He and his team of graduate students and postdoctoral fellows are studying present-day geological processes on the modern ocean floor and relating these to ancient features that are now on land. A primary, but not exclusive, focus is comparative studies of modern and ancient deposits of base and precious metal sulfides and other hydrothermal products. The group has worked in the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific Oceans and on ore deposits of five continents. The scope of the group's award winning research ranges in scale from regional tectonics to high-resolution electron microscopy and commonly has an emphasis on geochemistry and mineralogy.
Marine activities involve the use of ships and deep diving occupied and robotic submersibles.
The group participates in one or two marine geological expeditions each year and participates in a scientific exchange with l'Institut Universitaire Europ en de la Mer de l'Universit de Bretagne Occidentale, Brest, France. Professor Scott was the recipient, in 2000, of an Honorary Professorship from the China University of Geosciences in Beijing and the Michael J. Keen Medal from the Marine Geosciences Division of the Geological Association of Canada. Nature, v. 383, no.