Peter L. Olson

About

Peter L. Olson is a Research Professor in the Department of Earth & Planetary Sciences at Johns Hopkins University. His research focuses on understanding the dynamics of Earth's interior, including the mantle and the core. Olson is especially interested in how these major parts of the Earth interact to produce plate tectonics, deep mantle plumes, and the geomagnetic field, as well as the formation of the Earth's core. His approach combines theory, numerical models, and laboratory fluid dynamics models to interpret global geophysical data related to the Earth's deep interior and other planets. Olson specializes in the dynamics of Earth's core, particularly the magnetohydrodynamic processes responsible for generating the geomagnetic field in the fluid outer core, and how this process is influenced by the solid inner core and the lower mantle. Recently, he has begun a systematic investigation of the slow carbon cycle, focusing on the cycling of carbon through the components of the Earth system that control climate on geologic timescales. This work is conducted in collaboration with colleagues in EPS and other U.S. institutions, involving graduate students and postdoctoral researchers at Johns Hopkins.

Research topics

• Medicine
• Biology
• Geology
• Physics
• Astronomy
• Astrobiology
• Geochemistry
• Paleontology
• General surgery
• Thermodynamics

Selected publications

• JAMA Internal Medicine

  JAMA Internal Medicine · 2021 · 6 citations

  Mission Statement: To promote the art and science of medicine and the betterment of public health by publishing manuscripts of interest and relevance to internists practicing as generalists or as medical subspecialists.

  DOI

• JAMA Otolaryngology–Head & Neck Surgery

  JAMA Otolaryngology–Head & Neck Surgery · 2023 · 2 citations

  Mission Statement JAMA Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery provides timely information for physicians and scientists concerned with diseases of the head and neck.Given the diversity of structure and function based in this anatomic region, JAMA Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery publishes clinical, translational, and population health research from an array of disciplines.We place a high priority on strong study designs that accurately identify etiologies, evaluate diagnostic strategies, and disti…

  DOI

• Comment on "Did the terrestrial planets of the Solar System form by pebble accretion?"

  arXiv (Cornell University) · 2024-11-26 · 1 citations

  preprintOpen access

  Morbidelli, Kleine & Nimmo (2024) (MKN) recently published a critical analysis on whether the terrestrial planets in the Solar System formed by rapid pebble accretion or by the classical route of multiple giant impacts between planetary embryos after the dissipation of the protoplanetary disc. They arrive at the conclusion that the terrestrial planets did not form by pebble accretion. Although we welcome debate on this topic, we want to emphasize here several points that we disagree on. We w…

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Chondritic component pebbles as sources of Earth’s composition and water

  2025-01-01

  article
  PublisherDOI

• PEBBLE ACCRETION EXPLAINS EARTH'S MAJOR ELEMENT COMPOSITION

  Abstracts with programs - Geological Society of America · 2024-01-01

  articleSenior author
  PublisherDOI

Recent grants

• FESD Proposal,Type I: Open Earth Systems: Whole planet models for global processes and major events in Earth's history

  NSF · $4.8M · 2011–2018

• Investigation of the Causes of Geomagnetic Dipole Moment Change

  NSF · $330k · 2006–2010

• Core-Mantle Interaction and Evolution of the Geodynamo

  NSF · $413k · 2009–2013

Frequent coauthors

• Fred Furtner

  International Rescue Committee

  173 shared

• Juliet Orellana

  173 shared

• Teresa Omiotek

  Advisory Board Company (United States)

  173 shared

• James Madara

  St. Louis County Missouri

  173 shared

• Sasha Grossman

  Johns Hopkins University

  173 shared

• Michael Ryder

  Advisory Board Company (United States)

  173 shared

• Doug Brandt

  Johns Hopkins University

  173 shared

• Patricia Panek

  Perspectives Charter School

  173 shared

Education

• Ph.D>, Geology and Geophysics

  University of California Berkeley

Similar researchers at Johns Hopkins University

• Julie K. Lundquisth-82
• Darryn Waughh-81
• Dimitri Sverjenskyh-70