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DAN
PETER MACKENZIE (1980)
Dr.
Dan Peter MacKenzie'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. MacKenzie 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.
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