [ONLINE] DOI:
    • [OPEN ACCESS]

  • Unconformities: a personal view of their use in deducing tectonic histories

    Butler, R.
    In the Footsteps of Hutton: A Celebration of the Tercentenary of the Birth of James Hutton. Harley, S. (ed.). Geological Society of London
    Chapters in Books, Reports and Conference Proceedings: Chapters (Peer-Reviewed)

  • Are geological description practices and classification schemes fit for future use? Breccias as an example

    Flude, S., Bond, C. E., Butler, R. W. H.
    Earth Science Reviews, vol. 266, 105140
    Contributions to Journals: Articles
    • [ONLINE] DOI:
    • [OPEN ACCESS]

  • Multi-layers: do incompetent horizons always act as thrust flats?

    Bond, C. E., Robledo Carvajal, F., Butler, R. .. H.
    Journal of Structural Geology, vol. 192, 105349
    Contributions to Journals: Articles
    • [ONLINE] DOI:
    • [OPEN ACCESS]

  • Basement controls on structural evolution in thin-skinned thrust belts: implications for migration of deformation into orogenic forelands

    Butler, R., Bond, C. E., Robledo Carvajal, F.
    Tectonics, vol. 44, no. 1, e2024TC008347
    Contributions to Journals: Articles
    • [ONLINE] DOI:
    • [OPEN ACCESS]
    • [ONLINE]

  • Lithosphere architecture along the axis of the subducting aseismic Nazca Ridge (Peruvian active margin)

    Ciattoni, S., Cella, F., Mazzoli, S., Zambrano, M., Megna, A., Santini, S., Butler, R., Pierantoni, P. P., Di Celma, C.
    Tectonics, vol. 44, no. 1, e2024TC008514
    Contributions to Journals: Articles
    • [ONLINE] DOI:
    • [OPEN ACCESS]
    • [OPEN ACCESS]

  • Ramps first – interpreting thrust nucleation in multilayers

    Sleath, P. R., Bond, C. E., Butler, R.
    Journal of Structural Geology, vol. 185, 105190
    Contributions to Journals: Articles
    • [ONLINE] DOI:
    • [OPEN ACCESS]
    • [OPEN ACCESS]

  • Influence of subtle inherited basement structures on thin-skinned thrust systems: The Caledonian Thrust Front in Lapland (CaTFLap)

    Torvela, T., Butler, R.
    Journal of Structural Geology, vol. 184, 105156
    Contributions to Journals: Articles
    • [ONLINE] DOI:
    • [OPEN ACCESS]

  • The first mapping of the Moine Thrust Belt, NW Scotland: the progress of Peach, Horne and colleagues (1883–1936)

    Butler, R. W. H.
    Geological Society, London, Special Publications, vol. 541, no. 1, pp. 59-95
    Contributions to Journals: Articles
    • [ONLINE] DOI:
    • [OPEN ACCESS]

  • Training the creation, visualisation and interpretation of fault maps for the subsurface – using tectonic geomorphology

    Butler, R.
    Geological Society, London, Special Publications, vol. 541, no. 1, pp. SP541-2022-353
    Contributions to Journals: Articles
    • [ONLINE] DOI:

  • An introduction to geological mapping of our world and others

    H., B. R. W., Taija, T., Lucy, W.
    Geological Society, London, Special Publications, vol. 541, no. 1, pp. 1-17
    Contributions to Journals: Articles
    • [ONLINE] DOI:
    • [OPEN ACCESS]

  • Mapping faults in 3D seismic data: why the method matters  

    Robledo Carvajal, F., Butler, R., Bond, C. E.
    Journal of Structural Geology, vol. 177, 104976
    Contributions to Journals: Articles
    • [ONLINE] DOI:
    • [OPEN ACCESS]
    • [ONLINE]

  • Continent-Ocean Transition or Boundary? Crowd-sourced seismic interpretations of the East-India Passive Margin

    Bond, C. E., Alcalde, J., Butler, R., McDermott, K., Carbonell, R.
    Tectonics, vol. 42, no. 8, e2022TC007624
    Contributions to Journals: Articles
    • [ONLINE] DOI:
    • [OPEN ACCESS]
    • [ONLINE]

  • Editorial: Source or sink? Erosional and depositional signatures of tectonic activity in deep-sea sedimentary systems

    McArthur, A. D., Gamberi, F., Maniscalco, R., Butler, R.
    Frontiers in Earth Science, vol. 10, 1042473
    Contributions to Journals: Editorials
    • [ONLINE] DOI:
    • [OPEN ACCESS]
    • [ONLINE]

  • Untangling the Annot sand fairway: structure and stratigraphy of the Eastern Champsaur Basin (Eocene-Oligocene), French Alps

    Butler, R. W., Lickorish, H. W., Vinnels, J., McCaffrey, W. D.
    Journal of the Geological Society , vol. 177, no. 6, pp. 1197-1209
    Contributions to Journals: Articles
    • [ONLINE] DOI:
    • [OPEN ACCESS]

  • Deep-water sand-fairway mapping as a tool for tectonic restoration: decoding Miocene central Mediterranean palaeogeography using the Numidian turbidites of southern Italy

    Butler, R. W. H., Pinter, P. R., Maniscalco, R., Hartley, A. J.
    Journal of the Geological Society , vol. 177, no. 4, pp. 766-783
    Contributions to Journals: Articles
    • [ONLINE] DOI:
    • [OPEN ACCESS]

  • Hutton’s Arse: 3 billion years of extraordinary geology in Scotland’s Northern Highlands (second edition) by Malcolm Rider and Peter Harrison, Dunedin Academic Press, Edinburgh (2019), x+226 pp., Pbk., ISBN: 9781780460406. £19.99

    Butler, R.
    Proceedings of the Geologists' Association, vol. 131, no. 2, pp. 227-228
    Contributions to Journals: Reviews of Books, Films and Articles
    • [ONLINE] DOI:
    • [OPEN ACCESS]

  • Henry Cadell’s Experimental Researches in Mountain Building: their lessons for interpreting thrust systems and fold-thrust structures

    Butler, R. W., Bond, C. E., Cooper, M. A.
    Geological Society Special Publications , vol. 490, pp. 9-31
    Contributions to Journals: Articles
    • [ONLINE] DOI:
    • [OPEN ACCESS]
    • [ONLINE]

  • From hot to cold - The temperature dependence on rock deformation processes: An introduction

    Gomez-Rivas, E., Butler, R. W., Healy, D., Alsop, I.
    Journal of Structural Geology, vol. 132, 103977
    Contributions to Journals: Articles
    • [ONLINE] DOI:
    • [OPEN ACCESS]
    • [ONLINE]

  • Thrust systems and contractional tectonics

    Butler, R., Bond, C.
    Regional Geology and Tectonics: Principles of Geologic Analysis Volume 1: Principles of Geologic Analysis. Elsevier, pp. 149-167, 19 pages
    Chapters in Books, Reports and Conference Proceedings: Chapters
    • [ONLINE] DOI:
    • [ONLINE]

  • Fold and thrust belts: structural style, evolution and exploration – an introduction

    Hammerstein, J. A., Di Cuia, R., Cottam, M. A., Zamora, G., Butler, R. W. H.
    Geological Society Special Publications , vol. 490, pp. 1-8
    Contributions to Journals: Articles
    • [ONLINE] DOI:
    • [OPEN ACCESS]
    • [ONLINE]

  • Raman Spectroscopy: an effective thermal marker in low temperature carbonaceous fold-thrust belts

    Muirhead, D. K., Bond, C. E., Watkins, H., Butler, R. W. H., Schito, A., Crawford, Z., Marpino, A.
    Geological Society Special Publications , vol. 490, pp. 135-151
    Contributions to Journals: Articles
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    • [OPEN ACCESS]
    • [OPEN ACCESS]
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    • [OPEN ACCESS]
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    • [OPEN ACCESS]
    • [ONLINE]

  • Discussion on ‘A reassessment of the proposed ‘Lairg impact structure’ and its potential implications for the deep structure of northern Scotland’ Journal of the Geological Society, London, 176, 817-829

    Butler, R. W. H., Alsop, G. I.
    Journal of the Geological Society , vol. 177, pp. 443-446
    Contributions to Journals: Comments and Debates
    • [ONLINE] DOI:
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  • Syn-kinematic strata influence the structural evolution of emergent fold-thrust belts

    Butler, R. W.
    Geological Society Special Publications , vol. 490, pp. 57-78
    Contributions to Journals: Articles
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  • Syn-kinematic sedimentary systems as constraints on the structural response of thrust belts: re-examining the structural style of the Maghrebian thrust belt of Eastern Sicily

    Butler, R. W. H., Maniscalco, R., R. Pinter, P.
    Italian Journal of Geosciences, vol. 138, no. 3, pp. 371-389
    Contributions to Journals: Articles
    • [ONLINE] DOI:
    • [OPEN ACCESS]
    • [ONLINE]
    • [ONLINE]

  • Pooled subsidence records from numerous wells reveal variations in pre-break-up rifting along the proximal domains of the Iberia-Newfoundland continental margins

    Spooner, C., Stephenson, R., Butler, R. W.
    Geological Magazine, vol. 156, no. 8, pp. 1323-1333
    Contributions to Journals: Articles
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    • [OPEN ACCESS]
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  • Fold-thrust structures: where have all the buckles gone?

    Butler, R. W. H., Bond, C. E., Cooper, M. A., Watkins, H.
    Geological Society Special Publications , vol. 487, pp. 21-44
    Contributions to Journals: Articles
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  • Fold-related deformation bands in a weakly buried sandstone reservoir analogue: a multi-disciplinary case study from the Numidian (Miocene) of Sicily (Italy)

    Gambino, S., Fazio, E., Maniscalco, R., Punturo, R., Lanzafame, G., Barreca, G., Butler, R. W. H.
    Journal of Structural Geology, vol. 118, pp. 150-164
    Contributions to Journals: Articles
    • [ONLINE] DOI:
    • [OPEN ACCESS]
    • [ONLINE]
    • [ONLINE]

  • Geikie's field researches and their geological controversies

    Butler, R. W. H., Matthews, S. J., Morgan, R. K.
    Geological Society Special Publications , vol. 480, pp. 149-178
    Contributions to Journals: Articles
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    • [OPEN ACCESS]
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  • Tectonic evolution of the Himalayan syntaxes: the view from Nanga Parbat

    Butler, R. W. H.
    Geological Society Special Publications , vol. 483, pp. 215-254
    Contributions to Journals: Articles
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  • The competition between rates of deformation and solidification in syn-kinematic granitic intrusions: Resolving the pegmatite paradox

    Butler, R. W., Torvela, T.
    Journal of Structural Geology, vol. 117, pp. 1-13
    Contributions to Journals: Articles
    • [ONLINE] DOI:
    • [OPEN ACCESS]

  • Entrained sand generates fault plane reflections on a deep-water thrust zone

    Totake, Y., Butler, R. W. H., Bond, C. E., Tokunaga, H., Aziz, A.
    Geology, vol. 46, no. 12, pp. 1039-1042
    Contributions to Journals: Articles
    • [ONLINE] DOI:
    • [OPEN ACCESS]

  • Interpreting structural geometry in fold-thrust belts: Why style matters

    Butler, R. W. H., Bond, C. E., Cooper, M. A., Watkins, H.
    Journal of Structural Geology, vol. 114, pp. 251-273
    Contributions to Journals: Articles
    • [ONLINE] DOI:
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  • Tracking sand-fairways through a deformed turbidite system: the Numidian (Miocene) of Central Sicily, Italy

    Pinter, P. R., Butler, R. W. H., Hartley, A. J., Maniscalco, R., Baldassini, N., Di Stefano, A.
    Basin Research, vol. 30, no. 3, pp. 480-501
    Contributions to Journals: Articles
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    • [OPEN ACCESS]

  • Analyzing structural variations along strike in a deep-water thrust belt

    Totake, Y., Butler, R. W. H., Bond, C. E., Aziz, A.
    Journal of Structural Geology, vol. 108, pp. 213-229
    Contributions to Journals: Articles
    • [ONLINE] DOI:
    • [OPEN ACCESS]

  • Implications of heterogeneous fracture distribution on reservoir quality; an analogue from the Torridon Group sandstone, Moine Thrust Belt, NW Scotland

    Watkins, H., Healy, D., Bond, C. E., Butler, R. W.
    Journal of Structural Geology, vol. 108, pp. 180-197
    Contributions to Journals: Articles
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    • [OPEN ACCESS]
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  • Basement-cover tectonics, structural inheritance, and deformation migration in the outer parts of orogenic belts: A view from the western Alps

    Butler, R. W. H.
    Linkages and Feedbacks in Orogenic Systems. Law, R. D., Thigpen, J. R., Merschat, A. J., Stowell, H. H. (eds.). Geological Society of America, pp. 55-74, 20 pages
    Chapters in Books, Reports and Conference Proceedings: Chapters (Peer-Reviewed)
    • [ONLINE] DOI:
    • [OPEN ACCESS]

  • Platform-basin transitions and their role in Alpine-style collision systems: a comparative approach

    Bell, C., Butler, R. W. H.
    Swiss Journal of Geosciences, vol. 110, no. 2, pp. 535-546
    Contributions to Journals: Articles
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  • LiDAR, UAV or compass-clinometer? Accuracy, coverage and the effects on structural models

    Cawood, A. J., Bond, C. E., Howell, J. A., Butler, R. W., Totake, Y.
    Journal of Structural Geology, vol. 98, pp. 67-82
    Contributions to Journals: Articles
    • [ONLINE] DOI:
    • [OPEN ACCESS]

  • The importance of structural model availability on seismic interpretation

    Alcalde, J., Bond, C. E., Johnson, G., Butler, R. W. H., Cooper, M. A., Ellis, J. F.
    Journal of Structural Geology, vol. 97, pp. 161-171
    Contributions to Journals: Articles
    • [ONLINE] DOI:
    • [OPEN ACCESS]

  • Using laterally compatible cross sections to infer fault growth and linkage models in foreland thrust belts

    Watkins, H., Butler, R. W. H., Bond, C. E.
    Journal of Structural Geology, vol. 96, pp. 102-117
    Contributions to Journals: Articles
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    • [OPEN ACCESS]

  • Geochronological challenges posed by continuously developing tectonometamorphic systems: insights from Rb–Sr mica ages from the Cycladic Blueschist Belt, Syros (Greece)

    Cliff, R. A., Bond, C. E., Butler, R. W. H., Dixon, J. E.
    Journal of Metamorphic Geology, vol. 35, no. 2, pp. 197-211
    Contributions to Journals: Articles
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    • [OPEN ACCESS]

  • Impact of seismic image quality on fault interpretation uncertainty

    Alcalde, J., Bond, C. E., Johnson, G., Ellis, J. F., Butler, R. W. H.
    GSA Today, vol. 27, no. 2, pp. 4-10
    Contributions to Journals: Articles
    • [ONLINE] DOI:
    • [OPEN ACCESS]

  • Structural validation as an input into seismic depth conversion to decrease assigned structural uncertainty

    Totake, Y., Butler, R. W. H., Bond, C. E.
    Journal of Structural Geology, vol. 95, pp. 32-47
    Contributions to Journals: Articles
    • [ONLINE] DOI:
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  • The Numidian of Sicily revisited: a thrust-influenced confined turbidite system

    Pinter, P. R., Butler, R. W. H., Hartley, A. J., Maniscalco, R., Baldassini, N., Di Stefano, A.
    Marine and Petroleum Geology, vol. 78, pp. 291-311
    Contributions to Journals: Articles
    • [ONLINE] DOI:
    • [OPEN ACCESS]
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  • Exploring the seismic expression of fault zones in 3D seismic volumes

    Iacopini, D., Butler, R. W. H., Purves, S., McArdle, N., De Freslon, N.
    Journal of Structural Geology, vol. 89, pp. 54-73
    Contributions to Journals: Articles
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  • Interpreting syndepositional sediment remobilization and deformation beneath submarine gravity flows: a kinematic boundary layer approach

    Butler, R. W. H., Eggenhuisen, J. T., Haughton, P., McCaffrey, W. D.
    Journal of the Geological Society , vol. 173, no. 1, pp. 46-58
    Contributions to Journals: Articles
    • [ONLINE] DOI:
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  • Inversion structures in a foreland domain: Seismic examples from the Italian Adriatic Sea

    Pace, P., Scisciani, V., Calamita, F., Butler, R. W. H., Iacopini, D., Esestime, P., Hodgson, N.
    Interpretation, vol. 3, no. 4, pp. SAA161-SAA176
    Contributions to Journals: Articles
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  • Destructive sampling ethics

    Butler, R.
    Nature Geoscience, vol. 8, no. 11, pp. 817-818
    Contributions to Journals: Articles
    • [ONLINE] DOI:
    • [ONLINE]
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