Gerta Keller facts for kids

Gerta Keller (born 7 March 1945) is a well-known geologist and paleontologist. She studies huge events like mass extinctions and global disasters. Since 1984, she has been a professor at Princeton University. She became a professor emeritus in 2020.

Professor Keller has different ideas about what caused the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event. This event led to the end of the dinosaurs. Many scientists believe a giant asteroid impact caused it. This is called the Alvarez hypothesis. But Keller thinks the asteroid hit Earth before the extinction. She believes huge volcano eruptions were the main cause. These eruptions changed the environment a lot. She thinks the asteroid might have made things worse, but wasn't the main reason. Keller is a top expert on these big Earth changes.

Gerta Keller's Early Life and Education

Gerta Keller grew up in Switzerland on a dairy farm. She was the sixth of 12 children. Her family was not wealthy. In her one-room school, boys learned science and math. Girls were taught cooking and cleaning. These were seen as skills for housewives.

But Gerta loved to learn. She read her older siblings' textbooks. She even made summaries for them. This showed her strong desire for knowledge.

Learning and Travel

At age 14, she went to a vocational school. There, she learned how to sew. She also helped change a rule there. Girls had to wear skirts, but she rode her bike to school. She wanted to wear pants to stay warm. She organized a protest, and the girls won!

After getting her certificate at 17, she worked for Pierre Cardin. She sewed fancy dresses. She traveled around the world. She learned English in England. Then she visited North Africa, Spain, and Australia. She faced many challenges during her travels.

In 1968, she arrived in San Francisco. She decided to focus on education. She took a high school equivalency exam. She earned her first degree from San Francisco State University. Later, she got her doctorate in geology and paleontology. This was from Stanford University in 1978.

Gerta Keller's Paleontology Research

After finishing her studies, Keller worked for the United States Geological Survey. She also worked at Stanford. In 1984, she joined Princeton University. After a few years, she began studying the Cretaceous–Paleogene boundary. This is a special rock layer. It marks the time of the dinosaur extinction.

Professor Keller's research suggests something different. The Chicxulub asteroid impact is often blamed for the extinction. But Keller believes this impact happened too early. She thinks it couldn't be the only cause. She once said, "I'm sure the day after, they had a headache." But she added that "we vastly overestimate the damage" from this impact.

Asteroid vs. Volcanoes: The Big Debate

Many scientists support the Alvarez hypothesis. They say the Chicxulub impact caused the extinction. They point to certain clues found worldwide. These include shocked quartz and glass bits. There's also a layer of clay with a lot of iridium. These are all signs of an asteroid crash.

But Keller's research found something interesting. In some places, the glass bits and iridium clay are separated. There can be up to 8 feet (2.4 m) of rock and sand between them. Supporters of the asteroid idea say a huge tsunami caused this. They think the tsunami put sand between the layers.

However, Keller's studies of these layers tell a different story. She found signs of tiny sea creatures and weathering. This suggests the material was laid down over a long time. Maybe as much as 300,000 years! This would mean the asteroid hit much earlier than the extinction.

Awards and Recognition

Gerta Keller has received many honors. The University of Lausanne in Switzerland gave her a special Doctor Honoris degree in 2022. This was for her important work on the dinosaur extinction debate. She also won the Radhakrishna Prize in 2012. This award was for her research on the Deccan volcanoes. It recognized their link to the end-Cretaceous extinction. She has received many other awards and fellowships too.

See also

In Spanish: Gerta Keller para niños