A California-based geophysicist is set to become the first woman to direct the US Geological Survey (USGS) in its 130-year history.

Marcia McNutt is set to take the reins at the USGS.

Marcia McNutt, now president and chief executive of the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI) in Moss Landing, expects her Senate confirmation hearing by September, following her nomination last week by President Barack Obama. The USGS has an annual budget of $1 billion and 8,800 members of staff.

McNutt, an avid horsewoman who has run the MBARI since 1997, would also become the science adviser to the secretary of the interior.