Senior Research Scientist
Ph.D., University of California at San Diego,
Scripps Institution of Oceanography (1976);
B.S., Stanford (1970)
Telephone 512-471-0433
email: lawver@ig.utexas.edu |  |
Marine Geophysics
Marine geophysics, plate tectonics, magnetics, gravity, heat flow, and seismic studies.
Research Interests
Dr. Lawver's current research concerns paleogeographic reconstructions of Polar Regions, East Asia, and the Western Pacific, the development of paleo-seaways and their impact on climate, and the aerogeophysics of the Arctic region. He is particularly interested in two of the remaining problems in the study of plate tectonics: understanding the timing and process of opening of the Canada Basin of the Arctic region, and the impact of plate tectonics on long-term climate change. Dr. Lawver uses marine magnetic anomaly, heat flow, and aerogeophysical data, as well as computer graphics to aid in understanding the break-up and evolution of the Polar regions. He has acquired heat flow, marine magnetic and seismic data during
cruises to the Antarctic Peninsula and the Ross Sea region of Antarctica. Recent work with his colleague, Dr. Marta Ghidella of the Instituto Antartico Argentino, has lead to a new understanding of the early break-up history of the Weddell Sea region of Antarctica. As one of the principal investigators of UTIG's PLATES project, Dr. Lawver utilizes the PLATES global databases as an investigative tool in carrying out his research. PLATES' software is used to produce animations of the major plates for the last 600 million years. With the PLATES software,
time-varying tectonic scenarios rather than simple snapshots can be produced to analyze evolutionary processes.
Funded Research Projects:
Aeromagnetic survey of the Canada Basin and Chukchi Plateau region of the Arctic, jointly with the Naval Research Lab, Washington, DC
Cdrom of the tectonic development of the Antarctic region. (Check out "Antarctica: Keystone of Gondwana" PowerpointTM animation!)
PLATES
Selected Publications
Lawver, L.A., Grantz, A. and Gahagan, L.M., 2002, Plate kinematic evolution of the present Arctic region since the Ordovician. In: E.L. Miller, A. Grantz and S.L. Klemperer (Editors), Tectonic Evolution of the Bering Shelf-ChukchiSea-Arctic Margin and Adjacent Landmasses, Special Paper. Geological Society of America, Boulder, CO, p. 333-358.
Lawver, L.A., Gahagan, L.M., and Dalziel, I.W.D, 1999. A Tight fit-Early Mesozoic Gondwana, a Plate Reconstruction Perspective, in Motoyoshi, Y. and Shiraishi, K. (editors), Origin and Evolution of Continents: Proceedings of the International Symposium "Origin and Evolution of Continents," 13-14 October, 1997, Tokyo, Memoirs of National Institute of Polar Research, Special Issue, No. 53, p354.. 214-229.
Lawver, L.A., and Gahagan, L.M., 1998. The Initiation of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current and its impact on Cenozoic climate, in Crowley, T. and Burke, K., eds., Tectonic Boundary Conditions for Climate Model Simulations, Oxford Univ. Press, 213-226.
Lawver, L.A., et al., Distributed, Active Extension in Bransfield Basin, Antarctic Peninsula: Evidence from Multibeam Bathymetry, GSA Today, 1996, v. 6, 1-6 plus centerfold, p. 16-17.
Lawver, L. A., R. A. Keller, M. R. Fisk, and J. A. Strelin, Bransfield Strait, Antarctic Peninsula: Active extension behind a dead arc, in B. Taylor (editor), Back Arc Basins: Tectonics and Magmatism Volume, Plenum Press, Holland, 315-342, 1995.
Lee, Tung-yi, and Lawver, L.A., 1995. Cenozoic plate reconstruction of the Southeast Asia region, Tectonophysics, 251, 85-138.
Click here to see more publications.
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