Hattori has made contributions to the field of earth sciences, utilizing trace element geochemistry and stable and radiogenic isotopes to understand the earth processes. During the early stages of her career, she focused on studying active volcanoes and associated hydrothermal activity. However, a tragic accident atop a Colombian volcano, resulting in the loss of several colleagues, prompted her to shift her research focus to ancient volcanic terranes in Canada. Over the past 14 years, she has conducted research in various regions of subduction zones worldwide, where oceanic crust subducts and forms arc volcanoes and mountain belts. Her investigations involve examining rocks and collecting samples to analyze the intricate processes of subduction and the subsequent return of materials to the surface through volcanoes. Her research areas have included the Himalayas (Northern Pakistan, Northern India), Italian and French Alps, Turkey, China, Japan, Philippines, Peru, and the Dominican Republic.
Hattoris contributions to the earth sciences primarily center on utilizing the abundance of redox-sensitive elements and their isotopic compositions to interpret processes from the surface to the mantle. Her discoveries include the timing of the abrupt rise in atmospheric oxygen content at around 2.2 billion years ago during Earths evolution, the definition of osmium isotope evolution in the mantle, the identification of serpentine as the reservoir of water and fluid-mobile elements in the mantle, and the provision of evidence that oxidized mafic magmas bring base metals and sulfur from the mantle to form giant copper deposits that supply many critical metals for society. In addition, her work has contributed to the discovery of such critical metal deposits through the mobility of metals in surface waters.