List of Geophysicists - W

W

• Kiyoo Wadati (Japanese, 1902–1995) – researched subduction zone earthquakes; lent name to Wadati-Benioff zone
• Alfred Wegener (German, 1880–1930) – developed theory of continental drift
• Emil Johann Wiechert (German–1928) – first verifiable model of layered structure of the Earth; pioneering work on propagation of seismic waves.
• J. Tuzo Wilson (Canadian, 1908–1993) – contributions to plate tectonics: theories of hotspots, transform faults and Wilson cycles; Vetlesen Prize
• J. Lamar Worzel (American, 1919–2008) – contributions to underwater acoustics, underwater photography, and gravity measurements at sea