Ghislaine Crozaz
Alma materUniversité libre de Bruxelles
Scientific career
InstitutionsWashington University in St. Louis
ThesisMise au point d'une méthode de datation des glaciers basée sur la radioactivité du plomb-210 (1967)
Doctoral advisorEdgard Picciotto
Doctoral students

Ghislaine Crozaz (born 1939[1]) is a cosmochemist known for her research on the early history of the solar system through tracking trace elements in meteorites.

Education and career

Crozaz received a B.Sc. in 1961 and a Ph.D. in 1967 from the University of Brussels.[2] In 1967, and from 1971 to 1972, she was a visiting associate in Geochemistry at California Institute of Technology.[2] She moved to Washington University in St. Louis as a postdoctoral investigator in the lab of Robert M. Walker (physicist). As of 2021, she is professor emerita in Earth and Planetary Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis[3] and lives in Brussels.[4]

The planet Ghislaine, discovered in 1986 by Carolyn Shoemaker and Eugene Shoemaker, is named after Crozaz.[1]

Research

While a Ph.D. student, Crozaz pioneered the use of lead-210 to establish ages in ice cores in Antarctica[5][6] and Greenland.[7] While working in Brussels, Crozaz became interested in space science and meteorites she started working on the first lunar samples returned to Earth during the Apollo 11 mission.[8][4] She started her research in this arena by looking at fission tracks in lunar samples.[9] These lunar samples are still serving as the basis for scientific research many years later.[10][11] Crozaz went on to work with Ernest Zinner to develop an ion microprobe method to measure rare earth elements in the individual crystals found in extraterrestrial and terrestrial rocks.[12][13] Crozaz later participated in group efforts to sample meteorites in Antarctica, one of which was the first lunar sample found on Earth,[10] and through this research examined the history of meteorites found in Antarctica.[14][15]

Selected publications

Personal life

Crozaz was married to Robert Walker, with whom she shared an interest in lunar materials.[16]

Awards and honors

References

  1. ^ a b Schmadel, Lutz D. (10 June 2012). Dictionary of Minor Planet Names. Springer. ISBN 9783642297182.
  2. ^ a b "Caltech Information for students" (PDF). California Institute of Technology. September 1972.
  3. ^ "Ghislaine Crozaz webpage". 27 March 2018.
  4. ^ a b Niebur, Susan (November 2, 2010). "Ghislaine Crozaz - Professor Emerita". NASA Science Solar System Exploration.
  5. ^ Crozaz, G.; Picciotto, E.; Breuck, W. De (1964). "Antarctic snow chronology with Pb210". Journal of Geophysical Research. 69 (12): 2597–2604. doi:10.1029/JZ069i012p02597.
  6. ^ Picciotto, E.; Crozaz, G.; De Breuck, W. (1964). "Rate of Accumulation of Snow at the South Pole as Determined by Radioactive Measurements". Nature. 203 (4943): 393–394. doi:10.1038/203393a0. ISSN 0028-0836. S2CID 4218313.
  7. ^ Crozaz, G.; Langway Jr., C.C (1 July 1966). "Dating Greenland firn-ice cores with Pb-210". Earth and Planetary Science Letters. 1 (4): 194–196. doi:10.1016/0012-821X(66)90067-7.
  8. ^ Niebur, Susan (2 November 2010). "November 2, 2020". Women In Planetary Science.
  9. ^ Crozaz, G.; Haack, U.; Hair, M.; Hoyt, H.; Kardos, J.; Maurette, M.; Miyajima, M.; Seitz, M.; Sun, S.; Walker, R.; Wittels, M.; Woolum, D. (30 January 1970). "Solid State Studies of the Radiation History of Lunar Samples". Science. 167 (3918): 563–566. doi:10.1126/science.167.3918.563. PMID 17781498. S2CID 45419754.
  10. ^ a b Jefferson, Brandie (July 18, 2019). "Old rocks, new science: Why Apollo 11 samples are still as relevant as ever". Washington University in St. Louis.
  11. ^ "Can We Still Learn Something From Apollo 11 Moon Rocks 40 Years Later? | Science 2.0". www.science20.com. 27 August 2014.
  12. ^ Zinner, Ernst; Crozaz, Ghislaine (1986-02-17). "A method for the quantitative measurement of rare earth elements in the ion microprobe". International Journal of Mass Spectrometry and Ion Processes. 69 (1): 17–38. doi:10.1016/0168-1176(86)87039-2. ISSN 0168-1176.
  13. ^ Crozaz, Ghislaine; Zinner, Ernst (1 April 1985). "Ion probe determinations of the rare earth concentrations of individual meteoritic phosphate grains". Earth and Planetary Science Letters. 73 (1): 41–52. doi:10.1016/0012-821X(85)90033-0.
  14. ^ Wadhwa, Meenakshi; Crozaz, Ghislaine (1995-09-01). "Trace and minor elements in minerals of nakhlites and Chassigny: Clues to their petrogenesis". Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta. 59 (17): 3629–3645. doi:10.1016/0016-7037(95)00228-R. ISSN 0016-7037.
  15. ^ Ghislaine, Crozaz; Floss, Christine; Wadhwa, Meenakshi (15 December 2003). "Chemical alteration and REE mobilization in meteorites from hot and cold deserts". Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta. 67 (24): 4727–4741. doi:10.1016/j.gca.2003.08.008.
  16. ^ Biographical Memoirs: V.86. Washington, D.C.: National Academies Press. 2005-08-15. doi:10.17226/11429. ISBN 978-0-309-09304-0.
  17. ^ "Crozaz". Honors Program.
  18. ^ "Fellows". meteoritical.org.
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