physics

Geoffrey King (geophysicist)

Geoffrey King (geophysicist) is a physics topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Geoffrey King (geophysicist) rather than just read about it. In short: Geoffrey Charles Plume King (26 December 1943 – 19 April 2026) was a British geophysicist. He last worked as Senior Research Professor in the Tectonics Laboratory of the Institut de Physique du Globe de Paris, and Honorary Professor at the University of York.

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Reference excerpt

Geoffrey Charles Plume King (26 December 1943 – 19 April 2026) was a British geophysicist. He last worked as Senior Research Professor in the Tectonics Laboratory of the Institut de Physique du Globe de Paris, and Honorary Professor at the University of York.

Early life and education King was born in the Protectorate of Uganda — his father was working there at the time with the Uganda Geology Survey. He earned a first-class degree in Applied Physics from Durham University in 1965 and completed his PhD at Churchill College, Cambridge in 1969.

Career and research King was a staff member of the Department of Geophysics at Cambridge, where he worked on designing and constructing geophysical instruments. He moved to the United States in 1986, and was employed by the US Geological Survey in Denver and Menlo Park for five years. He also held a concurrent role as an Associate Professor at the University of Colorado Boulder from 1987 to 1991. He conducted research in active tectonics at the Institut de Physique du Globe de Strasbourg from 1990 to 1995, at which point he joined the Institut de Physique du Globe de Paris. He retired in 2015. He is known in particular for his 1994 Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America paper co-written with Ross Stein and Jian Lin on stress movements in between earthquakes, which was the most heavily-cited earthquake study that decade. Using data from the 1992 Landers earthquake and the Big Bear earthquake that followed hours later, he and his collaborators found that the stress distribution from the first earthquake controlled the distribution of the aftershock sequence. This finding upended the then conventional view that earthquakes only released "the stress immediately around them" and made Earthquake prediction easier in future.

Personal life and death King had one daughter. He died in London on 19 April 2026, aged 82, after a long period of failing health.

Selected publications Berberian, Manuel; King, G. C. P. (1981). "Towards a paleogeography and tectonic evolution of Iran". Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences. 18 (2): 210–265. doi:10.1139/e81-019. King, G. C. P.; Nábělek, J. (1985). "Role of fault bends in the initiation and termination of earthquake rupture". Science. 228 (4702): 984–987. doi:10.1126/science.228.4702.984. Stein, Ross S.; King, G. C. P.; Lin, Jiang (1992). "Change in failure stress on the southern San Andreas fault system caused by the 1992 magnitude=7.4 Landers earthquake". Science. 258 (5086): 1328–1332. doi:10.1126/science.258.5086.1328. Wood, R. M.; King, G. C. P. (1993). "Hydrological signatures of earthquake strain" (PDF). Journal of Geophysical Research. 98 (B12): 22035–22068. doi:10.1029/93JB02219. ———; Stein, Ross S.; Lin, Jiang (1994). "Static stress changes and the triggering of earthquakes" (PDF). Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America. 84 (3): 935–953. doi:10.1785/BSSA0840030935. ———; Cocco, Massimo (2001). "Fault interaction by elastic stress changes: New clues from earthquake sequences". Advances in Geophysics. 44: 1–38. doi:10.1016/S0065-2687(00)80006-0.

References

External links Geoffrey King publications indexed by Google Scholar

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Geoffrey King (geophysicist)

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Geoffrey King (geophysicist) claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In physics, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Geoffrey King (geophysicist) before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Geoffrey King (geophysicist) ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Geoffrey King (geophysicist)

In research: Geoffrey King (geophysicist) appears in physics research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Geoffrey King (geophysicist) in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Geoffrey King (geophysicist) is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1943 births, 2026 deaths, Alumni of Churchill College, Cambridge, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Geoffrey King (geophysicist) outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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Frequently asked questions

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Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

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It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Geoffrey King (geophysicist).