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Earth Science

D-Index
47
Citations
6423
World Ranking
4105
National Ranking
1588

Overview

Alfonso F. Davila is affiliated with Ames Research Center in the United States. Their research primarily spans the fields of Physics and Astronomy as well as Environmental Science, with significant contributions to subfields such as Astronomy and Astrophysics, Ecology, Physiology, Aerospace Engineering, and Atmospheric Science.

Their work covers a range of topics including Planetary Science and Exploration, Astro and Planetary Science, Polar Research and Ecology, Space Science and Extraterrestrial Life, Spaceflight effects on biology, Microbial Community Ecology and Physiology, and Space Exploration and Technology.

Davila has published extensively in multiple scientific venues. Frequent publication outlets include:

  • Astrobiology
  • The Planetary Science Journal
  • Frontiers in Astronomy and Space Sciences
  • Environmental Microbiology
  • PLoS ONE

Their recent papers demonstrate a focus on astrobiological exploration and life detection beyond Earth:

  • "The Enceladus Orbilander Mission Concept: Balancing Return and Resources in the Search for Life" (2021) published in The Planetary Science Journal
  • "Returning Samples From Enceladus for Life Detection" (2020) published in Frontiers in Astronomy and Space Sciences
  • "Science Objectives for Flagship-Class Mission Concepts for the Search for Evidence of Life at Enceladus" (2022) published in Astrobiology
  • "Habitability Models for Astrobiology" (2021) published in Astrobiology
  • "Astrobiology of life on Earth" (2021) published in Environmental Microbiology

Davila has collaborated frequently with several co-authors, including:

  • Marc Neveu
  • Christopher P. McKay
  • J. L. Eigenbrode
  • Tori M. Hoehler
  • Jocelyne DiRuggiero

Their research emphasis on planetary science and astrobiology is reflected across their publication topics and venues, illustrating a broad engagement with the search for life beyond Earth, particularly through missions related to Saturn's moon Enceladus.

Best Publications

  • Transitory microbial habitat in the hyperarid Atacama Desert

    Dirk Schulze-Makuch;Dirk Schulze-Makuch;Dirk Wagner;Samuel P Kounaves;Samuel P Kounaves;Kai Mangelsdorf

  • Colonization patterns of soil microbial communities in the Atacama Desert

    Alexander Crits-Christoph;Courtney K Robinson;Tyler Barnum;W Florian Fricke

  • Facilitation of endolithic microbial survival in the hyperarid core of the Atacama Desert by mineral deliquescence

    Alfonso F. Davila;Benito Gómez-Silva;Asunción de los Rios;Carmen Ascaso

  • Astrobiology through the ages of Mars: the study of terrestrial analogues to understand the habitability of Mars.

    Alberto G. Fairén;Alfonso F. Davila;Darlene Lim;Nathan Bramall

  • Nearing the cold-arid limits of microbial life in permafrost of an upper dry valley, Antarctica.

    Jacqueline Goordial;Alfonso Davila;Denis Lacelle;Wayne Pollard

  • Hygroscopic salts and the potential for life on Mars.

    Alfonso F. Davila;Luis Gago Duport;Riccardo Melchiorri;Jochen Jänchen

  • Rock magnetic properties of uncultured magnetotactic bacteria

    Yongxin Pan;Yongxin Pan;Nikolai Petersen;Michael Winklhofer;Alfonso F. Davila

  • Perchlorate on Mars: a chemical hazard and a resource for humans

    Alfonso F. Davila;David Willson;John D. Coates;Christopher P. McKay

  • Microbial colonization of Ca-sulfate crusts in the hyperarid core of the Atacama Desert: implications for the search for life on Mars.

    J. Wierzchos;B. Cámara;A. De Los Ríos;A. F. Davila

  • Evidence for Hesperian impact-induced hydrothermalism on Mars

    Giuseppe A. Marzo;Alfonso F. Davila;Alfonso F. Davila;Livio L. Tornabene;James M. Dohm

  • Magnetic signature of daily sampled urban atmospheric particles

    Adrian R. Muxworthy;Jürgen Matzka;Alfonso Fernández Davila;Nikolai Petersen

  • The detection of bacterial magnetite in recent sediments of Lake Chiemsee (southern Germany)

    Yongxin Pan;Yongxin Pan;Nikolai Petersen;Alfonso F. Davila;Liming Zhang

  • The Enceladus Orbilander Mission Concept: Balancing Return and Resources in the Search for Life

    Shannon M. MacKenzie;Marc Neveu;Marc Neveu;Alfonso F. Davila;Johnathan I. Lunine

  • Stability against freezing of aqueous solutions on early Mars

    Alberto G. Fairén;Alfonso F. Davila;Luis Gago-Duport;Ricardo Amils

  • A new model for a magnetoreceptor in homing pigeons based on interacting clusters of superparamagnetic magnetite

    A.F. Davila;G. Fleissner;M. Winklhofer;N. Petersen

  • Global patterns and environmental controls of perchlorate and nitrate co-occurrence in arid and semi-arid environments

    W Andrew Jackson;John K. Böhlke;Brian J. Andraski;Lynne S. Fahlquist

  • The Icebreaker Life Mission to Mars: A Search for Biomolecular Evidence for Life

    Christopher P. McKay;Carol R. Stoker;Brian J. Glass;Arwen I. Davé

  • Microbial colonization of halite from the hyper-arid Atacama Desert studied by Raman spectroscopy

    P. Vítek;H. G. M. Edwards;J. Jehlička;C. Ascaso

  • Comparative analysis of the microbial communities inhabiting halite evaporites of the Atacama Desert

    de Los Ríos A;Valea S;Ascaso C;Davila A

  • Functional interactions of archaea, bacteria and viruses in a hypersaline endolithic community.

    Alexander Crits-Christoph;Diego R. Gelsinger;Bing Ma;Jacek Wierzchos

  • Noachian and more recent phyllosilicates in impact craters on Mars.

    Alberto G. Fairén;Vincent Chevrier;Oleg Abramov;Giuseppe A. Marzo

  • The Icebreaker Life Mission to Mars: A Search for Biomolecular Evidence for Life

    C. P. McKay;C. R. Stoker;B. J. Glass;A. I. Dave

Frequent Co-Authors

Christopher P. McKay
Christopher P. McKay Ames Research Center
Alberto G. Fairén
Alberto G. Fairén Cornell University
Dirk Schulze-Makuch
Dirk Schulze-Makuch Technical University of Berlin
Wayne H. Pollard
Wayne H. Pollard McGill University
Denis Lacelle
Denis Lacelle University of Ottawa
Carmen Ascaso
Carmen Ascaso Spanish National Research Council
Jacek Wierzchos
Jacek Wierzchos Spanish National Research Council
Ricardo Amils
Ricardo Amils Spanish National Research Council
James M. Dohm
James M. Dohm University of Tokyo
Victor R. Baker
Victor R. Baker University of Arizona

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