Richard A. Lutz

Last updated
Richard A. Lutz
RichLutz.jpg
Lutz in late 2011
Born (1949-06-08) June 8, 1949 (age 72)
New York City, New York
Nationality American
Alma mater University of Virginia (1967-1971)
University of Maine (1971-1975)
Yale University (1977-1979)
Known forResearch on deep sea vents
AwardsThurlow C. Nelson Award
(National Shellfisheries Association)
Scientific Literacy Achievement Award
(2005 NJ Assoc. for Biomedical Research)
Scientific career
Institutions Rutgers University (1979-present)

Richard Arthur Lutz (born June 8, 1949) is an American marine biologist and deep-sea oceanographer. He is known for deep-sea research using the Alvin submersible, and is considered one of the world's foremost authorities on the ecology of deep-sea hydrothermal vents. [1] [2]

Contents

Lutz is a professor at the Rutgers Department of Marine and Coastal Sciences. [3] In 2003 he served as Principal Investigator and Science Director of the IMAX film Volcanoes of the Deep Sea , which included footage and research from his numerous expeditions to study an active deep-sea caldera on the East Pacific Rise, at depths of 2500 meters. [4] His research has been included in publications such as National Geographic Magazine , Science , Nature , and American Scientist . [5]

Education

Lutz was born in 1949 in New York City. [6] He received his B.A. in biology from the University of Virginia in 1971, [7] [5] and that year began attending the University of Maine. [7] While there he served as a research assistant at the school's Department of Oceanography, [7] and earned his Ph.D. in oceanography in 1975. [5] He continued in the University of Maine's Oceanography department as a postdoctoral research associate until 1977. [7]

Lutz then served two years as a postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Geology and Geophysics at Yale University. [7] [5]

Rutgers University

As professor

Lutz joined the faculty at Rutgers University in 1979 [5] as an assistant professor. He received his tenure in July 1984, serving as an associate professor until 1987. He worked in the graduate faculties for Ecology and Evolution, Geology, Cell and Developmental Biology, and Oceanography. [7] He was given the Rutgers' Board of Trustees Award for Excellence in Research in 1988. [5] From 1989 to present he has been a professor in their Department of Marine and Coastal Sciences. [7]

School positions

From 1985 to 1994 he also served as the director of the school's Haskin Research Laboratory, and from 1985 to 1990 as chair of the school's Department of Oyster Culture. From 1986 to 1997 he served as the director of the university's Fisheries and Aquaculture Technology Extension Center. In 1995, he became director of Rutger's Center for Deep-Sea Ecology and Biotechnology. [7]

Institute of Marine and Coastal Sciences

In 1985 Lutz began serving as a chairman of the Planning and Search Committee for the then-envisioned Institute of Marine and Coastal Sciences (IMCS) at Rutgers. [5] He has been the Associate Director of the IMCS since 1989. [7] [5] Lutz currently directs the Institutes research programs, and oversees the various field stations including the Haskin Shellfish Research Laboratory in Cumberland County and the Multi-Species Aquaculture Development Facility in Cape May County. [5] He also continues to serve as a professor. [7]

In February 2011, Lutz was named director of IMCS, succeeding Fransisco E. Werner. [5] Two months later, IMCS was named the fourth top oceanographic institution in the world, based on a Reuters survey of paper citations since 2000 and impact on the marine sciences. At the time, Lutz quoted "This is huge. We’ve gone from not being on the map 25 years ago, to 10th in the nation in 10 years according to the National Science Foundation … and now we’re fourth in the world." [3]

Deep sea research

Lutz participated in one of the first biological expeditions to study the ecology of deep-sea hydrothermal vents in 1979. [2] Since that year, Lutz has continuously spent time in various deep-diving submersibles studying thermal vents throughout the world's oceans. [1] [5]

In 1990, Lutz and Rutgers geneticist Bob Vrijenhoek embarked on a yearlong survey they dubbed a "Magical Mystery Tour" of most of the known hydrothermal vents and cold seeps in the eastern Pacific and the Gulf of Mexico. They undertook a series of dives in deep-sea submersibles, chiefly in the Alvin . On August 12, 1991, Lutz, diver Randy Hinderer, and biologist Van Dover became trapped in the Alvin 100 miles off the coast of Oregon while searching for a deep-sea clam bed. The submersible was successfully recovered and all survived. [8]

April 1991 eruption

In April 1991, Lutz joined a number of geological colleagues on an oceanographic expedition to explore an undersea eruption along the East Pacific Rise. They used the deep-submergence vehicle Alvin to dive to the depth of a mile and a half, or 2500 meters into the caldera of the actively erupting volcanic ridge, the first time such an expedition had been attempted. [1] [7] [5]

Lutz has since returned to the caldera at what are approximately annual expeditions to document the significant biological and geological changes at the site. [5] He has also served as chief scientist on numerous oceanographic cruises. [1]

Volcanoes of the Deep Sea

Lutz served as Principal Investigator and Science Director of the 2005 IMAX film Volcanoes of the Deep Sea , which was funded by the National Science Foundation and co-produced by Rutgers University. [1] [2] [7] The film included footage, research, and stories from the deep-sea Alvin expeditions of Lutz and his colleagues. [5] The film received the award for "best IMAX film of the Year" at the Paris Film Festival, [1] and in 2005 Lutz received the Scientific Literacy Achievement Award from the New Jersey Association for Biomedical Research for his contributions to the film. [7] [5]

Publishing

Lutz has over 175 publications to his name. Lutz's studies on the deep-sea caldera have been featured in many scientific journals and magazines including three issues of National Geographic Magazine , Science , Nature , [5] a cover story in American Scientist , [4] and Discover Magazine . [8]

He was associate editor of the Journal of Shellfish Research from 1981 to 1986, and on the editorial board for Critical Reviews in Marine Science from 1986 to 2000. He was also on the editorial board for Estuaries from 1987 to 1992, and the editorial board of reviewers for the American Malacological Bulletin from 1984 to 2000. [7]

Memberships

Personal life

Lutz is married to American singer/songwriter Mary Fahl.

Related Research Articles

DSV <i>Alvin</i> Crewed deep-ocean research submersible

Alvin (DSV-2) is a crewed deep-ocean research submersible owned by the United States Navy and operated by the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) in Woods Hole, Massachusetts. The vehicle was built by General Mills' Electronics Group in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Named to honor the prime mover and creative inspiration for the vehicle, Allyn Vine, Alvin was commissioned on 5 June 1964. The submersible is launched from the deep submergence support vessel RV Atlantis (AGOR-25), which is also owned by the U.S. Navy and operated by WHOI. The submersible has made more than 5,000 dives, carrying two scientists and a pilot, to observe the lifeforms that must cope with super-pressures and move about in total darkness, as well as exploring the wreck of Titanic. Research conducted by Alvin has been featured in nearly 2,000 scientific papers.

Robert Ballard Retired US Navy officer and professor of oceanography

Robert Duane Ballard is an American retired Navy officer and a professor of oceanography at the University of Rhode Island who is most noted for his work in underwater archaeology: maritime archaeology and archaeology of shipwrecks. He is most known for the discoveries of the wrecks of the RMS Titanic in 1985, the battleship Bismarck in 1989, and the aircraft carrier USS Yorktown in 1998. He discovered the wreck of John F. Kennedy's PT-109 in 2002 and visited Biuku Gasa and Eroni Kumana, who saved its crew. He leads ocean exploration on E/V Nautilus.

Hydrothermal vent A fissure in a planets surface from which geothermally heated water issues

A hydrothermal vent is a fissure on the seafloor from which geothermally heated water discharges. Hydrothermal vents are commonly found near volcanically active places, areas where tectonic plates are moving apart at spreading centers, ocean basins, and hotspots. Hydrothermal deposits are rocks and mineral ore deposits formed by the action of hydrothermal vents.

<i>Riftia pachyptila</i> Giant tube worm (species of annelid)

Riftia pachyptila, commonly known as the giant tube worm, is a marine invertebrate in the phylum Annelida related to tube worms commonly found in the intertidal and pelagic zones. R. pachyptila lives on the floor of the Pacific Ocean near hydrothermal vents, and can tolerate extremely high hydrogen sulfide levels. These worms can reach a length of 3 m, and their tubular bodies have a diameter of 4 cm (1.6 in). Ambient temperature in their natural environment ranges from 2 to 30°C.

Volcanoes of the Deep Sea is a 2003 documentary film in the IMAX format about undersea volcanoes directed by Stephen Low.

Jack Corliss Geochemical oceanographer, discoverer of geothermal vent life, origin of life investigator

John B. ("Jack") Corliss is a scientist who has worked in the fields of geology, oceanography, and the origins of life.

Colleen Cavanaugh American microbiologist

Colleen Marie Cavanaugh is an American academic microbiologist best known for her studies of hydrothermal vent ecosystems. As of 2016, she is the Edward C. Jeffrey Professor of Biology in the Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology at Harvard University and is affiliated with the Rowland Institute. Cavanaugh was the first to propose that the deep-sea giant tube worm, Riftia pachyptila, obtains its food from bacteria living within its cells, an insight which she had as a graduate student at Harvard. Significantly, she made the connection that these chemoautotrophic bacteria were able to play this role through their use of chemosynthesis, the biological oxidation of inorganic compounds to synthesize organic matter from very simple carbon-containing molecules, thus allowing organisms such as the bacteria to exist in deep ocean without sunlight.

9 North, or Nine North, is a region of hydrothermal vents on the East Pacific Rise in the Pacific Ocean, 900 kilometers off the coast of Acapulco, Mexico; it has been so named by scientists because its latitude is 9°50' N. It was first seen to erupt in 1991 by the deep submersible Alvin during a survey for the Ocean Drilling Program. In November 1999, scientists, students, education specialists, and film crews returned to 9 North to see how the biology and landscape had changed over time. IMAX, National Geographic, and BBC film crews have made videos about the vents at 9 North, most noticeably Volcanoes of the Deep Sea.

Green Seamount Underwater volcano off the western coast of Mexico

Green Seamount is a small seamount off the western coast of Mexico. It and the nearby Red Seamount were visited in 1982 by an expedition using DSV Alvin, which observed the seamount's sedimentary composition, sulfur chimneys, and biology. Thus, Green Seamount is well-characterized for such a small feature.

Cindy Lee Van Dover is the Harvey Smith Professor of Biological Oceanography and chair of the Division of Marine Science and Conservation at Duke University. She is also the director of the Duke University Marine Laboratory. Her primary area of research is oceanography, but she also studies biodiversity, biogeochemistry, conservation biology, ecology, and marine science.

Beebe Hydrothermal Vent Field

The Beebe Hydrothermal Vent Field is located just south of Grand Cayman in the Caribbean, on the north side of the Mid-Cayman Spreading Centre in the Cayman Trough. Approximately 24 kilometres (15 mi) south of Beebe is the Von Damm Vent Field.

Verena Tunnicliffe Canadian marine biologist

Verena Julia Tunnicliffe is a Canadian Marine Biologist and Professor of the University of Victoria. Since 2002, she has held the position of Canada Research Chair in Deep Ocean Research. Her research on hydrothermal systems helped establish Canada's first Endeavor Hot Vents Marine Protected Area. Her research has also led to the discovery of over 80 new species of marine life.

Kenneth C. Macdonald American oceanographer (born 1947)

Kenneth Craig Macdonald is an American oceanographer and marine geophysicist born in San Francisco, California in 1947. As of 2018 he is Professor Emeritus at the Department of Earth Science and the Marine Sciences Institute at the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB). His work focuses on the tectonics and geophysics of the global mid-oceanic ridge including its spreading centers and transform faults, two of the three types of plate boundaries central to the theory of plate tectonics. His work has taken him to the north and south Atlantic oceans, the north and south Pacific oceans, the Indian Ocean, the Red Sea and the Sea of Cortez, as well as to the deep seafloor on over 50 dives in the research submersible ALVIN. Macdonald has participated in over 40 deep sea expeditions, and was Chief- or Co-Chief Scientist on 31 expeditions.

Kathleen (Kathy) Crane is an American marine geologist, best known for her contributions to the discovery of hydrothermal vents on the Galápagos Rift along the East Pacific Rise in the mid-1970s.

J. Frederick Grassle American oceanographer and academic

John Frederick Matthews ("Fred") Grassle was an American marine biologist, oceanographer, professor, and distinguished research scientist, notable for early work on the communities associated with deep-sea hydrothermal vents, and for his involvement in the creation of the Census of Marine Life and the first integration of marine biological data on a global scale, the Ocean Biogeographic Information System.

Lisa A. Levin is a Distinguished Professor of biological oceanography and marine ecology at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography. She holds the Elizabeth Hamman and Morgan Dene Oliver Chair in Marine Biodiversity and Conservation Science. She studies coastal and deep-sea ecosystems and is a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

RISE project

The RISE Project was a 1979 international marine research project which mapped and investigated seafloor spreading in the Pacific Ocean, at the crest of the East Pacific Rise (EPR) at 21° north latitude. Using a deep sea submersible (ALVIN) to search for hydrothermal activity at depths around 2600 meters, the project discovered a series of vents emitting dark mineral particles at extremely high temperatures which gave rise to the popular name, "black smokers". Biologic communities found at 21° N vents, based on chemosynthesis and similar to those found at the Galapagos spreading center, established that these communities are not unique. Discovery of a deep-sea ecosystem not based on sunlight spurred theories of the origin of life on Earth.

Deborah Sue Kelley is a marine geologist who studies hydrothermal vents, active submarine volcanoes, and life in these regions of the deep ocean.

Karen Louise Von Damm was an American marine geochemist who studied underseas hydrothermal vent systems. Her work since black smoker hot springs were first discovered on the mid-ocean ridge in 1979 significantly advanced understanding of how vent fluids acquire their chemical composition and how those chemicals support biological communities. An area of hydrothermal vents located just south of Grand Cayman in the Caribbean was named the Von Damm Vent Field in her honor.

Rachel Haymon is a marine geologist known for her work linking geological and biological processes occurring at deep-sea hydrothermal vents. In 2005 she was elected a fellow of the Geological Society of America.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Exploration on the Origin of Life – Exciting Discoveries at Deep-sea Hydrothermal Vents". Tsinghua University . Retrieved 2011-05-28.
  2. 1 2 3 "Heroes 2010: Faculty Biographies: Marine and Biological Sciences (Real Life Stories)". HEROESgifted.org. Retrieved 2011-05-28.
  3. 1 2 Moore, Kirk (May 9, 2011). "Rutgers institute gets high ranking". Asbury Park Press. Retrieved 2011-05-28.[ permanent dead link ]
  4. 1 2 Richard Lutz. "Life After Death in the Deep Sea". American Scientist . Archived from the original on 2011-07-04. Retrieved 2011-05-28.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 Walcott-Quintin, Paula (February 28, 2011). "Noted Marine Biologist to Head Marine and Coastal Sciences Institute at Rutgers". Rutgers . Retrieved 2011-05-28.
  6. ↑ Abbott, Robert Tucker (1987). Register of American Malacologists: A National Register of Professional and Amateur Malacologists and Private Shell Collectors, 1986-87. ISBN   9780915826186.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 "Richard A. Lutz – Professor". Rutgers. Archived from the original on 2011-06-18. Retrieved 2011-05-28.
  8. 1 2 Kunzig, Robert (December 1, 1993). "Between Home and the Abyss". Discover Magazine . Retrieved 2011-05-28.

Further reading

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.