David Graham Burtt
(POST/DOC RESEARCH)
| Email: | david.g.burtt@nasa.gov |
| Phone: | 301.614.6250 |
| Org Code: | |
| Address: |
NASA/GSFC Mail Code 699 Greenbelt, MD 20771 |
| Employer: | UMBC Univ. of MD, Baltimore County |
Brief Bio
Dr. David Burtt is a NASA Postdoctoral Fellow at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center. Dr. Burtt's research focuses on contextualizing past and present climates at the surface of Mars. More specifically, he uses isotope geochemistry to study carbonates, a mineralogical phase capable of preserving signatures of its formation conditions. This laboratory-based research informs analyses performed with the Sample Analysis at Mars (SAM) instrument aboard the Curiosity rover. While his current research is Mars-related, Dr. Burtt is broadly interested in the intersection between isotopes and planetary geoscience.
Dr. Burtt earned a PhD. in Geosciences from Stony Brook University, where he used carbonate clumped isotopes to study terrestrial meteorite impacts and their products. Dr. Burtt also has a B.A in Geology-Chemistry from Whitman College with an undergraduate thesis on the use of strontium isotopes to track mammoth migration patterns.
Current Projects
Mg-Carbonates on Mars
Planetary Geology
Mg-carbonates have been detected on the Martian surface. However, the formation mechanism (and formation conditions) of these environmentally significant phases remain ambiguous. I will be precipitating Mg-carbonates in the lab and studying their isotope compositions to inform current measurements on the SAM instrument as well as priorities for future sample return missions.
Positions/Employment
NASA Postdoctoral Fellow
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center - Greenbelt, MD
November 2022 - Present
Graduate Research Assistant
Stony Brook University - Stony Brook, NY
September 2019 - August 2022
Graduate Teaching Assistant
Stony Brook University - Stony Brook, NY
September 2017 - May 2019
Research Assistant
NASA Ames Research Center - Mountain View, CA
January 2017 - August 2017
Education
PhD. (Geology - 2022) Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY
B.A. (Geology-Chemistry - 2016) Whitman College, Walla Walla, WA
Selected Publications
Refereed
2025. "Carbonate formation and fluctuating habitability on Mars.", Nature, 643 (8070): 60-66 [10.1038/s41586-025-09161-1] [Journal Article/Letter]
2025. "Carbonates identified by the Curiosity rover indicate a carbon cycle operated on ancient Mars.", Science, 388 292-297 [Journal Article/Letter]
2024. "Highly enriched carbon and oxygen isotopes in carbonate-derived CO2 at Gale crater, Mars.", PNAS, 121 (42): e2321342121 [Full Text] [10.1073/pnas.2321342121] [Journal Article/Letter]
Non-Refereed
2025. "Science Autonomy using Machine Learning for Astrobiology.", white paper, [Full Text] [10.48550/arXiv.2504.00709] [Other]
2025. "Technology gaps in in situ organic matter characterization for habitability and life detection investigations.", White paper for NASA Decadal Astrobiology Research and Exploration Strategy (NASA-DARES 2025), [Other]
Professional Societies
American Geophysical Union
2013 - Present
Geological Society of America
2013 - Present
Awards
NASA Postdoctoral Research Fellowship - 2022
Stony Brook Geosciences Excellence in Teaching Award - 2019
Pearson Academic Achievement Scholarship - 2012-2016
Talks, Presentations and Posters
Invited
The Immediate Aftermath – Contextualizing the Products of Meteorite Impacts with Clumped Isotopes
University of New Mexico
May 9, 2022
Other
Experimental and Empirical Evidence for Carbonate Isotopologue Disequilibrium Driven by Meteorite Impact-Related Decarbonation
American Geophysical Union
December 13, 2021
The Effects of Carbonate Decomposition on Clumped Isotopes from Heavily Altered Limestone Clasts in the Steen River Impact Structure Breccia
American Geophysical Union
December 10, 2020
Selected Public Outreach
STEM Outreach at Nathaniel Woodhull Elementary
September 2017 - August 2022