Dr. Thierry Adatte
Institut des Sciences de la Terre, Université de Lausanne
Thierry.Adatte@unil.ch
Prof. Thierry Adatte is a Swiss geologist and internationally recognized scholar in stratigraphy, sedimentology, mineralogy, and geochemistry. He earned his MSc and PhD in Geology from the University of Neuchâtel, Switzerland, and has developed a distinguished academic career devoted to understanding long-term Earth system processes and environmental change recorded in sedimentary archives.
He is currently Emeritus Professor at the Institute of Earth Sciences, University of Lausanne, where he previously served as Professor Titulaire and Head of the Sedimentary Geochemistry Laboratory. His research has made major contributions to the history of the Earth and the study of mass extinction events, integrating stratigraphic, mineralogical, and geochemical evidence to investigate deep-time environmental crises. His work focuses on the causes, timing, and consequences of major biotic turnovers, including the Cretaceous–Paleogene boundary, Permian–Triassic transition, oceanic anoxic events, and rapid climate perturbations such as the Paleocene–Eocene Thermal Maximum, offering key insights into Earth-system behavior under extreme conditions.
Prof. Adatte has extensive international research experience, including postdoctoral appointments in Mexico at the Instituto Mexicano del Petróleo and the Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León, where he conducted research on sedimentary, mineralogical, and geochemical processes. These research stays contributed to long-term scientific collaborations and strengthened his expertise in applying Earth-system approaches to complex sedimentary records across diverse geological and tectonic settings.
In parallel with his research, Prof. Adatte has been actively engaged in university teaching since 1996, delivering courses in stratigraphy, sedimentology, paleontology, Earth system geochemistry, and field-based geological training. He has supervised and co-supervised numerous graduate theses, served on doctoral examination committees at universities in Europe and the Americas, and played an active role in the international geoscientific community through scientific societies, the organization of major conferences and field excursions, and contributions to scientific outreach through documentaries, media interviews, and advisory roles for museum exhibitions.
With more than 450 peer-reviewed publications and close to 18,000 citations, Prof. Thierry Adatte is widely regarded as a leading authority on sedimentary records of global change, mass extinction events, and the long-term evolution of the Earth system.
He is currently Emeritus Professor at the Institute of Earth Sciences, University of Lausanne, where he previously served as Professor Titulaire and Head of the Sedimentary Geochemistry Laboratory. His research has made major contributions to the history of the Earth and the study of mass extinction events, integrating stratigraphic, mineralogical, and geochemical evidence to investigate deep-time environmental crises. His work focuses on the causes, timing, and consequences of major biotic turnovers, including the Cretaceous–Paleogene boundary, Permian–Triassic transition, oceanic anoxic events, and rapid climate perturbations such as the Paleocene–Eocene Thermal Maximum, offering key insights into Earth-system behavior under extreme conditions.
Prof. Adatte has extensive international research experience, including postdoctoral appointments in Mexico at the Instituto Mexicano del Petróleo and the Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León, where he conducted research on sedimentary, mineralogical, and geochemical processes. These research stays contributed to long-term scientific collaborations and strengthened his expertise in applying Earth-system approaches to complex sedimentary records across diverse geological and tectonic settings.
In parallel with his research, Prof. Adatte has been actively engaged in university teaching since 1996, delivering courses in stratigraphy, sedimentology, paleontology, Earth system geochemistry, and field-based geological training. He has supervised and co-supervised numerous graduate theses, served on doctoral examination committees at universities in Europe and the Americas, and played an active role in the international geoscientific community through scientific societies, the organization of major conferences and field excursions, and contributions to scientific outreach through documentaries, media interviews, and advisory roles for museum exhibitions.
With more than 450 peer-reviewed publications and close to 18,000 citations, Prof. Thierry Adatte is widely regarded as a leading authority on sedimentary records of global change, mass extinction events, and the long-term evolution of the Earth system.
EDUCATIONAL AND PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
Education
- 1979-83: MS in Geology, Neuchâtel University, Switzerland.
- 1983-88 PhD In Geology, Neuchâtel University, Switzerland.
- 1992 PD (Privat Docent, Chargé de Cours), Neuchâtel University, Switzerland.
- 2004-2012 Associate professor, Neuchâtel University, Switzerland.
Career
- 1989-1990: Postdoctoral fellow (FNS), Mexican Petroleum Institute (IMP)
- 1990-1993: Postdoctoral fellow (FNS), Universidad Autonoma de Nuevo Leon, Mexico and Neuchâtel University, Switzerland.
- 1993-2004: Maître assistant (“Assistant professor”), head of the Mineralogical and Geochemical Laboratory, Geological Institute, Neuchâtel University, Switzerland.
- 2004—2012 Associate Professor,“Chargé de cours et d’enseignement“ (paleontology, sedimentary-environmental mineralogy, general geology), Geological Institute, Neuchâtel University, Switzerland.
2008- Present: Researcher at the Institute des Sciences de la Terre (ISTE), Lausanne University, Head of the geochemistry sedimentary lab (XRD, CHN-Rock-Eval, Phosphorus).
- 2017- Present: Privat Docent at the Institute des Sciences de la Terre (ISTE), Lausanne University
- 2018-Present: Professor at the Institute des Sciences de la Terre (ISTE), Lausanne University
FIELDS OF RESEARCH
- Mineralogy, geochemistry and sedimentology, applied to global change and stratigraphy in Devonian, Jurassic, Cretaceous sediments.
- Extinction events, evolution and paleontology linked to global changes (e.g. Cretaceous-Tertiary boundary, Paleocene-Eocene Thermal maximum, OAEs) Environmental geology, paleoclimatology, global change, phosphorus and carbon cycles, complex natural systems, self-organization, feedback loops.
- Evolution of carbonate platforms, large scale changes in carbonate facies, and drowning events, sequence stratigraphy.
- Biogeochemistry, particularly of low-temperature environments (incl. stable isotopes) Continental weathering systems, chemical weathering, soil formation in Cretaceous, Tertiary and Quaternary deposits.
- Lake sediments as archives of climatic and environmental changes, linked to the Anthropocene.
- Characterization of diagenetic to low-grade metamorphism zones, by clay-minerals (e.g. Illite Cristallinity, illite-smectite mixed layers) and organic matter (Rock-eval and vitrinite reflectance). Evaluation of the potential of petroleum source rocks in different basins.
SUPERVISION OF PhD. STUDENTS, PARTICIPATION TO PhD.
- JURY DEFENSE. Supervision of 6 PhD thesis:, Cosupervision of 3PhD thesis
- PHD DEFENSE JURY MEMBER Since 1995, participation to around 30 PhD examinations as Jury member (Lausanne, Genève, Fribourg, Besançon, Dijon, Grenoble, Chambéry, Paris, Bilbao, Zaragoza, Karlsruhe universities)
- MASTER STUDENTS SUPERVISION Since 1995, supervision of around 20 master and diploma students at Neuchâtel and Lausanne Universities
- PROJECTS FUNDED BY THE SNSF 1995_2019: 5 projects
PUBLICATION CITATIONS
SCOPUS DATA
- Publications peer review: 148 (see PDF of the publication list).
- Citations: 4507 total citations by 2307 documents (3516 excluding self-citations)
- h-index: 35 (32 excluding self-citations)
- Co-authors: 150
- Subject area: Earth and Planetary Sciences, Environmental Science