Geology is about more than just rocks and other hard objects. Fluids play a major role in shaping the surface of not just Earth but other planets and moons as well. In fact, according to Michael Manga, a geologist at the University of California, Berkeley, just about everything in Earth can be viewed as a fluid. "The atmosphere and the oceans are fluids," he explains. "Volcanoes erupt magma, which is a fluid. Water flowing through the Earth's crust-groundwater-is a fluid. Earth's mantle can be viewed as a fluid on geological timescales, even though it's a solid material." Throughout his career, Manga, who was elected to the National Academy of Sciences in 2018, has applied principles of fluid dynamics to help answer a wide range of questions in earth science: What makes volcanoes erupt explosively, how can earthquakes trigger distant volcanic eruptions, how do groundwater flows and earthquakes interact, and what goes on beneath the icy surface of moons in the outer Solar System.
Finding GeophysicsAchievement runs in Manga's family. His father grew up in South Africa, the son of fruit sellers, and after immigrating to Canada and working in a steel mill, he eventually became a professor of health economics at the University of Ottawa. Manga's mother took care of the family while Manga and his brothers were growing up, but later went back to school and earned a doctorate in linguistics. Growing up in Ottawa, Ontario, Manga developed an interest in science in elementary school, when he joined the Macoun Field Naturalist Club. This club for children and teenagers meets on weekends at what is now the Canadian Museum of Nature, where adult volunteers introduce facets of nature and natural history. The club also organizes camping trips where members can study various species in the field and become comfortable in the outdoors. Manga participated in the club through high school.Perhaps due to the influence of the Macoun Club, Manga intended to study entomology when he entered McGill University in Montreal. Those plans changed following his exposure to introductory courses in his first year. Manga chose to major in the subject that he least understood: physics.
