Maya Tolstoy

Marine geologist

Maya Tolstoy

Education|

* University of Edinburgh (BS)
* Scripps Institution of Oceanography (PhD)

Occupation| Marine geophysicist
Awards| Women of Discovery Award

Maya Tolstoy is a marine geophysicist known for her work on earthquakes in the deep sea. From Fall 2018 through December 2019 she was the Interim Executive Vice President and Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences at Columbia University. Between 2022 and June 2025, she was the Maggie Walker Dean in the College of the Environment at the University of Washington.[1]

## Education and career

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Tolstoy was interested in both science and theater while growing up,[2] but a fascination with earthquakes led her to a career in geoscience.[3] Tolstoy received her B.S. in geophysics from the University of Edinburgh in 1988 and earned a Ph.D. from Scripps Institution of Oceanography in 1994.[4] Following her Ph.D., she was first a postdoctoral research at Scripps Institution of Oceanography and then at Lamont–Doherty Earth Observatory. In 1996 she joined the faculty at Lamont–Doherty Earth Observatory, and was promoted to professor in 2016.[4] In January 2022 she started her position as the Maggie Walker Dean of the College of the Environment at the University of Washington.[5][6]

## Research

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Tolstoy is known for her research using sound in the ocean to deep-sea earthquakes. Her early research investigated a 2006 undersea eruption on the East Pacific Rise.[7] While many of her instruments were trapped in lava, enough could be recovered to track the sequence of events that led to the eruption.[8] Her subsequent research has examined earthquakes at Axial Seamount,[9] the connections between tides and deep-sea earthquakes,[10] and the along-axis flow of fluids at the East Pacific Rise.[11] Tolstoy's research has linked changes in sea level with patterns of earthquake activity in the deep sea,[12] research which has implications for the release of carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas, into the atmosphere.[13]

In addition to her research, Tolstoy led an initiative defining issues encountered by women in science that culminated in a 2018 report that presented issues at Columbia University,[14] and she has worked to overcome issues in unequal treatment of women and minorities in hiring for academic positions.[15] Tolstoy was also in the 2005 James Cameron film about the deep ocean Aliens of the Deep,[16][17] and was a finalist in the 2009 astronaut interview process at NASA.[2]

## Selected publications

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* Crone, Timothy J.; Tolstoy, Maya (29 October 2010). "Magnitude of the 2010 Gulf of Mexico Oil Leak". Science. 330 (6004): 634. Bibcode:2010Sci...330..634C. doi:10.1126/science.1195840. PMID 20929734. S2CID 5722715.
* Tolstoy, Maya; Harding, Alistair J.; Orcutt, John A. (29 October 1993). "Crustal Thickness on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge: Bull's-Eye Gravity Anomalies and Focused Accretion". Science. 262 (5134): 726–729\. Bibcode:1993Sci...262..726T. doi:10.1126/science.262.5134.726. PMID 17812339. S2CID 36743776.
* Tolstoy, M.; Cowen, J. P.; Baker, E. T.; Fornari, D. J.; Rubin, K. H.; Shank, T. M.; Waldhauser, F.; Bohnenstiehl, D. R.; Forsyth, D. W.; Holmes, R. C.; Love, B.; Perfit, M. R.; Weekly, R. T.; Soule, S. A.; Glazer, B. (22 December 2006). "A Sea-Floor Spreading Event Captured by Seismometers". Science. 314 (5807): 1920–1922\. Bibcode:2006Sci...314.1920T. doi:10.1126/science.1133950. PMID 17124289. S2CID 10275659.
* Tolstoy, Maya; Vernon, Frank L.; Orcutt, John A.; Wyatt, Frank K. (1 June 2002). "Breathing of the seafloor: Tidal correlations of seismicity at Axial volcano". Geology. 30 (6): 503–506\. Bibcode:2002Geo....30..503T. doi:10.1130/0091-7613(2002)030<0503:BOTSTC>2.0.CO;2. ISSN 0091-7613.
* Tolstoy, M. (5 February 2015). "Mid-ocean ridge eruptions as a climate valve". Geophysical Research Letters. 42 (5): 1346–1351\. Bibcode:2015GeoRL..42.1346T. doi:10.1002/2014GL063015. S2CID 55300326.

## Awards and honors

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In 2009, Tolstoy received a Women of Discovery Award for her work on deep-sea exploration.[18] She was a 2012 invited speaker at the Nobel Conference,[19] and delivered the 2016 Francis Birch Lecture at the American Geophysical Union meeting.[20]

## References

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1. ^ https://environment.uw.edu/news/2025/06/maya-tolstoy-reflects-on-her-leadership-at-uw-environment/
2. ^ a b Pratt, Sara E. (May 8, 2015). "Down to Earth With: Marine Geophysicist Maya Tolstoy". www.earthmagazine.org. Retrieved 2022-02-05.
3. ^ Delaney, Peggy; Abrantes, Fatima; Alexander, Vera; Alldredge, Alice L.; Almogi-Labin, Ahuva; Alonso, Belén; Anand, Pallavi; Ates, Sibel Bargu; Bauch, Dorothea; Bell, Robin E.; Benitez-Nelson, Claudia (2005). "Autobiographical Sketches of Women in Oceanography". Oceanography. 18 (1): 65–246\. ISSN 1042-8275. JSTOR 43925658.
4. ^ a b "Homesite of Maya Tolstoy | Curriculum Vitae". www.ldeo.columbia.edu. Retrieved 2022-02-05.
5. ^ "Maya Tolstoy named dean of the UW College of the Environment". UW News. June 2, 2021. Retrieved 2022-02-05.
6. ^ "A Trio of Women Scholars Who Have Been Appointed to Endowed Positions". Women In Academia Report. 24 June 2021.
7. ^ Tolstoy, M.; Cowen, J. P.; Baker, E. T.; Fornari, D. J.; Rubin, K. H.; Shank, T. M.; Waldhauser, F.; Bohnenstiehl, D. R.; Forsyth, D. W.; Holmes, R. C.; Love, B.; Perfit, M. R.; Weekly, R. T.; Soule, S. A.; Glazer, B. (22 December 2006). "A Sea-Floor Spreading Event Captured by Seismometers". Science. 314 (5807): 1920–1922\. Bibcode:2006Sci...314.1920T. doi:10.1126/science.1133950. PMID 17124289. S2CID 10275659.
8. ^ Chadwick, William W. (2006). "A Submarine Volcano Is Caught in the Act". Science. 314 (5807): 1887–1888\. doi:10.1126/science.1137082. ISSN 0036-8075. JSTOR 20035087. PMID 17185591. S2CID 35015215.
9. ^ Tolstoy, Maya; Wilcock, William S.D.; Tan, Yen Joe; Waldhauser, Felix (2018). "A Tale of Two Eruptions: HOW DATA FROM AXIAL SEAMOUNT LED TO A DISCOVERY ON THE EAST PACIFIC RISE". Oceanography. 31 (1): 124–126\. doi:10.5670/oceanog.2018.118. ISSN 1042-8275. JSTOR 26307796.
10. ^ Tolstoy, Maya; Vernon, Frank L.; Orcutt, John A.; Wyatt, Frank K. (1 June 2002). "Breathing of the seafloor: Tidal correlations of seismicity at Axial volcano". Geology. 30 (6): 503–506\. Bibcode:2002Geo....30..503T. doi:10.1130/0091-7613(2002)030<0503:BOTSTC>2.0.CO;2. ISSN 0091-7613.
11. ^ Tolstoy, M.; Waldhauser, F.; Bohnenstiehl, D. R.; Weekly, R. T.; Kim, W.-Y. (January 2008). "Seismic identification of along-axis hydrothermal flow on the East Pacific Rise". Nature. 451 (7175): 181–184\. Bibcode:2008Natur.451..181T. doi:10.1038/nature06424. PMID 18185585. S2CID 4320243.
12. ^ Tolstoy, Maya (2015). "Mid-ocean ridge eruptions as a climate valve". Geophysical Research Letters. 42 (5): 1346–1351\. Bibcode:2015GeoRL..42.1346T. doi:10.1002/2014GL063015. ISSN 1944-8007. S2CID 55300326.
13. ^ McSpadden, Kevin (February 6, 2015). "Undersea Volcanoes May Impact Climate Change". Time. Retrieved 2022-02-05.
14. ^ June, Audrey Williams (October 26, 2018). "What Factors Hold Back the Careers of Women and Faculty of Color? Columbia U. Went Looking for Answers". Chronicle of Higher Education. 65 (8).
15. ^ Xia, Karen (February 1, 2019). "Columbia has $185 million in dedicated funds. Why is hiring diverse faculty still so difficult?". UWIRE Text.
16. ^ Eagan, Daniel (February 2005). "Aliens of the Deep". Film Journal International. Vol. 108, no. 2.
17. ^ REED, CHRISTINA (2005). "Into the Abyss". Scientific American. 292 (2): 24–25\. Bibcode:2005SciAm.292b..24R. doi:10.1038/scientificamerican0205-24. ISSN 0036-8733. JSTOR 26060865. PMID 15715384.
18. ^ "Women Explorers | The Leonard Lopate Show". WNYC. April 28, 2009. Retrieved 2022-02-05.
19. ^ "Maya Tolstoy, Ph.D. - Nobel Conference 48 | Nobel Conference". gustavus.edu. Retrieved 2022-02-05.
20. ^ "Francis Birch Lecture | AGU". www.agu.org. Retrieved 2022-02-05.

## External links

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* Maya Tolstoy publications indexed by Google Scholar
* Seafloor earthquakes | Maya Tolstoy on YouTube, May 13, 2013 TEDxCERN

Authority control databases |

* ISNI

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