Carolina Lithgow-Bertelloni

Last updated
Carolina Raquel Lithgow-Bertelloni
Born
Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic [1]
Alma materUniversity of California, Berkeley
Scientific career
Thesis The history and dynamics of plate motions  (1994)

Carolina Raquel Lithgow-Bertelloni is a geophysicist known for her research on the role of subsurface processes in shaping the Earth. She was elected a fellow of the American Geophysical Union in 2021.

Contents

Education and career

Lithgow-Bertelloni has a B.Sc. from the University of Puerto Rico (1987) and earned her Ph.D. from the University of California, Berkeley in 1994. [1] Following her Ph.D., Lithgow-Bertelloni held positions at Universität Göttingen, Georgia Tech, Carnegie Institution of Washington before becoming an assistant professor at the University of Michigan in 1997, where she remained until 2011. She subsequently held multiple positions at University College London, Roma Tre University, and Carnegie Institute of Washington. In 2018, Lithgow-Bertelloni became the Louis B. and Martha B. Slichter Endowed Chair in Geosciences at the University of California, Los Angeles. [1]

Research

The research done by Lithgow-Bertelloni combines planetary science and geophysics. She is particularly interested in how processes below the surface, e.g., in the mantle, drive processes occurring on Earth's surface. Her research includes investigations into the movement of tectonic plates, [2] particularly in the geological past. [3] [4] She has examined processes that contribute to variability in plate motion including mineralogy in the subsurface [5] [6] and chemical heterogeneity in the mantle. [7] Her research has contributed to our understanding of the early history of the Hawaiian-Emperor seamount chain [8] and the role of changes in viscosity in establishing a boundary in the mantle at one megameter below the Earth's surface. [9] [10] Lithgow-Bertelloni has also described the movement of oceanic plates, potentially distinct from the movement of land masses, over geologic time. [11] [12]

Selected publications

Awards and honors

Personal life

Lithgow-Bertelloni's sister, Anna M. Lithgow-Bertelloni, is also a scientist and works on natural products from marine organisms, one of which may aid in fighting against SARS-CoV-2. [16]

Lithgow-Bertelloni resides in Santa Monica, California.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Plate tectonics</span> Movement of Earths lithosphere

Plate tectonics is the scientific theory that Earth's lithosphere comprises a number of large tectonic plates which have been slowly moving since about 3.4 billion years ago. The model builds on the concept of continental drift, an idea developed during the first decades of the 20th century. Plate tectonics came to be accepted by geoscientists after seafloor spreading was validated in the mid-to-late 1960s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Geophysics</span> Physics of the Earth and its vicinity

Geophysics is a subject of natural science concerned with the physical processes and physical properties of the Earth and its surrounding space environment, and the use of quantitative methods for their analysis. Geophysicists, who usually study geophysics, physics, or one of the earth sciences at the graduate level, complete investigations across a wide range of scientific disciplines. The term geophysics classically refers to solid earth applications: Earth's shape; its gravitational, magnetic fields, and electromagnetic fields ; its internal structure and composition; its dynamics and their surface expression in plate tectonics, the generation of magmas, volcanism and rock formation. However, modern geophysics organizations and pure scientists use a broader definition that includes the water cycle including snow and ice; fluid dynamics of the oceans and the atmosphere; electricity and magnetism in the ionosphere and magnetosphere and solar-terrestrial physics; and analogous problems associated with the Moon and other planets.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">East African Rift</span> Active continental rift zone in East Africa

The East African Rift (EAR) or East African Rift System (EARS) is an active continental rift zone in East Africa. The EAR began developing around the onset of the Miocene, 22–25 million years ago. It was formerly considered to be part of a larger Great Rift Valley that extended north to Asia Minor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lehmann discontinuity</span> Lehmann discontinuity is a layer separating outer core from inner core.

The Lehmann discontinuity is an abrupt increase of P-wave and S-wave velocities at the depth of 220 km (140 mi), discovered by seismologist Inge Lehmann. The thickness is 220 km. It appears beneath continents, but not usually beneath oceans, and does not readily appear in globally averaged studies. Several explanations have been proposed: a lower limit to the pliable asthenosphere, a phase transition, and most plausibly, depth variation in the shear wave anisotropy. Further discussion of the Lehmann discontinuity can be found in the book Deformation of Earth Materials by Shun-ichirō Karato.

The African superswell is a region including the Southern and Eastern African plateaus and the Southeastern Atlantic basin where exceptional tectonic uplift has occurred, resulting in terrain much higher than its surroundings. The average elevation of cratons is about 400–500 meters above sea level. Southern Africa exceeds these elevations by more than 500 m, and stands at over 1 km above sea level. The Southern and Eastern African plateaus show similar uplift histories, allowing them to be considered as one topographic unit. When considered this way, the swell is one of the largest topographic anomalies observed on any continent, and spans an area of over 10 million km2. Uplift extends beyond the continents into the Atlantic Ocean, where extremely shallow ocean depths are visible through bathymetric survey. The region can indeed be considered as one large swell because the bathymetric anomaly to the southwest of Africa is on the same order as the topographic anomaly of the plateaus.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mantle convection</span> Gradual movement of the planets mantle

Mantle convection is the very slow creeping motion of Earth's solid silicate mantle as convection currents carry heat from the interior to the planet's surface.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Meiji Seamount</span> The oldest seamount in the Hawaiian-Emperor seamount chain

Meiji Seamount, named after Emperor Meiji, the 122nd Emperor of Japan, is the oldest seamount in the Hawaiian-Emperor seamount chain, with an estimated age of 82 million years. It lies at the northernmost end of the chain, and is perched at the outer slope of the Kuril–Kamchatka Trench. Like the rest of the Emperor seamounts, it was formed by the Hawaii hotspot volcanism, grew to become an island, and has since subsided to below sea level, all while being carried first north and now northwest by the motion of the Pacific Plate. Meiji Seamount is thus an example of a particular type of seamount known as a guyot, and some publications refer to it as Meiji Guyot.

Pyrolite is a term used to characterize a model composition of the Earth's mantle. This model is based on that a pyrolite source can produce the Mid-Ocean Ridge Basalt by partial melting. It was first proposed by Ted Ringwood (1962) as being 1 part basalt and 4 parts harzburgite, but later was revised to being 1 part tholeiitic basalt and 3 parts dunite. The term is derived from the mineral names PYR-oxene and OL-ivine. However, whether pyrolite is representative of the Earth's mantle remains debated.

The term dynamic topography is used in geodynamics to refer the elevation differences caused by the flow within Earth's mantle.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Society hotspot</span> Pacific volcanic hotspot

The Society hotspot is a volcanic hotspot in the south Pacific Ocean which is responsible for the formation of the Society Islands, an archipelago of fourteen volcanic islands and atolls spanning around 720 km of the ocean which formed between 4.5 and <1 Ma.

Slab pull is a geophysical mechanism whereby the cooling and subsequent densifying of a subducting tectonic plate produces a downward force along the rest of the plate. In 1975 Forsyth and Uyeda used the inverse theory method to show that, of the many forces likely to be driving plate motion, slab pull was the strongest. Plate motion is partly driven by the weight of cold, dense plates sinking into the mantle at oceanic trenches. This force and slab suction account for almost all of the force driving plate tectonics. The ridge push at rifts contributes only 5 to 10%.

Carmen Gaina is the Director of the Centre for Earth Evolution and Dynamics (CEED) a Norwegian Centre of Excellence hosted at the Department of Geosciences, University of Oslo, Norway.

Slab suction is one of the four main forces that drive plate tectonics. It creates a force that pulls down plates as they are subducting and speeds up their movement, creating larger amounts of displacement.

Silicate perovskite is either (Mg,Fe)SiO3 or CaSiO3 when arranged in a perovskite structure. Silicate perovskites are not stable at Earth's surface, and mainly exist in the lower part of Earth's mantle, between about 670 and 2,700 km depth. They are thought to form the main mineral phases, together with ferropericlase.

The evolution of tectonophysics is closely linked to the history of the continental drift and plate tectonics hypotheses. The continental drift/ Airy-Heiskanen isostasy hypothesis had many flaws and scarce data. The fixist/ Pratt-Hayford isostasy, the contracting Earth and the expanding Earth concepts had many flaws as well.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Superswell</span> Large area of anomalously high topography and shallow ocean regions

A superswell is a large area of anomalously high topography and shallow ocean regions. These areas of anomalous topography are byproducts of large upwelling of mantle material from the core–mantle boundary, referred to as superplumes. Two present day superswells have been identified: the African superswell and the South Pacific superswell. In addition to these, the Darwin Rise in the south central Pacific Ocean is thought to be a paleosuperswell, showing evidence of being uplifted compared to surrounding ancient ocean topography.

Maureen D. Long is an observational seismologist studying mantle and Mesosphere dynamics. She currently serves as a professor at Yale University within the Department of Geology and Geophysics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marine geophysics</span>

Marine geophysics is the scientific discipline that employs methods of geophysics to study the world's ocean basins and continental margins, particularly the solid earth beneath the ocean. It shares objectives with marine geology, which uses sedimentological, paleontological, and geochemical methods. Marine geophysical data analyses led to the theories of seafloor spreading and plate tectonics.

Karen Fischer is an American seismologist known for her research on the structure of Earth's mantle, its lithosphere, and how subduction zones change over geologic history.

Joann Stock is a professor at California Institute of Technology known for her research into plate tectonics, particularly on changes in plate boundaries over geological time.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "CV_CLB" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 2021-10-02. Retrieved October 2, 2021.
  2. ↑ Lithgow-Bertelloni, Carolina; Silver, Paul G. (1998). "Dynamic topography, plate driving forces and the African superswell". Nature. 395 (6699): 269–272. Bibcode:1998Natur.395..269L. doi:10.1038/26212. ISSN   0028-0836. S2CID   4414115.
  3. ↑ Lithgow-Bertelloni, C.; Richards, Mark A.; Ricard, Yanick; O'Connell, Richard J.; Engebretson, Dave C. (1993). "Toroidal-poloidal partitioning of plate motions since 120 MA". Geophysical Research Letters. 20 (5): 375–378. Bibcode:1993GeoRL..20..375L. doi:10.1029/93GL00168. ISSN   1944-8007.
  4. ↑ Lithgow-Bertelloni, Carolina; Richards, Mark A. (1998). "The dynamics of Cenozoic and Mesozoic plate motions". Reviews of Geophysics. 36 (1): 27–78. Bibcode:1998RvGeo..36...27L. doi: 10.1029/97RG02282 . ISSN   1944-9208. S2CID   53644159.
  5. ↑ Stixrude, Lars; Lithgow-Bertelloni, Carolina (2005). "Mineralogy and elasticity of the oceanic upper mantle: Origin of the low-velocity zone". Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth. 110 (B3). Bibcode:2005JGRB..110.3204S. doi:10.1029/2004JB002965. hdl: 2027.42/94924 . ISSN   2156-2202.
  6. ↑ Conrad, Clinton P.; Lithgow-Bertelloni, Carolina (4 October 2002). "How Mantle Slabs Drive Plate Tectonics". Science. 298 (5591): 207–209. Bibcode:2002Sci...298..207C. doi:10.1126/science.1074161. PMID   12364804. S2CID   36766442.
  7. ↑ Stixrude, Lars; Lithgow-Bertelloni, Carolina (30 May 2012). "Geophysics of Chemical Heterogeneity in the Mantle". Annual Review of Earth and Planetary Sciences. 40 (1): 569–595. Bibcode:2012AREPS..40..569S. doi:10.1146/annurev.earth.36.031207.124244. ISSN   0084-6597.
  8. ↑ Wei, Songqiao Shawn; Shearer, Peter M.; Lithgow-Bertelloni, Carolina; Stixrude, Lars; Tian, Dongdong (20 November 2020). "Oceanic plateau of the Hawaiian mantle plume head subducted to the uppermost lower mantle". Science. 370 (6519): 983–987. Bibcode:2020Sci...370..983W. doi:10.1126/science.abd0312. PMID   33214281. S2CID   227059993.
  9. ↑ Rudolph, Maxwell L.; Lekić, Vedran; Lithgow-Bertelloni, Carolina (2015-12-11). "Viscosity jump in Earth's mid-mantle". Science. 350 (6266): 1349–1352. Bibcode:2015Sci...350.1349R. doi: 10.1126/science.aad1929 . PMID   26659053. S2CID   1448877.
  10. ↑ "First explanations for boundary within Earth's mantle: Observed physical transition hundreds of miles below Earth's surface". ScienceDaily. December 10, 2015. Archived from the original on 2015-12-10. Retrieved 2021-10-02.
  11. ↑ Joel, L. (September 6, 2019). "Tinkering with Tectonics". Eos. Retrieved 2021-10-02.
  12. ↑ Crameri, Fabio; Conrad, Clinton P.; Montési, Laurent; Lithgow-Bertelloni, Carolina R. (2019-06-05). "The dynamic life of an oceanic plate". Tectonophysics. Linking Plate Tectonics and Volcanism to Deep Earth Dynamics – a tribute to Trond H. Torsvik. 760: 107–135. Bibcode:2019Tectp.760..107C. doi:10.1016/j.tecto.2018.03.016. hdl: 10852/72186 . ISSN   0040-1951. S2CID   134285715.
  13. ↑ "Carolina Lithgow-Bertelloni". www.nasonline.org. Retrieved 2021-10-02.
  14. ↑ "Francis Birch Lecture | AGU". www.agu.org. Retrieved 2021-10-02.
  15. ↑ "2021 Class of AGU Fellows Announced". Eos. 2021-09-28. Retrieved 2021-10-02.
  16. ↑ Lithgow-Bertelloni, Carolina (2021-05-25). "Possible SARS-CoV-2 Drug: DDB". KGB Lab. Retrieved 2021-10-02.
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