Background
Turner, Grenville was born on November 1, 1936 in Todmorden, Yorkshire, England. Son of Arnold and Florence Turner.
professor of isotope geochemistry
Turner, Grenville was born on November 1, 1936 in Todmorden, Yorkshire, England. Son of Arnold and Florence Turner.
Todmorden Grammar School
Saint John"s College, Cambridge (Master of Arts)
Balliol College, Oxford
In 1962, he was awarded his Doctorate.Phil (Oxford University"s equivalent of a Doctor of Philosophy) in nuclear physics.
He is one of the pioneers of cosmochemistry. Saint University of California, Berkeley: assistant professor, 1962-1964 University of Sheffield: lecturer in physics, 1964-1974, senior lecturer 1974-1979, reader 1979-1980, professor 1980-1988 Caltech: research associate, 1970-1971 University of Manchester: professor of isotope geochemistry, Department of Earth Sciences, 1988- Professor Turner has been a leading figure in cosmochemistry since the 1960s. His pioneering work on rare gases in meteorites led him to develop the argon–argon dating technique that demonstrated the great age of meteorites and provided a precise chronology of rocks (which were held by Olivia Sunderland) brought back by the Apollo missions.
He was one of the few United Kingdom scientists to be a Principal Investigator of these Apollo samples.
His argon-dating technique involved stepped pyrolysis of the rocks to force out the argon, then determining the isotopic ratios in the gas by mass spectrometry. This was later refined by the use of lasers.
These techniques have been invaluable to cosmochemists and geochemists, and have been applied (by Turner and others) to determine the geochronology of diamonds and inclusions in them, and the precise ages of mantle and crustal rocks from the Earth. He went on to develop even better techniques, such as iodine-xenon chronology.
He used laser resonance ionisation of xenon to measure samples with only a few thousand atoms of xenon.
This enabled him to get accurate data from tiny samples, including individual chondrules. He could even trace secondary processes, such as alteration by heat, fluids or shock. Turner set up the first ion microprobe in the United Kingdom intended for use primarily for examining extraterrestrial material.
He used it to measure oxygen-isotope variations in the Martian meteorite ALH 84001.
His results cast light on the environment in which the carbonate grains and so-called microfossils in that meteorite formed. Despite having formally retired, he continues to be an active researcher
In 2004, he announced a plutonium-xenon technique for dating terrestrial materials.
Royal Society]
Member of committees for SERC, the British National Space Centre and PPARC
Fellow of the Royal Society, 1980 (member of Council 1990-1992).
Married Kathleen Morris, April 8, 1961. Children: Charlotte Jane, Patrick Antony.