User:VesSols/Michael Rampino

Michael R. Rampino is a Geologist and Professor of Biology and Environmental Studies at New York University, known for his scientific contributions on mass extinctions. Along with colleagues, he's developed important theories about periodic mass extinctions being strongly related to the earth’s position in relation to the galaxy. These ~26 million year cyclical breaks are an important factor in evolutionary theory. He is also a research consultant at NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS) in New York City.

Rampino’s research has been concentrated in several areas including: studies of climate change on various timescales; the products and dynamics of volcanic eruptions and their effects on the global environment; and the relationship of large asteroid and comet impacts, and massive flood-basalt volcanism, with mass extinctions of life. He has done fieldwork on six continents. His most recent work has sought a connection between geologic events and astronomical processes, including encounters of Earth with dark matter in the Galaxy.

Rampino’s interest in Astrobiology is evidenced by the text, “Origins of Life in the Universe”, co-authored with Robert Jastrow (Cambridge University Press, 2008), and a new book, “Cataclysms: A New Geology for the 21st Century” (Columbia University Press, 2017).

Fieldwork
Geological fieldwork on active volcanoes includes Hawaii, Iceland, Japan, Indonesia, the western United States, Central America, New Guinea, Italy, Central America, the Galapagos Islands and New Zealand. Fieldwork on mass extinctions (including the end-Permian, end-Triassic, end-Jurassic and end-Cretaceous events), impact craters (including Meteor Crater, Nördlinger Ries, Siljan Ring, Araguainha crater and Chicxulub Crater) and flood basalt volcanism (the Deccan, North Atlantic, CAMP, Serra Geral/Etendeka, Madagascar and Karoo Basalts) has taken Rampino to western North America, the Caribbean, Mexico, Western Europe, South America, South Africa, Namibia, Madagascar, China, Egypt, Japan, and India. China: Permian-Triassic boundary, 2017, 2014


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