Yale Bulletin and Calendar

April 13, 2007|Volume 35, Number 25

Jun Korenaga

Geologist Jun Korenaga is honored
for his research on the Earth's mantle

The prestigious James B. Macelwane Medal was awarded to Jun Korenaga, assistant professor of geology and geophysics at Yale, for his studies on how the history of the Earth is controlled by its deep interior.

The Macelwane Medal is presented annually by the American Geophysical Union (AGU) in recognition of significant contributions to the geophysical sciences by an outstanding scientist under 36 years of age.

Korenaga is studying the history of the Earth's mantle and processes controlling surface motion, as seen in the formation and breakup of supercontinents. Although the Earth has been cooling for the past four billion years, the mantle appears to be moving more rapidly today than in the past. Korenaga has demonstrated a rationale for this paradox.

"You might expect that in the past when the Earth was hotter, the Earth's crust would have been moving more rapidly, so forming a supercontinent would have been easier." Instead, Korenaga says, "when the Earth's mantle was hotter, it melted more easily, so this melting must have made the mantle stiffer than today.

"The mantle is known to become very stiff when it is free of impurities, and melting is a natural way of removing impurities from the mantle," says Korenaga, who joined the Yale faculty in 2003 and describes himself as a "freestyle" geophysicist. His theory incorporates this aspect of mineral physics into the dynamics of the Earth's interior and lays a foundation for deciphering the history of supercontinent assembly and breakup as recorded in mountain belts around the world.

"The conclusions Jun has drawn about Earth's thermal history are as controversial as they are profound, and it may take a while to know whether he has cut the Gordian knot. But the span of his research and the keenness of his insights illustrate what strong inference is all about," said Thomas H. Jordan of the University of Southern California in presenting the medal this past December.

This award is among the highest honors presented by the AGU, and carries with it appointment as a fellow of the AGU. David Bercovici, professor and chair of geology and geophysics at Yale, was a previous recipient of the award in 1996.

The AGU award is named in honor of James B. Macelwane, who was renowned for his contributions to geophysics and his interest in encouraging young scientists.

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Campus Notes