Annemarie Pickersgill

My research is focused on three aspects of impact cratering: the creation of habitable environments, age determination via 40Ar/39Ar geochronology, and shock metamorphism.

My current research project is investigating micro-tunnels in impact-generated glasses in order to determine whether or not they are biotic in origin, and if so, whether or not the biota colonised the site as the result of an impact-induced hydrothermal system. The samples for this study come from the Ries, Boltysh, Dellen, and Rochechouart impact structures.

I am also working on the geochronology of terrestrial impact structures, including Chicxulub, Boltysh, and Gow Lake, and I am studying the effects of shock metamorphism on feldspar group minerals from Chicxulub.