This is a list of geophysicists, people who made

notable Notability is the property of being worthy of notice, having fame, or being considered to be of a high degree of interest, significance, or distinction. It also refers to the capacity to be such. Persons who are notable due to public responsibi ...

contributions to

geophysics Geophysics () is a subject of natural science concerned with the physical processes and physical properties of the Earth and its surrounding space environment, and the use of quantitative methods for their analysis. The term ''geophysics'' so ...

, whether or not geophysics was their primary field. These include historical figures who laid the foundations for the field of geophysics. More recently, some of the top awards for geophysicists are the Vetlesen Prize (intended to be the equivalent of a

Nobel Prize The Nobel Prizes ( ; sv, Nobelpriset ; no, Nobelprisen ) are five separate prizes that, according to Alfred Nobel's will of 1895, are awarded to "those who, during the preceding year, have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind." Alfr ...

for geology or geophysics); the

William Bowie Medal The William Bowie Medal is awarded annually by the American Geophysical Union for "outstanding contributions to fundamental geophysics and for unselfish cooperation in research". The award is the highest honor given by the AGU and is named in honor ...

(the top award of the

American Geophysical Union The American Geophysical Union (AGU) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization of Earth, atmospheric, ocean, hydrologic, space, and planetary scientists and enthusiasts that according to their website includes 130,000 people (not members). AGU's ...

); the

Maurice Ewing Medal Two international geophysical societies offer awards each year which are named in honor of Maurice Ewing; these are the American Geophysical Union and the Society of Exploration Geophysicists: __TOC__ AGU Ewing Medal The Maurice Ewing Medal is awa ...

(the top award of the

Society of Exploration Geophysicists The Society of Exploration Geophysicists (SEG) is a learned society dedicated to promoting the science and education of exploration geophysics in particular and geophysics in general. The Society fosters the expert and ethical practice of geophys ...

); and the

Crafoord Prize The Crafoord Prize is an annual science prize established in 1980 by Holger Crafoord, a Swedish industrialist, and his wife Anna-Greta Crafoord. The Prize is awarded in partnership between the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences and the Crafoord Foun ...

for geosciences. Some geophysicists have also won more general prizes such as the Nobel Prize and the

Kyoto Prize The is Japan's highest private award for lifetime achievement in the arts and sciences. It is given not only to those that are top representatives of their own respective fields, but to "those who have contributed significantly to the scientific, ...

A

* Leason Adams (American, 1887–1969) – high pressure mineral physics * Thomas J Ahrens (American, 1936–2010) – experimental methods for modeling

hypervelocity Hypervelocity is very high velocity, approximately over 3,000 meters per second (6,700 mph, 11,000 km/h, 10,000 ft/s, or Mach 8.8). In particular, hypervelocity is velocity so high that the strength of materials upon impact is v ...

impacts and materials in the Earth's core and

mantle A mantle is a piece of clothing, a type of cloak. Several other meanings are derived from that. Mantle may refer to: *Mantle (clothing), a cloak-like garment worn mainly by women as fashionable outerwear **Mantle (vesture), an Eastern Orthodox ve ...

Hannes Alfvén Hannes Olof Gösta Alfvén (; 30 May 1908 – 2 April 1995) was a Swedish electrical engineer, plasma physicist and winner of the 1970 Nobel Prize in Physics for his work on magnetohydrodynamics (MHD). He described the class of MHD waves now ...

(Swedish, 1908–1995) –

Alfvén waves Alfvén may refer to: People * Hannes Alfvén (1908–1995), Swedish plasma physicist and Nobel Prize in Physics laureate * Hugo Alfvén (1872–1960), Swedish composer, conductor, violinist, and painter * Marie Triepcke Krøyer Alfvén (1867–19 ...

magnetohydrodynamics Magnetohydrodynamics (MHD; also called magneto-fluid dynamics or hydromagnetics) is the study of the magnetic properties and behaviour of electrically conducting fluids. Examples of such magnetofluids include plasmas, liquid metals, ...

magnetosphere In astronomy and planetary science, a magnetosphere is a region of space surrounding an astronomical object in which charged particles are affected by that object's magnetic field. It is created by a celestial body with an active interior d ...

;

Nobel Prize in Physics ) , image = Nobel Prize.png , alt = A golden medallion with an embossed image of a bearded man facing left in profile. To the left of the man is the text "ALFR•" then "NOBEL", and on the right, the text (smaller) "NAT•" then " ...

* Giuseppina Aliverti (Italian, 1894–1982),

geophysicist Geophysics () is a subject of natural science concerned with the physical processes and physical properties of the Earth and its surrounding space environment, and the use of quantitative methods for their analysis. The term ''geophysics'' som ...

remembered for developing the Aliverti-Lovera method of measuring the radioactivity of water *

Keiiti Aki was a Japanese-American professor of Geophysics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), and then at the University of Southern California (USC), seismologist, author and mentor. He and Paul G. Richards coauthored "Quantitative Seis ...

(Japanese-American, 1930–2005) – seismology;

Claude Allègre Claude Allègre (; born 31 March 1937) is a French politician and scientist. Scientific work The main scientific area of Claude Allègre was geochemistry. Allègre co-authored an ''Introduction to geochemistry'' in 1974. Since the 1980s, he ...

(French, 1937– )

* Don L. Anderson (American, 1933–2014) –

seismology Seismology (; from Ancient Greek σεισμός (''seismós'') meaning "earthquake" and -λογία (''-logía'') meaning "study of") is the scientific study of earthquakes and the propagation of elastic waves through the Earth or through other ...

and

Earth's interior The internal structure of Earth is the solid portion of the Earth, excluding its atmosphere and hydrosphere. The structure consists of an outer silicate solid crust, a highly viscous asthenosphere and solid mantle, a liquid outer core whose ...

(including the

Preliminary reference Earth model The preliminary reference Earth model (PREM) plots the average of Earth's properties by depth. It includes a table of Earth properties, including elastic properties, attenuation, density, pressure, and gravity. PREM has been widely used as ...

);

Nigel Anstey Nigel Allister Anstey (born 1927), British geophysicist, has made major contributions to seismic exploration, which are the foundations for many of the techniques used in today’s oil and gas exploration. Anstey’s contributions impact every majo ...

(British, 1927– ) – exploration geophysicist ;

(SEG) * Tanya Atwater (American, 1942– ) –

plate tectonic Plate tectonics (from the la, label=Late Latin, tectonicus, from the grc, τεκτονικός, lit=pertaining to building) is the generally accepted scientific theory that considers the Earth's lithosphere to comprise a number of large te ...

history of North America

B

George Edward Backus George Edward Backus (born May 24, 1930) is an American geophysicist, best known for his work with J. Freeman Gilbert on inverse methods for geophysical data. He is also notably credited with advancing the dynamo theory on the origin of the Earth ...

(American, 1930– ) – geophysical mathematician, development of geophysical inverse methods; contributions to

dynamo theory In physics, the dynamo theory proposes a mechanism by which a celestial body such as Earth or a star generates a magnetic field. The dynamo theory describes the process through which a rotating, convecting, and electrically conducting fluid can ...

* Milo Backus (American, 1932–2018) – exploration geophysicist; practical 3D exploration;

Maurice_Ewing_Medal Two international geophysical societies offer awards each year which are named in honor of Maurice Ewing; these are the American Geophysical Union and the Society of Exploration Geophysicists: __TOC__ AGU Ewing Medal The Maurice Ewing Medal is awa ...

(SEG) * Peter Barlow (English, 1776–1862) – experimental and observational studies of terrestrial magnetism,

Copley Medal The Copley Medal is an award given by the Royal Society, for "outstanding achievements in research in any branch of science". It alternates between the physical sciences or mathematics and the biological sciences. Given every year, the medal is t ...

* Anthony R. Barringer (Canadian/American, 1925–2009) – developed the INPUT airborne electromagnetic system for detecting ores ;

(SEG) *

Julius Bartels Julius Bartels (17 August 1899, Magdeburg – 6 March 1964) was a German geophysicist and statistician who made notable contributions to the physics of the Sun and Moon; to geomagnetism and meteorology; and to the physics of the ionosphere. He a ...

(German, 1899–1964) – contributed to physics of the

Sun The Sun is the star at the center of the Solar System. It is a nearly perfect ball of hot plasma, heated to incandescence by nuclear fusion reactions in its core. The Sun radiates this energy mainly as light, ultraviolet, and infrared radi ...

and

Moon The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite. It is the fifth largest satellite in the Solar System and the largest and most massive relative to its parent planet, with a diameter about one-quarter that of Earth (comparable to the width of ...

; geomagnetism,

meteorology Meteorology is a branch of the atmospheric sciences (which include atmospheric chemistry and physics) with a major focus on weather forecasting. The study of meteorology dates back millennia, though significant progress in meteorology did no ...

and the physics of the

ionosphere The ionosphere () is the ionized part of the upper atmosphere of Earth, from about to above sea level, a region that includes the thermosphere and parts of the mesosphere and exosphere. The ionosphere is ionized by solar radiation. It plays ...

* Louis Bauer (American, 1865–1932) – mapped the

Earth's magnetic field Earth's magnetic field, also known as the geomagnetic field, is the magnetic field that extends from Earth's interior out into space, where it interacts with the solar wind, a stream of charged particles emanating from the Sun. The magneti ...

Hugo Benioff Victor Hugo Benioff (September 14, 1899 – February 29, 1968) was an American seismologist and a professor at the California Institute of Technology. He is best remembered for his work in charting the location of deep earthquakes in the Pacific ...

(American, 1899–1968) – discovered link between deep earthquakes and subduction zones * Lloyd Berkner (American, 1905–1967) – studied the ionosphere *

Henry Bryant Bigelow Henry Bryant Bigelow (October 3, 1879 – December 11, 1967) was an American oceanographer and marine biologist. He is the grandson of Henry Bryant who was an American physician and naturalist. After graduating from Harvard in 1901, he beg ...

(American, 1879–1967) – awarded the

* Francis Birch (American, 1903–1992) – developed theoretical and experimental models for the

; Vetlesen Prize *

Kristian Birkeland Kristian Olaf Bernhard Birkeland (13 December 1867 – 15 June 1917) was a Norwegian scientist. He is best remembered for his theories of atmospheric electric currents that elucidated the nature of the aurora borealis. In order to fund his res ...

(Norwegian, 1867–1917) – first realized that energetic electrons cause the

aurora An aurora (plural: auroras or aurorae), also commonly known as the polar lights, is a natural light display in Earth's sky, predominantly seen in high-latitude regions (around the Arctic and Antarctic). Auroras display dynamic patterns of bri ...

; nominated 7 times for

Abu Rayhan Biruni Abu Rayhan Muhammad ibn Ahmad al-Biruni (973 – after 1050) commonly known as al-Biruni, was a Khwarazmian Iranian in scholar and polymath during the Islamic Golden Age. He has been called variously the "founder of Indology", "Father of Co ...

(Persian, 973–1048) – made accurate measure of circumference of Earth and other contributions to

geodesy Geodesy ( ) is the Earth science of accurately measuring and understanding Earth's figure (geometric shape and size), orientation in space, and gravity. The field also incorporates studies of how these properties change over time and equival ...

* Jacob Bjerknes (Norwegian-American, 1897–1975) – awarded the William Bowie Medal *

Patrick Blackett Patrick Maynard Stuart Blackett, Baron Blackett (18 November 1897 – 13 July 1974) was a British experimental physicist known for his work on cloud chambers, cosmic rays, and paleomagnetism, winning the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1948. ...

(English, 1897–1974) –

paleomagnetism Paleomagnetism (or palaeomagnetismsee ), is the study of magnetic fields recorded in rocks, sediment, or archeological materials. Geophysicists who specialize in paleomagnetism are called ''paleomagnetists.'' Certain magnetic minerals in roc ...

continental drift Continental drift is the hypothesis that the Earth's continents have moved over geologic time relative to each other, thus appearing to have "drifted" across the ocean bed. The idea of continental drift has been subsumed into the science of pl ...

* Martin Bott (British, 1926–2018) – magnetic anomalies,

gravity anomalies The gravity anomaly at a location on the Earth's surface is the difference between the observed value of gravity and the value predicted by a theoretical model. If the Earth were an ideal oblate spheroid of uniform density, then the gravity meas ...

Pierre Bouguer Pierre Bouguer () (16 February 1698, Croisic – 15 August 1758, Paris) was a French mathematician, geophysicist, geodesist, and astronomer. He is also known as "the father of naval architecture". Career Bouguer's father, Jean Bouguer, one ...

(French, 1698–1758) –

; the

Bouguer gravity anomaly In geodesy and geophysics, the Bouguer anomaly (named after Pierre Bouguer) is a gravity anomaly, corrected for the height at which it is measured and the attraction of terrain. The height correction alone gives a free-air gravity anomaly. Defin ...

* William Bowie (American, 1872–1940) –

and

isostasy Isostasy (Greek ''ísos'' "equal", ''stásis'' "standstill") or isostatic equilibrium is the state of gravitational equilibrium between Earth's crust (or lithosphere) and mantle such that the crust "floats" at an elevation that depends on its ...

Wallace Smith Broecker Wallace "Wally" Smith Broecker (November 29, 1931 – February 18, 2019) was an American geochemist. He was the Newberry Professor in the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences at Columbia University, a scientist at Columbia's Lamont–D ...

(American, 1931–2019) –

climate Climate is the long-term weather pattern in an area, typically averaged over 30 years. More rigorously, it is the mean and variability of meteorological variables over a time spanning from months to millions of years. Some of the meteorologi ...

ocean circulation An ocean current is a continuous, directed movement of sea water generated by a number of forces acting upon the water, including wind, the Coriolis effect, breaking waves, cabbeling, and temperature and salinity differences. Depth contours, ...

; Crafoord Prize, Vetlesen Prize *

Bernard Brunhes Antoine Joseph Bernard Brunhes (3 July 1867 – 10 May 1910) was a French geophysicist known for his pioneering work in paleomagnetism, in particular, his 1906 discovery of geomagnetic reversal. The current period of normal polarity, ''Brunhes C ...

(French, 1867–1910) –

; discovered the first geomagnetic reversal * Walter Hermann Bucher (German-American, 1888–1965) – awarded the William Bowie Medal *

Edward Bullard Sir Edward Crisp Bullard FRS (21 September 1907 – 3 April 1980) was a British geophysicist who is considered, along with Maurice Ewing, to have founded the discipline of marine geophysics. He developed the theory of the geodynamo, pioneered ...

(British, 1907–1980) – developed theory of geodynamo, pioneered use of

to study the sea floor, and used seafloor

bathymetry Bathymetry (; ) is the study of underwater depth of ocean floors ('' seabed topography''), lake floors, or river floors. In other words, bathymetry is the underwater equivalent to hypsometry or topography. The first recorded evidence of water ...

to test

Keith Edward Bullen Keith Edward Bullen FAA FRS (29 June 1906 – 23 September 1976) was a New Zealand-born mathematician and geophysicist. He is noted for his seismological interpretation of the deep structure of the Earth's mantle and core. He was Professor o ...

(New Zealand-born, 1906–1976) – seismological interpretation of the deep structure of the Earth's mantle and core * Victor Robertovich Bursian (Russian, 1886–1945) – pioneer in theory of Electrical resistivity tomography

C

Henry Cavendish Henry Cavendish ( ; 10 October 1731 – 24 February 1810) was an English natural philosopher and scientist who was an important experimental and theoretical chemist and physicist. He is noted for his discovery of hydrogen, which he termed "infl ...

(British, 1731–1810) – made first estimate of the

mass of the Earth An Earth mass (denoted as M_\mathrm or M_\oplus, where ⊕ is the standard astronomical symbol for Earth), is a unit of mass equal to the mass of the planet Earth. The current best estimate for the mass of Earth is , with a relative uncertainty ...

* Anny Cazenave (French, 1944– ) – geodesy and satellite altimetry; awarded William Bowie Medal * Vlastislav Cervený (Czech) – exploration geophysicist; seismic ray theory;

(SEG) * Sydney Chapman (British, 1888–1970) – predicted

; developed theories for effect of

solar wind The solar wind is a stream of charged particles released from the upper atmosphere of the Sun, called the corona. This plasma mostly consists of electrons, protons and alpha particles with kinetic energy between . The composition of the sol ...

geomagnetic storm A geomagnetic storm, also known as a magnetic storm, is a temporary disturbance of the Earth's magnetosphere caused by a solar wind shock wave and/or cloud of magnetic field that interacts with the Earth's magnetic field. The disturbance that d ...

s and

aurorae An aurora (plural: auroras or aurorae), also commonly known as the polar lights, is a natural light display in Earth's sky, predominantly seen in high-latitude regions (around the Arctic and Antarctic). Auroras display dynamic patterns of bri ...

Jule Gregory Charney Jule Gregory Charney (January 1, 1917 – June 16, 1981) was an American meteorologist who played an important role in developing numerical weather prediction and increasing understanding of the general circulation of the atmosphere by devis ...

(American, 1917–1981) – dynamical meteorology; awarded William Bowie Medal * Jon Claerbout (American, 1937– ) –

exploration geophysics Exploration geophysics is an applied branch of geophysics and economic geology, which uses physical methods, such as seismic, gravitational, magnetic, electrical and electromagnetic at the surface of the Earth to measure the physical properties of ...

seismic data processing and imaging;

(SEG) *

Alexis Clairaut Alexis Claude Clairaut (; 13 May 1713 – 17 May 1765) was a French mathematician, astronomer, and geophysicist. He was a prominent Newtonian whose work helped to establish the validity of the principles and results that Sir Isaac Newton had ou ...

(French, 1713–1765) – proved

Clairaut's theorem Clairaut's theorem characterizes the surface gravity on a viscous rotating ellipsoid in hydrostatic equilibrium under the action of its gravitational field and centrifugal force. It was published in 1743 by Alexis Claude Clairaut in a treatise ...

and calculated the ellipticity of the Earth * William Compston (Australian, 1931– ) – developed the Sensitive High Resolution Ion Micro Probe for isotopic analyses of geological samples *

Vincent Courtillot Vincent E. Courtillot (born 6 March 1948) is an emeritus French geophysicist, prominent among the researchers who are critical of the hypothesis that impact events are a primary cause of mass extinction of life forms on the Earth. He is known for ...

(French, 1948– ) – paleomagnetist; promoted theory that mass extinctions are caused by massive volcanic episodes * Thomas Cowling (English, 1906–1990) – solar magnetic field, dynamo theory * Allan V. Cox (American, 1926–1987) – created a timeline for geomagnetic reversals and was a pioneer in

plate tectonics Plate tectonics (from the la, label= Late Latin, tectonicus, from the grc, τεκτονικός, lit=pertaining to building) is the generally accepted scientific theory that considers the Earth's lithosphere to comprise a number of larg ...

; Vetlesen Prize * Albert P. Crary (American, 1911–1987) –

Arctic The Arctic ( or ) is a polar regions of Earth, polar region located at the northernmost part of Earth. The Arctic consists of the Arctic Ocean, adjacent seas, and parts of Canada (Yukon, Northwest Territories, Nunavut), Danish Realm (Greenla ...

and

Antarctic The Antarctic ( or , American English also or ; commonly ) is a polar region around Earth's South Pole, opposite the Arctic region around the North Pole. The Antarctic comprises the continent of Antarctica, the Kerguelen Plateau and othe ...

exploration,

D

Adam Dziewoński, Schlosshotel Linderhof - 09150004 ff34219 03

Reginald Aldworth Daly Reginald Aldworth Daly (March 18, 1871 – September 19, 1957) was a Canadian geologist. Biography Reginald Daly was educated at the University of Toronto, where geologist A.P. Coleman persuaded him away from teaching mathematics and into Earth ...

(Canadian, 1871–1957) – awarded the William Bowie Medal * George Howard Darwin (British, 1845–1912) – analyzed

tides Tides are the rise and fall of sea levels caused by the combined effects of the gravitational forces exerted by the Moon (and to a much lesser extent, the Sun) and are also caused by the Earth and Moon orbiting one another. Tide tables c ...

and tidal friction; first to develop mathematical theory for evolution of the Sun–Earth–Moon system *

Arthur Louis Day Arthur Louis Day (October 30, 1869 – March 2, 1960) was an American geophysicist and volcanologist. He studied high temperature thermometry, seismology and geothermal energy. Early life Day was born in Brookfield, Massachusetts and re ...

(American, 1869–1960) – mineral physics and volcanology *

Everette Lee DeGolyer Everette Lee DeGolyer (October 9, 1886 – December 14, 1956), was a prominent oil company executive, petroleum exploration geophysicist and philanthropist in Dallas. He was known as "the founder of applied geophysics in the petroleum industry",C ...

(American, 1886–1956) –

in the petroleum industry *

Robert S. Dietz Robert Sinclair Dietz (September 14, 1914 – May 19, 1995) was a scientist with the US Coast and Geodetic Survey. Dietz, born in Westfield, New Jersey, was a marine geologist, geophysicist and oceanographer who conducted pioneering research along ...

(American, 1914–1995) – proposed (and named) – theory of

seafloor spreading Seafloor spreading or Seafloor spread is a process that occurs at mid-ocean ridges, where new oceanic crust is formed through volcanic activity and then gradually moves away from the ridge. History of study Earlier theories by Alfred Wegener a ...

; discovered several

impact craters An impact crater is a circular depression in the surface of a solid astronomical object formed by the hypervelocity impact of a smaller object. In contrast to volcanic craters, which result from explosion or internal collapse, impact craters ...

including

Sudbury Basin The Sudbury Basin (), also known as Sudbury Structure or the Sudbury Nickel Irruptive, is a major geological structure in Ontario, Canada. It is the third-largest known impact crater or astrobleme on Earth, as well as one of the oldest. The ...

* Hewitt Dix (American, 1905–1987) –

; creator of the Dix equation for reflection velocity, recipient of the

* Richard Doell (American, 1923–2008) – created a timeline for geomagnetic reversals and was a pioneer in plate tectonics; Vetlesen Prize *

James Dooge James Clement Dooge (30 July 1922 – 20 August 2010) was an Irish Fine Gael politician, engineer, climatologist, hydrologist and academic who served as Minister for Foreign Affairs from 1981 to 1982, Leader of the Seanad and Leader of Fine G ...

(Irish, 1922–2010) – hydrology *

Erich von Drygalski Erich Dagobert von Drygalski (; February 9, 1865 – January 10, 1949) was a German geographer, geophysicist and polar scientist, born in Königsberg, East Prussia. Between 1882 and 1887, Drygalski studied mathematics and natural science a ...

(German, 1865–1949) – polar explorer and geophysicist * Adam Dziewonski (Polish/American, 1936–2016) – large-scale structure of Earth's interior and nature of

earthquakes An earthquake (also known as a quake, tremor or temblor) is the shaking of the surface of the Earth resulting from a sudden release of energy in the Earth's lithosphere that creates seismic waves. Earthquakes can range in intensity, fro ...

; Crafoord Prize

E

Carl Eckart Carl Henry Eckart (May 4, 1902 – October 23, 1973) was an American physicist, physical oceanographer, geophysicist, and administrator. He co-developed the Wigner–Eckart theorem and is also known for the Eckart conditions in quantum mechanics ...

(American, 1902–1973) – underwater acoustics; awarded William Bowie Medal *

Walter M. Elsasser Walter Maurice Elsasser (March 20, 1904 – October 14, 1991) was a German-born American physicist, a developer of the presently accepted dynamo theory as an explanation of the Earth's magnetism. He proposed that this magnetic field resulted fr ...

(American, 1904–1991) – first mathematical

for Earth's outer core * Loránd Eötvös (Hungarian, 1848–1919) – developed a highly accurate torsion balance for

gravimetry Gravimetry is the measurement of the strength of a gravitational field. Gravimetry may be used when either the magnitude of a gravitational field or the properties of matter responsible for its creation are of interest. Units of measurement G ...

Eratosthenes Eratosthenes of Cyrene (; grc-gre, Ἐρατοσθένης ; – ) was a Greek polymath: a mathematician, geographer, poet, astronomer, and music theorist. He was a man of learning, becoming the chief librarian at the Library of Alexandr ...

(Greek, c. 276 BC–195 BC) – measured circumference of the Earth and the tilt of its axis *

Maurice Ewing William Maurice "Doc" Ewing (May 12, 1906 – May 4, 1974) was an American geophysicist and oceanographer. Ewing has been described as a pioneering geophysicist who worked on the research of seismic reflection and refraction in ocean basi ...

(American, 1906–1974) – broad contributions to seafloor seismology; predicted and discovered the SOFAR channel

F

Joseph Siffrein Duplessis - Benjamin Franklin - Google Art Project

* Gerhard Fanselau (German, 1904–1982) – geomagnetic observations * Joseph Charles Farman (British, 1930–2013) – co-discoverer of the

ozone hole Ozone depletion consists of two related events observed since the late 1970s: a steady lowering of about four percent in the total amount of ozone in Earth's atmosphere, and a much larger springtime decrease in stratospheric ozone (the ozone lay ...

* Yevgeny Konstantinovich Fyodorov (Russian, 1910–1981) – pioneer in Arctic geophysical survey *

Osmond Fisher Reverend Osmond Fisher (17 November 1817 – 12 July 1914) was an English clergyman, geologist and geophysicist. He was one of the early geologists who proposed the idea that the earth consisted of a solid crust floating above a fluid core. ...

(British, 1817–1914) –

* John Adam Fleming (American, 1877–1956) – magnetosphere and atmospheric electricity *

James David Forbes James David Forbes (1809–1868) was a Scottish physicist and glaciologist who worked extensively on the conduction of heat and seismology. Forbes was a resident of Edinburgh for most of his life, educated at its University and a professor ...

(British, 1809–1868) – built the first

seismometer A seismometer is an instrument that responds to ground noises and shaking such as caused by earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, and explosions. They are usually combined with a timing device and a recording device to form a seismograph. The outpu ...

* Scott Forbush (American, 1904–1984) – solar-terrestrial interactions and the Forbush decrease * Efi Foufoula-Georgiou (Greek, 1957–) –

wavelet A wavelet is a wave-like oscillation with an amplitude that begins at zero, increases or decreases, and then returns to zero one or more times. Wavelets are termed a "brief oscillation". A taxonomy of wavelets has been established, based on the num ...

analysis * Gillian Foulger (English, 1952– ) –

plate theory In continuum mechanics, plate theories are mathematical descriptions of the mechanics of flat plates that draws on the theory of beams. Plates are defined as plane structural elements with a small thickness compared to the planar dimensions. ...

* Robert Were Fox the Younger (British, 1789–1877) – discovered the

geothermal gradient Geothermal gradient is the rate of temperature change with respect to increasing depth in Earth's interior. As a general rule, the crust temperature rises with depth due to the heat flow from the much hotter mantle; away from tectonic plate bo ...

; constructed a

dip circle {{Refimprove, date=November 2011 Dip circles (also ''dip needles'') are used to measure the angle between the horizon and the Earth's magnetic field (the dip angle). They were used in surveying, mining and prospecting as well as for the demonstra ...

for use at sea *

Benjamin Franklin Benjamin Franklin ( April 17, 1790) was an American polymath who was active as a writer, scientist, inventor, statesman, diplomat, printer, publisher, and political philosopher. Encyclopædia Britannica, Wood, 2021 Among the leading int ...

(American, 1706–1790) – established that

lightning Lightning is a naturally occurring electrostatic discharge during which two electrically charged regions, both in the atmosphere or with one on the ground, temporarily neutralize themselves, causing the instantaneous release of an average ...

is electrical

G

Carl Friedrich Gauss Johann Carl Friedrich Gauss (; german: Gauß ; la, Carolus Fridericus Gauss; 30 April 177723 February 1855) was a German mathematician and physicist who made significant contributions to many fields in mathematics and science. Sometimes refer ...

(German, 1777–1855) – first mathematical representation of

; geodetic surveys *

Henry Gellibrand Henry Gellibrand (1597–1637) was an English mathematician. He is known for his work on the Earth's magnetic field. He discovered that magnetic declination – the angle of dip of a compass needle – is not constant but changes over time. He ...

(English, 1597–1637) – discovered that

magnetic declination Magnetic declination, or magnetic variation, is the angle on the horizontal plane between magnetic north (the direction the north end of a magnetized compass needle points, corresponding to the direction of the Earth's magnetic field lines) an ...

varies with time * James Freeman Gilbert (American, 1931–2014) – development of geophysical

inverse theory An inverse problem in science is the process of calculating from a set of observations the causal factors that produced them: for example, calculating an image in X-ray computed tomography, source reconstruction in acoustics, or calculating the ...

; network of seismometers to study Earth's free oscillation * William Gilbert (English, 1544–1603) – early magnetic experiments; first to argue that the Earth itself is magnetic *

George Graham George Graham (born 30 November 1944), nicknamed "Stroller", is a Scottish former Association football, football player and manager (association football), manager. In his successful playing career, he made 455 appearances in England's Football ...

(English 1673 – November 1751) – discovery of the

diurnal variation A chronotype is the behavioral manifestation of underlying circadian rhythm's myriad of physical processes. A person's chronotype is the propensity for the individual to sleep at a particular time during a 24-hour period. ''Eveningness'' (delayed ...

of the

; related

Aurora borealis An aurora (plural: auroras or aurorae), also commonly known as the polar lights, is a natural light display in Earth's sky, predominantly seen in high-latitude regions (around the Arctic and Antarctic). Auroras display dynamic patterns of bri ...

to magnetic field variations *

Cecil H. Green Cecil Howard Green (August 6, 1900 – April 11, 2003) was a British-born American geophysicist, electrical engineer, and electronics manufacturing executive, who trained at the University of British Columbia and the Massachusetts Institute of T ...

(British-born American, 1900–2003) –

geophysical entrepreneur and philanthropist;

(SEG) *

Harsh Gupta Harsh Kumar Gupta (born 1942) is an Indian earth scientist and seismologist, known for his pioneering work on estimation of reservoir-induced earthquakes. He is a former vice chancellor of the Cochin University of Science and Technology (CUSAT) ...

(Indian, 1942– ) – methodology for discriminating normal earthquakes from reservoir-induced ones, study on the genesis of stable continental region earthquakes;

Padma Shri Padma Shri ( IAST: ''padma śrī''), also spelled Padma Shree, is the fourth-highest civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan. Instituted on 2 January 1954, the award is conf ...

, Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize and Waldo E. Smith Award * Beno Gutenberg (American, 1889–1960) – probability distribution of earthquake energies and relation of energy to magnitude

H

Stieler, Joseph Karl - Alexander von Humboldt - 1843

Edmond Halley Edmond (or Edmund) Halley (; – ) was an English astronomer, mathematician and physicist. He was the second Astronomer Royal in Britain, succeeding John Flamsteed in 1720. From an observatory he constructed on Saint Helena in 1676–77, H ...

(English, 1656–1742) – first chart of

Christopher Hansteen Christopher Hansteen (26 September 1784 – 11 April 1873) was a Norwegian geophysicist, astronomer and physicist, best known for his mapping of Earth's magnetic field. Early life and career Hansteen was born in Christiania as the son of ...

(Norwegian, 1784–1873) – produced the first charts of the intensity of the

Harry Hammond Hess Harry Hammond Hess (May 24, 1906 – August 25, 1969) was an American geologist and a United States Navy officer in World War II who is considered one of the "founding fathers" of the unifying theory of plate tectonics. He is best known for his th ...

(American, 1906–1969) – seafloor

and theory of

Georg Hartmann Georg Hartmann (sometimes spelled Hartman; February 9, 1489 – April 9, 1564) was a German engineer, instrument maker, author, printer, humanist, priest, and astronomer. Early life and studies Hartmann was born in Eggolsheim near Forchheim, ...

(German, 1489–1564) – kept early records of

* Bernhard Haurwitz (American, 1905– 1986) – meteorology * Veikko Aleksanteri Heiskanen (Finnish, 1895–1971) – studies of the global

geoid The geoid () is the shape that the ocean surface would take under the influence of the gravity of Earth, including gravitational attraction and Earth's rotation, if other influences such as winds and tides were absent. This surface is extended ...

* Raymond Hide (British, 1929–2016) *

Arthur Holmes Arthur Holmes (14 January 1890 – 20 September 1965) was an English geologist who made two major contributions to the understanding of geology. He pioneered the use of radiometric dating of minerals, and was the first earth scientist to grasp ...

(British, 1890–1965) – performed first

uranium–lead dating Uranium–lead dating, abbreviated U–Pb dating, is one of the oldest and most refined of the radiometric dating schemes. It can be used to date rocks that formed and crystallised from about 1 million years to over 4.5 billion years ago with routi ...

M. King Hubbert Marion King Hubbert (October 5, 1903 – October 11, 1989) was an American geologist and geophysicist. He worked at the Shell research lab in Houston, Texas. He made several important contributions to geology, geophysics, and petroleum geolo ...

(American, 1903–1989) – correct statement of

Darcy's law Darcy's law is an equation that describes the flow of a fluid through a porous medium. The law was formulated by Henry Darcy based on results of experiments on the flow of water through beds of sand, forming the basis of hydrogeology, a branch of ...

and mathematical demonstration that rock undergoes

plastic deformation In engineering, deformation refers to the change in size or shape of an object. ''Displacements'' are the ''absolute'' change in position of a point on the object. Deflection is the relative change in external displacements on an object. Strain ...

; Vetlesen Prize *

Alexander von Humboldt Friedrich Wilhelm Heinrich Alexander von Humboldt (14 September 17696 May 1859) was a German polymath, geographer, naturalist, explorer, and proponent of Romantic philosophy and science. He was the younger brother of the Prussian minister ...

(German, 1769–1859) – global network of

geomagnetic Earth's magnetic field, also known as the geomagnetic field, is the magnetic field that extends from Earth's interior out into space, where it interacts with the solar wind, a stream of charged particles emanating from the Sun. The magnetic f ...

observatories *

Rosemary Hutton Violet Rosemary Strachan Hutton FInstP FRSE FRAS (22 October 1925 – 1 April 2004), known to her peers as Rosemary, was a Scottish geophysicist and pioneer of magnetotellurics. Her research focused on the use of electromagnetic methods to det ...

(Scottish, 1925–2004) – geophysicist and pioneer of

magnetotellurics Magnetotellurics (MT) is an electromagnetic geophysical method for inferring the earth's subsurface electrical conductivity from measurements of natural geomagnetic and geoelectric field variation at the Earth's surface. Investigation depth ...

I

Akitsune Imamura was a Japanese seismologist. As a University of Tokyo seismologist he represented a new generation of scientists, trained by Western experts. He who predicted the timing and magnitude of the 1923 Great Kantō earthquake 16 years in advance. Bo ...

(Japanese, 1870–1948) – seismologist *

Ted Irving Edward A. "Ted" Irving, (27 May 1927 – 25 February 2014) was a geologist and scientist with the Geological Survey of Canada. His studies of paleomagnetism provided the first physical evidence of the theory of continental drift. His efforts ...

(Canadian, 1927–2014) – early

paleomagnetic Paleomagnetism (or palaeomagnetismsee ), is the study of magnetic fields recorded in rocks, sediment, or archeological materials. Geophysicists who specialize in paleomagnetism are called ''paleomagnetists.'' Certain magnetic minerals in rock ...

evidence for

* Ahmet Mete Işıkara (Turkish, 1941–2013) – earthquake scientist

J

Harold Jeffreys Sir Harold Jeffreys, FRS (22 April 1891 – 18 March 1989) was a British mathematician, statistician, geophysicist, and astronomer. His book, ''Theory of Probability'', which was first published in 1939, played an important role in the revival ...

(British, 1891–1989) – deduced that the Earth's outer core is molten; contributed to mathematical geophysics; Vetlesen Prize * Lucy Jones (American, born 1955) – earthquake science and safety *

Thomas H. Jordan Thomas H. Jordan is an American seismologist, and former director (2002-2017) of the Southern California Earthquake Center at The University of Southern California. He was formerly the head of the Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences Depar ...

(American, 1948– ) – seismic contributions to

* James A. Jackson (English, 1954– ) – seismologist; contributed to rebuttal of the 'jelly sandwich' model of the crust

K

Hiroo Kanamori is a Japanese seismologist who has made fundamental contributions to understanding the physics of earthquakes and the tectonic processes that cause them. Career Kanamori and American seismologist Thomas C. Hanks developed the moment magnitud ...

(American, 1936– ) – fundamental contributions to the physics of

;

* Louise H. Kellogg (American, 1959–2019) – modeling of the Earth's mantle * William Thomson,

Lord Kelvin William Thomson, 1st Baron Kelvin, (26 June 182417 December 1907) was a British mathematician, mathematical physicist and engineer born in Belfast. Professor of Natural Philosophy at the University of Glasgow for 53 years, he did important ...

(Irish, 1824–1907) – influential estimate of the

age of the Earth The age of Earth is estimated to be 4.54 ± 0.05 billion years This age may represent the age of Earth's accretion, or core formation, or of the material from which Earth formed. This dating is based on evidence from radiometric age-dating of ...

, ultimately proved incorrect

L

Kurt Lambeck Professor Kurt Lambeck AC, FRS, FAA, FRSN (born 20 September 1941 in Utrecht, Netherlands) is Professor of Geophysics at the Australian National University in Canberra, Australia. He has also taught at University of Paris and at Smithsonian a ...

(Dutch, 1941– ) – changed understanding of the ways

post-glacial rebound Post-glacial rebound (also called isostatic rebound or crustal rebound) is the rise of land masses after the removal of the huge weight of ice sheets during the last glacial period, which had caused isostatic depression. Post-glacial rebound ...

affects ocean levels; awarded

Wollaston Medal The Wollaston Medal is a scientific award for geology, the highest award granted by the Geological Society of London. The medal is named after William Hyde Wollaston, and was first awarded in 1831. It was originally made of gold (1831–1845), ...

and

Balzan Prize The International Balzan Prize Foundation awards four annual monetary prizes to people or organizations who have made outstanding achievements in the fields of humanities, natural sciences, culture, as well as for endeavours for peace and the br ...

Johann von Lamont Johann von Lamont, FRSE (13 December 1805 – 6 August 1879), born John Lamont, was a Scottish-German astronomer and physicist. Biography Lamont was born at Corriemulzie near Inverey in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. The son of Robert Lamont (fo ...

(Scottish, 1805–1879) – surveys of the

Louis J. Lanzerotti Louis John Lanzerotti (born April 16, 1938) is an American physicist. He is a Distinguished Research Professor of physics in the ''Center for Solar-Terrestrial Research'' at New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT) in Newark, New Jersey. His pri ...

(American, 1938– ) – magnetosphere and ionosphere; awarded William Bowie Medal *

Joseph Larmor Sir Joseph Larmor (11 July 1857 – 19 May 1942) was an Irish and British physicist and mathematician who made breakthroughs in the understanding of electricity, dynamics, thermodynamics, and the electron theory of matter. His most influen ...

(Northern Irish, 1857–1942) – proton precession, dynamo theory * Inge Lehmann (Danish, 1888–1993) –

seismologist Seismology (; from Ancient Greek σεισμός (''seismós'') meaning "earthquake" and -λογία (''-logía'') meaning "study of") is the scientific study of earthquakes and the propagation of elastic waves through the Earth or through other ...

who discovered the

Lehmann discontinuity __NOTOC__ The Lehmann discontinuity is an abrupt increase of ''P''-wave and ''S''-wave velocities at the depth of , discovered by seismologist Inge Lehmann. The thickness is 220 km . It appears beneath continents, but not usually beneath ocean ...

and argued for a solid inner core *

Xavier Le Pichon Xavier Le Pichon (born 18 June 1937 in Qui Nhơn, French protectorate of Annam (after South Vietnam and today Vietnam) is a French geophysicist. Among many other contributions, he is known for his comprehensive model of plate tectonics (1968), h ...

(French, 1937– ) – constructed history of plate motions * Humphrey Lloyd (Irish, 1800–1881) – observational geomagnetism * Cinna Lomnitz (Chilean–Mexican, 1925–2016) – creator of "Lomnitz Law", founder of Mexico's first seismic network and editor of ''Geofísica Internacional'' * Andrew Long (Australian, 1965– ) – developed widely used instruments for marine exploration for oil and gas; Honorary Lecturer (Pacific South) for the

* Augustus Edward Hough Love (English, 1863–1940) – developed theory of Love waves * Bruce P. Luyendyk (American, 1943– ) – marine geophysics

M

* Gordon J. F. MacDonald (American, 1929–2002) – investigated rotation of the Earth and true polar wander * James B. Macelwane (American, 1883–1956) – seismologist; awarded William Bowie Medal * Jean-Jacques d'Ortous de Mairan (French, 1678 –1771) – figure of the Earth, shape of the Earth and

* Robert Mallet (Irish, 1810–1881) – developed controlled source

; coined terms ''seismology'' and ''epicenter'' * Syukuro Manabe (Japanese, 1931– ) – climate models; awarded William Bowie Medal * Pierre de Maricourt (Petrus Peregrinus) (French, floruit, 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

* Motonori Matuyama (Japanese, 1884–1958) – first to show that a geomagnetic reversal had occurred in the past * Dan McKenzie (geophysicist), Dan McKenzie (British, 1942– ) – mathematical framework for

; mantle convection; sedimentary basin formation; Crafoord Prize * Harry Mayne (American, 1913–1990) – exploration geophysicist, invented CRP stacking for noise reduction; Maurice_Ewing_Medal, Maurice Ewing Medal (SEG) * Marcia McNutt (American, 1952– ) – elastic strength of lithosphere; identified the South Pacific superswell * Felix Andries Vening Meinesz (Dutch, 1887–1966) – developed a precise gravimeter and discovered

above the ocean floor * Oscar Edward Meinzer (American, 1876–1948) – groundwater hydrology; awarded William Bowie Medal * Henry William Menard (American, 1920–1986) – plate tectonics; awarded William Bowie Medal * Giuseppe Mercalli (Italian, 1850–1914) – developed Mercalli intensity scale for measuring

* John Milne (British, 1849–1913) – invented the horizontal pendulum seismograph * Andrija Mohorovičić (Croatian, 1857–1936) – identified Mohorovičić discontinuity; * W. Jason Morgan (American, 1935– ) – geodynamics,

* Jean Morlet (French, 1931–2007) – developed the wavelet transform for

* Lawrence Morley (Canadian, 1920–2013)) – used ocean magnetic anomalies to confirm theory of

* Ahsan Mubarak (Pakistani, ?) – seismic detection of nuclear tests * Walter Munk (American, 1917–2019) – rotation of the earth; acoustic tomography of the oceans; Crafoord Prize, Vetlesen Prize,

N

* Louis Néel (French, 1904–2000) – developed theory to explain the thermoremanent magnetization, stable magnetization in volcanic rocks;

in physics * Marcia Neugebauer (American, 1932– ) – space physicist and president of the

* Marcel Nicolet (Belgian, 1912–1996) – ionosphere; awarded William Bowie Medal * Robert Norman (English, Wiktionary:circa, circa 1550–1600) – re-discovery of magnetic dip * Amos_Nur (American, 1938– ) –

; rock physics;

(SEG)

O

* Abel Idowu Olayinka (Nigerian, 1958– ) – applied geophysicist * Richard Dixon Oldham (British, 1858–1936) – seismologist, first clear evidence for separate arrivals of P-waves, S-waves and Seismic wave#Surface waves, surface waves on seismograms; first clear evidence for Earth's core

P

* Luigi Palmieri (Italian, 1807–1896) – seismic studies of Mount Vesuvius * Eugene Parker (American, 1927–2022) – solar wind and magnetospheres of the Earth and Sun; awarded Kyoto Prize, National Medal of Science, William Bowie Medal * Antares Parvulescu (American, 1923–1998), inventor of the first time-reversal experiment, and matched equivalent-space signal (MESS) processing. * 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

; Vetlesen Prize * William Richard Peltier (Canadian, 1943– ) – geophysical fluid dynamics, glacial rebound, climate change, Vetlesen Prize * Petrus Peregrinus de Maricourt (French, 13th century) – wrote the first extant treatise describing the properties of magnets and the earliest detailed discussion of freely pivoting compass needles * Pierre Perrault (scientist), Pierre Perrault (1608–1680) – developed the concept of the hydrological cycle * Alexis Perrey (French, 1807–1882) – seismologist * Walter C. Pitman, III (American, 1931–2019) –

and tectonics * George W. Platzman (American, 1920–2008) – geophysical fluid dynamics, numerical weather prediction * John Henry Pratt (British, 1809–1871) – laid foundation for principle of

* Frank Press (American, 1924–2020) – design of a long-period seismograph, and the first detection of the Earth's normal modes of oscillation;

(SEG) * Albert Thomas Price (British, 1903–1978) – geomagnetism and global electromagnetic induction

R

* Harry Fielding Reid (American, 1859–1944) – elastic-rebound theory and other contributions to seismology * Roger Revelle (American, 1909–1991) – global warming and plate tectonics; awarded William Bowie Medal * Charles Francis Richter (American, 1900–1985) – creation of Richter magnitude scale * Ted Ringwood (Australian, 1930–1993) – mineral physics; awarded William Bowie Medal and Wollaston Medal * Enders Robinson (American, 1928– ) – exploration geophysicist; co-inventor of digital seismic signal processing;

(SEG) * Ignacio Rodriguez-Iturbe (Venezuelan, 1942– ) – global warming; awarded William Bowie Medal * Keith Runcorn (British, 1922–1995) –

work supporting

; apparent polar wander

S

* Edward Sabine (Irish, 1788–1883) – measured oblateness of the Earth; established system of magnetic observatories * Benjamin D. Santer (American, 1955– ) – climatologist * Schlumberger brothers, Conrad Schlumberger (French, 1878–1936) – and Schlumberger brothers, Marcel Schlumberger (French, 1884–1953) – invented electric well logging * Michael Schoenberg (American, 1939–2008) – contributions to seismic anisotropy * Alessandro Serpieri (Italian, 1823–1885) – seismologist * Nicholas Shackleton (British, 1937–2006) – paleoceanography,

, Vetlesen Prize * Irwin I. Shapiro (American, 1929– ) – awarded

* Otto Schmidt (Russian, 1891–1956) * Shen Kuo (Chinese, 1031–1095) – discovered

* Robert E. Sheriff (American, 1922 – 2014)

;

(SEG) * John Sherwood (British) –

;

(SEG) * Eugene Merle Shoemaker (American, 1928–1997) – planetary science; awarded

* Paul Silver, Paul G. Silver (American, 1948–2009) – seismic anisotropy and splitting of shear waves * Fred Singer (Austrian-American, 1924–2020) – atmospheric physicist, global warming denial, global warming denier * Susan Solomon (American, 1956– ) – proposed chlorofluorocarbons as the cause of the Ozone depletion#Ozone hole and its causes, Antarctic ozone hole; awarded Nobel peace prize and

* 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

s * Henry Stommel (American, 1920–1992) – ocean circulation; awarded

* David Strangway (Canadian, 1934–2016) – lunar geophysics; university administration ;

(SEG) * Carl Størmer (Norwegian, 1874–1957) – motion of charged particles in the

and origin of the

* Harald Sverdrup (oceanographer), Harald Sverdrup (Norwegian, 1888–1957) – ocean circulation; awarded

T

* Albert Tarantola (Spanish, 1949 – 2009) – geophysical inverse problems;

(SEG) * Marie Tharp (1920–2006): American geologist and oceanographic cartographer who, in partnership with Bruce Heezen, created the first scientific map of the Atlantic Ocean floor. * Andrey Nikolayevich Tikhonov (Russian, 1906–1993) –

method in geophysics * Nafi Toksöz (Turkish-American, 1937– )

;

(SEG) * Sven Treitel (American, 1929– ) – exploration geophysicist; co-inventor of digital seismic signal processing;

(SEG) * Merle Tuve (American, 1901–1982) – used radio waves to measure the ionosphere; United States Medal for Merit * Donald L. Turcotte (American, 1932– ) – developed theory of convection in the Earth's

, applications of fractals and chaos to Earth processes;

of the American Geophysical Union, AGU

V

* James Van Allen (American, 1914–2006) – Van Allen radiation belts; awarded Crafoord Prize, Gold Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society (for geophysics), National Medal of Science, William Bowie Medal * Petr Vaníček (Czech Canadian, 1935– ) – breakthroughs in Least-squares spectral analysis, theory of spectral analysis and geoid computation, awarded J. Tuzo Wilson Medal, founded Canadian Geophysical Union * 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

W

* Kiyoo Wadati (Japanese, 1902–1995) – researched subduction zone earthquakes; lent name to Wadati–Benioff zone * Alfred Wegener (German, 1880–1930) – developed theory of

* Frank T. M. White (Australian, 1909–1971) – mining and metallurgical engineer; mineral science educator * Emil Johann Wiechert (German, 1861–1928) – first verifiable model of layered structure of the Earth; pioneering work on propagation of seismic waves * J. Tuzo Wilson (Canadian, 1908–1993) – contributions to

: theories of hotspot (geology), hotspots, transform faults and Wilson cycles; Vetlesen Prize;

(SEG); President of American Geophysical Union, AGU; * J. Lamar Worzel (American, 1919–2008) – contributions to underwater acoustics, underwater photography, and gravity measurements at sea * Carl Wunsch (American, 1941– ) – ocean circulation, climatology; awarded the

Z

* Zhang Heng (Chinese, 78–139) – invented the first seismoscope

References

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References