Tanya Atwater facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Tanya Marie Atwater
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Tanya Atwater on the Galapagos Propagating Rift expedition, 1982.
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| Born | 1942 Los Angeles, California
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| Nationality | American |
| Education | Scripps Institution of Oceanography |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Tectonics Marine geophysics |
| Institutions | University of California, Santa Barbara |
| Thesis | Implications of Plate Tectonics for the Cenozoic Tectonic Evolution of Western North America (1972) |
Tanya Atwater, born in 1942, is an American scientist. She studies the Earth's oceans and how its giant plates move. This field is called plate tectonics. She is famous for her early work on the history of plate tectonics in western North America.
Contents
Early Life and Education
Tanya Atwater was born in Los Angeles, California, in 1942. Her father was an engineer, and her mother was a botanist. Tanya was one of the first women to explore the ocean floor and its geology.
She started her studies in 1960 at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She then earned her first degree in geophysics from the University of California, Berkeley in 1965. Later, she received her Ph.D. in marine geophysics in 1972. She earned this degree from Scripps Institution of Oceanography, which is part of the University of California, San Diego.
Tanya Atwater became a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. In 1980, she joined the faculty at the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB). She retired from UCSB in 2007. Today, she is a professor emerita of geological sciences. She also directs the Educational Multimedia Visualization Center at UCSB.
Career Highlights
Tanya Atwater was a professor of tectonics at the University of California, Santa Barbara. She wrote or helped write 50 articles for science journals and reports. Seven of these important papers were published in Nature or Science.
In 1975, she became a Fellow of the American Geophysical Union. This was for her important work in tectonophysics, which is the study of forces that shape the Earth. From 1975 to 1977, she received a special Sloan Research Fellowship. In 1984, she won an award from the Association for Women Geoscientists.
Tanya Atwater is a member of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences. She was chosen for her contributions to marine geophysics and tectonics. In 2019, she received the Penrose Medal, the highest award from the Geological Society of America. In 2022, she received the Wollaston Medal from the Geological Society of London. This is their highest award.
Exploring the Ocean Floor
Tanya Atwater took part in many ocean trips. She used special tools to explore the deep ocean floor. She has made 12 dives in a deep-ocean submarine called Alvin.
She studied how new oceanic crust is made at seafloor spreading centers. These are places where the Earth's plates pull apart. In 1968, she helped write a paper about how these spreading centers are broken by faults.
She also played a key role in trips that found unique life forms. These creatures lived near warm springs on the ocean floor. This led to the discovery of "black smokers" during the RISE project. These are hot, undersea hydrothermal vents that release dark, mineral-rich water.
Understanding Plate Movement
Atwater researched "propagating rifts" near the Galapagos Islands. She found that these rifts form when spreading centers are disturbed. This can happen due to plate movement or magma pushing up. When disturbed, the spreading centers change direction to realign. This discovery helped explain the complex patterns found on the seafloor.
Tanya Atwater is perhaps best known for her work on the plate tectonic history of western North America. She wrote two major papers about how the plates moved in this region. Her work helped explain the history of the San Andreas Fault.
She also studied how the Earth's features change over time. She compared global plate movements with regional geology. She found connections that showed how large features like the Rocky Mountains, Yellowstone, Death Valley, Cascade volcanoes, and California Coast Ranges were formed.
Her paper, "Implications of Plate Tectonics for the Cenozoic Tectonic Evolution of Western North America," created the main framework for understanding plate tectonics in western North America. She explained that about 40 million years ago, the Farallon plate was sliding under the North American plate and the Pacific plate.
The lower part of the Farallon plate completely slid under Southern California. The upper part did not sink and became known as the Juan de Fuca plate. Since the southern Farallon plate disappeared, the boundary in Southern California became between the Pacific plate and the North American plate. The San Andreas Fault is special because it is both a major fault line and a border between these two plates. She updated this important work in 1989.
Tanya Atwater is also interested in sharing knowledge. She has created electronic multimedia tools. These tools help people visualize and understand the history of tectonic plates.
Awards and Honors
- 1975, Fellow, American Geophysical Union
- 1980, AAAS Newcomb Cleveland Prize for a top research article in the journal Science
- 1997, Elected to the National Academy of Sciences
- 2002, National Science Foundation Director's Award for Distinguished Teaching Scholars. This award helps scientists share their research in education.
- Leopold von Buch Medal, German Geosciences Society
- 2005, Gold Medal, Society of Woman Geographers
- 2019, Penrose Medal of the Geological Society of America.
- 2022, Wollaston Medal of the Geological Society of London.
- 2023, Elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
See also
In Spanish: Tanya Atwater para niños
- Triple junction
- Project FAMOUS
