Dr. Tanya Atwater and the Reconstruction of the Plate Tectonics of Western North America

“The best part of the plate business is that it has made us all start communicating. People who squeeze rocks and people who identify deep ocean nannofossils and people who map faults in Montana suddenly all care about each others’ work. I think I spend half my time just talking and listening to people from many fields, searching together for how it might all fit together. And when something does fall into place, there is that mental explosion and the wondrous excitement. I think the human brain must love order.”
~ Dr. Tanya Atwater, the Mother of Plate Tectonics

The quote above is from Tanya Atwater’s article linked below. This article also appears in “Plate Tectonics, An Insider's History of the Modern Theory of the Earth” 2001 by Naomi Oreskes.

In her article, Atwater remembers a heady time when she found herself uniquely poised to take part in the plate tectonic revolution. She met John Tuzo Wilson, was inspired by many mentors and pioneers, collaborated with colleagues across every field of Earth Science, and ultimately solved the puzzle - understanding the forces behind, and timing of, the plate tectonics of Western North America and the San Andreas fault. She did so at a time when science, Earth science no exception, was dominated by men, and women were not invited. How she did so was an act of grace, sheer determination, some support from male colleagues and mentors, and a little luck. I highly recommend reading the article below that reveals all the pieces of science and technology that had to come together to accomplish her break-through. This is how science works, and it is a simply mind-blowing behind-the-scenes look into a rapid revolution, and one of the greatest pinnacles of Earth science.

To view the reconstruction of the tectonics of Northwestern America, watch the video below.

As an aside, as a grad student, I got to meet Tanya in the late 90s at a Geological Society Association Annual Meeting. She was so approachable, friendly, and brilliant. She made a remarkable impact on me.

Plate Tectonics In A Nutshell - Tanya Atwater: https://youtu.be/IDTBY5WDELg

From “When the Plate Tectonic Revolution Met Western North America”: https://atwater.faculty.geol.ucsb.edu/Biography/History_PT_Revolution.pdf

UC Santa Barbara honors Dr. Tanya Atwater and her remarkable impact and career: https://www.news.ucsb.edu/2022/020666/remarkable-impact

Image from: https://www.e-education.psu.edu/earth520/book/export/html/1752

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