David Bercovici

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David A. Bercovici (born in September 1960) is an American geophysicist. He is primarily known for his theoretical explanations of why planet Earth has plate tectonics. He is also known for his development of models of how the Earth's mantle recycles and stores water and how such hydrological processes are involved in Earth's geochemical history. [1]

Contents

Biography

Although he was born in Rome, Italy, Bercovici is not Italian. He grew up in southern California. [1] He graduated in 1982 from Harvey Mudd College with a B.S. in physics (with a minor in history). At the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), he graduated in geophysics and space physics with an M.S. in 1987 and an Ph.D. in 1989. His Ph.D. thesis A Numerical Investigation of Thermal Convection in Highly Viscous Spherical Shells with Applications to Mantle Dynamics in the Earth and Other Terrestrial Planets was supervised by Gerald Schubert. [2] The thesis, which adapted a numerical code introduced by Gary Glatzmaier, was immediately recognized as a breakthrough in realistic modeling of convection in the Earth's mantle. [3] For the academic year 1989–1990 Bercovici was a postdoc at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. From 1990 to 2001 he was a faculty member in the department of geology and geophysics of the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa. In the department of geology and geophysics of Yale University, he became in 2001 a professor and was appointed in 2011 to the Frederick William Beinecke Professorship of Geophysics, the academic position which he currently holds. From 2006 to 2012, and again in 2018-2021, he chaired his department. From 2009 to 2012 he was the deputy director of the Yale Climate and Energy Institute, [4] which closed in June 2016. [5] He was a visiting researcher in 1998 at the Institut de Physique du Globe de Paris and a visiting professor in September in 2012 at the École normale supérieure de Lyon and in April 2013 at the University of Cambridge. [4] . He is currently the founding Co-Director of the Yale Center for Natural Carbon Capture.

Bercovici has an international reputation for his expertise in geological fluid dynamics and research on the geodynamics of Earth's mantle and lithosphere. [1] [6] [7] He is the author or co-author of more than 130 scientific articles. [8] His collaboration with Shun-Ichiro Karato is noteworthy. Of particular importances is their 2003 article Whole-mantle convection and the transition-zone water filter, [9] proposing, in relation to the Earth's mantle, the transition-zone water-filter model. [1] [10] Bercovici's collaboration with Yanick Ricard and other colleagues concerning the geophysics of accumulation of weak plate boundaries is important for understanding plate tectonics. [11] [12] David Bercovici, Christoph F. Hieronymus, and other colleagues have also developed models explaining why hotspot volcanoes form discrete and sometimes parallel island chains [13] [14] [1] and explaining why volcanoes oscillate prior to eruptions. [15] [1] As a member of a 19-member team in support of a NASA space mission, Bercovici investigated approaches to imaging and modeling the topography and geomorphology of the asteroid named 16 Psyche . [16]

In 1996 Bercovici was awarded the James B. Macelwane Medal of the American Geophysical Union (AGU) [3] and was also elected a Fellow of the AGU. In 2014 the AGU appointed him the Francis Birch Lecturer. [4] He was elected in 2015 a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (AAAS), [17] in 2018 a Member of the National Academy of Sciences, [1] [18] and in 2019 a Member of the Connecticut Academy of Science and Engineering (CASE). [4] He was awarded in 2022 the Augustus Love Medal of the European Geosciences Union (EGU). [19]

David Bercovici and his wife have two daughters. [3]

Selected publications

Articles

Books

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Plate tectonics</span> Movement of Earths lithosphere

Plate tectonics is the scientific theory that Earth's lithosphere comprises a number of large tectonic plates, which have been slowly moving since about 3.4 billion years ago. The model builds on the concept of continental drift, an idea developed during the first decades of the 20th century. Plate tectonics came to be accepted by geoscientists after seafloor spreading was validated in the mid-to-late 1960s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Asthenosphere</span> Highly viscous, mechanically weak, and ductile region of Earths mantle

The asthenosphere is the mechanically weak and ductile region of the upper mantle of Earth. It lies below the lithosphere, at a depth between ~80 and 200 km below the surface, and extends as deep as 700 km (430 mi). However, the lower boundary of the asthenosphere is not well defined.

<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">Mantle plume</span> Upwelling of abnormally hot rock within Earths mantle

A mantle plume is a proposed mechanism of convection within the Earth's mantle, hypothesized to explain anomalous volcanism. Because the plume head partially melts on reaching shallow depths, a plume is often invoked as the cause of volcanic hotspots, such as Hawaii or Iceland, and large igneous provinces such as the Deccan and Siberian Traps. Some such volcanic regions lie far from tectonic plate boundaries, while others represent unusually large-volume volcanism near plate boundaries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Earth's mantle</span> A layer of silicate rock between Earths crust and its outer core

Earth's mantle is a layer of silicate rock between the crust and the outer core. It has a mass of 4.01×1024 kg (8.84×1024 lb) and thus makes up 67% of the mass of Earth. It has a thickness of 2,900 kilometers (1,800 mi) making up about 46% of Earth's radius and 84% of Earth's volume. It is predominantly solid but, on geologic time scales, it behaves as a viscous fluid, sometimes described as having the consistency of caramel. Partial melting of the mantle at mid-ocean ridges produces oceanic crust, and partial melting of the mantle at subduction zones produces continental crust.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Volcanic arc</span> Chain of volcanoes formed above a subducting plate

A volcanic arc is a belt of volcanoes formed above a subducting oceanic tectonic plate, with the belt arranged in an arc shape as seen from above. Volcanic arcs typically parallel an oceanic trench, with the arc located further from the subducting plate than the trench. The oceanic plate is saturated with water, mostly in the form of hydrous minerals such as micas, amphiboles, and serpentines. As the oceanic plate is subducted, it is subjected to increasing pressure and temperature with increasing depth. The heat and pressure break down the hydrous minerals in the plate, releasing water into the overlying mantle. Volatiles such as water drastically lower the melting point of the mantle, causing some of the mantle to melt and form magma at depth under the overriding plate. The magma ascends to form an arc of volcanoes parallel to the subduction zone.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Large igneous province</span> Huge regional accumulation of igneous rocks

A large igneous province (LIP) is an extremely large accumulation of igneous rocks, including intrusive and extrusive, arising when magma travels through the crust towards the surface. The formation of LIPs is variously attributed to mantle plumes or to processes associated with divergent plate tectonics. The formation of some of the LIPs in the past 500 million years coincide in time with mass extinctions and rapid climatic changes, which has led to numerous hypotheses about causal relationships. LIPs are fundamentally different from any other currently active volcanoes or volcanic systems.

Dan Peter McKenzie is a Professor of Geophysics at the University of Cambridge, and one-time head of the Bullard Laboratories of the Cambridge Department of Earth Sciences. He wrote the first paper defining the mathematical principles of plate tectonics on a sphere, and his early work on mantle convection created the modern discussion of planetary interiors.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mantle convection</span> Gradual movement of the planets mantle

Mantle convection is the very slow creep of Earth's solid silicate mantle as convection currents carry heat from the interior to the planet's surface. Mantle convection causes tectonic plates to move around the Earth's surface.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marquesas hotspot</span> Volcanic hotspot in the Pacific Ocean

The Marquesas hotspot is a volcanic hotspot in the southern Pacific Ocean. It is responsible for the creation of the Marquesas Islands – a group of eight main islands and several smaller ones – and a few seamounts. The islands and seamounts formed between 5.5 and 0.4 million years ago and constitute the northernmost volcanic chain in French Polynesia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Society hotspot</span> Pacific volcanic hotspot

The Society hotspot is a volcanic hotspot in the south Pacific Ocean which is responsible for the formation of the Society Islands, an archipelago of fourteen volcanic islands and atolls spanning around 720 kilometres (450 mi) of the ocean which formed between 4.5 and <1 Ma.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Slab (geology)</span> The portion of a tectonic plate that is being subducted

In geology, the slab is a significant constituent of subduction zones.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Crustal recycling</span> Tectonic recycling process

Crustal recycling is a tectonic process by which surface material from the lithosphere is recycled into the mantle by subduction erosion or delamination. The subducting slabs carry volatile compounds and water into the mantle, as well as crustal material with an isotopic signature different from that of primitive mantle. Identification of this crustal signature in mantle-derived rocks is proof of crustal recycling.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Large low-shear-velocity provinces</span> Structures of the Earths mantle

Large low-shear-velocity provinces, LLSVPs, also called LLVPs or superplumes, are characteristic structures of parts of the lowermost mantle, the region surrounding the outer core deep inside the Earth. These provinces are characterized by slow shear wave velocities and were discovered by seismic tomography of deep Earth. There are two main provinces: the African LLSVP and the Pacific LLSVP. Both extend laterally for thousands of kilometers and possibly up to 1,000 kilometres vertically from the core–mantle boundary. The Pacific LLSVP is 3,000 kilometers across and underlies four hotspots on Earth's crust that suggest multiple mantle plumes underneath. These zones represent around 8% of the volume of the mantle, or 6% of the entire Earth.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Earth's internal heat budget</span> Accounting of the energy flows at and below the planets crust

Earth's internal heat budget is fundamental to the thermal history of the Earth. The flow of heat from Earth's interior to the surface is estimated at 47±2 terawatts (TW) and comes from two main sources in roughly equal amounts: the radiogenic heat produced by the radioactive decay of isotopes in the mantle and crust, and the primordial heat left over from the formation of Earth.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Geodynamics of terrestrial exoplanets</span>

The discovery of extrasolar Earth-sized planets has encouraged research into their potential for habitability. One of the generally agreed requirements for a life-sustaining planet is a mobile, fractured lithosphere cyclically recycled into a vigorously convecting mantle, in a process commonly known as plate tectonics. Plate tectonics provide a means of geochemical regulation of atmospheric particulates, as well as removal of carbon from the atmosphere. This prevents a “runaway greenhouse” effect that can result in inhospitable surface temperatures and vaporization of liquid surface water. Planetary scientists have not reached a consensus on whether Earth-like exoplanets have plate tectonics, but it is widely thought that the likelihood of plate tectonics on an Earth-like exoplanet is a function of planetary radius, initial temperature upon coalescence, insolation, and presence or absence of liquid-phase surface water.

Heat-pipe tectonics is a cooling mode of terrestrial planets and moons in which the main heat transport mechanism in the planet is volcanism through the outer hard shell, also called the lithosphere. Heat-pipe tectonics initiates when volcanism becomes the dominant surface heat transfer process. Melted rocks and other more volatile planetary materials are transferred from the mantle to surface via localised vents. Melts cool down and solidify forming layers of cool volcanic materials. Newly erupted materials deposit on top of and bury older layers. The accumulation of volcanic layers on the shell and the corresponding evacuation of materials at depth cause the downward transfer of superficial materials such that the shell materials continuously descend toward the planet's interior.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kevin C. A. Burke</span> British geologist (1929–2018)

Kevin C. A. Burke was a geologist known for his contributions in the theory of plate tectonics. In the course of his life, Burke held multiple professorships, most recent of which (1983-2018) was the position of professor of geology and tectonics at the Department of Earth and Atmospheric Science, University of Houston. His studies on plate tectonics, deep mantle processes, sedimentology, erosion, soil formation and other topics extended over several decades and influenced multiple generations of geologists and geophysicists around the world.

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.

Carolina Raquel Lithgow-Bertelloni is a geophysicist known for her research on the role of subsurface processes in shaping the Earth. She was elected a fellow of the American Geophysical Union in 2021.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "David Bercovici". Member Directory, National Academy of Sciences (nasonline.org).
  2. ↑ Bercovici, David Anthony (1989). "A Numerical Investigation of Thermal Convection in Highly Viscous Spherical Shells with Applications to Mantle Dynamics in the Earth and Other Terrestrial Planets". Bibcode:1989PhDT........30B.
  3. 1 2 3 "David Bercovici, 1996 James B. Macelwane Medal Winner". American Geophysical Union (agu.org). 1996.
  4. 1 2 3 4 "David Bercovici — Curriculum Vitae" (PDF). Department, Yale University.
  5. ↑ "Climate change institute shut down". March 2016.
  6. ↑ Richard, Guillaume; Bercovici, David; Karato, Shun-Ichiro (2006). "Slab dehydration in the Earth's mantle transition zone". Earth and Planetary Science Letters. 251 (1–2): 156–167. Bibcode:2006E&PSL.251..156R. doi:10.1016/j.epsl.2006.09.006.
  7. ↑ Bercovici, D.; Karato, S.-I. (2002). "Theoretical Analysis of Shear Localization in the Lithosphere". Reviews in Mineralogy and Geochemistry. 51 (1): 387–420. Bibcode:2002RvMG...51..387B. doi:10.2138/gsrmg.51.1.387.
  8. ↑ "David Bercovici". The People of Earth & Planetary Sciences, Yale University.
  9. ↑ Bercovici, David; Karato, Shun-Ichiro (2003). "Whole-mantle convection and the transition-zone water filter". Nature. 425 (6953): 39–44. Bibcode:2003Natur.425...39B. doi:10.1038/nature01918. PMID   12955133. S2CID   4428456. (over 750 citations)
  10. ↑ "Bercovici, David — About the PNAS Member Editor". National Academy of Sciences.
  11. ↑ Yirka, Bob (April 7, 2014). "Researchers build model that may explain how plate tectonics got its start". phys.org.
  12. ↑ Bercovici, David; Ricard, Yanick (2014). "Plate tectonics, damage and inheritance". Nature. 508 (7497): 513–516. Bibcode:2014Natur.508..513B. doi:10.1038/nature13072. PMID   24717430. S2CID   4397709. (See Geodynamics of terrestrial exoplanets#Damage theory.)
  13. ↑ Hieronymus, Christoph F.; Bercovici, David (1999). "Discrete alternating hotspot islands formed by interaction of magma transport and lithospheric flexure". Nature. 397 (6720): 604–607. Bibcode:1999Natur.397..604H. doi:10.1038/17584. S2CID   4407104.
  14. ↑ Hieronymus, Christoph F.; Bercovici, David (2000). "Non-hotspot formation of volcanic chains: Control of tectonic and flexural stresses on magma transport". Earth and Planetary Science Letters. 181 (4): 539–554. Bibcode:2000E&PSL.181..539H. doi:10.1016/S0012-821X(00)00227-2.
  15. ↑ Jellinek, A. Mark; Bercovici, David (2011). "Seismic tremors and magma wagging during explosive volcanism". Nature. 470 (7335): 522–525. Bibcode:2011Natur.470..522J. doi:10.1038/nature09828. PMID   21350484. S2CID   4349203.
  16. ↑ Jaumann, Ralf; Bell, James F.; Polanskey, Carol A.; Raymond, Carol A.; Aspaugh, Erik; Bercovici, David; Bills, Bruce R.; Binzel, Richard; Bottle, William; Christoph, John M.; Marchi, Simone; Neesemann, Alicia; Otto, Katharina; Park, Ryan S.; Preusker, Frank; Roatsch, Thomas; Williams, David A.; Wieczorek, Mark A.; Zuber, Maria T. (2022). "The Psyche Topography and Geomorphology Investigation". Space Science Reviews. 218 (2): 7. Bibcode:2022SSRv..218....7J. doi: 10.1007/s11214-022-00874-7 . S2CID   247335884.
  17. ↑ "Book of Members 1780–present, Chapter B" (PDF; 1,2 MB). amacad.org. American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
  18. ↑ Ahmed, Farooq (2021). "QnAs with David Bercovici". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 118 (15). Bibcode:2021PNAS..11804638A. doi: 10.1073/pnas.2104638118 . PMC   8053983 . PMID   33876777.
  19. ↑ "The 2022 Augustus Love Medal is awarded to David Bercovici ..." European Geosciences Union (egu.eu.
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