A.G. Huntsman Award for Excellence in Marine SciencePast Recipient, Dr. Dan Peter McKenzie (1980) |
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Dr. Dan Peter McKenzie's
primary contribution in marine goescience
is developing theoretical models to
explain the phenomenon of continental
drift. This Award recognizes his broad
range of contributions, their fundamental
importance, and the originality of his
work. Dr. McKenzie has postulated that
the continental masses are moved along by
convection currents inside the earth. The
area where these convection currents
exhibit strongest influence is near the
mid-oceanic ridges, therefore he has paid
special attention to the mechanism of
mountain building on ocean floors. In
1967, together with R.L. Parker, he
analyzed the orientation of slip victors
of earthquakes at the margins of the
North Pacific and showed that the vast
Pacific plate is rotating as a rigid
body. Further work led to the theoretical
framework for unraveling the geology of
such complex regions as California. Dr.
McKenzie has worked in the Pacific,
Mediterranean, Indian and Atlantic Oceans
_ both participating in oceanic
expeditions and in theoretical studies.
His field work in the Indian Ocean led to
a notable study of the complicated
history of that area, including the
migration of the Indian continent. More
recently he has generated new studies and
new thought in a series of papers that
relate gravity, bathymetry, heat flow and
convection. The subsidence of a cooling
lithosphere has important consequences
for the early history of the opening of
the South Atlantic. The uplift over
rising mantle plumes accounts for the
elevation of Iceland and the Azores. 