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
Monthly precipitation isoscapes (δ18O) of the United States: Connections with surface temperatures, moisture source conditions, and air mass trajectories
Publication Date: 2010-11-12
Type: Journal Article
Can bottom-up ocean CO2 fluxes be reconciled with atmospheric 13C observations?
Publication Date: 2010-11-01
Type: Journal Article
Land use and season affect fluxes of CO2, CH4, CO, N2O, H2 and isotopic source signatures in Panama: evidence from nocturnal boundary layer profiles
Publication Date: 2010-10-01
Type: Journal Article
Moisture source temperatures and precipitation δ18O-temperature relationships across the United States
Publication Date: 2010-07-20
Type: Journal Article
Arctic Paleoclimate Synthesis Thematic Papers Introduction
Publication Date: 2010-07-01
Type: Journal Article
Arctic amplification: can the past constrain the future?
Publication Date: 2010-07-01
Type: Journal Article
History of sea ice in the Arctic
Polyak L; Alley RB; Andrews JT; Brigham-Grette J; Cronin TM; Darby DA; Dyke AS; Fitzpatrick JJ; Funder S; Holland M...
- Polyak L
- Alley RB
- Andrews JT
- Brigham-Grette J
- Cronin TM
- Darby DA
- Dyke AS
- Fitzpatrick JJ
- Funder S
- Holland M
Publication Date: 2010-07-01
Type: Journal Article
Temperature and precipitation history of the Arctic
Miller GH; Brigham-Grette J; Alley RB; Anderson L; Bauch HA; Douglas MSV; Edwards ME; Elias SA; Finney BP; Fitzpatrick J...
- Miller GH
- Brigham-Grette J
- Alley RB
- Anderson L
- Bauch HA
- Douglas MSV
- Edwards ME
- Elias SA
- Finney BP
- Fitzpatrick JJ
Publication Date: 2010-07-01
Type: Journal Article
Global Network Measurements of Atmospheric Trace Gas Isotopes
Type: Chapter
Observational constraints on recent increases in the atmospheric CH4 burden
Dlugokencky EJ; Bruhwiler L; White JWC; Emmons LK; Novelli PC; Montzka SA; Masarie KA; Lang PM; Crotwell AM; Miller JB...
- Dlugokencky EJ
- Bruhwiler L
- White JWC
- Emmons LK
- Novelli PC
- Montzka SA
- Masarie KA
- Lang PM
- Crotwell AM
- Miller JB
Publication Date: 2009-09-17
Type: Journal Article
Geoscience of Climate and Energy 5. Ice Cores, Greenhouse Gases and Climate Change
Publication Date: 2009-06-01
Type: Journal Article
Influence of clouds and diffuse radiation on ecosystem-atmosphere CO2 and CO18O exchanges
Still CJ; Riley WJ; Biraud SC; Noone DC; Buenning NH; Randerson JT; Torn MS; Welker J; White JWC; Vachon R...
- Still CJ
- Riley WJ
- Biraud SC
- Noone DC
- Buenning NH
- Randerson JT
- Torn MS
- Welker J
- White JWC
- Vachon R
Publication Date: 2009-03-04
Type: Journal Article
High-precision CO2 isotopologue spectrometer with a difference-frequency-generation laser source
Publication Date: 2009-01-15
Type: Journal Article
Past rates of climate change in the Arctic
Type: Chapter
Key findings and recommendations
Type: Chapter
Past Climate Variability and Change in the Arctic and at High Latitudes
Type: Book
Modeled seasonality of glacial abrupt climate events
Publication Date: 2008-11-01
Type: Journal Article
Separating contributions from natural and anthropogenic sources in atmospheric methane from the Black Sea region, Romania
Publication Date: 2008-10-01
Type: Journal Article
A review of Antarctic surface snow isotopic composition:: Observations, atmospheric circulation, and isotopic modeling
Masson-Delmotte V; Hou S; Ekaykin A; Jouzel J; Aristarain A; Bernardo RT; Bromwich D; Cattani O; Delmotte M; Falourd S...
- Masson-Delmotte V
- Hou S
- Ekaykin A
- Jouzel J
- Aristarain A
- Bernardo RT
- Bromwich D
- Cattani O
- Delmotte M
- Falourd S
Publication Date: 2008-07-01
Type: Journal Article
CHED 1467-Climate and atmospheric changes: Past, present and future
Publication Date: 2008-04-06
Type: Journal Article
Long-term field performance of a tunable diode laser absorption spectrometer for analysis of carbon isotopes of CO2 in forest air
Publication Date: 2008-01-01
Type: Journal Article
Amount-weighted annual isotopic (δ18O) values are affected by the seasonality of precipitation:: A sensitivity study
Publication Date: 2007-11-15
Type: Journal Article
Exploration of Antarctic Subglacial Aquatic Environments:
Type: Book
Stable isotopic variations in west China: A consideration of moisture sources
Publication Date: 2007-05-23
Type: Journal Article
Stable isotopes provide revised global limits of aerobic methane emissions from plants
Publication Date: 2007-01-17
Type: Journal Article
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