Dr. Dallas Abbott is a research scientist at Columbia University's Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, specializing in marine geology, geophysics, and impact geology. She earned her B.S. in Earth and Planetary Sciences from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1974, followed by an M.S. in Marine Geology in 1978 and a Ph.D. in Marine Geology with a minor in Geophysics in 1982, both from the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory.

Over the past 13 years, Dr. Abbott has developed microtechniques to study fine debris from oceanic impacts, addressing challenges such as limited sample sizes and the scarcity of large quartz grains in deep-sea settings. Her work involves using scanning electron microscopy and thin-section analyses to identify and confirm impact ejecta. Notably, she has separated particulates from ice cores corresponding to suspected Holocene impacts, discovering high concentrations of low-latitude marine diatoms in the GISP2 ice core. These findings suggest that such impacts may have caused dust veils and climate downturns, such as the one from February 536 to June 537 AD.

Dr. Abbott's interdisciplinary research has led to significant discoveries, including documenting the oldest primary native iron, dating back 1.6 billion years, in India's Chaibasa Formation. Her work has profound implications for understanding Earth's geological history, the role of extraterrestrial impacts in climate change, and the potential for such events to trigger megatsunamis.

A panelist during CS24, we look forward to her debut presentation at Cosmic Summit 2025. Dallas Abbott’s contributions to marine geology and impact research offer valuable insights into Earth's past and the dynamic processes that have shaped its evolution.