Breadcrumb

Bio
My research interests are broad, but all revolve around the use of environmental stable isotope ratios.
I established and operated the Stable Isotope Laboratory for the analysis of stable isotope ratios of carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, oxygen and sulfur. My specific areas of research include modeling the global carbon cycle using isotope ratios in atmospheric carbon dioxide and methane, development of techniques for measuring isotope ratios in atmospheric gases, reconstructions of paleo-environmental conditions using isotopes in ice cores, reconstructions of past environments from isotopes in organic materials, and tracing of ground water flow and recharge. I have been a member of several deep ice coring projects in Greenland (GISP2, NorthGRIP, and NEEM) and Antarctica (Siple Dome and Inland WAIS). I am also an affiliate of NOAA and work closely with the Carbon Cycle Group there.
Starting in the late 1980s, my ice core research has helped to show that large climate changes tend to occur in the natural system as abrupt and rapid shifts in mode probably driven by internal adjustments in the Earth climate system, rather than slow and gradual adjustments to changing external conditions, such as the amount of energy received from the sun. Shifts of more than 10˚C in mean temperature in less than a human lifetime are common in the paleoclimate record, and serve as a warning that adaptation to future climate changes may not be easy. My research in isotopes in the carbon cycle has also helped to show that land plants are capable of removing large amounts of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, amounts that equal our input of CO2 from fossil fuel burning on short time scales. Such large changes in the uptake of CO2 by plants is a key piece in the puzzle we must solve to formulate workable policy on CO2 levels and climate change.
Education
- PhD: Columbia University, 1983
Awards
- Highly Cited Researcher (2016-2019), Web of Science Group, 2019
- Robert L. Stearns Award, CU Boulder Alumni Association, 2016
- Highly Cited Researcher, Thomson Reuters, 2014
- Fellow, American Association for the Advancement of Science, 2014
- Highly Cited Researcher, ISI, 2001
Research
Research interests: global scale climate and environmental dynamics; carbon dioxide concentrations and climate from stable hydrogen isotopes, peats and other organics; climate from deuterium excess and hydrogen isotopes in ice cores; isotopes in general circulation models; modern carbon cycle dynamics via isotopes of carbon dioxide and methane.
Publications
Recent publications
Reconstruction of Temperature, Accumulation Rate, and Layer Thinning From an Ice Core at South Pole, Using a Statistical Inverse Method
Kahle EC; Steig EJ; Jones TR; Fudge TJ; Koutnik MR; Morris VA; Vaughn BH; Schauer AJ; Stevens CM; Conway H...
- Kahle EC
- Steig EJ
- Jones TR
- Fudge TJ
- Koutnik MR
- Morris VA
- Vaughn BH
- Schauer AJ
- Stevens CM
- Conway H
Publication Date: 2021-07-08
Type: Journal Article
The anatomy of past abrupt warmings recorded in Greenland ice
Capron E; Rasmussen SO; Popp TJ; Erhardt T; Fischer H; Landais A; Pedro JB; Vettoretti G; Grinsted A; Gkinis V...
- Capron E
- Rasmussen SO
- Popp TJ
- Erhardt T
- Fischer H
- Landais A
- Pedro JB
- Vettoretti G
- Grinsted A
- Gkinis V
Publication Date: 2021-04-08
Type: Journal Article
Continuous-Flow Analysis of delta O-17, delta O-18, and delta D of H2O on an Ice Core from the South Pole
Publication Date: 2021-03-24
Type: Journal Article
Detection of local mixing in time-series data using permutation entropy
Publication Date: 2021-02-26
Type: Journal Article
High-frequency climate variability in the Holocene from a coastal-dome ice core in east-central Greenland
Hughes AG; Jones TR; Vinther BM; Gkinis V; Stevens CM; Morris V; Vaughn BH; Holme C; Markle BR; White JWC...
- Hughes AG
- Jones TR
- Vinther BM
- Gkinis V
- Stevens CM
- Morris V
- Vaughn BH
- Holme C
- Markle BR
- White JWC
Publication Date: 2020-07-31
Type: Journal Article
Strong sensitivity of the isotopic composition of methane to the plausible range of tropospheric chlorine
Publication Date: 2020-07-17
Type: Journal Article
Reconstruction of temperature, accumulation rate, and layer thinning from an ice core at South Pole using a statistical inverse method
Kahle EC; Steig EJ; Jones TR; Fudge TJ; Koutnik MR; Morris V; Vaughn B; Schauer A; Stevens CM; Conway H...
- Kahle EC
- Steig EJ
- Jones TR
- Fudge TJ
- Koutnik MR
- Morris V
- Vaughn B
- Schauer A
- Stevens CM
- Conway H
Type: Journal Article
An information-theoretic approach to extracting climate signals from deep polar ice cores
Publication Date: 2019-10-01
Type: Journal Article
An improved estimate for the delta C-13 and delta O-18 signatures of carbon monoxide produced from atmospheric oxidation of volatile organic compounds
Vimont IJ; Turnbull JC; Petrenko VV; Place PF; Sweeney C; Miles N; Richardson S; Vaughn BH; White JWC...
- Vimont IJ
- Turnbull JC
- Petrenko VV
- Place PF
- Sweeney C
- Miles N
- Richardson S
- Vaughn BH
- White JWC
Publication Date: 2019-07-05
Type: Journal Article
Enhanced North American carbon uptake associated with El Nino
Hu L; Andrews AE; Thoning KW; Sweeney C; Miller JB; Michalak AM; Dlugokencky E; Tans PP; Shiga YP; Mountain M...
- Hu L
- Andrews AE
- Thoning KW
- Sweeney C
- Miller JB
- Michalak AM
- Dlugokencky E
- Tans PP
- Shiga YP
- Mountain M
Publication Date: 2019-06-01
Type: Journal Article
Very Strong. Atmospheric Methane Growth in the 4 Years 2014-2017: Implications for the paris Agreement
Nisbet EG; Manning MR; Dlugokencky EJ; Fisher RE; Lowry D; Michel SE; Myhre CL; Platt M; Allen G; Bousquet P...
- Nisbet EG
- Manning MR
- Dlugokencky EJ
- Fisher RE
- Lowry D
- Michel SE
- Myhre CL
- Platt M
- Allen G
- Bousquet P
Publication Date: 2019-03-01
Type: Journal Article
Anomaly Detection in Paleoclimate Records Using Permutation Entropy
Publication Date: 2018-12-01
Type: Journal Article
Limited impact of El Nino-Southern Oscillation on variability and growth rate of atmospheric methane
Publication Date: 2018-10-30
Type: Journal Article
Variability in Atmospheric Methane From Fossil Fuel and Microbial Sources Over the Last Three Decades
Publication Date: 2018-10-28
Type: Journal Article
Multimode Process Monitoring Based on Switching Autoregressive Dynamic Latent Variable Model
Publication Date: 2018-10-01
Type: Journal Article
Increased water-use efficiency and reduced CO2 uptake by plants during droughts at a continental scale
Peters W; van der Velde IR; van Schaik E; Miller JB; Ciais P; Duarte HF; van der Laan-Luijkx IT; van der Molen MK; Schol...
- Peters W
- van der Velde IR
- van Schaik E
- Miller JB
- Ciais P
- Duarte HF
- van der Laan-Luijkx IT
- van der Molen MK
- Scholze M
- Schaefer K
Publication Date: 2018-10-01
Type: Journal Article
Interlaboratory comparison of delta C-13 and delta D measurements of atmospheric CH4 for combined use of data sets from different laboratories
Umezawa T; Brenninkmeijer CAM; Rockmann T; van der Veen C; Tyler SC; Fujita R; Morimoto S; Aoki S; Sowers T; Schmitt J...
- Umezawa T
- Brenninkmeijer CAM
- Rockmann T
- van der Veen C
- Tyler SC
- Fujita R
- Morimoto S
- Aoki S
- Sowers T
- Schmitt J
Publication Date: 2018-03-02
Type: Journal Article
Southern Hemisphere climate variability forced by Northern Hemisphere ice-sheet topography
Publication Date: 2018-02-15
Type: Journal Article
The CarbonTracker Data Assimilation System for CO2 and delta C-13 (CTDAS-C13 v1.0): retrieving information on land-atmosphere exchange processes
Publication Date: 2018-01-22
Type: Journal Article
Improving Characterization of Anthropogenic Methane Emissions in the United States Preface
White JWC; Allen D; Amar PK; Bogner J; Bruhwiler L; Cooley D; Frankenberg C; George F; Hanle L; Hristov AH...
- White JWC
- Allen D
- Amar PK
- Bogner J
- Bruhwiler L
- Cooley D
- Frankenberg C
- George F
- Hanle L
- Hristov AH
Type: Chapter
Presenting Methane Emission Data and Results
White JWC; Allen D; Amar PK; Bogner J; Bruhwiler L; Cooley D; Frankenberg C; George F; Hanle L; Hristov AH...
- White JWC
- Allen D
- Amar PK
- Bogner J
- Bruhwiler L
- Cooley D
- Frankenberg C
- George F
- Hanle L
- Hristov AH
Type: Chapter
Methane Emission Measurement and Monitoring Methods
White JWC; Allen D; Amar PK; Bogner J; Bruhwiler L; Cooley D; Frankenberg C; George F; Hanle L; Hristov AH...
- White JWC
- Allen D
- Amar PK
- Bogner J
- Bruhwiler L
- Cooley D
- Frankenberg C
- George F
- Hanle L
- Hristov AH
Type: Chapter
Improving Characterization of Anthropogenic Methane Emissions in the United States Summary
White JWC; Allen D; Amar PK; Bogner J; Bruhwiler L; Cooley D; Frankenberg C; George F; Hanle L; Hristov AH...
- White JWC
- Allen D
- Amar PK
- Bogner J
- Bruhwiler L
- Cooley D
- Frankenberg C
- George F
- Hanle L
- Hristov AH
Type: Chapter
Current Inventories of Methane Emissions
White JWC; Allen D; Amar PK; Bogner J; Bruhwiler L; Cooley D; Frankenberg C; George F; Hanle L; Hristov AH...
- White JWC
- Allen D
- Amar PK
- Bogner J
- Bruhwiler L
- Cooley D
- Frankenberg C
- George F
- Hanle L
- Hristov AH
Type: Chapter
Addressing Uncertainties in Anthropogenic Methane Emissions
White JWC; Allen D; Amar PK; Bogner J; Bruhwiler L; Cooley D; Frankenberg C; George F; Hanle L; Hristov AH...
- White JWC
- Allen D
- Amar PK
- Bogner J
- Bruhwiler L
- Cooley D
- Frankenberg C
- George F
- Hanle L
- Hristov AH
Type: Chapter
Pages
Teaching
My teaching interests at the undergraduate level focus on human interactions with the environment, as well as general geosciences. I have a strong commitment to undergraduate education in this area, as I believe that an educated citizenry is important in ensuring that reasonable environmental policy is made and implemented. I teach and helped to develop a large lecture class, Introduction to Environmental Studies (ENVS 1000). This course covers the broad spectrum of environmental studies, from the social to the natural sciences. In addition, I developed and teach a large upper level undergraduate course, GEOL 3520, Environmental Issues. This course addresses our present and future energy sources, and how those energy sources affect the Earth’s systems, including climate and biogeochemistry. At the graduate level, I teach courses in my research specialty, stable isotope geochemistry and biogeochemistry. I have also taught the ENVS Honor’s course, and supervised the ENVS Internship Program. I have also been relatively successful in securing funding for education at CU. With a number of other faculty at CU, I have had grants funded by NASA (Earth System Science Education), as well as a multi-million dollar NSF-IGERT graduate training grant. This grant supported 13 graduate students per year for five years in an experiment in team building, disciplinary silo breaking, and co-educating social science, natural science, and journalism graduate students in carbon cycle dynamics, economics and policy.
Past Courses
- ENVS 1000: Introduction to Environmental Studies
- ENVS 3930: Internship in Environmental Studies
- ENVS 4990: Senior Thesis in Environmental Studies
- ENVS 5900: Carbon, Climate, and Society
- ENVS/GEOL 3520: Environmental Issues in Geosciences
- GEOL 1070: Global Change
- GEOL 1110: Global Change Lab
- GEOL 5700: Environmental Isotopes
- GEOL 5700: Current Literature in Global Change Research
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Outreach
Videos about climate change
- Abrupt Impacts of Climate Change: Anticipating surprises
- 120 Seconds of Science with Doc Ryan
- Climate Change Impacts are Happening Faster and Faster