:Marcia McNutt

McNutt was valedictorian of her class at the Northrop Collegiate School (now The Blake School) in Minneapolis, graduating in 1970. She received a bachelor's degree in physics summa cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa, from Colorado College in 1973. As a National Science Foundation Graduate Fellow, she then studied geophysics at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography where she earned a PhD in earth sciences in 1978.{{cite web|title=Marcia McNutt |url=http://www.mbari.org/staff/marcia/ |date=July 9, 2009 |publisher=Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute via Internet Archive |access-date=May 24, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080803074041/http://www.mbari.org/staff/marcia/ |archive-date=August 3, 2008 }} Her dissertation was titled Continental and Oceanic Isostasy.{{cite web|title=Marcia McNutt: Curriculum Vitae |url=http://www.mbari.org/staff/marcia/cv.htm |publisher=Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute via Internet Archive |access-date=May 24, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071006174321/http://www.mbari.org/staff/marcia/cv.htm |archive-date=October 6, 2007 }}{{cite thesis |id={{ProQuest|302919782}} |title=Continental and oceanic isostasy |date=1978 |publisher=University of California, San Diego |degree=PhD |last=Mcnutt |first=Marcia Kemper |oclc=3818157}}

After holding a brief appointment at the University of Minnesota, McNutt worked for three years on earthquake prediction at the US Geological Survey in Menlo Park, California. In 1982, she became an assistant professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and in 1988 was appointed Griswold Professor of Geophysics. She previously served as director of the Joint Program in Oceanography and Applied Ocean Science and Engineering, a cooperative effort of MIT and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution.

McNutt is a National Association of Underwater Instructors (NAUI)-certified scuba diver and trained in underwater demolition and explosives handling with the Underwater Demolition Team (UDT) of the United States Navy and the United States Navy SEALs.{{cite news|author1=Perlman, David |author2=Fimrite, Peter |name-list-style=amp |title=Obama taps Californians for parks, geology jobs|url=http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/07/10/MNKF18MLTJ.DTL|work=San Francisco Chronicle|publisher=Hearst Communications|date=July 11, 2009|access-date=2009-08-01}}

Marcia Kemper McNutt's first husband Marcel Hoffmann Jr{{cite news|title=Meredith Hoffmann, Julian Scurci|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/07/fashion/weddings/meredith-hoffmann-julian-scurci-weddings.html|work=The New York Times|date=October 7, 2012}} died in 1988. They had three daughters: Meredith McNutt Hoffmann and identical twins Dana and Ashley Hoffmann.{{cite web|author=Lubick, Naomi|title=Marcia McNutt: Oceangoing geophysicist|url=http://www.geotimes.org/july05/profiles.html|date=July 2005|publisher= American Geological Institute|website=Geotimes|access-date=2009-07-30}}{{cite web|title=The Girls|url=http://www.ashleyandkcwedding.com/weddingparty|website=Ashley & KC|access-date=23 March 2017|archive-date=23 March 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170323145650/http://www.ashleyandkcwedding.com/weddingparty}} Ashley Hoffmann was "Miss Rodeo California" in 2009. Marcia McNutt is also a horse enthusiast and enjoys barrel racing on her mare Lulu.{{cite news|author=Winter, Allison|title=USGS Director Quietly Wages 'Fearless' War on Oil Spill|url=https://www.nytimes.com/gwire/2010/06/16/16greenwire-usgs-director-quietly-wages-fearless-war-on-oi-83792.html|date=June 16, 2010|work=The New York Times|access-date=June 16, 2010}}

McNutt is one of six women scientists featured in the 1995 PBS (WGBH-TV) series, "Discovering Women."{{cite web|author=Ball, Charles H.|title=Faculty member, alumna among WGBH's 'Discovering Women'|date=March 22, 1995|url=http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/1995/wgbh-0322.html|website=MIT Tech Talk via MIT News|publisher= Massachusetts Institute of Technology|access-date=April 10, 2011}} How she excelled in science with a household of young daughters and the help of housekeeper Ann and her daughter is described by Jocelyn Steinke in "A portrait of a woman as a scientist: breaking down barriers created by gender-role stereotypes".{{cite journal|author=Steinke, Jocelyn|title=A portrait of a woman as a scientist: breaking down barriers created by gender-role stereotypes|url=http://homepages.wmich.edu/~steinke/projects/publications/portrait_of_a_woman_as_a_scientist.pdf|journal=Public Understanding of Science|access-date=April 15, 2011|year=1997|volume=6|issue=4|pages=409–428|issn=0963-6625|doi=10.1088/0963-6625/6/4/006|s2cid=16304629|archive-date=August 29, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170829225910/http://homepages.wmich.edu/~steinke/projects/publications/portrait_of_a_woman_as_a_scientist.pdf}}

In 1994, McNutt was one of 16 women faculty in the School of Science at MIT who drafted and co-signed a letter to then-Dean of Science Robert Birgeneau (later Chancellor of UC Berkeley), launching a campaign to highlight and challenge gender discrimination at MIT.{{Cite book |last=Zernike |first=Kate |title=The Exceptions: Nancy Hopkins, MIT, and the Fight for Women in Science |publisher=Scribner |year=2023 |isbn=978-1-9821-3183-8 |location=New York, NY}}

McNutt and Ian Young, an MBARI ship's captain, were married in 1996.{{cite web|title=Marcia Kemper McNutt Receives 2007 Maurice Ewing Medal|url=http://www.agu.org/about/honors/union/ewing/mcnutt_marcia.shtml|publisher=American Geophysical Union|access-date=April 10, 2011|archive-date=March 28, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200328033536/http://www.agu.org/about/honors/union/ewing/mcnutt_marcia.shtml}}{{cite web|author1=Brinkerhoff, Noel |author2=Wallechinsky, David |name-list-style=amp |title=United States Geological Survey: Who is Marcia McNutt?|url=http://www.allgov.com/Appointments_and_Resignations/ViewNews/United_States_Geological_Survey__Who_is_Marcia_McNutt_100622|publisher=AllGov.com|access-date=April 10, 2011}}File:Marcia McNutt.jpg

She participated in 15 major oceanographic expeditions and served as chief scientist on more than half of them. She published about 100 peer-reviewed scientific articles.{{cite web|title=Marcia McNutt: Publications |url=http://www.mbari.org/staff/marcia/pubs.htm |publisher=Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute |access-date=2009-07-30 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090708011223/http://www.mbari.org/staff/marcia/pubs.htm |archive-date=July 8, 2009 }} Her research has included studies of ocean island volcanism in French Polynesia, continental break-up in the Western United States, and uplift of the Tibet plateau.{{cite press release|title=Salazar Applauds President Obama's Intent to Nominate Dr. Marcia McNutt as Director of the U.S. Geological Survey|url=http://www.doi.gov/news/09_News_Releases/070909b.html|publisher=United States Department of the Interior|date=July 9, 2009|access-date=2009-07-31|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090717101110/http://www.doi.gov/news/09_News_Releases/070909b.html|archive-date=July 17, 2009}}

McNutt has made notable contributions to the understanding of the rheology and strength of the lithosphere. She showed that young volcanoes could flex the lithosphere, influencing the elevation of nearby volcanoes, and used a 3-D analysis of topography and gravity data to show that the Australian plate could be strong on short time scales and weak on long scales. She also showed how subducting ocean plates could weaken and identified a large topographic feature called the South Pacific superswell.{{Cite book|author1=McNutt, Marcia K.|author2=Fischer, Karen M.|author-link2=Karen M. Fischer |editor=Keating, Barbara H.|chapter=The South Pacific Superswell |title=Seamounts, Islands, and Atolls |series=Geophysical Monograph Series |year=1987|publisher=American Geophysical Union |isbn=978-0-87590-068-1|volume=43|page=25 |doi=10.1029/gm043p0025|bibcode=1987GMS....43...25M}}

File:Monterey Bay Research Institute 2012-10-13 P1030632.JPG (MBARI) was founded and privately funded by David Packard to be the "NASA of the oceans".{{cite book|title=NASA earth science: hearing before the Committee on Science, House of Representatives|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BW7I8lIlqIwC&pg=PA51|page=51|date=April 28, 2005| publisher=DIANE |access-date=2009-07-31|isbn=978-1-4223-3335-8}}]]

McNutt was president and CEO of the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI) from 1997 to 2009.{{cite web|title=MBARI President and CEO Marcia McNutt to be nominated as Director of U.S. Geological Survey|url=http://www.mbari.org/news/homepage/2009/marcia-usgs.html|publisher=Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute|date=July 10, 2009|access-date=2009-07-31}}{{cite news|title=MBARI Announces New President|url=http://www.ksbw.com/news/21520276/detail.html|date=November 4, 2009|work=KSBW|publisher=Internet Broadcasting Systems|access-date=2009-11-04|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110713174328/http://www.ksbw.com/news/21520276/detail.html|archive-date=July 13, 2011}} During that time the RV Western Flyer, MBARI's research vessel, made expeditions from Canada to Baja California and the Hawaiian Islands.{{cite press release|title=Secretary Salazar Applauds Senate's Confirmation of Dr. Marcia McNutt as Director of the U.S. Geological Survey|url=http://www.doi.gov/news/09_News_Releases/102209.html|date=October 22, 2009|publisher=U.S. Department of the Interior|access-date=2009-11-07|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091029151143/http://www.doi.gov/news/09_News_Releases/102209.html|archive-date=October 29, 2009}} MBARI built the Monterey Accelerated Research System (MARS), the first deep-sea cabled observatory in the continental United States.

McNutt chaired the NASEM climate intervention committee who delivered two reports in 2015.{{clear}}

File:McNutt-video.png in 2009]]

In July 2009, McNutt was announced as President Obama's nominee to be the next director of the United States Geological Survey and science adviser to the United States Secretary of the Interior.{{cite web|author=Stephens, Tim|title=MBARI president Marcia McNutt to be nominated as director of U.S. Geological Survey|url=http://www.ucsc.edu/news_events/text.asp?pid=3086|date=July 15, 2009|publisher=University of California, Santa Cruz|access-date=2009-07-30|archive-url=https://archive.today/20120805170901/http://www.ucsc.edu/news_events/text.asp?pid=3086|archive-date=August 5, 2012}} The Senate unanimously approved her nomination on October 21.{{cite news|author=Straub, Noelle|title=Senate Confirms Nominees for Interior, DOE |url=https://www.nytimes.com/gwire/2009/10/22/22greenwire-senate-confirms-nominees-for-interior-doe-23080.html|date=October 22, 2009|work=The New York Times|access-date=2009-10-22}} She was the first woman to lead the USGS since its establishment in 1879.{{cite web|title=Directors - Past and Present|url=https://www2.usgs.gov/aboutusgs/who_we_are/directors.asp|website=U.S. Geological Survey|access-date=19 January 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170131195618/https://www2.usgs.gov/aboutusgs/who_we_are/directors.asp|archive-date=31 January 2017}} Secretary Ken Salazar endorsed McNutt for the position. In a television interview following Obama's announcement, McNutt said:

{{blockquote|Many other countries are far ahead of the U.S., in installing wind farms, installing solar panels, moving to alternate energies, and in preparing their populations for the decision-making necessary to cope with climate change.{{cite video|people=Marcia McNutt speaking to Karina Rusk|title=Marcia McNutt to head USGS|url=https://abc7news.com/archive/6909798/|publisher=KGO-TV (ABC)|date=July 10, 2009|time=1:14|access-date=2009-07-30|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130823235803/http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/story?section=news%2Flocal%2Fsouth_bay&id=6909798|archive-date=August 23, 2013}}}}

File:Deepwater Horizon oil spill - May 24, 2010 - with locator.jpg. McNutt headed the Flow Rate Technical Group who determined the extent of the spill.]]

During her first year, four major events impacted USGS in quick succession: a magnitude 7.0 earthquake in Haiti, an 8.0 earthquake in Chile, the eruption of Eyjafjallajökull and the BP oil spill.{{cite news|author=McNutt, Marcia|title=A year on the job, she takes pride in disaster response|url=http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/66948/title/Comment__A_year_on_the_job%2C_she_takes_pride_in_disaster_response|date=December 18, 2010|publisher=Society for Science & the Public|work=Science News|access-date=January 1, 2011}}

In May 2010, McNutt headed the Flow Rate Technical Group which attempted to measure the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.{{cite news|author=Tapper, Jake|title=Today's Qs for O's WH - 5/24/10|date=May 24, 2010|url=http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpunch/2010/05/todays-qs-for-os-wh-52410.html|publisher=ABC News|access-date=May 25, 2010}} Preliminary reports from the group said that the rate of the oil spill was at least twice and possibly up to five times as much as previously acknowledged.{{cite news|author=Robertson, Campbell|title=Estimates Suggest Spill Is Biggest in U.S. History|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/28/us/28flow.html|work=The New York Times|date=May 27, 2010|access-date=May 27, 2010}} Subsequent estimates, based on six independent methodologies,{{cite press release|title=Admiral Allen, Dr. McNutt Provide Updates on Progress of Scientific Teams Analyzing Flow Rates from BP's Well|url=http://www.doi.gov/news/pressreleases/Admiral-Allen-Dr-McNutt-Provide-Updates-on-Progress-of-Scientific-Teams-Analyzing-Flow-Rates-from-BPs-Well.cfm|date=June 10, 2010|publisher=U.S. Department of the Interior|access-date=June 10, 2010}} were four times the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill.{{cite news|author=Boxall, Bettina|title=Gulf oil spill: Oil spill rate could be double previous estimate, government says|url=http://www.latimes.com/news/la-mobile-bp061010,0,1014836.story|date=June 10, 2010|work=The Los Angeles Times|publisher=Tribune Company|access-date=June 10, 2010}} A refined estimate based on new pressure readings, data, and analysis, released by the United States Secretary of Energy Steven Chu and McNutt in August, said that 4.9 million barrels (with uncertainty of plus or minus approximately 10 percent) of oil had leaked from the well until it was capped on July 15.{{cite press release|title=U.S. Scientific Teams Refine Estimates of Oil Flow from BP's Well Prior to Capping|url=http://www.doi.gov/news/pressreleases/US-Scientific-Teams-Refine-Estimates-of-Oil-Flow-from-BP-Well-Prior-to-Capping.cfm|date=August 2, 2010|publisher=U.S. Department of the Interior|access-date=September 5, 2010}} The disaster was the largest ever accidental spill of oil into marine waters.{{cite news|author1=Robertson, Campbell |author2=Krauss, Clifford |name-list-style=amp |title=Gulf Spill Is the Largest of Its Kind, Scientists Say|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/03/us/03spill.html|date=August 2, 2010|work=The New York Times|access-date=September 5, 2010}}

In a two-day deposition during October 2012, McNutt was questioned by lawyers for BP, for the Justice Department, for plaintiffs, and for the Gulf states.{{cite news|title=USGS head to be questioned in oil spill deposition|author=Weber, Harry R.|date=October 22, 2012|url=http://fuelfix.com/blog/2012/10/22/usgs-head-to-be-questioned-in-oil-spill-deposition/|work=Fuel Fix|publisher=Hearst|access-date=November 15, 2012}}{{cite news|author=Weber, Harry R.|url=http://www.chron.com/business/energy/article/After-BP-spill-information-trickled-as-oil-gushed-4035147.php|title=After BP spill, information trickled as oil gushed|date=November 14, 2012|work=Houston Chronicle|publisher=Hearst|access-date=November 15, 2012}} Subject to approval by U.S. federal courts, BP agreed to a settlement in November 2012 in which the company pleaded guilty to felony charges of misconduct or neglect concerning eleven deaths at the explosion site. The company agreed to pay US$4.5 billion including US$1.256 billion in criminal fines.{{cite news|title=BP to Plead Guilty to Felonies, Pay $4.5 Billion in Spill|author=Fowler, Tom|date=November 15, 2012|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424127887324556304578120140555122104|work=The Wall Street Journal|publisher=Dow Jones|access-date=November 15, 2012}} As of 2012, BP may still be liable for US$5.4 to US$31 billion in civil fines under the Clean Water Act and Oil Pollution Act.{{cite news|title=BP Will Plead Guilty and Pay Over $4 Billion|author1=Krauss, Clifford |author2=Schwartz, John |name-list-style=amp |date=November 15, 2012|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/16/business/global/16iht-bp16.html|work=The New York Times|access-date=November 16, 2012}}

File:Salazar-Grand Canyon-20110620.jpg with Secretary Salazar and other officials to mark an extended moratorium on uranium mining in 2011.]]

Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER) filed a lawsuit against the Department of the Interior and a complaint about a NOAA scientist in the Flow Rate Technical Group which McNutt led. The group felt that government scientists understated the flow rate of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.{{cite press release|url=http://www.peer.org/news/news_id.php?row_id=1402|title=Lawsuit to Unravel Varying BP Spill Estimates|publisher=Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility|access-date=September 27, 2010|date=September 16, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100919002758/http://www.peer.org/news/news_id.php?row_id=1402|archive-date=September 19, 2010}}{{cite news|title=Interior Dept.to be Sued Over Oil Spill Emails|url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/interior-deptto-be-sued-over-oil-spill-emails/|date=September 15, 2010|publisher=CBS News|access-date=September 28, 2010}}{{cite news|author=Sheppard, Kate|date=January 23, 2012|title=Report: White House Pressured Scientists to Underestimate BP Spill Size|url=http://motherjones.com/blue-marble/2012/01/report-white-house-pressured-scientists-underestimate-bp-spill-size|work=Mother Jones|publisher=Mother Jones and the Foundation for National Progress|access-date=February 13, 2012}}

McNutt participated in the reversal of a 2006 USGS policy that required agency scientists to submit their work to two internal reviewers and obtain a sign-off from a higher level official before submitting their work to external journals who then applied their own peer-review process. Scientists can now have both internal and external reviews simultaneously and the internal process is reduced to one internal review plus sign-off by the USGS Office of Science Quality and Integrity.{{cite news|author=Tollefson, Jeff|title=US federal agency loosens peer-review rules|url=http://www.nature.com/news/2011/110726/full/news.2011.441.html|date=July 26, 2011|work=Nature News|publisher=Macmillan|access-date=July 27, 2011}}

In September 2011, a USGS team including Jack H. Medlin, Said Mirzad, Stephen G. Peters and Robert D. Tucker published a report{{cite web|title=USGS Projects in Afghanistan: About the Mineral Resource Information Packages|url=http://afghanistan.cr.usgs.gov/information-packages |publisher=United States Geological Survey |access-date=October 17, 2011}} which they presented at the Afghan embassy in Washington, DC, detailing 57 information packages about Areas of Interest (AOIs) that total at least 1,000,000 metric tons of untapped mineral deposits they have found in Afghanistan.{{cite news|author=Quinones, Manuel|title=RARE EARTHS: USGS Details Afghanistan Find|url=http://www.merid.org/en/Content/News_Services/Nanotechnology_and_Development_News/Articles/2011/Sep/20/mining_afghanistan.aspx|date=September 20, 2011|publisher=Meridian Institute|work=Greenwire|access-date=October 17, 2011}} Scientific American speculated that replacing "opium and Taliban strongholds with a mining bonanza" could "change U.S. foreign policy and world stability". This report, which points to resources that The New York Times said in 2010 were worth {{dollarsign|$}}1 trillion,{{cite news|author=Risen, James|title=U.S. Identifies Vast Mineral Riches in Afghanistan|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/14/world/asia/14minerals.html|date=June 13, 2010|work=The New York Times|access-date=October 18, 2011}} was put into the public domain.{{cite news|author=Simpson, Sarah|title=Afghanistan's Buried Riches|url=http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=afghanistans-buried-riches|date=September 22, 2011|work=Scientific American|access-date=October 17, 2011}} McNutt said at the time:The study was funded by the U.S. Department of Defense's Task Force for Business and Stability Operations, USGS, Afghanistan's Ministry of Mines and Afghanistan's Geological Survey. {{cite news|author=Jha, Lalit K|title=Mineral resources seen as a boost to Afghan economy|url=http://www.e-ariana.com/ariana/eariana.nsf/allDocs/880DE97FF1B44F398725791B006E5D13?OpenDocument|date=September 26, 2011|access-date=October 17, 2011|publisher=Ariana Media|work=e-Ariana|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120508054738/http://www.e-ariana.com/ariana/eariana.nsf/allDocs/880DE97FF1B44F398725791B006E5D13?OpenDocument|archive-date=May 8, 2012}}

{{blockquote|There is always increased risk for commercial ventures investing in new mining facilities in frontier areas such as Afghanistan, but by putting our information on the locations and estimated quantities and grades of ores in the public domain, we lower that risk, spurring progress.}}

File:Io geological map sim3168 sheet.pdf, released online in 2012]]

In 2011 and online in 2012, USGS released a geologic surface map{{cite map |author=Williams, D.A. |author2=Keszthelyi, L.P. |author3=Crown, D.A. |author4=Yff, J.A. |author5=Jaeger, W.L. |author6=Schenk, P.M. |author7=Geissler, P.E. |author8=Becker, T.L. |year=2011|title=Geologic map of Io: U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Map 3168 |scale=1:15,000,000 |url=http://pubs.usgs.gov/sim/3168/|publisher=U.S. Geological Survey|access-date=April 1, 2012}} of Jupiter's moon Io, which is the most volcanically active body in the Solar System, about twenty-five times more active than Earth. David Williams of Arizona State University was the project lead. The maps are made of the best images from NASA's Voyager 1 and 2 missions (acquired in 1979) as well as the spacecraft Galileo (1995–2003) named for Galileo Galilei who discovered Jupiter's moons in 1610.{{cite news|author=Wilson, Dave|title=Researchers map Jupiter's moon

|url=http://www.vision-systems.com/articles/2012/03/researchers-map-jupiters-moon.html|date=March 22, 2012|work=Vision Systems Design|publisher=PennWell|access-date=April 1, 2012}} McNutt said:

{{blockquote|More than 130 years after the USGS first began producing quality geologic maps here on Earth, it is exciting to have the reach of our science extend across 400 million miles to this volcanically active moon of Jupiter. Somehow it makes the vast expanse of space seem less forbidding to know that similar geologic processes which have shaped our planet are active elsewhere.{{cite news|title=New Map of Jupiter's Volcanic Moon Io is Best One Ever|url=http://www.space.com/14977-jupiter-moon-io-global-map-photos.html|date=March 20, 2012|work=Space.com|publisher=TechMediaNetwork|access-date=April 1, 2012}}}}

File:Hawaje-NoRedLine.jpg

In 2012, USGS declared the blue-tailed skink named Emoia impar extinct because none have been observed in their home the Hawaiian Islands since the 1960s. McNutt, quoted by John Platt for Scientific American, said:

{{blockquote|No other landscape in these United States has been more impacted by extinction events and species invasions in historic times than the Hawaiian Islands, with as-yet unknown long-term cascading consequences to the ecosystem.{{cite web|author=Platt, John R.|title=Blue-Tailed Skink Declared Extinct in Hawaii

|url=http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/extinction-countdown/2012/03/21/blue-tailed-skink-declared-extinct-in-hawaii/|date=March 21, 2012|website=Extinction Countdown|publisher=Nature America|access-date=April 1, 2012}}}}

In a press release, McNutt introduced a lecture by David Blehert, a USGS research scientist, speaking on white nose syndrome which may afflict six species of North American bats and may have "far-reaching ecological consequences":

{{blockquote|...they are in a race against time to find a way to manage this scourge before it is too late for these under-appreciated little mammals.{{cite web|author=U.S. Department of the Interior, U.S. Geological Survey|title=What Is Killing America's Bats?

|url=http://www.usgs.gov/newsroom/article.asp?ID=3138|date=March 6, 2012|website=USGS Newsroom|publisher=U.S. Department of the Interior: U.S. Geological Survey|access-date=April 1, 2012}}}}

McNutt commented on work by lead researcher Carol Meteyer and others from the USGS National Wildlife Health Center and the National Institutes of Health in November 2012:

{{blockquote|...The potential discovery of IRIS in bats infected with white-nose syndrome is incredibly significant in terms of understanding both the reasons for bat mortality and basic immune response. This discovery could also prove significant for studies on treatment for AIDS.{{cite web|author=U.S. Department of the Interior, U.S. Geological Survey|title=White-Nose Syndrome Bat Recovery May Present Challenges Similar to Those in Some Recovering AIDS Patients

|url=http://www.usgs.gov/newsroom/article.asp?from=rss&ID=3459|date=November 19, 2012|website=USGS Newsroom|publisher=U.S. Department of the Interior: U.S. Geological Survey|access-date=December 13, 2012}}}}

McNutt spoke on a panel of leaders of US agencies (OSTP, NSF, NIH, DOE, DOD, DARPA and USGS) who rolled out the Obama administration's "Big Data Research and Development Initiative."{{cite web|title=Challenges and Opportunities in Big Data|url=http://live.science360.gov/bigdata/|date=March 29, 2012|publisher=National Science Foundation|access-date=April 1, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120331095039/http://live.science360.gov/bigdata/|archive-date=March 31, 2012}} Tom Kalil of the Office of Science and Technology Policy said, "By improving our ability to extract knowledge and insights from large and complex collections of digital data, the initiative promises to help accelerate the pace of discovery in science and engineering, strengthen our national security, and transform teaching and learning."{{cite web|title=Big Data is a Big Deal|author=Kalil, Tom|url=https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/blog/2012/03/29/big-data-big-deal|date=March 29, 2012|via=National Archives|work=whitehouse.gov|access-date=April 1, 2012}} USGS announced the latest awardees for grants it issues through its John Wesley Powell Center for Analysis and Synthesis.{{cite press release|author=((Office of Science and Technology Policy: Executive Office of the President))|title=Obama Administration Unveils "Big Data" Initiative: Announces $200 Million in New R&D Investments|date=March 29, 2012|url=https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/sites/default/files/microsites/ostp/big_data_press_release_final_2.pdf|access-date=April 1, 2012|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170121233309/https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/sites/default/files/microsites/ostp/big_data_press_release_final_2.pdf|via=National Archives|work=Office of Science and Technology Policy|archive-date=January 21, 2017}}

Reuters reported that USGS released into the public domain a new estimate of the world's oil and gas resources, the first such report since 2000.{{cite news|author=Rascoe, Ayesha|title=US lifts world natgas resource estimate, cuts oil|date=April 18, 2012|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/oil-gas-resources-idUSL2E8FIDFB20120418|publisher=Thomson Reuters|access-date=May 14, 2012}} Excluding the U.S. the USGS found: "565 billion barrels of conventional oil and 5,606 trillion cubic feet of undiscovered conventional natural gas in 171 priority geologic provinces of the world".{{cite web|author=Schenk, C.J.|year=2012|title=An estimate of undiscovered conventional oil and gas resources of the world, 2012 (Fact Sheet 2012–3042)|publisher=U.S. Geological Survey|url=http://pubs.usgs.gov/fs/2012/3042/|access-date=May 14, 2012}} The report said about 75% of the resources are in four places: South America and the Caribbean, sub-Saharan Africa, the Middle East and North Africa, and the North American Arctic. "In particular, this assessment underscores the importance of continuing to strengthen our energy partnerships in the Western Hemisphere with nations like Brazil..." said secretary Salazar.{{cite news|author=Snow, Nick|title=USGS updates non-US oil, gas, NGL conventional resource estimates|date=April 19, 2012|url=http://www.ncbr.com/article/20120419/NEWS/120419914|work=Oil & Gas Journal|publisher=PennWell|access-date=May 14, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120422145908/http://www.ncbr.com/article/20120419/NEWS/120419914|archive-date=April 22, 2012}}

Bloomberg News reported that during her testimony in March 2012, McNutt told the United States House Committee on Natural Resources that "less than 1 percent of wells drilled to dispose of the water after fracking causes 'induced seismicity'. McNutt said more information would reduce the risk of induced earthquakes in a year or two. She said:

{{blockquote|It's a very solvable problem. You either have to put the holes in a different place, or pump it at a different rate.{{cite news|author=Klimasinska, Katarzyna|title=Quake Risk From Fracking Seen Cut With Disclosures, U.S. Says|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-03-22/quake-risk-from-fracking-seen-cut-with-disclosures-u-s-says.html|date=March 22, 2012|work=BusinessWeek|publisher=Bloomberg|access-date=April 1, 2012}}}}

United Press International reported in March 2012 that USGS has developed a tool that can map grasslands using remote sensing data from satellites. The technique will help if and when global demand for biofuel products increases as an alternative to fossil fuels. McNutt said in a statement that the study:

{{blockquote|takes some of the guesswork out of deciding whether it could be feasible to raise a potentially high value crop for biofuels on America's grasslands.{{cite news|title=USGS eyes switch grass mapping tools|date=March 30, 2012|url=http://www.upi.com/Business_News/Energy-Resources/2012/03/30/USGS-eyes-switch-grass-mapping-tools/UPI-52061333108101/|publisher=United Press International|access-date=April 1, 2012}}}}

In cooperation with the Department of Veterans Affairs, USGS continued to monitor and record in detail the performance of veterans hospital buildings during earthquakes. Recently, two buildings were fitted with sensors at the Memphis VA Medical Center which is within the range of the New Madrid Seismic Zone, the most active earthquake zone in the Eastern United States. USGS works with the National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program (NEHRP) led by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) both to monitor buildings during earthquake events and to help design safer hospitals in the future.{{cite press release|title=Veterans Hospitals Stay Safe with a Healthy Dose of Earthquake Monitoring|date=May 9, 2012|url=http://www.usgs.gov/newsroom/article.asp?ID=3203#.T7F0Kb|publisher=U.S. Geological Survey|access-date=May 14, 2012}}

File:Landsat 8 launch.jpg launch in February 2013]]

On October 18, 2012, McNutt, Bill Leith of USGS and Michael Mahoney of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) continued earthquake practice at the ShakeOut at the Langston Hughes Middle School in Reston, Virginia. Participants learn to "drop, cover, and hold on" to protect themselves during an earthquake. Millions of people have participated since the event started in 2008.{{cite press release|title=Media Advisory: Preparing for Future Earthquakes|url=http://www.usgs.gov/newsroom/article.asp?ID=3425#.UIrKOYWftdc|date=October 15, 2012|publisher=U.S. Geological Survey (U.S. Department of the Interior)|access-date=October 26, 2012}}{{cite news|author=Dorell, Oren|title=Pupils 'duck, cover' for national quake drill|date=October 18, 2012|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2012/10/18/great-shakeout-earthquake-drill/1641663/|work=USA Today|publisher=Gannett|access-date=October 26, 2012}} "Going through drills makes it second nature for the students in the event of an actual emergency," McNutt said of The Great American Shake-Out event held in February 2013 in eight US states that border on the New Madrid Seismic Zone.{{cite news|title=DeSoto students drop, cover and hold on during earthquake drill|author=Maxey, Ron|date=February 7, 2013|url=http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2013/feb/07/desoto-students-drop-cover-and-hold-on-during/|work=The Commercial Appeal|publisher=Scripps Interactive|access-date=March 1, 2013}}

USGS promised up to US$7 million in grants for earthquake research in 2013. The agency has funded about 90 such grants which, for example, cataloged southern California earthquakes to better prepare emergency responders, the public and the media. Projects also provided seismic hazard estimates for safer buildings and roads, and provided data on ground shaking to help minimize damage.{{cite press release|title=Technical Announcement: USGS Offers $7 Million in Earthquake Research Grants|date=March 15, 2012|publisher=U.S. Geological Survey|url=http://www.usgs.gov/newsroom/article.asp?ID=3142|access-date=May 15, 2012}}

NASA and USGS launched Landsat 8 on February 11, 2013, to continue their 40-year record of providing images for land use and climate change (about 9 million images as of 2013). McNutt wrote that Landsat 8 enhances USGS's position as land steward for the United States.{{cite web|url=http://www.sandiegoreader.com/documents/2013/jan/11/mcnutt-statement-usgs-staff/|title=McNutt statement to USGS staff|date=January 11, 2013|publisher=San Diego Reader|access-date=February 22, 2013}}

McNutt directed USGS from 2009 until 2013, when she announced her departure to USGS staff members. She said at the time that she would leave after the launch of Landsat 8 and that Suzette Kimball would serve as the acting director.

McNutt's announcement included a 21-point summary of her tenure which she prepared for Secretary Salazar. Among achievements listed were realignment of USGS management, eight "DOI Climate Science Centers", the "first national water census on water use and availability", a California prototype of Earthquake Early Warning, publication of the "first two of the biological carbon sequestration reports", and various means of "advancing US energy independence".

As editor in chief, McNutt led the editorial team at Science in their decision to enter the world of open access publishing. Beginning in 2015, they expect to publish several thousand articles per year in the online only, open access journal Science Advances (compared to Science which can publish less than one thousand per year, accepting less than 6% of submissions).{{Cite web|title=Journal metrics|url=https://www.science.org/content/page/journal-metrics|access-date=2021-09-28|website=www.science.org|language=en}} McNutt told Library Journal that they were searching for a solution to licensing, perhaps one license acceptable to all authors or perhaps offering a menu of licenses so each community can choose.{{cite news|author=Chant, Ian|title=Science Enters Open Access Arena with Science Advances|date=February 19, 2014|work=Library Journal}}

File:Truck Hauling 36-inch Pipe To Build Keystone XL Pipeline.jpg, 2010]]

McNutt initially sided with environmentalists who opposed approval of the Keystone Pipeline. In an interview for NPR's Morning Edition in 2014, she explained why she changed her mind and published an editorial in favor.{{cite journal|author=McNutt, Marcia|title=Editorial: Keystone XL|doi=10.1126/science.1251932|journal=Science|date=21 February 2014|volume=343|issue=6173|page=815|pmid=24558130|s2cid=206555915 |doi-access=}} First, the oil is already being transported for example by truck and train, using more fossil fuels than the pipeline would use. Second, she thinks concessions can be made in exchange for approving the pipeline, for example requiring a limit on carbon emissions when converting the tar sands to liquid for transport in the pipeline, and demanding that the pipeline be the safest ever built. Finally, because the pipeline is the very least expensive mode of transport, she found a potential revenue stream in the money saved by the pipeline which she thinks should be used to fund renewable energy in the U.S.{{cite news|author=Greene, David|url=https://www.npr.org/2014/02/21/280528523/scientist-switches-position-now-supports-keystone-xl-pipeline|title=Scientist Switches Position, Now Supports Keystone XL Pipeline|date=February 21, 2014|work=Morning Edition|publisher=National Public Radio|access-date=March 11, 2014}}{{cite news|title=Former USGS head endorses Keystone pipeline|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/former-usgs-head-endorses-keystone-pipeline/2014/02/20/ac78a0ac-9a4f-11e3-80ac-63a8ba7f7942_story.html|author=Eilperin, Juliet|date=February 20, 2014|newspaper=The Washington Post|access-date=April 8, 2014}}

File:Salton City (March 2014) 13.JPG

Several U.S. agencies including the Central Intelligence Agency requested that the U.S. government study climate engineering and so the committee that McNutt chairs was born of the National Academy of Sciences.{{cite news|author=Halper, Evan|date=March 4, 2014|title=Climate engineering ideas no longer considered pie in the sky|url=http://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-climate-engineering-20140305,0,3602250.story|work=The Los Angeles Times|publisher=Tribune Company|access-date=March 11, 2014}} Ken Caldeira, who also sits on the committee, and David Keith are eager to try out ideas, in part spurred by the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory funded by Bill Gates who is an enthusiast of climate engineering research. McNutt cautioned that government-sponsored field tests "may not happen".

File:Zhongnanhai06.jpg in 2014]]

Whether we wind up using these technologies, or someone else does and we suddenly find ourselves in a geo-engineered world, we have to better understand the impacts and the consequences."

Premier of the People's Republic of China, Li Keqiang requested a meeting with McNutt, as editor in chief of Science, to discuss science as part of her trip to China in January 2014. The meeting was scheduled for 30 minutes and the rules specified no US reporters present and the topics of "science and the economy, not politics".{{cite journal|title=Li and Me|author=McNutt, Marcia|date=April 3, 2014|journal=Science|volume=344 |issue=6180 |page=127 |doi=10.1126/science.1251293 |pmid=24700473 |bibcode=2014Sci...344..127M |s2cid=41573527 |doi-access=free }} They talked on 13 January at Ziguangge, Zhongnanhai in Beijing. Li answered questions from McNutt about space exploration, China's scientific cooperation with other developing countries, climate change, education, and environmental protection. Science published a transcript of the 70 minute meeting.{{cite news|title=A Discussion on Science|url=https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.1253962|author1=Li, Keqiang |author2=McNutt, Marcia |name-list-style=amp |date=April 3, 2014|work=Science|doi=10.1126/science.1253962 |access-date=April 8, 2014}}

With a goal to improve the reproducibility of its published research, McNutt announced in 2014 that Science had added statistical checks to its peer-review process.{{cite news|author=Van Noorden, Richard|url=http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/major-scientific-journal-joins-push-to-screen-statistics-in-papers-it-publishes1/|title=Major Scientific Journal Joins Push to Screen Statistics in Papers It Publishes|date=July 6, 2014|work=Nature magazine via Scientific American|access-date=July 11, 2014}} Based on collaboration with the American Statistical Association, the journal appointed seven experts to a Statistics Board of Reviewing who are responsible for securing outside statisticians to review potential Science articles.{{cite web|url=http://www.sciencemag.org/site/about/editorial_board.xhtml#statistics-board-of-reviewing-editors|title=Science Editorial Board: Statistics Board of Reviewing Editors|publisher=American Association for the Advancement of Science|website=Science|access-date=July 11, 2014}}

The cover of the 11 July 2014 issue depicted three transgender sex workers from Indonesia with their heads cropped out. Citing "she tricked me" and the "trans panic defense" sometimes used by perpetrators, The Washington Post noted that transgender people are 30 percent more likely than others to be the victims of violence.{{cite news|author=McDonald, Soraya Nadia|title=Why did Science magazine choose to make two headless transwomen the cover of its AIDS/HIV issue?|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2014/07/21/why-did-science-magazine-choose-to-make-two-headless-transwomen-the-cover-of-its-aidshiv-issue/|date=July 11, 2014|newspaper=The Washington Post|access-date=August 2, 2014}} Numerous people objected in their blogs. Congresswoman Jackie Speier objected in a letter to the publisher. Science CEO and publisher Alan Leshner apologized to Speier and termed the cover "regrettable."{{cite news|url=http://www.eastbayexpress.com/CultureSpyBlog/archives/2014/08/01/science-magazine-has-yet-to-respond-to-congresswomans-criticism-of-sexist-cover-image|work=East Bay Express|author=Nussbaum, Ari|date=August 1, 2014|title=Science Magazine Apologizes to Congresswoman for Sexist Cover Image |access-date=August 4, 2014}} McNutt apologized on Twitter and in Science for "any discomfort that this cover may have caused anyone" and gave her:{{cite news|url=https://www.science.org/action/showLargeCover?issue=41834357|title=About the Cover|date=17 July 2014|work=Science|publisher=American Association for the Advancement of Science|access-date=August 2, 2014}}{{cite web|url=https://twitter.com/Marcia4Science/status/489581361880002560|author=McNutt, Marcia|title=From us at Science…|website=Twitter|date=July 16, 2014|access-date=August 2, 2014}}

[P]romise that we will strive to do much better in the future to be sensitive to all groups and not assume that context and intent will speak for themselves.{{cite web|title=Calif. Congresswoman Jackie Speier Blasts Science Magazine For 'Lurid, Sexualized' Cover Of Transgender Women|date=July 28, 2014|url=http://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2014/07/28/california-rep-jackie-speier-blasts-science-magazine-for-sexist-transphobic-july-cover-lgbt-transgender-women-rights-gay/|website=CBS San Francisco|access-date=August 2, 2014}}

The cover (and unfortunate response from the former editor of ScienceCareers) and two other columns provoked Aradhna Tripati, Jennifer Glass, Lenny Teytelman, and 600 other scientists to send a letter in 2015 to Science accusing the journal of perpetuating sexist stereotypes.{{Cite news|url=https://www.buzzfeed.com/catferguson/science-journal-reinforces-dangerous-stereotypes|title=Read This Letter From Scientists Accusing Top Publisher Of Sexism|work=BuzzFeed|access-date=2017-09-30|language=en}} In one column, Alice S. Huang, the former president of Science{{'s}} publisher, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, advised a female postdoctoral fellow not to complain about her supervisor, whose habit was trying to look down the woman's shirt, as long as the supervisor didn't develop other advances. In another, the chief biochemist at Toronto's University Health Network said he was promoted because his wife had given up her career and PhD to support him. McNutt published a formal apology in July 2015, and said that she thought Science should start an advisory board made up of young scientists who might be in tune with the issues.{{cite web|url=http://www.statnews.com/2015/11/19/marcia-mcnutt/|author=Thielking, Megan|date=November 19, 2015|title=Marcia McNutt blazed a trail for women in science — but hit a roadblock with a sexism scandal|publisher=Stat (beta)|access-date=February 23, 2016}}

In June 2014, the US National Institutes of Health (NIH) together with Nature Publishing Group and Science held a workshop on the reproducibility and rigor of research findings. More than 30 participants, who all publish preclinical biological research, codified a set of principles that will advance and support research that is reproducible, robust, and transparent.{{cite web|title=Principles and Guidelines for Reporting Preclinical Research|url=http://www.nih.gov/about/reporting-preclinical-research.htm|date=June 2014|publisher=National Institutes of Health|access-date=February 6, 2015}} The principles are endorsed by 78 associations, journals and societies who all agreed to them.{{cite web|title=Endorsements - Principles and Guidelines for Reporting Preclinical Research|url=http://www.nih.gov/about/reporting-preclinical-research.htm|date=June 2014|publisher=National Institutes of Health|access-date=February 6, 2015}}

In January 2015, the Pew Research Center published a poll representing the public and a sample of scientists connected to the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). The public and scientists disagreed quite dramatically on 12 out of 13 issues covered in the survey.{{cite web|title=Public and Scientists' Views on Science and Society|author1=Funk, Cary |author2=Rainie, Lee |name-list-style=amp |date=January 29, 2015|url=http://www.pewinternet.org/2015/01/29/public-and-scientists-views-on-science-and-society/|publisher=Pew Research Center|access-date=February 6, 2015}} On the occasion of Pew's publication, writer Joel Achenbach asked McNutt for her input on a National Geographic feature article, "Why Do Many Reasonable People Doubt Science?".{{cite news|url=http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2015/03/science-doubters/achenbach-text|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150206001944/http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2015/03/science-doubters/achenbach-text|url-status=dead|archive-date=February 6, 2015|title=Why Do Many Reasonable People Doubt Science?|author=Achenbach, Joel|date=March 2015|work=National Geographic|publisher=National Geographic Society|access-date=February 6, 2015}} McNutt neatly gave this definition:

Science is not a body of facts. Science is a method for deciding whether what we choose to believe has a basis in the laws of nature or not.

In May 2015, McNutt and Science retracted a December 2014 study, "When contact changes minds: An experiment on transmission of support for gay equality." Donald Green requested the retraction after asking for and not receiving the study data from his coauthor Michael LaCour.{{cite news|author=Carey, Benedict|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/29/science/journal-science-retracts-study-on-gay-canvassers-and-same-sex-marriage.html|title=Journal Retracts Study on Changing Attitudes on Same-Sex Marriage|date=May 28, 2015|work=The New York Times|access-date=May 28, 2015}}{{cite news|url=https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.aac6638|author=McNutt, Marcia|date=May 28, 2015|title=Retraction of LaCour and Green, Science 346 (6215) 1366-1369|publisher=Science|doi=10.1126/science.aac6638 |access-date=May 28, 2015}}

In 2015, Science announced the expansion of its family of journals to include Science Robotics and Science Immunology. Both were expected to begin publication in mid-2016.{{cite press release|title=AAAS to Expand the Science Family of Journals by Launching Two New Journals: Science Robotics and Science Immunology|author=Pinholster, Ginger|date=October 20, 2015|publisher=American Association for the Advancement of Science|url=http://www.aaas.org/news/aaas-expand-science-family-journals-launching-two-new-journals-science-robotics-and-science|access-date=November 17, 2015}} The first issue of Science Immunology was published in July 2016,{{Cite journal|date=2016-07-14|title=Science Immunology: VOL 1, ISSUE 1|url=https://www.science.org/toc/sciimmunol/1/1|journal=Science Immunology|language=en|volume=1|issue=1|issn=2470-9468}} while the first issue of Science Robotics was published in December 2016.{{Cite journal|date=2016-12-06|title=Science Robotics: VOL 1, ISSUE 1|url=https://www.science.org/toc/scirobotics/1/1|journal=Science Robotics|language=en|volume=1|issue=1|issn=2470-9476}}

In July 2015, McNutt was nominated to stand for election as president of the National Academy of Sciences.{{cite news|author="Lavelle, Marianne|date=July 6, 2015|title=Science Editor-in-Chief Marcia McNutt set to become first woman to lead U.S. National Academy of Sciences|url=http://news.sciencemag.org/scientific-community/2015/07/science-editor-chief-marcia-mcnutt-set-become-first-woman-lead-u-s|work=Science Insider|publisher=American Association for the Advancement of Science|access-date=July 6, 2015}} She was elected to a six-year term beginning July 1, 2016 and ending June 30, 2022.{{cite web|url=http://www.nasonline.org/about-nas/leadership/nas-council.html|title=Leadership and Governance|access-date=July 1, 2016|publisher=National Academy of Sciences}}

McNutt chaired the National Academy of Sciences Committee on Geoengineering Climate: Technical Evaluation and Discussion of Impacts, whose sixteen scientists published their findings on climate geoengineering in February 2015. The committee decided to issue two complementary reports, one on mitigating carbon dioxide emissions,{{cite book|url=http://www.nap.edu/catalog/18805/climate-intervention-carbon-dioxide-removal-and-reliable-sequestration|title=Climate Intervention: Carbon Dioxide Removal and Reliable Sequestration |isbn=978-0-309-36818-6|publisher=The National Academies Press|year=2015|doi=10.17226/18805}} and one on albedo modification.{{cite book|url=http://www.nap.edu/catalog/18988/climate-intervention-reflecting-sunlight-to-cool-earth |title=Climate Intervention: Reflecting Sunlight to Cool Earth|isbn=978-0-309-36821-6|publisher=The National Academies Press|year=2015|doi=10.17226/18988}} They agreed to call the process "intervention", which implies an action intended to improve, rather than "management" or "geoengineering" which imply control that people don't have. Of the reports' six recommendations, the first is that right now we can and should work toward mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions and on adapting to the impacts of climate change.{{cite web|url=http://dels.nas.edu/resources/static-assets/materials-based-on-reports/reports-in-brief/climate-intervention-brief-final.pdf|title=Report In Brief: Climate Intervention: Carbon Dioxide Removal and Reliable Sequestration, Reflecting Sunlight to Cool Earth|publisher=The National Academy of Sciences|year=2015|access-date=May 24, 2015}}

This work was supported by the U.S. intelligence community, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the United States Department of Energy (DOE), and the National Academy of Sciences.{{cite press release|url=http://www8.nationalacademies.org/onpinews/newsitem.aspx?RecordID=02102015|title=Climate Intervention Is Not a Replacement for Reducing Carbon Emissions; Proposed Intervention Techniques Not Ready for Wide-Scale Deployment|date=February 10, 2015|publisher=National Academy of Sciences|access-date=May 24, 2015}} At the press briefing on the release of the reports, McNutt expressed preference for the first report over the second: mitigation and adaptation are the way forward (explaining that albedo modification carries unknown environmental and governance risks).{{cite video|title=Climate Intervention Reports Release Briefing Webcast |url=http://nas-sites.org/americasclimatechoices/videos-multimedia/climate-intervention-reports-release-briefing-webcast/|publisher=National Academy of Sciences|date=February 10, 2015|access-date=May 25, 2015}}

In May 2014, McNutt and a group of international scholars and scientists participated in a workshop with Pope Francis organized by the Pontifical Academy of Sciences and the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences. By invitation, McNutt presented a paper, "The Risks of Rising Seas to Coastal Populations." In a September editorial in Science, McNutt discussed "future habitability and sustainability of this planet" and advocated for United Nations Sustainable Development Goals which the group wished to adopt.{{cite journal|url=https://www.science.org/doi/full/10.1126/science.1259742|author=McNutt, Marcia|title=The Pope tackles sustainability|date=September 19, 2014|journal=Science|volume=345 |issue=6203 |page=1429 |publisher=American Association for the Advancement of Science|doi=10.1126/science.1259742 |pmid=25237077 |bibcode=2014Sci...345.1429M |s2cid=206561680 |access-date=June 20, 2015|url-access=subscription}} She was a signatory of the workshop report.{{cite web|title=Statement of the Joint PAS/PASS Workshop on Sustainable Humanity, Sustainable Nature: Our Responsibility|year=2014|url=http://www.casinapioiv.va/content/accademia/en/events/2014/sustainable/statement.html|publisher=The Pontifical Academy of Sciences|access-date=June 20, 2015}} In advance of the Laudato si' papal encyclical of May–June 2015,{{cite web|author=Pope Francis|url=https://www.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/encyclicals/documents/papa-francesco_20150524_enciclica-laudato-si.html|title=Encyclical Letter: Laudato Si': On Care for Our Common Home (English translation)|year=2015|publisher=Libreria Editrice Vaticana|access-date=June 20, 2015}} the leadership council of the Sustainable Development Solutions Network, of which McNutt is a member, released eight criteria for climate change mitigation, which they hoped would be addressed by the 2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference.{{cite web|author=Leadership Council|title=Key Elements for Success on Climate Change Mitigation at COP21 in Paris|url=http://unsdsn.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/Key-Elements-for-Success-at-COP21.pdf|date=March 9, 2015|publisher=Sustainable Development Solutions Network|access-date=June 20, 2015}}

File:UCSD-Gilman-McNutt.jpg celebration of 50 Years 50 Leaders (2012).]]

McNutt was elected a Foreign member of the Royal Society,{{cite web|publisher=Royal Society|access-date=May 11, 2017|year=2017|url=https://royalsociety.org/people/marcia-mcnutt-13404/|title=Professor Marcia McNutt ForMemRS|author=Anon|location=London|website=royalsociety.org}} and a member of the National Academy of Sciences, the American Philosophical Society,{{Cite web|title=APS Member History|url=https://search.amphilsoc.org/memhist/search?creator=Marcia+K.+McNutt&title=&subject=&subdiv=&mem=&year=&year-max=&dead=&keyword=&smode=advanced|access-date=2021-07-08|website=search.amphilsoc.org|language=en}} and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. She is a fellow for the American Geophysical Union, the Geological Society of America, the American Association for the Advancement of Science and the International Association of Geodesy. She is a past president of the American Geophysical Union (2000–2002) and the National Academy of Sciences (2016-2022).

She holds honorary doctorates from Indiana University (2021),{{cite web |url=https://news.iu.edu/stories/2021/04/iu/inside/26-commencement-speakers-honorary-degrees.html |title=IU announces 2021 commencement speakers, honorary degree recipients |first=Barbara |last=Brosher |date=April 26, 2021 |work=Indiana University}} Boston University (2019),{{Cite web |url=http://www.bu.edu/articles/2019/nas-president-marcia-mcnutt-bu-commencement-speaker/|title=National Academy of Sciences President Announced as 146th Commencement Speaker |website=Boston University |access-date=2019-08-14 |date=May 3, 2019 |first1=Amy |last1=Laskowski |first2=Jacob |last2=Chang-Rascle}} Worcester Polytechnic Institute (2018),{{cite press release |url=https://www.wpi.edu/news/marcia-mcnutt-national-academy-sciences-president-delivers-keynote-worcester-polytechnic |date=May 10, 2018 |title=Marcia McNutt, National Academy of Sciences President, Delivers Keynote at Worcester Polytechnic Institute Graduate Commencement Ceremony}} Michigan State University (2018),{{cite web |url=https://msutoday.msu.edu/news/2018/former-starbucks-exec-world-renowned-geophysicist-to-speak-at-commencement |title=International Leaders Receive Honorary Degrees at Spring '18 Commencement |date=April 11, 2018 |work=Michigan State University |first=Kristen |last=Parker}} Colorado School of Mines (2011){{cite web |url=https://weare.mines.edu/s/840/19/interior.aspx?sid=840&gid=1&pgid=1959 |title=Honorary Degree Recipients |work=Colorado School of Mines Alumni Association}} Monmouth University (2010),{{cite web |url=https://outlook.monmouth.edu/Issues/82/10-fall/10.20.10.pdf |title=Distinguished Scientist Receives Honorary Degree At Founder's Day Celebration |work=Monmouth university Outlook |date=October 20, 2010 |first=Gina |last=Columbus |access-date=April 29, 2021 |archive-date=April 29, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210429012510/https://outlook.monmouth.edu/Issues/82/10-fall/10.20.10.pdf }} the University of Minnesota (2004),{{cite web |url=http://uawards.umn.edu/honorary-degree-recipients/marcia-k-mcnutt |title=Marcia K. McNutt, Honorary Degree Recipient |work=University of Minnesota}} and Colorado College (1989).{{cite web |url=https://sites.coloradocollege.edu/president/2016/03/23/2016-commencement-speaker/ |title=2016 Commencement Speaker |date=March 23, 2016 |first=Jill |last=Tiefenthaler |work=Colorado College}} McNutt was also recognized as an Outstanding Alumni in 2004 by the University of California, San Diego.

She chaired the President's Panel on Ocean Exploration under President Bill Clinton. McNutt chaired the board of governors of the Joint Oceanographic Institutions which merged to become Consortium for Ocean Leadership for which she was trustee.

She serves on evaluation and advisory boards for institutions including the Monterey Bay Aquarium, Stanford University, Harvard University and Science magazine, and the [http://www.sciencepolicyjournal.org/ Journal of Science Policy and Governance].{{cite press release|title=President Obama Announces More Key Administration Posts|url=https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/the_press_office/President-Obama-Announces-More-Key-Administration-Posts-7-9-09/|date=July 9, 2009|via=National Archives|work=whitehouse.gov|access-date=2009-07-30}}

In 1988, McNutt won the Macelwane Medal from the American Geophysical Union, presented for outstanding research by a young scientist, and in 2007 she won the AGU's Maurice Ewing Medal for her contributions to deep-sea exploration and her leadership role in the ocean sciences.{{cite web |title=2007 Maurice Ewing Medal Winner: Marcia Kemper McNutt| url=http://sites.agu.org/honors/winners/marcia-kemper-mcnutt/?sub=citation |website=Medals, Awards & Prizes |publisher=American Geophysical Union |last=Watts |first=Anthony B. |access-date=21 October 2011}}

In 2002, Discover magazine named McNutt one of the top fifty women in science.{{cite web

|author = University of California, Santa Cruz

|title = Discover magazine names three UC Santa Cruz professors among the top 50 women in science

|date = 10 October 2002

|url = http://www.ucsc.edu/news_events/press_releases/text.asp?pid=218

|access-date = 2007-01-17

|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20031014005331/http://www.ucsc.edu/news_events/press_releases/text.asp?pid=218

|archive-date = 14 October 2003

}} In 2003 she was named Scientist of the Year by the ARCS Foundation.

The United States Coast Guard awarded the Meritorious Service Medal to McNutt for her service during the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.{{cite press release|url=http://www.nasonline.org/news-and-multimedia/news/feb-16-2016-NASelection.html|title=Marcia McNutt Elected 22nd NAS President; New Treasurer, Council Members Chosen|date=February 16, 2016|publisher=National Academy of Sciences|access-date=February 23, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160221111144/http://www.nasonline.org/news-and-multimedia/news/feb-16-2016-NASelection.html|archive-date=February 21, 2016}}

McNutt is a member of the 2012 USA Science & Engineering Festival's Nifty Fifty, a collection of the most influential scientists and engineers in the United States that are dedicated to reinvigorating the interest of young people in science and engineering.[http://www.usasciencefestival.org/2012festival/schoolprograms/niftyfifty USA Science & Engineering Festival's Nifty Fifty] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110629005707/http://www.usasciencefestival.org/2012festival/schoolprograms/niftyfifty |date=2011-06-29 }}.

McNutt won the 2017 DRI Nevada Medal.{{cite press release|title=Prominent geophysicist Marcia McNutt named 30th DRI Nevada Medalist|url=https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2016-11/dri-pgm112916.php|date=November 30, 2016|access-date=December 2, 2016|publisher=American Association for the Advancement of Science|via=EurekAlert}}

In 2021, was elected as a member of the National Academy of Engineering "for elucidation of lithosphere geomechanics and leadership in earth resources engineering".{{cite web|url=https://www.nae.edu/?id=248499|title= National Academy of Engineering Elects 106 Members and 23 International Members|publisher=NAE|date=February 9, 2021|access-date=2021-02-10}}

• {{cite journal|last=McNutt|first=Marcia|author2=Menard, H. W.|title=Lithospheric flexure and uplifted atolls|journal=Journal of Geophysical Research|year=1978|volume=83|issue=B3|pages=1206–1212|doi=10.1029/JB083iB03p01206|bibcode=1978JGR....83.1206M}}
• {{cite journal|last=McNutt|first=M |author-mask=1|title=Compensation of ocean topography – Application of the response function technique to the Surveyor area |journal=Journal of Geophysical Research|year=1979|volume=84|issue=NB13|pages=7589–7598|bibcode = 1979JGR....84.7589M|doi=10.1029/jb084ib13p07589}}
• {{cite journal|last=McNutt|first=Marcia K.|author-mask=1|author2=Menard, H. W.|title=Constraints on yield strength in the oceanic lithosphere derived from observations of flexure|journal=Geophysical Journal International|year=1982|volume=71|issue=2|pages=363–394|doi=10.1111/j.1365-246X.1982.tb05994.x|bibcode = 1982GeoJ...71..363M |s2cid=129569745 |doi-access=free}}
• {{cite journal|last=McNutt|first=Marcia K.|author-mask=1|title=Lithospheric flexure and thermal anomalies|journal=Journal of Geophysical Research|year=1984|volume=89|issue=B13|pages=11180–11194|doi=10.1029/JB089iB13p11180|bibcode=1984JGR....8911180M}}
• {{Cite book|author1=McNutt, Marcia K.|author2=Fischer, Karen M.|author-link2=Karen M. Fischer |editor=Keating, Barbara H.|chapter=The South Pacific Superswell |title=Seamounts, Islands, and Atolls |journal=Geophysical Monograph Series |year=1987 |isbn=978-0-87590-068-1|volume=43|page=25|doi=10.1029/gm043p0025|bibcode=1987GMS....43...25M}}
• {{cite journal|last=McNutt|first=M. K.|author-mask=1|author2=Diament, M. |author3=Kogan, M. G. |title=Variations of elastic plate thickness at continental thrust belts|journal=Journal of Geophysical Research|year=1988|volume=93|issue=B8|pages=8825–8838|doi=10.1029/JB093iB08p08825|bibcode=1988JGR....93.8825M}}
• {{cite journal|last=McNutt|first=M. K.|author-mask=1|author2=Judge, A. V.|title=The Superswell and Mantle Dynamics Beneath the South Pacific|journal=Science|year=1990|volume=248|issue=4958|pages=969–975|doi=10.1126/science.248.4958.969|bibcode = 1990Sci...248..969M|pmid=17745401|s2cid=39022964}}
• {{cite journal|last1=Kruse|first1=Sarah|last2=McNutt |first2=Marcia |author3=Phipps-Morgan, Jason |author4=Royden, Leigh |author-link4=Leigh Royden |author5=Wernicke, Brian|title=Lithospheric extension near Lake Mead, Nevada: A model for ductile flow in the lower crust|journal=Journal of Geophysical Research|year=1991|volume=96|issue=B3|pages=4435–4456|doi=10.1029/90JB02621|bibcode=1991JGR....96.4435K|url=https://authors.library.caltech.edu/48082/1/jgrb8052.pdf}}
• {{cite journal|last=Caress|first=David W.|author2=McNutt, Marcia K. |author3=Detrick, Robert S. |author4= Mutter, John C. |title=Seismic imaging of hotspot-related crustal underplating beneath the Marquesas Islands|journal=Nature|year=1995|volume=373|issue=6515|pages=600–603|doi=10.1038/373600a0|bibcode = 1995Natur.373..600C |s2cid=4248074}}
• {{cite journal |author=McNutt, M. K. |author2=Caress, D. W. |author3=Reynolds, J. |author4=Jordahl, K. A. |author5=Duncan, R. A. |title=Failure of plume theory to explain midplate volcanism in the southern Austral islands|year=1997|issue=6650|pages=479–482|journal=Nature|doi=10.1038/39013|bibcode = 1997Natur.389..479M|volume=389|s2cid=205026871}}
• {{cite journal|last=McNutt|first=Marcia K.|author-mask=1|title=Superswells|journal=Reviews of Geophysics|year=1998|volume=36|issue=2|pages=211–244|doi=10.1029/98RG00255|bibcode=1998RvGeo..36..211M|s2cid=247699784 |doi-access=free}}
• {{cite journal|last=McNutt|first=M. K.|author-mask=1|author2=Camilli, R. |author3=Crone, T. J. |author4=Guthrie, G. D. |author5=Hsieh, P. A. |author6=Ryerson, T. B. |author7=Savas, O. |author8= Shaffer, F. |title=Review of flow rate estimates of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill|journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences|year=2011|volume=109|issue=50|pages=20260–20267|doi=10.1073/pnas.1112139108|bibcode = 2012PNAS..10920260M |pmid=22187459 |pmc=3528583|doi-access=free}}
• {{cite journal|last=McNutt|first=M. K.|author-mask=1|author2=Chu, S. |author3=Lubchenco, J. |author4=Hunter, T. |author5=Dreyfus, G. |author6=Murawski, S. A. |author7= Kennedy, D. M. |title=Applications of science and engineering to quantify and control the Deepwater Horizon oil spill|journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences|year=2012|volume=109|issue=50|pages=20222–20228|doi=10.1073/pnas.1214389109|bibcode = 2012PNAS..10920222M |pmid=23213225 |pmc=3528582|doi-access=free}}

• Timeline of women in science

{{reflist|30em}}

{{CC-notice|cc=by4|url= https://royalsociety.org/people/marcia-mcnutt-13404/}}

{{commons category|Marcia McNutt}}

{{Scholia|author}}

• {{cite web|title=Marcia K. McNutt|url=http://www.nasonline.org/member-directory/members/52683.html|publisher=National Academy of Sciences}}
• {{cite journal|title=Science academy's new president cleared many hurdles on way to the top|date=July 7, 2016|author=Shell, Ellen Ruppel|access-date=July 7, 2016|journal=Science|url=https://www.science.org/content/article/science-academys-new-president-cleared-many-hurdles-way-top|doi=10.1126/science.aaf5836|url-access=subscription}}–2016 biography

Videos

• {{cite video|title=Exploring the Ocean|url=http://vimeo.com/18064763|date=2005|publisher=PopTech via Vimeo}}
• {{cite video|date=February 3, 2011|publisher=Stanford Graduate School of Business, via YouTube|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eM1ctDywmmE |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211214/eM1ctDywmmE |archive-date=2021-12-14 |url-status=live|title=Avoiding the Slippery Slope: Leadership Lessons from Inside the Oil Spill}}{{cbignore}} – one hour speech
• {{cite video|title=On Leadership: Marcia McNutt on the science of leadership|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/video/national/on-leadership-marcia-mcnutt-on-the-science-of-leadership/2011/08/04/gIQAdHMxuI_video.html|date=August 4, 2011|work=The Washington Post}} at The Washington Post
• {{cite video|title=On Leadership: Marcia McNutt on gaining credibility|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/on-leadership-marica-mcnutt-on-gaining-credibility/2011/08/03/gIQArPvKsI_video.html|date=August 3, 2011|work=The Washington Post}} at The Washington Post
• {{cite video|publisher=Colorado College, via YouTube|title=Faces of Innovation: Marcia McNutt|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TT2WROv8Tno |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211214/TT2WROv8Tno |archive-date=2021-12-14 |url-status=live|year=April 2014}}{{cbignore}}

• {{cite news|author=Carnegie Reporter|date=June 11, 2018|url=https://medium.com/carnegie-reporter/o-pioneers-marcia-mcnutt-judy-woodruff-1d112938dbca|publisher=Medium|title=O Pioneers! Marcia McNutt & Judy Woodruff}}

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{{DEFAULTSORT:McNutt, Marcia Kemper}}

Category:1952 births

Category:20th-century American geologists

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