MissIsabelle Mattia

Overview
I am investigating fossil micrometeorites found in Cretaceous Chalk to assess their preservation in the geological record. The concentration of micrometeorites discovered in the section will be used to interpret ancient extra-terrestrial dust flux, which can give us a better understanding of past solar system events such as large-scale asteroid collisions.

Masters project:- Metal Bead Separation in Cosmic Spherules During Atmospheric Deceleration - Involved the petrographic analyses of Larkman Nunatak cosmic spherules, and numerical simulations of their atmospheric deceleration.

CRPG, Transnational Access Program Visiting Researcher | funded by Europlanet - Measured He isotopes of various self-prepared micrometeorite classes using the Helix SFT mass-spectrometer at CRPG, Nancy.
RHUL, ARIES Research Experience Placement Student- Collected and analysed micrometeorites and microplastics from urban rooftops to map organic contamination in samples.- Wrote a scientific report on distinguishing between terrestrial organic pollutants and indigenous organics in micrometeorites, and a comprehensive guide for collecting and examining micrometeorite petrology and geochemistry using an optical microscope and SEM.
NHM, Meteorite Curator Intern- Completed a report/guide on meteorite identification.- Operated an SEM and EPMA to investigate six rock specimens for extra-terrestrial origin.

Conference publications links

I.S. Mattia, M.J. Genge, M.D. Suttle, A.Y.C. Wong (2025) - Fossil Micrometeorites Reveal Spike in Cenomanian Cosmic Dust Flux – An Astronomical or Terrestrial Explanation? | UKPF 2025 ECM
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1wmEVUvr5xsMMedbnS4a_yGpI25huIDAP

I.S. Mattia, M.J. Genge, M.D. Suttle, P-H. Blard, G. Fenisse, D.V. Bekaert, M.R. Boyd, Y.L.T. Stefania, A.Y.C. Wong, B.G. Nica (2024) - Fossil I-types as Carrier Phases of Extra-terrestrial 3He in the Geological Record | 86th Annual Meeting of the Meteoritical Society 2024 (LPI Contrib. No. 3036)
https://www.hou.usra.edu/meetings/metsoc2024/pdf/6148.pdf

I.S. Mattia, M.D. Suttle, M.J. Genge (2023) - The Effect of Early Diagenetic Processes on the Quantification Of Fossil Micrometeorite Flux in the Geological Record | 86th Annual Meeting of the Meteoritical-Society (MetSoc) 58 (1), A192-A192
https://www.hou.usra.edu/meetings/metsoc2023/pdf/6099.pdf

I.S. Mattia, M.J. Genge (2022) - Metal Bead Separation in S-Type Cosmic Spherules During Atmospheric Entry: Implications on the Origin of Life | LPI Contributions 2678, 1176
https://www.hou.usra.edu/meetings/lpsc2022/pdf/1176.pdf
https://lpsc2022.ipostersessions.com/default.aspx?s=C3-5A-31-F8-28-CC-54-65-AC-24-9D-74-68-C7-D3-52&guestview=true