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
No inter-hemispheric delta(CH4)-C-13 trend observed
Publication Date: 2012-06-28
Type: Journal Article
Precipitation variability in the winter rainfall zone of South Africa during the last 1400 yr linked to the austral westerlies
Publication Date: 2012-01-01
Type: Journal Article
Higher education's sustainability imperative: how to practically respond?
Publication Date: 2012-01-01
Type: Journal Article
Gas transport in firn: multiple-tracer characterisation and model intercomparison for NEEM, Northern Greenland
Buizert C; Martinerie P; Petrenko VV; Severinghaus JP; Trudinger CM; Witrant E; Rosen JL; Orsi AJ; Rubino M; Etheridge D...
- Buizert C
- Martinerie P
- Petrenko VV
- Severinghaus JP
- Trudinger CM
- Witrant E
- Rosen JL
- Orsi AJ
- Rubino M
- Etheridge DM
Publication Date: 2012-01-01
Type: Journal Article
Molecular Paleohydrology: Interpreting the Hydrogen- Isotopic Composition of Lipid Biomarkers from Photosynthesizing Organisms
Sachse D; Billault I; Bowen GJ; Chikaraishi Y; Dawson TE; Feakins SJ; Freeman KH; Magill CR; McInerney FA; van der Meer ...
- Sachse D
- Billault I
- Bowen GJ
- Chikaraishi Y
- Dawson TE
- Feakins SJ
- Freeman KH
- Magill CR
- McInerney FA
- van der Meer MTJ
Publication Date: 2012-01-01
Type: Journal Article
The Neogene transition from C-3 to C-4 grasslands in North America: stable carbon isotope ratios of fossil phytoliths
Publication Date: 2011-12-01
Type: Journal Article
Influences of the hydrological cycle on observed interannual variations in atmospheric (COO)-O-18
Publication Date: 2011-10-01
Type: Journal Article
The global methane budget over the last 2,000 years: 13CH4 reveals hidden information
Type: Chapter
Temperature and precipitation history of the Arctic (vol 29, pg 1679, 2010)
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: 2011-09-01
Type: Journal Article
Understanding the climatic signal in the water stable isotope records from the NEEM shallow firn/ice cores in northwest Greenland
Steen-Larsen HC; Masson-Delmotte V; Sjolte J; Johnsen SJ; Vinther BM; Breon F-M; Clausen HB; Dahl-Jensen D; Falourd S; F...
- Steen-Larsen HC
- Masson-Delmotte V
- Sjolte J
- Johnsen SJ
- Vinther BM
- Breon F-M
- Clausen HB
- Dahl-Jensen D
- Falourd S
- Fettweis X
Publication Date: 2011-03-22
Type: Journal Article
Multi-element regulation of the tropical forest carbon cycle
Publication Date: 2011-02-01
Type: Journal Article
Novel applications of carbon isotopes in atmospheric CO2: what can atmospheric measurements teach us about processes in the biosphere?
Publication Date: 2011-01-01
Type: Journal Article
Late-Holocene climate evolution at the WAIS Divide site, West Antarctica: bubble number-density estimates
Publication Date: 2011-01-01
Type: Journal Article
Interpreting methane variations in the past two decades using measurements of CH4 mixing ratio and isotopic composition
Publication Date: 2011-01-01
Type: Journal Article
Monthly precipitation isoscapes (delta O-18) 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, H-2 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 delta O-18-temperature relationships across the United States
Publication Date: 2010-07-20
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
Arctic amplification: can the past constrain the future?
Publication Date: 2010-07-01
Type: Journal Article
Arctic Paleoclimate Synthesis Thematic Papers Introduction
Publication Date: 2010-07-01
Type: Journal Article
History of the Greenland Ice Sheet: paleoclimatic insights
Alley RB; Andrews JT; Brigham-Grette J; Clarke GKC; Cuffey KM; Fitzpatrick JJ; Funder S; Marshall SJ; Miller GH; Mitrovi...
- Alley RB
- Andrews JT
- Brigham-Grette J
- Clarke GKC
- Cuffey KM
- Fitzpatrick JJ
- Funder S
- Marshall SJ
- Miller GH
- Mitrovica JX
Publication Date: 2010-07-01
Type: Journal Article
Past rates of climate change in the Arctic
White JWC; Alley RB; Brigham-Grette J; Fitzpatrick JJ; Jennings AE; Johnsen SJ; Miller GH; Nerem RS; Polyak L...
- White JWC
- Alley RB
- Brigham-Grette J
- Fitzpatrick JJ
- Jennings AE
- Johnsen SJ
- Miller GH
- Nerem RS
- Polyak L
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
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