Michael J. Walter

Last updated
Michael J. Walter
Alma mater University of Nebraska
University of Texas, Dallas
Known forDiamond inclusions, early Earth history, planetary accretion
Awards2019, Fellow, American Geophysical Union
2016, Fellow, Mineralogical Society of America
Scientific career
FieldsPetrology, geochemistry, mineralogy, geophysics
InstitutionsInstitute for Study of the Earth's Interior, Misasa, Japan
School of Earth Sciences, University of Bristol
Earth and Planetary Laboratory, Washington DC, US

Michael J. Walter is an American experimental petrologist at Earth and Planetary Laboratory (EPL, formally Geophysical Lab and Department of Terrestrial Magnetism) [1] of the Carnegie Institution of Washington. He is also the director of EPL. [2] He was on Editorial Board of JGR: Solid Earth from 2012 to 2018. [3] Michael studies how rocks behave when transported to deep Earth interiors and associated elemental behaviors. [4] He also uses super-deep diamonds to study the how Earth's mantle works. [5]

Research

Walter uses experimental petrology to research on early Earth's history, when the planet just formed from accretion of the cloud of gas and dust surrounding our young Sun, and when distinct layers of Earth's mantle and core start to take shape. He also investigates physical properties of deep materials in Earth's interior, focusing on extracting information about mantle conditions from tiny compositional variations preserved inside diamonds. [6]

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">Mohorovičić discontinuity</span> Boundary between the Earths crust and the mantle

The Mohorovičić discontinuity – usually called the Moho discontinuity, Moho boundary, or just Moho – is the boundary between the crust and the mantle of Earth. It is defined by the distinct change in velocity of seismic waves as they pass through changing densities of rock.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Harry Hammond Hess</span> American geologist (1906–1969)

Harry Hammond Hess was an American geologist and a United States Navy officer in World War II who is considered one of the "founding fathers" of the unifying theory of plate tectonics. He is best known for his theories on sea floor spreading, specifically work on relationships between island arcs, seafloor gravity anomalies, and serpentinized peridotite, suggesting that the convection of the Earth's mantle was the driving force behind this process.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">American Geophysical Union</span> Nonprofit organization of geophysicists

The American Geophysical Union (AGU) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization of Earth, atmospheric, ocean, hydrologic, space, and planetary scientists and enthusiasts that according to their website includes 130,000 people. AGU's activities are focused on the organization and dissemination of scientific information in the interdisciplinary and international fields within the Earth and space sciences. The geophysical sciences involve four fundamental areas: atmospheric and ocean sciences; solid-Earth sciences; hydrologic sciences; and space sciences. The organization's headquarters is located on Florida Avenue in Washington, D.C.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oceanic crust</span> Uppermost layer of the oceanic portion of a tectonic plate

Oceanic crust is the uppermost layer of the oceanic portion of the tectonic plates. It is composed of the upper oceanic crust, with pillow lavas and a dike complex, and the lower oceanic crust, composed of troctolite, gabbro and ultramafic cumulates. The crust overlies the rigid uppermost layer of the mantle. The crust and the rigid upper mantle layer together constitute oceanic lithosphere.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Internal structure of Earth</span> Inner structure of planet Earth, consisting of several concentric spherical layers

The internal structure of Earth is the layers of the Earth, excluding its atmosphere and hydrosphere. The structure consists of an outer silicate solid crust, a highly viscous asthenosphere and solid mantle, a liquid outer core whose flow generates the Earth's magnetic field, and a solid inner core.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Earth's crust</span> Earths outer shell of rock

Earth's crust is its thick outer shell of rock, referring to less than 1% of the planets radius and volume. It is the top component of the lithosphere, a division of Earth's layers that includes the crust and the upper part of the mantle. The lithosphere is broken into tectonic plates whose motion allows heat to escape the interior of the Earth into space.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ho-Kwang Mao</span> Chinese-American geologist

Ho-Kwang (Dave) Mao is a Chinese-American geologist. He is the director of the Center for High Pressure Science and Technology Advanced Research in Shanghai, China. He was a staff scientist at Geophysical Laboratory of the Carnegie Institution for Science for more than 30 years. Mao is a recognized leading scientist in high pressure geosciences and physical science. There are two minerals named after him, Davemaoite and Maohokite.

The historical development of geophysics has been motivated by two factors. One of these is the research curiosity of humankind related to planet Earth and its several components, its events and its problems. The second is economical usage of Earth's resources and Earth-related hazards such as earthquakes, volcanoes, tsunamis, tides, and floods.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Crustal recycling</span> Tectonic recycling process

Crustal recycling is a tectonic process by which surface material from the lithosphere is recycled into the mantle by subduction erosion or delamination. The subducting slabs carry volatile compounds and water into the mantle, as well as crustal material with an isotopic signature different from that of primitive mantle. Identification of this crustal signature in mantle-derived rocks is proof of crustal recycling.

The Deep Carbon Observatory (DCO) is a global research program designed to transform understanding of carbon's role in Earth. DCO is a community of scientists, including biologists, physicists, geoscientists and chemists, whose work crosses several traditional disciplinary lines to develop the new, integrative field of deep carbon science. To complement this research, the DCO's infrastructure includes public engagement and education, online and offline community support, innovative data management, and novel instrumentation development.

Planetary oceanography also called astro-oceanography or exo-oceanography is the study of oceans on planets and moons other than Earth. Unlike other planetary sciences like astrobiology, astrochemistry and planetary geology, it only began after the discovery of underground oceans in Saturn's moon Titan and Jupiter's moon Europa. This field remains speculative until further missions reach the oceans beneath the rock or ice layer of the moons. There are many theories about oceans or even ocean worlds of celestial bodies in the Solar System, from oceans made of diamond in Neptune to a gigantic ocean of liquid hydrogen that may exist underneath Jupiter's surface.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Deep carbon cycle</span> Movement of carbon through Earths mantle and core

The deep carbon cycle is geochemical cycle (movement) of carbon through the Earth's mantle and core. It forms part of the carbon cycle and is intimately connected to the movement of carbon in the Earth's surface and atmosphere. By returning carbon to the deep Earth, it plays a critical role in maintaining the terrestrial conditions necessary for life to exist. Without it, carbon would accumulate in the atmosphere, reaching extremely high concentrations over long periods of time.

<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.

Daniel James Frost, is a British Earth scientist, currently Professor of Experimental Geosciences at the University of Bayreuth. His research focuses on the nature of Earth's deep interior, including the chemistry of the mantle and how it led to the development of the atmosphere, and the physical and chemical processes through which planets form.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ikuo Kushiro</span>

Ikuo Kushiro MJA is a Japanese petrologist, known for his research in experimental petrology. His experiments on peridotites contributed significantly to the understanding of the formation of magma under mid-ocean ridges and island arcs.

Donald "Don" William Forsyth is an American geophysicist and seismologist, known for his research on the oceanic lithosphere and the oceanic aesthenosphere.

James Gregory "Greg" Hirth is an American geophysicist, specializing in tectonophysics. He is known for his experiments in rock deformation and his applications of rheology in development of models for tectonophysics.

References

  1. "Letter from Richard Carlson: A look back on 41 years of scientific development and discovery at the Earth and Planets Laboratory". epl.carnegiescience.edu. Retrieved 2022-01-13.
  2. Science, Carnegie (2017-07-13). "Michael Walter named Geophysical Laboratory director". Carnegie Institution for Science. Retrieved 2022-01-13.
  3. "Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth". AGU Journals. Retrieved 2022-01-14.
  4. Walter, M. J.; Bulanova, G. P.; Armstrong, L. S.; Keshav, S.; Blundy, J. D.; Gudfinnsson, G.; Lord, O. T.; Lennie, A. R.; Clark, S. M.; Smith, C. B.; Gobbo, L. (2008). "Primary carbonatite melt from deeply subducted oceanic crust". Nature. 454 (7204): 622–625. doi:10.1038/nature07132. hdl: 1983/9bb1d189-34c4-4484-8686-a8e85123ae6a . ISSN   0028-0836.
  5. Walter, M. J.; Kohn, S. C.; Araujo, D.; Bulanova, G. P.; Smith, C. B.; Gaillou, E.; Wang, J.; Steele, A.; Shirey, S. B. (2011-10-07). "Deep Mantle Cycling of Oceanic Crust: Evidence from Diamonds and Their Mineral Inclusions". Science. 334 (6052): 54–57. doi:10.1126/science.1209300. ISSN   0036-8075.
  6. Science, Carnegie (2019-08-19). "Carnegie's Michael Walter and Robert Hazen elected AGU Fellows". Carnegie Institution for Science. Retrieved 2022-01-13.