JOURNAL OF QUATERNARY SCIENCE (2000) 15 (4) 299Copyright 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Introduction

Quaternary climate change and SouthAmerica: a tribute to Chalmers Clapperton

This special issue of the Journal of Quaternary Science is inhonour of Chalmers Clapperton who retired in 1999 owingto sudden illness when at the height of his powers. Itrecognises the career of someone whose field skills, powerof synthesis and adventurous thinking inspired students andcolleagues alike. His impact was all the richer because ofhis ability to get on with colleagues and work constructivelywith them. I know he was particularly appreciative of thesupport he received from his South American colleaguesand he enjoyed working with them enormously.

Many people from all over the world have expressed theirwish to honour Chalmers and it was tempting for a groupof his friends to organise a festschrift open to all colleaguesand former students. We decided, however, that an attractiveway to honour a world figure was to prepare a special issueof an international journal with a restricted set of papersopen to the full rigours of peer review. With Chalmers’support we have aimed at an international, cross-disciplinaryset of papers seeking out new Quaternary alliances betweenthose studying the atmosphere, oceans, earth surface andbiosphere. The papers encompass a wide range ofapproaches and techniques, including studies of palynology,ice cores, climate and ocean modelling, geomorphology,offshore sediments, glacier reconstruction and modelling.The focus is on the mechanisms of global climate changeduring the Quaternary and the way in which South Americanperspectives can contribute to a wider understanding. Wehope that everyone who knew Chalmers will feel that sucha volume will be of lasting value and that they can identifywith it.

Individuals will have their own happy memories of Chal-mers in action, whether it is the trademark deer-stalker hat,his breathtaking speed uphill, the early morning runs atinternational conferences, lectures given in Spanish, or beinglost in a borrowed dinner jacket many sizes too large forhim during Antarctic festivities. Perhaps though there arethree overwhelming qualities we admire. The first is hissheer skill as a fieldworker. This is borne out in the largenumber of publications producing geomorphological mapsof new areas, whether they are in Scotland, Iceland, Sval-bard, South Georgia, the Antarctic Peninsula or manylocations in South America. Invariably, the maps aredetailed, perceptive, integrated with sedimentary evidenceand prove to be the building blocks for further research.The second major quality is Chalmers’ ability to synthesise.He brings an adventurous mind to bear on an immensewealth of empirical knowledge and moulds it into far-reach-ing hypotheses. His curriculum vitae has numerous examplesof reviews that have set the scene for the future, but perhaps

the jewel in the crown is the magisterial Quaternary Geologyand Geomorphology of South America, published in 1993.For the first time this brought together the literature inEnglish, Spanish and Portuguese and remains the first portof call for anyone interested in the Quaternary of SouthAmerica. A further example is included in this volumewhere we reproduce a review paper that Chalmers hadsubmitted recently for publication. The third outstandingquality is his inspirational teaching ability, which hasdrawn generations of students to the study of the Quatern-ary. There was nothing Chalmers liked more than to teachin the field and many is the student who wondered at hischeerful optimism often in the face of the most inclementScottish mountain weather.

In 1951–1957 Chalmers was a distinguished scholar atHawick High School and captained the Scottish Schoolsrugby team (and lost a front tooth!). For the Quaternaryrecord he played against John Andrews (English Schools)and Brian John (Welsh Schools). His undergraduate years atthe University of Edinburgh saw him win prizes in everyyear spanning both geology and geography and culminatingin a First Class Honours degree in Geography in 1961. Hethen developed a love of fieldwork and all things glacialduring his PhD on the Deglaciation of the East CheviotHills under the supervision of Brian Sissons. Moving to theDepartment of Geography at the University of Aberdeen asa lecturer in 1962, Chalmers rose through the ranks tobecome a Professor in 1992. He was elected a Fellow ofthe Royal Society of Edinburgh in 1992 and was awardedthe Royal Scottish Geographical Society’s President’s Awardin 1992, the Mungo Park Medal in 1997 and the CentenaryMedal in 1999.

Chalmers, we hope you enjoy this volume, which hon-ours your massive contribution to Geography and theQuaternary. Our thoughts are also with Morag who hasbeen a rock of support since school days and has had tocope with being a fieldwork widow on so many occasions.Morag visited South America with you on occasions, sup-posedly on holiday! So we hope you will both appreciatethe special issue.

ReferenceClapperton C. 1993. Quaternary Geology and Geomorphology of

South America. Elsevier: Amsterdam; 779 pp.

DAVID SUGDENUniversity of Edinburgh, Scotland