Walter Alvarez | |
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.jpg) Walter Alvarez at the Cretaceous–Paleogene boundary inGubbio, Italy | |
| Born | Walter Alvarez (1940-10-03)October 3, 1940 (age 85) |
| Alma mater | |
| Known for | Alvarez hypothesis |
| Spouse | |
| Father | Luis Walter Alvarez |
| Awards |
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| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Geology |
| Institutions | |
Walter Alvarez (born October 3, 1940) is a professor in the Earth and Planetary Science department at theUniversity of California, Berkeley. He and his father,Nobel Prize–winningphysicistLuis Alvarez, developed the theory thatdinosaurs were killed by anasteroid impact.
Born inBerkeley, California, Alvarez is the son ofLuis Walter Alvarez, aNobel Prize-winner in physics, and Geraldine Smithwick. His grandfather was physicianWalter C. Alvarez and his great-grandfather, Spanish-bornLuis F. Alvarez, worked as a doctor inHawaii and developed a method for the better diagnosis of macularleprosy. His great-auntMabel Alvarez was an artist and oil painter fromCalifornia.[1]
Alvarez earned hisB.A. ingeology in 1962 fromCarleton College inMinnesota andPh.D. in geology fromPrinceton University in 1967. He worked for American Overseas Petroleum Limited in theNetherlands, and inLibya at the time ofColonel Gaddafi's revolution. Having developed a side interest inarchaeological geology, he left the oil company and spent some time inItaly, studying the Romanvolcanics and their influence on patterns of settlement inearly Roman times.[1]
Alvarez then moved toLamont–Doherty Geological Observatory ofColumbia University, and began studying the Mediterranean tectonics in the light of the new theory ofplate tectonics. His work on tectonicpaleomagnetism in Italy led to a study of thegeomagnetic reversals recorded in Italian deep-sealimestones. Alvarez and his colleagues were able to date the reversals for an interval of more than 100 million years of the Earth's history by usingForaminiferabiostratigraphy.[1][2]
_Boundary_at_Bottaccione_Gorge_near_Gubbio_Italy.jpg)
Alvarez and his fatherLuis W. Alvarez, together withFrank Asaro andHelen Michel, discovered that aclay layer occurring right at theCretaceous–Paleogene (K-Pg) boundary was highly enriched in the elementiridium. Since iridium enrichment is common inasteroids, but very uncommon on the Earth, they postulated that the layer had been created by theimpact of a large asteroid with the Earth, and that this impact was the likely cause of theCretaceous–Paleogene extinction event, which occurred 66 million years ago and was responsible for the elimination of 75% of all then-existent species, including all non-aviandinosaurs.[3]
This iridium enrichment has now been observed in many other sites around the world. In addition, theChicxulub crater off the northeast coast of theYucatan Peninsula was identified and is now regarded as the definitive evidence of a large impact. Consequently, a majority of scientists now accept an impact scenario as the most likely cause for the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction.[4] Alvarez's 1997 book,T. rex and the Crater of Doom, details the discovery of the event.
In addition to his interest in extinction events and impacts, Alvarez has contributed to the understanding ofMediterranean tectonics,Roman geology andarcheology, and the establishment of magnetostratigraphic correlations.[1][2]
Alvarez began teaching a course inBig History atUC Berkeley in 2006 under the title "Big History: Cosmos, Earth, Life, Humanity."[5] He last taught the course in 2011 where it was videotaped and made freely available online.[6] According to Alvarez, Big History is the "attempt to understand, in a unified and interdisciplinary way, the history of the Cosmos, Earth, Life and Humanity." This definition was later adopted by theInternational Big History Association (IBHA).[7] Alvarez's course is open to all majors and grade levels and seeks to provide a broad understanding of the past, present and future.
Alvarez helped organize a meeting of Big Historians at the Geological Observatory at Coldigioco in Italy in 2010[8] which resulted in the establishment of the International Big History Association. In 2011, the IBHA is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization.[9]
Alvarez was one of the founding members of the IBHA,[10] and served on the advisory board until August 7, 2014 when he stepped down at the 2014 IBHA conference held atDominican University of California.
In partnership withMicrosoft Research, Alvarez developed a zoomable timeline calledChronoZoom,[11] which is a computer-graphical approach to visualizing and understanding time scales, and presenting vast quantities of historical information in a useful way.[12] ChronoZoom was introduced at the 97th Annual Faculty Research Lecture at UC Berkeley.[13]
Alvarez was elected a Fellow of theAmerican Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1983, and elected a member of theNational Academy of Sciences in 1991.[14] He was awarded the 2006Nevada Medal, the 2008Vetlesen Prize,[15] and thePenrose Medal from theGeological Society of America. In 2005, he received thedoctorate "Honoris Causa" in Geological Sciences from theUniversity of Siena, Italy.
Minor planet3581 Alvarez is named after him and his father,Luis Walter Alvarez.[16]
