Name Walter Mooney | ||
Born November 17, 1951 (age 72) Long Island, New York, U.S. ( 1951-11-17 ) Institutions United States Geological SurveyUniversity of KielStanford UniversityPierre et Marie Curie University Thesis Seismic refraction studies of the Western Cordillera, Colombia and an East Pacific-Caribbean Ridge during the Jurassic and Cretaceous and the evolution of western Colombia (1979) Notable awards George P. Woollard Award Institution United States Geological Survey, University of Kiel, Stanford University, Pierre-and-Marie-Curie University | ||
Walter D. Mooney (born November 17, 1951) is a research seismologist and geophysicist at the United States Geological Survey (USGS), Menlo Park, California (1978–present). He was Chief of the USGS Branch of Seismology from 1994 to 1997.
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Early life and education
Mooney was born in Floral Park (Long Island), New York and is the sixth of seven children. He attended Cornell University from 1969-1973 for his B.S in Physics. In 1976, he spent 6 months as a Graduate Fellow in Karlsruhe University, Germany. He went on to complete his Ph.D. on the Deep Structure of the South American Andes in 1979 at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Research
Mooney’s major interest is global Earth crustal structure and tectonics, with a focus on the continental lithosphere. Mooney has led fieldwork throughout North and South America. According to Mooney his international research collaborations have "provided both a rich basis for my science, and a broad cultural understanding.’ He has co-authored more than 170 scientific papers.
Mooney has also been a visiting professor of geophysics in many different universities over the years including, Stanford University (1984-2008; 2014–present), Pierre et Marie Curie University, France (1998) and University of Kiel, Germany (1985).
With Claus Prodehl of Universität Karlsuhe, Germany, Mooney wrote Exploring the Earth's Crust - History and Results of Controlled-Source Seismology).
Since 2011, he has been collaborating with the Saudi Geological Survey in a study of the crustal and upper mantle structure beneath western Saudi Arabia using data from the SGS broadband seismic network.
Awards and professional associations
Mooney is considered a world leader in geophysical studies of the Earth's crust and upper mantle. In 1995, he was awarded the Geological Society of America's (GSA) George P. Woollard Award. This award is given annually to recognize a person who has made outstanding contributions to geology using geophysical methods. as well as being a Fellow of the American Geophysical Union (AGU), the Royal Astronomical Society and the Geological Society of London. He received the Gold Medal Award in 2002 from the Indian Geophysical Union and was elected Foreign Fellow by the European Academy in 2004.