USING TRADITIONAL TOOLS TO SHED NEW UNDERSTANDING ON DIAGENETIC AND DEPOSITIONAL PROCESSES: EXTENDING THE LEGACY OF DR. ROBERT DOTT, JR. TO A NEW GENERATION – AND A NEW PLANET!

As a geologist, Dott laid much of the foundation on which modern sedimentology rests. As a second generation academic descendant of Dott (my PhD advisor was his student), I use these traditional tools to answer new questions about both Earth and Mars. As a professor, I teach Sedimentology and Stratigraphy, which includes the Dott method for classifying sandstones. One year, I was sitting at a table at GSA, and Bob Dott sat down with me. I loved going back to my students and telling them about meeting him. I know students do not love having to learn sandstone classification, but they loved the idea that you could go to a conference, and sit with the author and have a chat!

During the Jurassic in the Colorado Plateau region of the U.S., the climate was arid, and somewhat similar to ancient Mars during the Noachian (likely a warmer, wetter period of Mars history). As a result, many sites are useful analogs for understanding some of the features observed on Mars with rovers and satellites. From diagenetic jarosite and alunite – minerals used to interpret diagenetic and depositional conditions on Mars – to mafic intrusions interacting with sulfur-rich sediments, study of these sites is extending the legacy of Bob Dott to another planet. My research is focused on sedimentary processes as well as habitability and the potential for biosignature preservation to help us know how water, life, and rock interact and what specific features are produced. And possibly, one day in the future, the groundwork that Dott laid out will help us find life on Mars.