List of geophysicists
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This is a list of geophysicists, people who made notable contributions to geophysics, whether or not geophysics was their primary field. These include historical figures who laid the foundations for the field of geophysics.[1][2][3][4]
A [edit]
- Thomas J Ahrens (American, 1936–2010) – experimental methods for modeling hypervelocity impacts and materials in the Earth's core and mantle
- Tanya Atwater (American, 1942–) – plate tectonic history of North America
- Hannes Alfvén (Swedish, 1908–1995) – Alfvén waves, magnetohydrodynamics of magnetosphere; Nobel Prize in Physics
- Don L. Anderson (American, 1933–) – seismology and Earth's interior (including the Preliminary Reference Earth Model); Crafoord Prize
B [edit]
- George Edward Backus (1930–) – Development of inverse methods for geophysics; contributions to dynamo theory
- Anthony R. Barringer (Canadian/American, 1925–2009) – Developed the INPUT airborne electromagnetic system for detecting ores
- Julius Bartels (German, 1899–1964) – Contributed to physics of the Sun and Moon; geomagnetism, meteorology and the physics of the ionosphere
- Louis Bauer (American, 1865–1932) – Mapped the Earth's magnetic field
- Hugo Benioff (American, 1899–1968) – Discovered link between deep earthquakes and subduction zones
- Francis Birch (American, 1903–1992) – Developed theoretical and experimental models for the Earth's interior; Vetlesen Prize
- Kristian Birkeland (Norwegian, 1867–1917) – First realized that energetic electrons cause the aurora; nominated 7 times for Nobel Prize
- Abu Rayhan Biruni (Persian, 973–1048) – Made accurate measure of circumference of Earth and other contributions to geodesy
- Martin Bott (British, 1926–) – magnetic anomalies, gravity anomalies
- Pierre Bouguer (French, 1698–1758) – geodesy; the Bouguer gravity anomaly
- William Bowie (American, 1872–1940) – geodesy and isostasy
- Wallace Smith Broecker (American, 1931–) – climate, ocean circulation; Crafoord Prize, Vetlesen Prize
- Bernard Brunhes (French, 1867–1910) – paleomagnetism; discovered the first geomagnetic reversal
- Sir Edward Bullard (British, 1907–1980) – developed theory of geodynamo, pioneered use of seismology to study the sea floor, and used seafloor bathymetry to test continental drift.
- Keith Edward Bullen (New Zealand-born, 1906–1976) – Seismological interpretation of the deep structure of the Earth's mantle and core.
C [edit]
- Henry Cavendish (British, 1731–1810) – made first estimate of the mass of the Earth
- Sydney Chapman (British, 1888–1970) – predicted magnetosphere; developed theories for effect of solar wind on geomagnetic storms and aurorae
- Jon Claerbout (American, 1937–) – exploration geophysics
- Alexis Clairaut (French, 1713–1765) – proved Clairaut's theorem and calculated the ellipticity of the Earth
- Vincent Courtillot (French, 1948–) – paleomagnetist; promoted theory that mass extinctions are caused by massive volcanic episodes
- Allan V. Cox (American, 1926–1987) – created a timeline for geomagnetic reversals and was a pioneer in plate tectonics; Vetlesen Prize
- Albert P. Crary (America, 1911–1987) – Arctic and Antarctic exploration, seismology
D [edit]
- Sir George Howard Darwin (British, 1845–1912) – analyzed tides and tidal friction; first to develop mathematical theory for evolution of the Sun–Earth–Moon system
- Everette Lee DeGolyer (American, 1886–1956) – exploration geophysics in the petroleum industry
- Robert S. Dietz (American, 1914–1995) – Proposed (and named) – theory of seafloor spreading; discovered several impact craters including Sudbury Basin
- Richard Doell (American,1923–2008) – created a timeline for geomagnetic reversals and was a pioneer in plate tectonics; Vetlesen Prize
- Adam Dziewonski (Polish/American, 1936–) – large-scale structure of Earth's interior and nature of earthquakes; Crafoord Prize
E [edit]
- Walter M. Elsasser (American, 1904–1991) – first mathematical dynamo theory for Earth's outer core
- Loránd Eötvös (Hungarian, 1848–1919) – developed a highly accurate torsion balance for gravimetry
- Maurice Ewing (American, 1906–1974) – broad contributions to seafloor seismology; predicted and discovered the SOFAR channel
F [edit]
- Joseph Charles Farman (British, 1930–) – co-discoverer of the ozone hole
- Osmond Fisher (British, 1817–1914) – continental drift
- James David Forbes (British, 1809–1868) – Built the first seismometer
- Scott Forbush (American, 1904–) – Solar-terrestrial interactions and the Forbush decrease
- Robert Were Fox the Younger (British, 1789–1877) – Discovered the geothermal gradient; constructed a dip circle for use at sea
- Benjamin Franklin (American, 1706–1790) – Established that lightning is electrical
G [edit]
- Carl Friedrich Gauss (German, 1777–1855) – first mathematical representation of Earth's magnetic field; geodetic surveys
- Henry Gellibrand (English, 1597–1637) – discovered that magnetic declination varies with time
- James Freeman Gilbert (American, 1931–) – development of geophysical inverse theory; establishment of network of seismometers
- William Gilbert (English, 1544–1603) – early magnetic experiments; first to argue that the Earth itself is magnetic
- George Graham (English 1673–November 1751) – discovery of the diurnal variation of the Earth's magnetic field; related Aurora borealis to magnetic field variations
- Beno Gutenberg (American, 1889–1960) – probability distribution of earthquake energies and relation of energy to magnitude
H [edit]
- Edmond Halley (English, 1656–1742) – first chart of Earth's magnetic field
- Christopher Hansteen (Norwegian, 1784–1873) – produced the first charts of the intensity of the Earth's magnetic field
- Harry Hammond Hess (American, 1906–1969) – seafloor gravity anomalies and theory of seafloor spreading
- Georg Hartmann (German, 1489–1564) – kept early records of magnetic declination
- Zhang Heng (Chinese, 78–139) – invented the first seismoscope
- Arthur Holmes (British, 1890–1965) – performed first Uranium-lead dating
- M. King Hubbert – correct statement of Darcy's law and mathematical demonstration that rock undergoes plastic deformation; Vetlesen Prize
- Alexander von Humboldt (German, 1769–1859) – global network of geomagnetic observatories
I [edit]
- Ted Irving (Canadian, 1927–) – Early paleomagnetic evidence for continental drift
J [edit]
- Sir Harold Jeffreys (British, 1891–1989) – deduced that the Earth's outer core is molten; contributed to mathematical geophysics; Vetlesen Prize
- Lucy Jones (?) Earthquake science and safety
- Thomas H. Jordan (American, 1948–) – Seismic contributions to plate tectonics
K [edit]
- Hiroo Kanamori (American, 1936–) – Fundamental contributions to the physics of earthquakes; Kyoto Prize
- William Thomson, Lord Kelvin (Irish, 1824–1907) – Influential estimate of the age of the Earth, ultimately proved incorrect
- Shen Kuo (Chinese, 1031–1095) – discovered magnetic declination
L [edit]
- Johann von Lamont (Scottish, 1805–1879) – Surveys of the Earth's magnetic field
- Inge Lehmann (Danish, 1888–1993) – seismologist who discovered the Lehmann discontinuity and argued for a solid inner core
- Xavier Le Pichon (French, 1937–) – Constructed history of plate motions
- Augustus Edward Hough Love (English, 1863–1940) – Developed theory of Love waves
M [edit]
- Gordon J. F. MacDonald (American, 1929–2002) – Investigated rotation of the Earth and true polar wander
- Jean-Jacques d'Ortous de Mairan (French, 1678 –1771) – shape of the Earth and aurora
- Robert Mallet (Irish, 1810–1881) – developed controlled source seismology; coined terms seismology and epicenter
- Pierre de Maricourt (Petrus Peregrinus) – (French, fl. 1269) – first extant treatise on properties of magnets; detailed study of the compass
- Edme Mariotte (French, 1620–1684) – one of the pioneers of modern hydrology; used floats to measure river flow
- Drummond Matthews (British, 1931–1997) – used ocean magnetic anomalies to confirm theory of seafloor spreading
- Motonori Matuyama (Japanese, 1884–1958) – first to show that a geomagnetic reversal had occurred in the past
- Dan McKenzie Mathematical framework for plate tectonics; mantle convection; sedimentary basin formation; Crafoord Prize
- Marcia McNutt (American, 1952–) – elastic strength of lithosphere; identified the South Pacific superswell
- Felix Andries Vening Meinesz (Dutch, 1887–1966) – Invented a precise gravimeter
- Giuseppe Mercalli (Italian, 1850–1914) – developed Mercalli scale for measuring earthquakes
- John Milne (British, 1849–1913) – invented the horizontal pendulum seismograph
- Andrija Mohorovičić (Croatian, 1857–1936) – identified Mohorovičić discontinuity;
- W. Jason Morgan (American, 1935–) – geodynamics, plate tectonics
- Jean Morlet (French, 1931–2007) – Developed the wavelet transform for exploration geophysics.
- Lawrence Morley used ocean magnetic anomalies to confirm theory of seafloor spreading
- Walter Munk (American, 1917–) – rotation of the earth; acoustic tomography of the oceans; Crafoord Prize, Vetlesen Prize, Kyoto Prize
N [edit]
- Louis Néel (French, 1904 – 2000) – developed theory to explain the stable magnetization in volcanic rocks; Nobel Prize in physics.
- Robert Norman (English, circa 1550–1600) – re-discovery of magnetic dip
O [edit]
- Richard Dixon Oldham (British, 1858–1936) – Seismologist, first clear evidence for separate arrivals separate arrivals of P-waves, S-waves and surface waves on seismograms; first clear evidence for Earth's core
P [edit]
- Luigi Palmieri (Italian, 1807–1896) – Seismic studies of Mount Vesuvius
- Blaise Pascal (French, 1623–1662) – demonstrated that atmospheric pressure decreases with altitude
- Chaim Leib Pekeris (American, 1908–1993) – mathematical methods to study free vibrations of Earth, tides, and origin of Earth's magnetic field; Vetlesen Prize
- William Richard Peltier (Canadian, 1943–) – geophysical fluid dynamics, glacial rebound, climate change, Vetlesen Prize
- Pierre Perrault (1608–1680) developed the concept of the hydrological cycle
- Walter C. Pitman, III (American, 1931–) – seafloor spreading and tectonics
- John Henry Pratt (British, 1809–1871) – laid foundation for principle of isostasy
- Frank Press (American, 1924–) – design of a long-period seismograph, and the first detection of the Earth's normal modes of oscillation
R [edit]
- Harry Fielding Reid (American, 1859–1944) – elastic-rebound theory and other contributions to seismology
- Charles Francis Richter (American, 1900–1985) – Creation of Richter magnitude scale
- Keith Runcorn (British, 1922–1995) – paleomagnetic work supporting continental drift; apparent polar wander
S [edit]
- Sir Edward Sabine (Irish, 1788–1883) – measured oblateness of the Earth; established system of magnetic observatories
- Conrad Schlumberger (French, 1878–1936) – and Marcel Schlumberger (French, 1884–1953) – invented electric well logging
- Michael Schoenberg (1939–2008) – contributions to seismic anisotropy
- Nicholas Shackleton (British, 1937–2006) – paleoceanography, climate, Crafoord Prize, Vetlesen Prize
- Paul G. Silver (American, 1948–2009) – seismic anisotropy and splitting of shear waves
- Susan Solomon (American, 1956–) – proposed chlorofluorocarbons as the cause of the Antarctic ozone hole; Nobel peace prize.
- David J. Stevenson (New Zealander/American, 1948–) – theories of internal structure and evolution of planets
- Balfour Stewart (Scottish, 1828–1887) – observations of solar flares and geomagnetic storms
- Carl Størmer (Norwegian, 1874–1957) – motion of charged particles in the magnetosphere and origin of the aurora
T [edit]
- Merle Tuve (American, 1901–1982) – used radio waves to measure the ionosphere; United States Medal for Merit
V [edit]
- Felix Andries Vening Meinesz (Dutch, 1887–1966) – developed a precise gravimeter and discovered gravity anomalies above the ocean floor
- T. Wayland Vaughan (American, 1870–1952) – study of corals and coral reefs, larger foraminifera, and oceanography
- Fred Vine (British, 1939–) – work on marine magnetic anomalies confirmed the theory of seafloor spreading
W [edit]
- Kiyoo Wadati (Japanese, 1902–1995) – researched subduction zone earthquakes; lent name to Wadati-Benioff zone
- Alfred Wegener (German, 1880–1930) – developed theory of continental drift
- Emil Johann Wiechert (German–1928) – first verifiable model of layered structure of the Earth; pioneering work on propagation of seismic waves.
- J. Tuzo Wilson (Canadian, 1908–1993) – contributions to plate tectonics: theories of hotspots, transform faults and Wilson cycles; Vetlesen Prize
- J. Lamar Worzel (American, 1919–2008) – contributions to underwater acoustics, underwater photography, and gravity measurements at sea
See also [edit]
References [edit]
- ^ Gillmor, C. Stewart, ed. (1986). History of geophysics 1. Washington: American Geophysical Union. ISSN 8755-1217.
- ^ Gillmor, C. Stewart, ed. (1986). History of geophysics 2. Washington: American Geophysical Union. ISBN 978-0-87590-276-0.
- ^ Landa, Edward R., ed. (1987). History of geophysics. 3: The History of Hydrology. Washington, DC: American Geophysical Union. ISBN 978-0-87590-277-7.
- ^ Gillmor, C. Stewart, ed. (1990). History of geophysics 4. Washington, D.C.: American Geophysical Union. ISBN 978-0-87590-278-4.
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