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Karen M. Fischer

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"Karen Fischer" redirects here. For the German journalist killed in Afganistan, see Death of Karen Fischer and Christian Struwe.
Karen M. Fischer
BornJune 16, 1961[1]
Boston, MA
Alma materMassachusetts Institute of Technology, Yale University
Scientific career
InstitutionsBrown University
ThesisThe morphology and dynamics of subducting lithosphere (1989)
Doctoral advisorThomas H. Jordan

Karen Fischer is an American seismologist known for her research on the structure of Earth's mantle, its lithosphere, and how subduction zones change over geologic history.

Education and career

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Fischer has a B.S. in geology and geophysics from Yale University (1983).[2] While an undergraduate, Fischer had summer research experiences at Yale University and Lamont–Doherty Geological Observatory.[1] In 1989, she earned a Ph.D. in geophysics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (1989) with a dissertation titled "The morphology and dynamics of subducting lithosphere".[1] After a postdoctoral appointment at Lamont–Doherty Earth Observatory of Columbia University (1989-1990),[3] she joined the faculty at Brown University where she is the Louis and Elizabeth Scherck Distinguished Professor of Geological Sciences.[2]

From 2003 to 2005 Fisher was an editor at Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems (G3)[4] and she served as the president of the Seismology section at the American Geophysical Union from 2013 to 2014.[5]

Research

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Fischer's research uses seismology to study the interior of Earth's crust and mantle, especially in the lithosphere and the asthenosphere.[6] In the Marquesas Islands in the Pacific Ocean, Fischer identified unusually high temperatures in the lithosphere.[7] In the Tonga subduction zone, she used seismic data to map changes in the thickness of the subducting lithosphere[8] and modeled flow rates within the mantle.[9][10] She has identified the presence of a continuous mantle on the East Pacific Rise[11] and discontinuities in the mantle under the eastern United States.[12] In the Appalachian Mountains, Fischer deploys broadband seismometers in the field[13] and uses the resulting data to define the thickness of the crust beneath the Appalachian Mountains.[14][15][16] Her research provides insight into age-related changes in the materials beneath old mountains[17] and discontinuities in the crust and mantle beneath the Appalachian Mountains[18][19] and deformation in the plates beneath Southern California.[20] Her research on the lithosphere in South American and Africa[21] has implications for the stability of the tectonic plates in the region.[22][23]

In 2019 she was received the Harry Fielding Reid Medal from the Seismological Society of America for "pioneering research on Earth’s upper mantle structure and dynamics, the structure and evolution of continental lithosphere, and the dynamics of subduction systems".[24]

Awards

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  • Royce Family Professorship, excellence in teaching, Brown University (2004-2004)[2]
  • Fellow, American Geophysical Union (2010)[25]
  • Beno Gutenberg Lecture, American Geophysical Union (2016)[26]
  • NASA EarthScope lecturer (2017-2018)[13]
  • Harry Fielding Medal, Seismological Society of America (2019)[27][24]

References

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  1. ^ a b c Fischer, Karen Marie (1989). The morphology and dynamics of subducting lithosphere (Thesis thesis). Massachusetts Institute of Technology. hdl:1721.1/57820.
  2. ^ a b c "Fischer, Karen". vivo.brown.edu. Retrieved 2021-06-03.
  3. ^ "Karen Fischer | IRIS". www.iris.edu. Retrieved 2021-06-03.
  4. ^ "Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems". AGU Journals. Retrieved 2021-06-03.
  5. ^ "About - Seismology". connect.agu.org. Retrieved 2021-06-03.
  6. ^ Fischer, Karen M.; Ford, Heather A.; Abt, David L.; Rychert, Catherine A. (2010-04-01). "The Lithosphere-Asthenosphere Boundary". Annual Review of Earth and Planetary Sciences. 38 (1): 551–575. doi:10.1146/annurev-earth-040809-152438. ISSN 0084-6597.
  7. ^ Fischer, Karen M.; McNutt, Marcia K.; Shure, Loren (1986). "Thermal and mechanical constraints on the lithosphere beneath the Marquesas swell". Nature. 322 (6081): 733–736. doi:10.1038/322733a0. ISSN 1476-4687. S2CID 4350676.
  8. ^ Fischer, Karen M.; Jordan, Thomas H. (1991). "Seismic strain rate and deep slab deformation in Tonga". Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth. 96 (B9): 14429–14444. doi:10.1029/91JB00153. ISSN 2156-2202.
  9. ^ Fischer, Karen M.; Parmentier, E. M.; Stine, Alexander R.; Wolf, Elizabeth R. (2000). "Modeling anisotropy and plate-driven flow in the Tonga subduction zone back arc". Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth. 105 (B7): 16181–16191. doi:10.1029/1999JB900441. ISSN 2156-2202. S2CID 18657537.
  10. ^ Smith, G. P.; Wiens, Douglas A.; Fischer, Karen M.; Dorman, Leroy M.; Webb, Spahr C.; Hildebrand, John A. (2001-04-27). "A Complex Pattern of Mantle Flow in the Lau Backarc". Science. 292 (5517): 713–716. doi:10.1126/science.1058763. PMID 11326095. S2CID 4822268.
  11. ^ Fischer, Karen M.; Purdy, G. M. (1986). "Seismic amplitude modeling and the shallow crustal structure of the East Pacific Rise at 12°N". Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth. 91 (B14): 14006–14014. doi:10.1029/JB091iB14p14006. ISSN 2156-2202.
  12. ^ Li, Aibing; Fischer, Karen M.; Wysession, Michael E.; Clarke, Timothy J. (1998). "Mantle discontinuities and temperature under the North American continental keel". Nature. 395 (6698): 160–163. doi:10.1038/25972. ISSN 1476-4687. S2CID 4420431.
  13. ^ a b "Speaker series". EarthScope.
  14. ^ Parker, E. Horry; Hawman, Robert B.; Fischer, Karen M.; Wagner, Lara S. (2013). "Crustal evolution across the southern Appalachians: Initial results from the SESAME broadband array". Geophysical Research Letters. 40 (15): 3853–3857. doi:10.1002/grl.50761. ISSN 1944-8007.
  15. ^ "How a continent collision built the Appalachian mountains". Futurity. 2016-11-22. Retrieved 2021-06-03.
  16. ^ Hall, Galen (2016-12-02). "Brown researchers investigate birth of Appalachian mountains". Brown Daily Herald. Retrieved 2021-06-03.
  17. ^ Fischer, Karen M. (2002). "Waning buoyancy in the crustal roots of old mountains". Nature. 417 (6892): 933–936. doi:10.1038/nature00855. ISSN 1476-4687. PMID 12087400. S2CID 4424777.
  18. ^ Li, Aibing; Fischer, Karen M.; Lee, Suzan van der; Wysession, Michael E. (2002). "Crust and upper mantle discontinuity structure beneath eastern North America". Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth. 107 (B5): ESE 7–1–ESE 7–12. doi:10.1029/2001JB000190. ISSN 2156-2202.
  19. ^ Rychert, Catherine A.; Fischer, Karen M.; Rondenay, Stéphane (2005). "A sharp lithosphere–asthenosphere boundary imaged beneath eastern North America". Nature. 436 (7050): 542–545. doi:10.1038/nature03904. ISSN 1476-4687. PMID 16049485. S2CID 4386941.
  20. ^ Lekic, V.; French, S. W.; Fischer, K. M. (2011-11-11). "Lithospheric Thinning Beneath Rifted Regions of Southern California". Science. 334 (6057): 783–787. doi:10.1126/science.1208898. ISSN 0036-8075. PMID 21979933. S2CID 19422684.
  21. ^ Hu, Jiashun; Liu, Lijun; Faccenda, Manuele; Zhou, Quan; Fischer, Karen M.; Marshak, Stephen; Lundstrom, Craig (2018). "Modification of the Western Gondwana craton by plume–lithosphere interaction". Nature Geoscience. 11 (3): 203–210. doi:10.1038/s41561-018-0064-1. ISSN 1752-0894. S2CID 134835402.
  22. ^ Yoksoulian, Lois. "Continental interiors may not be as tectonically stable as geologists think". news.illinois.edu. Retrieved 2021-06-03.
  23. ^ Hopper, Emily; Fischer, Karen M. (2018). "The Changing Face of the Lithosphere-Asthenosphere Boundary: Imaging Continental Scale Patterns in Upper Mantle Structure Across the Contiguous U.S. With Sp Converted Waves". Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems. 19 (8): 2593–2614. doi:10.1029/2018GC007476. ISSN 1525-2027.
  24. ^ a b "Karen Fischer | Seismological Society of America". www.seismosoc.org. Retrieved 2021-06-03.
  25. ^ Anonymous (2010). "AGU Fellows Elected for 2010". Eos, Transactions American Geophysical Union. 91 (6): 59. doi:10.1029/2010EO060010. ISSN 2324-9250.
  26. ^ "2016 AGU Section and Focus Group Awardees and Named Lecturers". Eos. Retrieved 2021-06-03.
  27. ^ "Karen Fischer wins top honor in seismology". EurekAlert!. Retrieved 2021-06-03.
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