Karen M. Fischer Explained

Karen M. Fischer
Birth Date:June 16, 1961[1]
Birth Place:Boston, MA
Workplaces:Brown University
Alma Mater:Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Yale University
Thesis Title:The morphology and dynamics of subducting lithosphere
Thesis Url:http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/57820
Thesis Year:1989
Doctoral Advisor:Thomas H. Jordan
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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

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.[3] 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".[4] After a postdoctoral appointment at Lamont–Doherty Earth Observatory of Columbia University (1989-1990),[5] she joined the faculty at Brown University where she is the Louis and Elizabeth Scherck Distinguished Professor of Geological Sciences.

From 2003 to 2005 Fisher was an editor at Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems (G3)[6] and she served as the president of the Seismology section at the American Geophysical Union from 2013 to 2014.[7]

Research

Fischer's research uses seismology to study the interior of Earth's crust and mantle, especially in the lithosphere and the asthenosphere.[8] In the Marquesas Islands in the Pacific Ocean, Fischer identified unusually high temperatures in the lithosphere.[9] In the Tonga subduction zone, she used seismic data to map changes in the thickness of the subducting lithosphere[10] and modeled flow rates within the mantle.[11] [12] She has identified the presence of a continuous mantle on the East Pacific Rise[13] and discontinuities in the mantle under the eastern United States.[14] In the Appalachian Mountains, Fischer deploys broadband seismometers in the field[15] and uses the resulting data to define the thickness of the crust beneath the Appalachian Mountains.[16] [17] [18] Her research provides insight into age-related changes in the materials beneath old mountains[19] and discontinuities in the crust and mantle beneath the Appalachian Mountains[20] [21] and deformation in the plates beneath Southern California.[22] Her research on the lithosphere in South American and Africa[23] has implications for the stability of the tectonic plates in the region.[24] [25]

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".

Awards

Notes and References

  1. The morphology and dynamics of subducting lithosphere. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. 1989. Thesis. Karen Marie. Fischer. 1721.1/57820.
  2. Web site: Fischer, Karen. 2021-06-03. vivo.brown.edu. en.
  3. The morphology and dynamics of subducting lithosphere. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. 1989. Thesis. Karen Marie. Fischer. 1721.1/57820.
  4. The morphology and dynamics of subducting lithosphere. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. 1989. Thesis. Karen Marie. Fischer. 1721.1/57820.
  5. Web site: Karen Fischer IRIS. 2021-06-03. www.iris.edu.
  6. Web site: Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems. 2021-06-03. AGU Journals. en.
  7. Web site: About - Seismology. 2021-06-03. connect.agu.org.
  8. 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. 10.1146/annurev-earth-040809-152438. 0084-6597.
  9. Fischer. Karen M.. McNutt. Marcia K.. Shure. Loren. 1986. Thermal and mechanical constraints on the lithosphere beneath the Marquesas swell. Nature. en. 322. 6081. 733–736. 10.1038/322733a0. 4350676. 1476-4687.
  10. Fischer. Karen M.. Jordan. Thomas H.. 1991. Seismic strain rate and deep slab deformation in Tonga. Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth. en. 96. B9. 14429–14444. 10.1029/91JB00153. 2156-2202.
  11. 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. en. 105. B7. 16181–16191. 10.1029/1999JB900441. 18657537 . 2156-2202.
  12. 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. 10.1126/science.1058763. 11326095. 4822268.
  13. 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. en. 91. B14. 14006–14014. 10.1029/JB091iB14p14006. 2156-2202.
  14. Li. Aibing. Fischer. Karen M.. Wysession. Michael E.. Clarke. Timothy J.. 1998. Mantle discontinuities and temperature under the North American continental keel. Nature. en. 395. 6698. 160–163. 10.1038/25972. 4420431. 1476-4687.
  15. Web site: Speaker series. EarthScope.
  16. 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. en. 40. 15. 3853–3857. 10.1002/grl.50761. 1944-8007. free.
  17. Web site: 2016-11-22. How a continent collision built the Appalachian mountains. 2021-06-03. Futurity. en-US.
  18. Web site: Hall. Galen. 2016-12-02. Brown researchers investigate birth of Appalachian mountains. 2021-06-03. Brown Daily Herald. en-US.
  19. Fischer. Karen M.. 2002. Waning buoyancy in the crustal roots of old mountains. Nature. en. 417. 6892. 933–936. 10.1038/nature00855. 12087400. 4424777. 1476-4687.
  20. 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. en. 107. B5. ESE 7–1–ESE 7–12. 10.1029/2001JB000190. 2156-2202. free.
  21. Rychert. Catherine A.. Fischer. Karen M.. Rondenay. Stéphane. 2005. A sharp lithosphere–asthenosphere boundary imaged beneath eastern North America. Nature. en. 436. 7050. 542–545. 10.1038/nature03904. 16049485. 4386941. 1476-4687.
  22. Lekic. V.. French. S. W.. Fischer. K. M.. 2011-11-11. Lithospheric Thinning Beneath Rifted Regions of Southern California. Science. en. 334. 6057. 783–787. 10.1126/science.1208898. 21979933. 19422684. 0036-8075. free.
  23. 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. en. 11. 3. 203–210. 10.1038/s41561-018-0064-1. 134835402. 1752-0894.
  24. Web site: Yoksoulian. Lois. Continental interiors may not be as tectonically stable as geologists think. 2021-06-03. news.illinois.edu. en-US.
  25. 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. en. 19. 8. 2593–2614. 10.1029/2018GC007476. 1525-2027. free.
  26. Anonymous. 2010. AGU Fellows Elected for 2010. Eos, Transactions American Geophysical Union. en. 91. 6. 59. 10.1029/2010EO060010. 2324-9250. free.
  27. Web site: 2016 AGU Section and Focus Group Awardees and Named Lecturers. 2021-06-03. Eos. en-US.
  28. Web site: Karen Fischer wins top honor in seismology. 2021-06-03. EurekAlert!. en.
  29. Web site: Karen Fischer Seismological Society of America. 2021-06-03. www.seismosoc.org.

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