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Melissa Chapot

Melissa S. Chapot
EducationUtah State University (BS) Aberystwyth University (PhD)
Occupationluminescence geochronologist

Melissa S. Chapot is a luminescence geochronologist from Murray, Utah, who has worked at Aberystwyth University since 2013. She developed a new technique for optically stimulated luminescence dating that allowed the discovery that prehistoric drawings in Canyonlands National Park weren't as old as previously believed, as well as enabling climate modelling for the time when homo sapiens first migrated out of Africa.

Early life

Chapot attended Cottonwood High School. She gained a degree in geology from Utah State University in 2010 and was that year's science valedictorian.[1] She received a PhD in geography and Earth science from Aberystwyth University in 2014.

Research

Chapot has held a postdoctoral position as a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellow in the Institute of Geography and Earth Sciences at Aberystwyth University since October 2013.[1][2]

In 2012, Chapot pioneered a technique of surface-exposure dating based on the optically stimulated luminescence bleaching profile beneath a rock surface, which evolves as a function of depth and time.[3] This technique was used to determine the age of a rockfall event that removed part of the Great Gallery rock art in Canyonlands National Park.[4]

In 2014, Melissa Chapot also used this technique to date prehistoric drawings in Horseshoe Canyon in Canyonlands National Park. They were believed to be some of the oldest artefacts of the American Southwest, but Chapot's team showed they were likely made between 1,000 and 2,000 years ago.[5] This means they were likely created during a period when farming populations were moving into the area, which was previously inhabited by hunter-gatherers, and the combination of cultures may have led to the new artistic tradition.[1]

In 2021, Chapot was part of a team that reconstructed the climate in Ethiopia for the last 200,000 years using lake sediments from Lake Chew Bahir in southern Ethiopia. They analysed how often the lake dried up, which allowed them to reconstruct the climate during the time when homo sapiens first migrated out of Africa.[6][7]

References

  1. ^ a b c "USU Scientists Shed New Light on Age of Barrier Canyon-style Rock Art". Utah State Today. 28 August 2014. Retrieved 29 July 2026.
  2. ^ "M.S. CHAPOT | Research profile". ResearchGate. Retrieved 29 July 2026.
  3. ^ Sohbati, Reza; Murray, Andrew S.; Chapot, Melissa S.; Jain, Mayank; Pederson, Joel (2012). "Optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) as a chronometer for surface exposure dating". Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth. 117 (B9). doi:10.1029/2012JB009383. ISSN 0148-0227.
  4. ^ Chapot, M. S.; Sohbati, R.; Murray, A. S.; Pederson, J. L.; Rittenour, T. M. (1 December 2012). "Constraining the age of rock art by dating a rockfall event using sediment and rock-surface luminescence dating techniques". Quaternary Geochronology. 13: 18–25. doi:10.1016/j.quageo.2012.08.005. ISSN 1871-1014.
  5. ^ Muffoletto, Mary-Ann (25 August 2014). "Utah's Great Gallery rock art younger than expected, say scientists". Phys.org.
  6. ^ University of Cologne (2 July 2021). "Reconstructing Climate Conditions During the Migration of Homo sapiens Out of Africa". SciTechDaily. Retrieved 29 July 2026.
  7. ^ Schaebitz, Frank; Asrat, Asfawossen; Lamb, Henry F.; Cohen, Andrew S.; Foerster, Verena; Duesing, Walter; Kaboth-Bahr, Stefanie; Opitz, Stephan; Viehberg, Finn A.; Vogelsang, Ralf; Dean, Jonathan; Leng, Melanie J.; Junginger, Annett; Ramsey, Christopher Bronk; Chapot, Melissa S. (14 June 2021). "Hydroclimate changes in eastern Africa over the past 200,000 years may have influenced early human dispersal". Communications Earth & Environment. 2 (1): 123. doi:10.1038/s43247-021-00195-7. ISSN 2662-4435.

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