Walter Alvarez facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Walter Alvarez
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Walter Alvarez at his home in 2024
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| Born |
Walter Alvarez
October 3, 1940 |
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| Known for | Alvarez hypothesis |
| Spouse(s) |
Milly Alvarez
(m. 1963) |
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| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Geology |
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Walter Alvarez (born October 3, 1940) is a well-known professor. He teaches about Earth and Planetary Science at the University of California, Berkeley. He and his father, Nobel Prize-winning physicist Luis Alvarez, came up with a big idea. They suggested that dinosaurs died out because of an asteroid hitting Earth.
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Walter Alvarez's Life Story
Walter Alvarez was born in Berkeley, California. His father, Luis Walter Alvarez, won a Nobel Prize for his work in physics. His mother was Geraldine Smithwick. Walter's grandfather, Walter C. Alvarez, was a doctor. His great-grandfather, Luis F. Alvarez, was also a doctor who worked in Hawaii. He even found a way to better diagnose a disease called macular leprosy. Walter's great-aunt, Mabel Alvarez, was a talented artist from California.
Walter earned his first degree in geology in 1962 from Carleton College. He then got his advanced degree (Ph.D.) in geology from Princeton University in 1967. He worked for an oil company in the Netherlands and Libya. While there, he became very interested in archaeological geology. This is the study of how geology affects ancient human sites.
He left the oil company and spent time in Italy. There, he studied ancient Roman volcanoes. He also looked at how these volcanoes affected where people built their towns in early Roman times. Later, he joined the Lamont–Doherty Earth Observatory at Columbia University. He started studying how the Earth's plates move in the Mediterranean area. This was based on the new idea of plate tectonics.
His work in Italy involved studying paleomagnetism. This is the study of Earth's past magnetic field. He looked at how geomagnetic reversals (when Earth's magnetic poles flip) were recorded in deep-sea limestones. Walter and his team used tiny fossils called Foraminifera to date these magnetic flips. They were able to map out over 100 million years of Earth's magnetic history.
The Asteroid Impact Theory
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Walter Alvarez and his father, Luis W. Alvarez, made an amazing discovery. With their colleagues Frank Asaro and Helen Michel, they found a special layer of clay. This clay layer was exactly at the Cretaceous–Paleogene (K-Pg) boundary. This boundary marks the time when dinosaurs disappeared.
They found that this clay layer had a lot of a rare element called iridium. Iridium is very common in asteroids but rare on Earth. Because of this, they suggested a bold idea. They thought the layer was made by a huge asteroid hitting Earth. They believed this impact caused the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event. This event happened 66 million years ago. It wiped out about 75% of all living things, including all non-flying dinosaurs.
Scientists have now found this iridium-rich layer in many places worldwide. Also, a giant hole called the Chicxulub crater was found. It is off the coast of the Yucatan Peninsula. This crater is now seen as strong proof of a huge asteroid impact. Most scientists now agree that an asteroid impact likely caused the dinosaur extinction. Walter Alvarez wrote a book about this discovery called T. rex and the Crater of Doom.
Besides his work on extinctions and impacts, Alvarez has also helped us understand other things. These include how the Mediterranean plates move, the geology of Roman times, and how to use magnetic records to date Earth's history.
Exploring Big History
In 2006, Walter Alvarez started teaching a course called "Big History" at UC Berkeley. The course was named "Big History: Cosmos, Earth, Life, Humanity." He taught it until 2011. The lectures were recorded and put online for free.
According to Alvarez, Big History is a way to understand the entire story of everything. It looks at the history of the Universe, Earth, life, and humans. It connects different subjects like science, history, and more. This idea was later adopted by the International Big History Association (IBHA). Alvarez's course was open to all students. It aimed to give a wide understanding of the past, present, and future.
Alvarez helped set up a meeting for Big Historians in Italy in 2010. This meeting led to the creation of the International Big History Association. He was one of the first members of the IBHA. He served on its advisory board until 2014.
ChronoZoom: A Timeline Tool
Walter Alvarez worked with Microsoft Research to create a special timeline tool. It's called ChronoZoom. This computer program helps people see and understand huge amounts of time. It also presents a lot of historical information in a helpful way. ChronoZoom was first shown to the public at UC Berkeley in 2012.
Awards and Special Recognitions
Walter Alvarez has received many honors for his work.
- In 1983, he became a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
- In 1991, he was chosen to be a member of the National Academy of Sciences.
- He received the 2006 Nevada Medal.
- He was given the 2008 Vetlesen Prize.
- He also won the Penrose Medal from the Geological Society of America.
- In 2005, he received an honorary doctorate degree from the University of Siena, Italy.
A small planet, 3581 Alvarez, is named after him and his father, Luis Walter Alvarez.
Books by Walter Alvarez
