Vincent E. Courtillot (born 6 March 1948) is an emeritus French geophysicist, prominent among the researchers who are critical of the hypothesis that impact events are a primary cause of mass extinction of life forms on the Earth. He is known for his book "La Vie en catastrophes" (Paris, Fayard, 1995), translated into English as "Evolutionary catastrophes" (1999).
Vincent Courtillot was elected to membership in the French Academy of Sciences in November 2003. He is also a member of the Fondation Ecologie d'Avenir since 2011.[4]
He is currently at the centre of a scientific controversy[5] regarding the publication of one of his papers in the journal Earth and Planetary Science Letters (EPSL) entitled “Are there connections between the Earth's magnetic field and climate?” by V. Courtillot, Y. Gallet, J.-L. Le Mouël, F. Fluteau, A. Genevey (2007) EPSL 253, 328. There have been articles in Le Monde on 15 January 2008,[6] and in Science on 11 January 2008[7] concerning the debate over this paper.
He is usually considered[5] to be a global warming denier, often associated with Claude Allègre. Vincent Courtillot asserted that his collaboration with oil companies Total and Schlumberger on CO2 sequestration (CCS)[8][9] has no influence on his research and results.
Vincent Courtillot, Jean Besse, Didier Vandamme, Raymond Montigny, Jean-Jacques Jaeger and Henri Cappetta (November 1986). "Deccan flood basalts at the Cretaceous/Tertiary boundary?". Earth and Planetary Science Letters. 80 (3–4): 361–374. Bibcode:1986E&PSL..80..361C. doi:10.1016/0012-821X(86)90118-4.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
Courtillot, Vincent (1994). "Mass extinctions in the last 300 million years: One impact and seven flood basalts?". Israel Journal of Earth Sciences. 43: 255–266.
Courtillot, Vincent (1999). Evolutionary Catastrophes: the Science of Mass Extinction. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Translator: Joe McClinton{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: postscript (link)
Vincent Courtillot, Yves Gallet, Jean-Louis Le Mouël, Frédéric Fluteau and Agnès Genevey (30 January 2007). "Are there connections between the Earth's magnetic field and climate?". Earth and Planetary Science Letters. 253 (3–4): 328–339. Bibcode:2007E&PSL.253..328C. doi:10.1016/j.epsl.2006.10.032.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
Books in French
Courtillot, Vincent (1995). La vie en catastrophes. Paris: Fayard. ISBN978-2-213-59511-5.
Courtillot, Vincent (September 2009). Nouveau voyage au centre de la Terre. Paris: Éditions Odile Jacob. ISBN978-2-7381-1939-1.
^ abBard, Edouard; Delaygue, Gilles (2008). "Comment on "Are there connections between the Earth's magnetic field and climate?" by V. Courtillot, Y. Gallet, J.-L. Le Mouël, F. Fluteau, A. Genevey EPSL 253, 328, 2007". Earth and Planetary Science Letters. 265 (1–2): 302–307. doi:10.1016/j.epsl.2007.09.046.