Emily Klein

Last updated
Emily M. Klein
Alma mater Columbia University
Barnard College
Awards F.W. Clarke Medal (1992)
Scientific career
Institutions Duke University
Thesis Geochemistry of ocean ridge basalts : mantle processes revealed by major element, trace element and isotopic variations  (1989)

Emily M. Klein is a professor of geology and geochemistry at Duke University. She studies volcanic eruptions and the process of oceanic crust creation. She has spent over thirty years investigating the geology of mid-ocean ridges and identified the importance of the physical conditions of mantle melting on the chemical composition of basalt.

Contents

Early life and education

Emily Klein was born in Los Angeles, California. Growing up, Klein was very interested in the field of medicine as she was always around her father who was a doctor. She worked at the office on Saturdays which led her to volunteer at the local hospital and the women's clinic. [1] She would also always take science courses in school and be involved in science projects, and summer science programs. She got so interested and involved in medical science that she thought she would become a medical doctor herself. When she moved to New York City to attend Barnard College, she however became more interested in English and writing. While she still enjoyed science and continued to take science courses, she now pursued her greater passion for writing, be that journalism, creative writing, amongst other things. She went on to become a feature editor for the newspaper, and finally got her major in English.

After graduating from Barnard College in 1979, she became a science writer for a while, but soon went on to take a job at the Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, as a physiology laboratory technician. Here she took part in multiple field research projects, where she did a bit of everything, from writing proposals, to doing laboratory work and experiments, to writing up and presenting research results. One of these studies entailed studying a monkey colony in Puerto Rico. [1] She became interested in geology, and earned tuition credits to study courses at Columbia University. [1] It was during this time as a researcher that she happened to stumble across a group of geologists, and consequently became really interested in the field. Although she had never taken any geology courses in her undergrad, her strong background in other sciences allowed her to easily transition into the field of geology. She started to take some geology courses at Columbia University where she worked at the time, and soon got accepted into the graduate program where she pursued a master's degree in geology. She went on to receive her doctorate degree here later. Her academic background and experience as a laboratory technician led her to become a geochemist. [2]

During her time at graduate school, while studying geochemistry she went on sea expeditions to study the oceanic crust and the new idea of plate tectonics. Since the idea of plate tectonics was so new to the field, she decided to pursue that as her main field of research. She also investigated the chemical composition of the volcanic rocks collected from mid-ocean ridges around the world. [3] She was awarded the Bruce C. Heezen Memorial Prize for her doctoral thesis in 1987. [4] During her time at Columbia University she worked with Charles Langmuir on the study of mid-ocean ridge basalts, and together they produced many papers which gave her name increasing recognition within the field of geology. [5] Langmuir and Klein demonstrated that the chemical composition of basalt correlates with the physical environment the basalt is recovered from; including the depth and thickness of the oceanic crust. [5] This work marked a paradigm shift in the understanding of petrogenesis. [5] [6] [7]

Research and career

Klein has been involved in geology and geochemistry for over 40 years. Her research has been focused on oceanic crust, specifically completing deep sea research to track tectonic plate movement. She also found a fascination in analyzing volcanic activity and has researched the chemical processes of underwater volcanic activity. She is still active in her career today continuing to travel and complete sea excursions to gather research and data. Her most recent cruise included gathering data using “echo sounder” mapping technology. This technology uses sound beams to measure topographical structures on the ocean floor. Klein continues her research even when she is not on sea expeditions. A large portion of her discoveries occur in a chemistry lab. Most recently, she has been working on melting basalt rock (volcanic rock) as a way to theorize how ocean ridges change and evolve. This melting of basalt rock is an extensive process that requires chipping the rock into small pieces, then grinding it to a powder form, and finally heating it to 1200 degrees in order to find a melting point. [8] After graduating, she received a lot of offers and opportunities, but she decided to teach undergrad at Duke University instead with the hope of inspiring students to study earth sciences. [8]

Klein joined Duke University as an Assistant Professor in 1989. [4] She was made Professor in 2005. [4] Part of the reason for this decision was because she had gotten married and wanted to start a family. Now she really enjoys teaching undergrad, and particularly enjoys opening young student’s minds to new ideas and introducing them to the vast field of scientific exploration and research.This semester (2021) she is co-teaching (with a faculty colleague in engineering) a project course called: Energy and Environment: Design and Innovation. She is also extremely passionate about supporting women and underrepresented minorities in science. She has observed that many women drop out of sciences quite early on, so she tries to inspire them to stay and pursue a career in the field. [2] From 2004 to 2012, Klein served as Director of the Baldwin Scholars' Program at Duke University, which provides leadership opportunities for women students. [3] Klein was appointed Chair of Earth & Ocean Sciences at the Nicholas School in 2017. [9]

Klein studies the movement of magma in the oceanic crust. [10] [11] She is interested in mid-ocean ridge, a globe encircling belt of volcanoes including the mid-Atlantic ridge. [12] Klein has been on over eleven oceanographic cruises, investigating Incipient Ridge, Hess Deep and Pito Deep Rift. [12] She uses remotely operated underwater vehicles to map the deep ocean, and directs submersible vessels to collect rock samples. [10] She puts these rocks in a furnace, then analyses the chemical composition of the rocks using spectrometers. [3] She is mainly interested in silica, iron, magnesium and aluminium, but also analyses trace elements such as copper, vanadium and uranium. [3] On a cruise of the RV Atlantis, Klein discovered new deep sea hydrothermal vents in the Pacific Ocean. [13] The vents, which Klein named the medusa hydrothermal vents, emit hot springs of iron-darkened water. [13] In 2018 Klein took part in the RV Sally Ride (AGOR-28) investigation of the Cocos-Nazca spreading system. [14]

Hess Deep

Klein researched volcanic eruptions and how it led to the development of crust on the ocean floor. To research this she focused on the processes that occurred under the ocean floor, where she studied the movement of magma underneath the crust. She studied the chemical composition of lava and collected samples from ocean floors to see differences in lava. In 1999, Klein went on a voyage to research the Hess Deep Rift. During this voyage she found evidence that opposed the idea that mid-ocean ridges had magma that always rose up from the magma chamber to the surface. By studying the composition of lava she was able to retrieve key information about the temperature and pressures of magma below the crust, as well as determining its origin. Klein researched samples of dikes beside rift walls, and assumed that they formed from the same part of the magma chamber, thus making their chemical composition relatively the same. Through further research, however, Klein discovered that the chemical structures of the dikes were clearly distinct from one another. Leading to the conclusion that the dikes must have originated from separate magma chambers. Through her research findings, she concluded that dikes in Hess Deep had magma that didn’t reach the surface and contained crystals and other minerals which made the magma light enough to reach the surface of the sea. Ultimately, Klein found that magma does not rise straight up to the surface of the ocean floor, and that dikes cannot be chemically identified by only the composition of lava on the seafloor. Researchers must take into account that magma can travel sideways and rise in other parts of the magma chamber. [15]

Incipient Rift

In 2002 Klein sailed to the East Pacific Rise to further research a tectonic plate named the Galapagos Microplate. She wanted to carry out her endeavour to find lava samples of the incipient rift. They found volcanic activity along the entire rift, discovering that it was a plate boundary and what could be a newly forming microplate. This finding essentially caused scientists to rethink research on the evolution of the Galapagos microplate area. [15]

Pito Deep

Klein has done extensive research regarding Pito Deep, an underwater abyss, in order to gain a greater understanding of the geology under the oceanic floor. Klein and other scientists sent a robot (Jason II) underwater to take pictures and obtain samples of lava and rocks for further testing. The main purpose of researching Pito Deep was to gain information about the ocean's crust. This is difficult to do since there are particular places in the ocean where tectonic forces prevent gaining access to the crust for the purpose of study. In the Pito Deep abyss, tectonic forces cause a large fault and rift, enabling geologists like Klein to look into the deeper layers of the ocean’s crust. [16]

Awards and honors

The parents of one of Klein's undergraduate students donated $100,000 to create an Emily M. Klein endowment fund. [3]

Select Academic Works

[23]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Basalt</span> Magnesium- and iron-rich extrusive igneous rock

Basalt is an aphanitic (fine-grained) extrusive igneous rock formed from the rapid cooling of low-viscosity lava rich in magnesium and iron exposed at or very near the surface of a rocky planet or moon. More than 90% of all volcanic rock on Earth is basalt. Rapid-cooling, fine-grained basalt is chemically equivalent to slow-cooling, coarse-grained gabbro. The eruption of basalt lava is observed by geologists at about 20 volcanoes per year. Basalt is also an important rock type on other planetary bodies in the Solar System. For example, the bulk of the plains of Venus, which cover ~80% of the surface, are basaltic; the lunar maria are plains of flood-basaltic lava flows; and basalt is a common rock on the surface of Mars.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ophiolite</span> Uplifted and exposed oceanic crust

An ophiolite is a section of Earth's oceanic crust and the underlying upper mantle that has been uplifted and exposed, and often emplaced onto continental crustal rocks.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Divergent boundary</span> Linear feature that exists between two tectonic plates that are moving away from each other

In plate tectonics, a divergent boundary or divergent plate boundary is a linear feature that exists between two tectonic plates that are moving away from each other. Divergent boundaries within continents initially produce rifts, which eventually become rift valleys. Most active divergent plate boundaries occur between oceanic plates and exist as mid-oceanic ridges.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Andesite</span> Type of volcanic rock

Andesite is a volcanic rock of intermediate composition. In a general sense, it is the intermediate type between silica-poor basalt and silica-rich rhyolite. It is fine-grained (aphanitic) to porphyritic in texture, and is composed predominantly of sodium-rich plagioclase plus pyroxene or hornblende.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Island arc</span> Arc-shaped archipelago formed by intense seismic activity of long chains of active volcanoes

Island arcs are long chains of active volcanoes with intense seismic activity found along convergent tectonic plate boundaries. Most island arcs originate on oceanic crust and have resulted from the descent of the lithosphere into the mantle along the subduction zone. They are the principal way by which continental growth is achieved.

<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">Flood basalt</span> Very large volume eruption of basalt lava

A flood basalt is the result of a giant volcanic eruption or series of eruptions that covers large stretches of land or the ocean floor with basalt lava. Many flood basalts have been attributed to the onset of a hotspot reaching the surface of the earth via a mantle plume. Flood basalt provinces such as the Deccan Traps of India are often called traps, after the Swedish word trappa, due to the characteristic stairstep geomorphology of many associated landscapes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mid-ocean ridge</span> Basaltic underwater mountain system formed by plate tectonic spreading

A mid-ocean ridge (MOR) is a seafloor mountain system formed by plate tectonics. It typically has a depth of about 2,600 meters (8,500 ft) and rises about 2,000 meters (6,600 ft) above the deepest portion of an ocean basin. This feature is where seafloor spreading takes place along a divergent plate boundary. The rate of seafloor spreading determines the morphology of the crest of the mid-ocean ridge and its width in an ocean basin.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Magmatism</span> Emplacement of magma on the outer layers of a terrestrial planet, which solidifies as igneous rocks

Magmatism is the emplacement of magma within and at the surface of the outer layers of a terrestrial planet, which solidifies as igneous rocks. It does so through magmatic activity or igneous activity, the production, intrusion and extrusion of magma or lava. Volcanism is the surface expression of magmatism.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Back-arc basin</span> Submarine features associated with island arcs and subduction zones

A back-arc basin is a type of geologic basin, found at some convergent plate boundaries. Presently all back-arc basins are submarine features associated with island arcs and subduction zones, with many found in the western Pacific Ocean. Most of them result from tensional forces, caused by a process known as oceanic trench rollback, where a subduction zone moves towards the subducting plate. Back-arc basins were initially an unexpected phenomenon in plate tectonics, as convergent boundaries were expected to universally be zones of compression. However, in 1970, Dan Karig published a model of back-arc basins consistent with plate tectonics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">East Australia hotspot</span>

The East Australia hotspot is a volcanic province in southeast Australia which includes the Peak Range in central Queensland, the Main Range on the Queensland-New South Wales border, Tweed Volcano in New South Wales, and the Newer Volcanics Province (NVP) in Victoria and South Australia. A number of the volcanoes in the province have erupted since Aboriginal settlement. The most recent eruptions were about 5,600 years ago, and memories of them survive in Aboriginal folklore. These eruptions formed the volcanoes Mount Schank and Mount Gambier in the NVP. There have been no eruptions on the Australian mainland since European settlement.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cobb hotspot</span>

The Cobb hotspot is a marine volcanic hotspot at, which is 460 km (290 mi) west of Oregon and Washington, North America, in the Pacific Ocean. Over geologic time, the Earth's surface has migrated with respect to the hotspot through plate tectonics, creating the Cobb–Eickelberg Seamount chain. The hotspot is currently collocated with the Juan de Fuca Ridge.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Azores hotspot</span> Volcanic hotspot at the Azores

The Azores hotspot is a volcanic hotspot in the Northern Atlantic Ocean. The Azores is relatively young and is associated with a bathymetric swell, a gravity anomaly and ocean island basalt geochemistry. The Azores hotspot lies just east of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Volcanism on Mars</span> Overview of volcanism in the geological history of Mars

Volcanic activity, or volcanism, has played a significant role in the geologic evolution of Mars. Scientists have known since the Mariner 9 mission in 1972 that volcanic features cover large portions of the Martian surface. These features include extensive lava flows, vast lava plains, and the largest known volcanoes in the Solar System. Martian volcanic features range in age from Noachian to late Amazonian, indicating that the planet has been volcanically active throughout its history, and some speculate it probably still is so today. Both Earth and Mars are large, differentiated planets built from similar chondritic materials. Many of the same magmatic processes that occur on Earth also occurred on Mars, and both planets are similar enough compositionally that the same names can be applied to their igneous rocks and minerals.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ocean island basalt</span>

Ocean island basalt (OIB) is a volcanic rock, usually basaltic in composition, erupted in oceans away from tectonic plate boundaries. Although ocean island basaltic magma is mainly erupted as basalt lava, the basaltic magma is sometimes modified by igneous differentiation to produce a range of other volcanic rock types, for example, rhyolite in Iceland, and phonolite and trachyte at the intraplate volcano Fernando de Noronha. Unlike mid-ocean ridge basalts (MORBs), which erupt at spreading centers (divergent plate boundaries), and volcanic arc lavas, which erupt at subduction zones (convergent plate boundaries), ocean island basalts are the result of intraplate volcanism. However, some ocean island basalt locations coincide with plate boundaries like Iceland, which sits on top of a mid-ocean ridge, and Samoa, which is located near a subduction zone.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Terry Plank</span> Geologist and volcanologist

Terry Ann Plank is an American geochemist, volcanologist and professor of earth science at Columbia College, Columbia University, and the Lamont Doherty Earth Observatory. She is a 2012 MacArthur Fellow and member of the National Academy of Sciences. Her most prominent work involves the crystal chemistry of lava minerals in order to determine magma ages and movement, giving clues to how quickly magma can surface as lava in volcanoes. Most notably, Plank is known for her work establishing a stronger link between the subduction of ocean sediments and volcanism at ocean arcs. Her current work can be seen at her website.
Plank states that her interest in volcanoes began when her Dartmouth professor took her and other students to Arenal volcano in Costa Rica. He had them sit and have lunch while on top of a slow-moving lava flow and while watching bright red goops of lava crack out from their black casings. "It was totally cool, how could you not like that?" Plank recalled the event to State of the Planet, an Earth Institute News source at Columbia University.

The Troodos Ophiolite on the island of Cyprus represents a Late Cretaceous spreading axis that has since been uplifted due to its positioning on the overriding Anatolian plate at the Cyprus arc and ongoing subduction to the south of the Eratosthenes Seamount.

Stanley Robert Hart is an American geologist, geochemist, leading international expert on mantle isotope geochemistry, and pioneer of chemical geodynamics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Plate theory (volcanism)</span>

The plate theory is a model of volcanism that attributes all volcanic activity on Earth, even that which appears superficially to be anomalous, to the operation of plate tectonics. According to the plate theory, the principal cause of volcanism is extension of the lithosphere. Extension of the lithosphere is a function of the lithospheric stress field. The global distribution of volcanic activity at a given time reflects the contemporaneous lithospheric stress field, and changes in the spatial and temporal distribution of volcanoes reflect changes in the stress field. The main factors governing the evolution of the stress field are:

  1. Changes in the configuration of plate boundaries.
  2. Vertical motions.
  3. Thermal contraction.

Intraplate volcanism is volcanism that takes place away from the margins of tectonic plates. Most volcanic activity takes place on plate margins, and there is broad consensus among geologists that this activity is explained well by the theory of plate tectonics. However, the origins of volcanic activity within plates remains controversial.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Ellins, Katherine (2002). "Women Exploring the Oceans". Eos Transactions. 83 (10): 109. Bibcode:2002EOSTr..83..109E. doi: 10.1029/2002EO000067 . Retrieved 2019-05-26.
  2. 1 2 "Emily M. Klein". women oceanographers. Retrieved 16 April 2021.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 "Emily Klein Brings Light to the Dark Reaches of the Volcanic Ocean Seabed – Duke Environment Magazine" . Retrieved 2019-05-26.
  4. 1 2 3 "Bruce C. Heezen Memorial Prize - Established 1979 | Earth and Environmental Sciences". eesc.columbia.edu. Retrieved 2019-05-26.
  5. 1 2 3 "Langmuir Receives 1996 Bowen Award". Honors Program. Retrieved 2019-05-26.
  6. ↑ Klein, Emily M.; Langmuir, Charles H. (1987). "Global correlations of ocean ridge basalt chemistry with axial depth and crustal thickness". Journal of Geophysical Research. 92 (B8): 8089. Bibcode:1987JGR....92.8089K. doi:10.1029/jb092ib08p08089. hdl: 10161/8314 . ISSN   0148-0227.
  7. ↑ Langmuir, Charles H.; Klein, Emily M.; Plank, Terry (2013), "Petrological Systematics of Mid-Ocean Ridge Basalts: Constraints on Melt Generation Beneath Ocean Ridges", Mantle Flow and Melt Generation at Mid-Ocean Ridges, American Geophysical Union (AGU), pp. 183–280, doi:10.1029/gm071p0183, hdl: 10161/8316 , ISBN   9781118663875
  8. 1 2 "Emily Klein Brings Light Dark Reaches Volcanic Ocean Seabed". Nicholas Duke. Retrieved 16 April 2021.
  9. ↑ "Earth & Ocean Sciences (EOS) Division | Nicholas School of the Environment". nicholas.duke.edu. Retrieved 2019-05-26.
  10. 1 2 Ellins, Katherine (2002). "Women Exploring the Oceans". Eos Transactions. 83 (10): 109. Bibcode:2002EOSTr..83..109E. doi: 10.1029/2002EO000067 . Retrieved 2019-05-26.
  11. ↑ Holland, Heinrich D.; Rudnick, R. L.; Turekian, Karl K. (2005). The Crust. Elsevier. ISBN   9780080448473.
  12. 1 2 Doherty, Lamont (2013-04-24), Volcanoes and Vents: A Hidden World Beneath the Sea , retrieved 2019-05-26
  13. 1 2 "New Deep-Sea Hydrothermal Vents, Life Form Discovered". www.nsf.gov. Retrieved 2019-05-26.
  14. ↑ "Expedition to the Cocos-Nazca Spreading Center". Expedition to the Cocos-Nazca Spreading Center. Retrieved 2019-05-26.
  15. 1 2 "Women Exploring the Ocean". women oceanographers. Retrieved 16 April 2021.
  16. ↑ "Exploring the Ocean's Geology". living on earth. Retrieved 16 April 2021.
  17. ↑ "F.W. Clarke Award | Geochemical Society". www.geochemsoc.org. Retrieved 2019-05-26.
  18. ↑ "F. Earl Ingerson Lecture | Geochemical Society". www.geochemsoc.org. Retrieved 2019-05-26.
  19. ↑ "Klein Recognized with Endowment in Her Honor | Nicholas School of the Environment". nicholas.duke.edu. Retrieved 2019-05-26.
  20. ↑ "Emily Klein to Serve as Chair of Earth and Ocean Sciences | Nicholas School of the Environment". nicholas.duke.edu. Retrieved 2019-05-26.
  21. ↑ "Emily Klein Honored with University Distinguished Service Professorship". Nicholas School of the Environment. Retrieved 2020-11-21.
  22. ↑ "Five Duke Faculty Named AAAS Fellows for 2021". today.duke.edu. Retrieved 2022-07-14.
  23. ↑ "Emily Klein". Research Gate. Retrieved 16 April 2021.
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