VITA
DALLAS ABBOTT
Research Scientist
Contact Information
Office: Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory
Palisades, NY 10964 845-365-8664
Home: 75 Pine Tree Lane
Tappan, NY 10983 845-359-0058
email:
dallas@ldeo.columbia.edu
Education
B.S. Massachusetts
Institute of Technology (Earth and Planetary Sciences) 1974
M.S.
Lamont-Doherty Geol. Obs. of Columbia University
(Marine Geology) 1978
Ph. D. Lamont-Doherty Geol. Obs. (Marine Geology with a Geophysics minor) 1982
Professional Experience
Visiting Assistant Professor and Adjunct
Professor, Barnard
College 1997-present
Adj. Research Scientist, Lamont-Doherty Earth
Obs.,Columbia University 1995-present
Associate Research Scientist, Lamont-Doherty
Earth Obs., Columbia University 1986-1995
Assistant Professor, College of Oceanography, Oregon
State University 1982-1986
Graduate Research Assistant and Teaching
Assistant, Columbia
University 1975-1982
Research Assistant to Prof. John Sclater, M.I.T. 1974-1975
Honors
Varsity Letter in Crew - M.I.T. 1974
Graduate Fellow of the Faculty of Columbia University 1975-1976
Boris Bakmeteff
Fellowship in Fluid Mechanics-Columbia 1978-1979
Bruce Heezen Prize
for Outstanding Student-Columbia 1981
Invited Speaker: Symposium on Locating Old
Mantle Plumes 1998
Invited Key Note Speaker: Fourth Archean Symposium: Perth,
WA 2001
Board of Editors: Precambrian Research 2001-2006
Sea Experience
47 weeks cumulative sea experience on 15
research projects conducted on board the R/V Chain, Conrad, Endeavor, Jeannie,
Surveyor, Kelez, Lee, Vema,
and Thomas Washington. All but the first involved heat flow and
coring. A majority of the cruises collected single channel seismic and
magnetometer measurements.
Publications
Sclater, J.G., D.H. Abbott and J. Theide, 1977.
Paleobathymetry and sediments of the Indian Ocean, in
Indian Ocean Geology and Biostratigraphy, American
Geophysical Union, Washington, D.C., pp. 1-24.
Abbott, D.H., W. Menke, M. Hobart, and R.N. Anderson, 1981. Evidence for excess pore pressures in Southwest
Indian Ocean sediments, Journal of Geophysical Research, 86,
1813-1827.
Embley, R. W., M. A. Hobart, R. N. Anderson, and D. Abbott, 1983.
Anomalous heat flow in the Northwest Atlantic:
A case of continued hydrothermal circulation in 80 million year old crust, Journal
of Geophysical Research, 88, 1067-1074.
Abbott, D.H., W.H. Menke, and R. Morin, 1983. Constraints upon water advection in sediments of the
Mariana Trough, Journal of Geophysical Research, 88, 1075-1093.
Abbott, D.H., W.H. Menke, M. Hobart, R.N. Anderson, and R.W. Embley, 1984. Correlated
sediment thickness, temperature gradient, and excess pore pressure in a marine
fault block basin, Geophysical Research Letters, 11, 485-488.
Abbott, D.H., and S.E.
Hoffman, 1984. Archean plate tectonics
revisited 1: Heat flow, spreading rate, and the age of subducting
oceanic lithosphere, and their effects on the origin and evolution of
continents, Tectonics, 3, 429-448.
Abbott, D.H., and M.
Lyle, 1984. Age of oceanic plates at subduction and volatile recycling, Geophysical Research
Letters, 11, 951-954.
Abbott, D.H., 1984. Archean plate tectonics revisited 2. Paleosealevel changes, continental area, oceanic heat loss,
and the area-age distribution of the ocean basins, Tectonics, 3, 709-722.
Abbott, D.H., R.W. Embley, and M.A. Hobart, 1985. Correlation of
shear strength, hydraulic conductivity, and thermal gradients with sediment
disturbance: South Pass region, Mississippi
Delta, Geomarine Letters, 5,
113-119.
Abbott, D.H., 1986. A
statistical correlation between ridge crest offsets and spreading rate,
Geophysical Research Letters, 13, 157-160.
Abbott, D.H., J. L.
Morton, and M.L. Holmes, 1986. Heat flow measurements on a hydrothermally active, slow-spreading ridge: The Escanaba
Trough, Geophysical Research Letters, 13, 678-680.
Abbott, D.H., M. A.
Hobart, and R. W. Embley, 1986. Heat flow and
mass wasting in the Wilmington
Canyon region: U.S.
Continental Margin, Geomarine Letters, 6, 131-138.
Abbott, D.H., and M.
Fisk, 1986. Tectonically controlled origin of three
unusual rock suites in the Woodlark
Basin, Tectonics, 5,
1145-1160.
Stein, C.A., M.A.
Hobart, and D.H. Abbott, 1988. Has the Wharton
Basin's heat flow been perturbed by
the formation of a diffuse plate boundary in the Indian
Ocean?, Geophysical Research Letters, 15,
455-458.
Embley, R.W., L.D. Kulm, G. Massoth,
D. Abbott, and M. Holmes, 1988. Morphology, structure, and resource
potential of the Blanco transform, in Geology and Resource Potential of the
Continental Margin of Western North America and Adjacent Ocean Basins-Beaufort
Sea to Baja California, edited by D.W. Scholl, A. Grantz,
and J.G. Vedder, Circum-Pacific Council for Energy
and Mineral Resources, Earth Science Series, Vol. 6.
Abbott, D.H., and W.H. Menke, 1990. Length of the global
plate boundary at 2.4 Ga.,
Geology, 18, 62-66.
Stein, C.A., and
D.H. Abbott, 1991. Heat flow constraints on the South
Pacific superswell, Journal of Geophysical Research,
96, 16083-16100.
Abbott, D.H., 1991. The
case for accretion of the tectosphere by buoyant subduction, Geophysical Research Letters, 18, 585-588.
Stein, C.A., and
D.H. Abbott, 1991. Implications of estimated and measured thermal
conductivity for oceanic heat flow stations, Marine Geophysical Researches, 13,
311-329.
Menke, W.H., and
D.H. Abbott, 1991. Geophysical Theory, Columbia University
Press, New York,
454 pp.
Abbott, D.H., C.A.
Stein, and O. Diachuk, 1992. Topographic
relief and sediment thickness: Their effects on the thermal evolution of the
oceanic crust, Geophysical Research Letters, 19, 1975-1978.
Abbott, D.H., L.
Burgess, J. Longhi, and W.H.F. Smith, 1994. An empirical thermal history of the Earth's upper mantle, Journal
of Geophysical Research, 99, 13,835-13,850.
Abbott, D.H., R. Drury
and W.H.F. Smith, 1994. The flat to steep transition
in subduction style, Geology, 22, 937-940.
Abbott, D. H., and W. D.
Mooney, 1995. The structural and geochemical evolution of the
continental crust: Support for the oceanic plateau model of continental growth,
Reviews of Geophysics, Supplement, 231-242, 1995.
Ricciardi, K., and D. H. Abbott, 1996. Increased mantle
convection during the Mid-Cretaceous: A comparative study of potential mantle
temperature, Journal of Geophysical Research, 101, 8673-8684.
Abbott, D. H., 1996. Plumes vs.
hotspots as sources of unsubductable greenstone
belts, Lithos, 37, 113-127.
Stoddard, P., and D.H.
Abbott, 1996. The influence of the tectosphere
upon plate motion, Journal of Geophysical
Research, 101, 5425-5433.
Abbott, D.H., R. Drury,
and W. Mooney, 1997. Continents as lithological
icebergs: The importance of submerged buoyant roots in the search for the
oldest continental crust, Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 149, 29-42.
Small, C. and D. H.
Abbott, 1998. Subduction obstruction and the
crack up of the Pacific plate, Geology, 26, 795-798.
Condie, K. C. and D. H. Abbott, 1999. Preface to Special Volume on
Oceanic Plateaus and Hotspot
Islands: Identification
and Role in Continental Growth, Lithos, 46, 1-4.
Franco, H., and D. H.
Abbott, 1999. Gravity signatures of terrane accretion, Lithos, 46,
5-15.
Isley, A. E. and D. H. Abbott, 1999. Plume-related
mafic volcanism and the deposition of banded
iron-formation, Journal of Geophysical Research, 104, 15461-15477.
Gavrilov, C. V. and D. H. Abbott, 1999. Termomechnicheskaya
Model Teplo i Massoperenosa v Okrestnosti Zoni Subduktsii (in Russian),
English translation of title: Thermomechanical models
of heat and mass transfer near subduction zones,
Physics of the Earth, 12, 1-10.
Abbott, D.H., C. Herzberg,
W. Mooney, D. Sparks, and Y. S. Zhang, 2000, Quantifying Precambrian crustal extraction: The root is the answer, Tectonophysics, 322, 163-190, Special Issue on Continental
Growth, edited by Paul Sylvester.
Condie, K. A.,
D. J. Des Marais, D. Abbott, 2000, Geologic evidence
for a mantle superplume event at 1.9 Ga, Geochemistry, Geophysics, and Geosystems,
1, Geochemical Earth Reference Model (GERM) Special Issue, Paper number
2000GC000095.
Condie, K. A., D. Des Marais, and D. Abbott,
2001. Precambrian superplumes and supercontinents: A record in black shales,
carbon isotopes, and paleoclimates?,
Precambrian Research. 106, 239-260.
Abbott, D. H. and A. E. Isley, 2001, Oceanic upwelling and mantle plume activity, paleomagnetic tests of ideas on the source of the iron in
early Precambrian iron formations, Geological Society of America, Special
Volume on Mantle Plumes, edited by R. Ernst and K. Buchan, pp.323-339.
Isley, A. E. and D.H. Abbott, 2002. Implications of the temporal
distribution of high Mg magmatism for mantle plume
volcanism, Journal of Geology, 110, 141-158.
Condie, K. C., D. J. Des Marais, and D. H.
Abbott, 2002. Preface to special Superplume
issue of the Journal of Geodynamics, Journal of Geodynamics, 34, 1-4.
Abbott, D. H. and A. E. Isley, 2002, The duration, magnitude, and intensity of
mantle plume activity over the last 3.8 Ga, Journal
of Geodynamics, 34, 265-307.
Abbott, D.H, and A. E. Isley, 2002. Extraterrestrial influences on mantle
plume volcanism, Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 205, 53-62.
Abbott, D. H., and A. E.
Isley, 2003. Reply to discussion of
‘Extraterrestrial influences on mantle plume activity’ by Andrew Glikson, Earth and Planetary Science Letters,215, 429-432.
Trubitsyn, V. A., W.
H. Mooney, and D. H. Abbott, 2003. Cool cratons and
thermal blankets: How continents affect mantle convection, in The Lithosphere
of Western North America and Its Geophysical Characterization, S.L. Klemperer and W. G. Ernst (eds.) International Book Series7,
458-475.
Abbott, D. H. and J. T. Hagstrum, 2004. Strategies for finding the record of
Precambrian impact events, in Tempos and Events in Precambrian Time, Ed. P.
G. Eriksson and D. R. Nelson, Developments in Precambrian Geology, pp.
45-62, Elsevier.
Abbott, D. H., W. B.
Masse, L.H. Burckle, D. Breger,
and P. Gerard-Little, 2005. Burckle abyssal
impact crater: Did this impact produce a global deluge? Atlantis
2005 Conference, Milos,
Greece,
Conference Proceedings (color version on cd).
Atwater, B. F. J. Bourgeois, H. Yeh, D. Abbott, M. Cisternas, U. Glawe, B. Higman, B. Horton, R.
Peters, K. Rajendran, M. P. Tuttle, 2005. Tsunami
Geology and Its Role in Hazard Mitigation, EOS Trans. AGU, 86, p. 400.
Abbott, D. H., E. A. Bryant, V. Gusiakov, W. B. Masse, A. Raveloson,
and H. Razafindrakoto, 2006. Report
of International Tsunami Expedition to Madagascar-sponsored by WAPPMER, posted
to International Tsunami Bulletin Board.
Bryant, T., G. Walsh,
and D. Abbott, 2007. Cosmogenic mega-tsunami
in the Australia
region: Authenticating Aboriginal and Maori legends, in Myth and Geology, Geological Society of London Special Publication 273,
W. B. Masse and L. Piccardi (eds.) , pp. 203-214.
Abbott, D. H. and R. Mazumder,
2007, Using Magnetic Susceptibility to Find Precambrian Impact Ejecta: A Proposal, Gondwana
Research, 12, 571-575.
Abbott, D. H., W. B.
Masse, L.H. Burckle, D. Breger,
and P. Gerard-Little, 2007. Burckle abyssal
impact crater: Did this impact produce a global deluge? in
The Atlantis Hypothesis: Searching for a Lost Land, Heliotopos
Publications, St. P. Papmarinopoulous, Ed. , pp.
179-190. (black and white version in book with
Appendix added).
Geli, L., T.
Lee, J. R. Cochran, J. Francheteau, D. Abbott, C. Labails, and D. Appriou , 2008, Heat flow from the Southeast Indian Ridge flanks
between 80°E and 140°E: Data review and analysis, J. Geophys.
Res., doi:10.1029/2007JB005001.
Scheffers, A. M., D. H. Kelletat, S. R Scheffers, D. H
Abbott, E. A Bryant, in press, The Chevron Mystery - A Geomorphologic Approach
to Explain Worldwide Enigmatic Sedimentary Coastal Features, Zeitschrift fur Geomorphologie.
Recent abstracts in the process of being turned into
papers or papers being revised and resubmitted.
Gerard-Little, P., D. H. Abbott, D. Breger, and L. Burckle, A Late
Pliocene impact into the Ross
Sea: The diameter,
location, and ejecta of the Bowers Crater, previously
submitted to Earth and Planetary Science Letters (being revised and
resubmitted).
Abbott, D. H., P. Biscaye,
J. Cole-Dai, D. Breger, and M. Kumar, An Impact Ejecta Layer in the 1443 A.D. Horizon of the Siple Dome Ice Core from Antarctica,
submitted to Earth and Planetary Science Letters but not accepted (presently
being revised and resubmitted).
Abbott, D. H., R. Mazumder, and D. Breger, 2006.
Native Iron in the Chaibasa Shales,
India:
Result of a Pre-1.6 Ga Impact? Abstract,
37th Lunar and Planetary Science Conference, Houston, Texas
(paper presently being revised and resubmitted).
Abbott. D.H., S. Martos, H. Elkinton, E. F.
Bryant, V. Gusiakov, and D. Breger,
2006. Impact Craters as Sources of Megatsunami
Generated Chevron Dunes, Geological Society of America
Annual Meeting, Philadelphia,
PA. Abstracts with
Programs, v. 38, p. 299-300.
Martos, S., D.
Abbott, H. Elkinton, and D. Breger,
2006. Impact Ejecta from the
Craters Kanmare and Tabban
in the Gulf of Carpentaria, Geological Society of America
Annual Meeting, Philadelphia,
PA. Abstracts with
Programs, v. 38, p. 299.
Elkinton, H., D. Abbott, S. Martos, and D. Breger, 2006. Impactor Fragments from the Craters
Kanmare and Tabban in the
Gulf of Carpentaria, Geological Society of America
Annual Meeting, Philadelphia,
PA. Abstracts with
Programs, v. 38, p. 299.
Abbott, D. H., M.-A.
Courty, S.
Costa, S. Costa, P. Gerard-Little, L. Burckle, D. Breger, and S. Pekar,
2006. Evidence for multiple Holocene marine impact events: Ejecta in a bog core, EOS, Trans. AGU, 87(52), Fall Meet. Suppl., Abstract
PP23D-1806.
M.-A.
Courty, D. H. Abbott, G. Cortese,
A. Crisci, X. Crosta, P. De
Wever, M. Fedoroff, P.
Greenwood, K. Grice, M. Mermoux, U. Scharer, D. C. Smith, M. H. Thiemen,
2006. Scenario of the 4 kyr Cosmic Impact:
Crater location, Ejecta-dispersion and consequences,
EOS, Trans. AGU, 87(52), Fall Meet. Suppl., Abstract GC41B-1055.
D. Breger, D. Abbott,L. Burckle,
P. Gerard-Little, H. Elkinton, and S. Martos, 2006. Plop plop
fizz fizz: Identifying and characterizing Holocene microejecta from two oceanic cosmic impacts using
analytical scanning electron microscopy EOS, Trans. AGU, 87(52), Fall Meet. Suppl., Abstract
P51A-1179.
Masse, W, E. Bryant, V. Gusiakov, D. Abbott, G. Rambolamana,
H. Raza, M. Courty, D. Breger, P. Gerard-Little, L. Burckle,
2006. Holocene Indian Ocean Cosmic Impacts: The Megatsunami
Chevron Evidence From Madagascar,
EOS, Trans. AGU, 87(52), Fall Meet. Suppl., Abstract PP43B-1244.
Abbott, D., E. Bryant,V. Gusiakov, and W. Masse,
2007, Megatsunami of the World Ocean:
Did They Occur in the Recent Past?, Eos Trans. AGU, 88(23), Jt.
Assem. Suppl., Abstract PP42A-04.
Abbott, D. H., E. W. Tester, C. A. Meyers,
D. Breger, 2007. Impact ejecta and megatsunami deposits
from a historical impact into the Gulf of Carpentaria, Geological Society of
America Annual Meeting, Denver, CO. Abstracts with Programs, v.
39, p. 312.
Tester, E. W., D. H.
Abbott, and C. A. Meyers, 2007. Evidence for a late
Holocene oblique impact into the Gulf of Carpentaria, Australia, Geological
Society of America Annual Meeting, Denver, CO. Abstracts with
Programs, v. 39, p. 312.
Meyers, C. A., D. H. Abbott, E. W.
Tester, and D. Breger, 2007. Impact-affected microfossils from the Gulf of Carpentaria,
Australia, Geological Society of America Annual Meeting, Denver, CO.
Abstracts with Programs, v. 39, p. 373.
Masse, W.; Weaver, R.; Abbott, D.; Gusiakov, V.; Bryant, E., 2007. Missing in Action?
Evaluating the Putative Absence of Impacts by Large Asteroids and Comets during
the Quaternary Period, Proceedings of the Advanced Maui Optical and Space
Surveillance Technologies Conference, held in Wailea,
Maui, Hawaii,
September 12-15, 2007, Ed.: S. Ryan, The Maui Economic Development Board, p.E79
Abbott, D. H., Tester, E. W., Meyers,
C. A.. Breger. D., and Chivas,
A. M., 2007. Sediment Transport, Mixing, and Erosion by an Impact
Generated Tsunami: Gulf of Carpentaria,
Australia, EOS,
Trans. AGU, 88(52), Fall Meet. Suppl., Abstract OS13B-07.
Publications Resulting from Previous Funding of
Research in Black
Rock Forest
Shestakovich, Ninel, 2000. The Heat is Rising:
Exploring Geothermal Resources at the Black Rock Forest Preserve; Barnard
College Senior Thesis, 30 pp.
Bossewitch,
Tamara, 2000. The Heat is On: Geothermal Heating and Cooling Systems,
Barnard College Senior Thesis, 56 pp.
Modi, Prachi, 2001. Ground Source Geothermal Power Systems:
How Well Do They Work?, , Barnard College
Senior Thesis, 28 pp.
Courses I Have Taught
Geothermology (at Oregon State
University): This
graduate level course involved showing students the basic physics of heat flow:
the heat flow equation, boundary value problems, and heat transfer by
conduction, convection, and radiation. I also covered methods of
measurement of heat flow on land and in the ocean.
Geophysics
of Ocean Basins (at Oregon
State University):
This course was a graduate level seminar course involving a review of the most
recent literature on the plate tectonics of ocean basins and subduction zones. Major subjects covered included:
Age Dependence of Geophysical Behavior of Oceanic Crust, Tectonics of Mid-Ocean
Ridges, Formation of Back Arc Basins and Island Arcs, and Hydrothermal
Circulation.
Energy
Resources (Barnard
College): This course is
an undergraduate level course exploring different sources of energy and methods
of energy production and distribution. The course covers oil, coal, gas, wind, solar, nuclear, electrical, tidal, chemical, and
hydroelectric power. We also discuss the relative environmental benefits
and problems of different methods of energy production. I taught this
course in 1997, 1999 and 2001. Renewable energy is a hobby of mine and I
read everything that I can find on the subject.
Senior
Seminar (Barnard College): This course is a two
semester course covering the senior thesis of Barnard Environmental Science
majors. Each student is required to have a
individual mentor and an overall mentor. I served as overall mentor to the 36
senior majors in the Fall of 1998 and served as an
overall mentor to 15 senior majors in the Fall of 1999. During the Spring of 1999, Senior Seminar was team taught by four
faculty members. I was the overall mentor for 11 senior theses totaling around
50 to 80 pages each. In spring 2000, I was the overall mentor for six
senior theses. I find this work refreshing and stimulating. I
enjoy working with the students, editing their theses, and teaching them about
data analysis. In the academic year 2000-2001, I served as the
individual mentor for a senior thesis comparing the energy use of the Black Rock
Forest visitors’ center
and Lamont buildings. In the academic year 2001-2002, I served as the
individual mentor for a senior thesis on the Ewing
impact crater. In the academic year 2002-2003, I served as the individual
mentor for a senior thesis on the unique characteristics of oceanic impact
events and as a mentor for a student at the University of Maine
who is working on a senior thesis on the Eltanin
impact crater. In the academic year 2003-2004, I served as the individual
mentor for a Barnard student working on the Eltanin
impact event.
Environmental
Data Analysis (Barnard
College): This
course is meant as an introduction to methods of data analysis. It covers
use of Excel spreadsheets to plot scientific data, make histograms, fit curves,
calculate means and standard deviations, and other
simple scientific mathematical operations. The course also involves
experience in collecting data, tabulating data, and reading and interpreting
graphs and tables. The students also are taught about common sources of
error in databases. I taught this course in 1999 and in 2001.
Case
Studies in Environmental Science (Barnard
College): This
course is an upper level course for juniors and seniors. We did four case
studies: Endocrine Disruption by Environmental Pollutants and Naturally
Occurring Substances, Mercury Pollution from Gold Mining and Rainforest
Destruction in the Amazon, Rising Rates of Asthma and Their Environmental
Causes, and The Arsenic Crisis in Bangladesh. These case
studies reflect my own interest in medically related environmental
problems. The course was taught like a graduate level
seminar. Students were assigned reading and given study questions before
each class. We discussed the questions during the next class.
Courses
that I can teach on the undergraduate level:
Oceanography
Marine Geology
Methods of Data Analysis
Plate Tectonics
Introduction to Geophysics
Research Methods in Earth and Environmental Science
Energy Resources
Natural Hazards and Disasters
Case Studies in Environmental Science
Introductory Geology
Experience
in Teaching Research Methods and in Mentoring Undergraduates and Young PhDs
Since
summer 1993, I have personally advised 17 summer interns on a wide variety of
research projects involving petrology, marine geology, marine geophysics, tectonophysics, and physical oceanography. About one
third of these projects have led to published papers with the students.
In recent years, I have become very interested in mentoring younger
scientists. I find it to be extremely rewarding and satisfying. In the
academic years 2004-2005 and 2005-2006, I am serving as the mentor for two high
school students (twin sisters) who are working on oceanic impacts and who will
be competing in the Westinghouse competition later in 2005 and early in
2006. They have already won prizes at two local science
fairs.
Public
Outreach Activities: Since 2004, I have given an annual lecture on my research
to about 20 Earth Science Teachers as part of the Earth2Class
program. The program indirectly impacts about 2000 public school
students each year. She also participates in the LDEO Open House
for the public.