Richard B. Alley, Evan Pugh Professor of Geosciences, is the recipient of the National Academy of Sciences Arthur L. Day Prize and Lectureship.
The Arthur L. Day Prize and Lectureship is awarded every three years to a scientist making lasting contributions to the study of the physics of the Earth and whose lectures will provide solid, timely and useful additions to the knowledge and literature in the field.
Alley is honored for his innovative studies of the flow of ice sheets and ice streams, which have important implications for the stability of Earth's major ice masses in Antarctica and Greenland. He greatly enhanced the ability to date and interpret annual layers in ice cores and thus added precision to understanding of past variations in climate.
He will present a series of Day lectures that will summarize and synthesize current knowledge in the field of ice dynamics and climate change. The prize awards $20,000 plus funds for the lectures.
Alley will be honored on April 27 during the National Academy of Sciences 151st annual meeting.