Gerta Keller

Uncommon card · No. 158012

Gerta Keller (born 7 March 1945) is a geologist and paleontologist whose work has focused on global catastrophes and mass extinctions. She has been a professor of geosciences at Princeton University since 1984 and received emeritus status in July 2020. Keller contests the mainstream Alvarez hypothesis that the impact of the Chicxulub impactor, or another large celestial body, directly caused the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event. Keller maintains that such an impact predates the mass extinction and that Deccan volcanism and its environmental consequences were the most likely major cause, but possibly exacerbated by the impact. Considered a leading authority on catastrophes and mass extinctions, including the biotic and environmental effects of impacts and volcanism, Keller is one of few scientists whose work has consistently supported the contention, with nearly half of her 300 publications being articles which address the asteroid impact/volcano controversy.

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