Tyler Jones

Assistant Research Professor •
• Polar ice cores • Abrupt climate change • Isotope geochemistry

Bio

I study abrupt climate change through the lens of science and culture.

My research focus areas are Alaska, Greenland, and Antarctica. In Alaska, I work with Indigenous communities to better understand climate change, subsistence activities, and food and water security. In Greenland and Antarctica, I recover ice cores from remote field camps to reconstruct past abrupt climate change. I am actively involved in science communication through film, photography, art, and public speaking. I also pursue climate policy by taking appointments on task forces or environmental policy boards.

Please visit my website for more about me and my research.

Education

PhD, Biogeochemistry: University of Colorado, 2015
MS, Environmental Studies: University of Colorado, 2010
BS, Civil Engineering - Hydrology: University of Colorado, 2006

Research

Specialties: polar ice cores, abrupt climate change, isotope geochemistry, glaciological and Earth system modeling, unmanned aerial vehicles, methane in permafrost (new pursuit), outreach.

Publications

For additional publications, see Tyler's Publications page.

Seasonal temperatures in West Antarctica during the Holocene

CU Boulder Authors: Jones, Tyler R.; Vaughn, Bruce H; Markle, Bradley Ross

All Authors:

Jones TR; Cuffey KM; Roberts WHG; Markle BR; Steig EJ; Stevens CM; Valdes PJ; Fudge TJ; Sigl M; Hughes AG...

Jones TR
Cuffey KM
Roberts WHG
Markle BR
Steig EJ
Stevens CM
Valdes PJ
Fudge TJ
Sigl M
Hughes AG

Published in: Nature
Publication Date: 2023-01-12
Type: Journal Article

Utilizing Ice Core and Climate Model Data to Understand Seasonal West Antarctic Variability

CU Boulder Authors: Jones, Tyler R.

All Authors: Goddard PB; Tabor CR; Jones TR

Published in: Journal of Climate
Publication Date: 2021-12-01
Type: Journal Article

An unmanned aerial vehicle sampling platform for atmospheric water vapor isotopes in polar environments

CU Boulder Authors: Jones, Tyler R.; Vaughn, Bruce H

All Authors:

Rozmiarek KS; Vaughn BH; Jones TR; Morris V; Skorski WB; Hughes AG; Elston J; Wahl S; Faber A-K; Steen-Larsen HC...

Rozmiarek KS
Vaughn BH
Jones TR
Morris V
Skorski WB
Hughes AG
Elston J
Wahl S
Faber A-K
Steen-Larsen HC

Published in: Atmospheric Measurement Techniques
Publication Date: 2021-11-11
Type: Journal Article

Reconstruction of Temperature, Accumulation Rate, and Layer Thinning From an Ice Core at South Pole, Using a Statistical Inverse Method

CU Boulder Authors: Vaughn, Bruce H; Jones, Tyler R.; White, James William Carl

All Authors:

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

Published in: Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres
Publication Date: 2021-07-08
Type: Journal Article

Antarctic surface temperature and elevation during the Last Glacial Maximum

CU Boulder Authors: Jones, Tyler R.

All Authors:

Buizert C; Fudge TJ; Roberts WHG; Steig EJ; Sherriff-Tadano S; Ritz C; Lefebvre E; Edwards J; Kawamura K; Oyabu I...

Buizert C
Fudge TJ
Roberts WHG
Steig EJ
Sherriff-Tadano S
Ritz C
Lefebvre E
Edwards J
Kawamura K
Oyabu I

Published in: Science
Publication Date: 2021-06-04
Type: Journal Article

A 120,000-year long climate record from a NW-Greenland deep ice core at ultra-high resolution

CU Boulder Authors: Jones, Tyler R.; Vaughn, Bruce H

All Authors:

Gkinis V; Vinther BM; Popp TJ; Quistgaard T; Faber A-K; Holme CT; Jensen C-M; Lanzky M; Luett A-M; Mandrakis V...

Gkinis V
Vinther BM
Popp TJ
Quistgaard T
Faber A-K
Holme CT
Jensen C-M
Lanzky M
Luett A-M
Mandrakis V

Published in: Scientific Data
Publication Date: 2021-05-26
Type: Journal Article

Seasonally Resolved Holocene Sea Ice Variability Inferred From South Pole Ice Core Chemistry

CU Boulder Authors: Jones, Tyler R.

All Authors:

Winski DA; Osterberg EC; Kreutz KJ; Ferris DG; Cole-Dai J; Thundercloud Z; Huang J; Alexander B; Jaegle L; Kennedy JA...

Winski DA
Osterberg EC
Kreutz KJ
Ferris DG
Cole-Dai J
Thundercloud Z
Huang J
Alexander B
Jaegle L
Kennedy JA

Published in: Geophysical Research Letters
Publication Date: 2021-04-28
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

CU Boulder Authors: Jones, Tyler R.; Vaughn, Bruce H; White, James William Carl

All Authors: Steig EJ; Jones TR; Schauer AJ; Kahle EC; Morris VA; Vaughn BH; Davidge L; White JWC

Published in: Frontiers in Earth Science
Publication Date: 2021-03-24
Type: Journal Article

High-frequency climate variability in the Holocene from a coastal-dome ice core in east-central Greenland

CU Boulder Authors: Markle, Bradley Ross; Jones, Tyler R.; White, James William Carl; Vaughn, Bruce H

All Authors:

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

Published in: Climate of the Past
Publication Date: 2020-07-31
Type: Journal Article

The SP19 chronology for the South Pole Ice Core - Part 1: volcanic matching and annual layer counting

CU Boulder Authors: Jones, Tyler R.

All Authors:

Winski DA; Fudge TJ; Ferris DG; Osterberg EC; Fegyveresi JM; Cole-Dai J; Thundercloud Z; Cox TS; Kreutz KJ; Ortman N...

Winski DA
Fudge TJ
Ferris DG
Osterberg EC
Fegyveresi JM
Cole-Dai J
Thundercloud Z
Cox TS
Kreutz KJ
Ortman N

Published in: Climate of the Past
Publication Date: 2019-10-08
Type: Journal Article

An information-theoretic approach to extracting climate signals from deep polar ice cores

CU Boulder Authors: Jones, Tyler R.; Bradley, Liz; White, James William Carl

All Authors: Garland J; Jones TR; Neuder M; White JWC; Bradley E

Published in: Chaos: an interdisciplinary journal of nonlinear science
Publication Date: 2019-10-01
Type: Journal Article

Evidence of Isotopic Fractionation During Vapor Exchange Between the Atmosphere and the Snow Surface in Greenland

CU Boulder Authors: Vaughn, Bruce H; Jones, Tyler R.

All Authors:

Madsen MV; Steen-Larsen HC; Hoerhold M; Box J; Berben SMP; Capron E; Faber A-K; Hubbard A; Jensen MF; Jones TR...

Madsen MV
Steen-Larsen HC
Hoerhold M
Box J
Berben SMP
Capron E
Faber A-K
Hubbard A
Jensen MF
Jones TR

Published in: Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres
Publication Date: 2019-03-27
Type: Journal Article

Anomaly Detection in Paleoclimate Records Using Permutation Entropy

CU Boulder Authors: Bradley, Liz; White, James William Carl; Jones, Tyler R.

All Authors: Garland J; Jones TR; Neuder M; Morris V; White JWC; Bradley E

Published in: Entropy: international and interdisciplinary journal of entropy and information studies
Publication Date: 2018-12-01
Type: Journal Article

A Generalized Approach to Estimating Diffusion Length of Stable Water Isotopes From Ice-Core Data

CU Boulder Authors: Jones, Tyler R.

All Authors: Kahle EC; Holme C; Jones TR; Gkinis V; Steig EJ

Published in: Journal of Geophysical Research: Earth Surface
Publication Date: 2018-10-01
Type: Journal Article

Southern Hemisphere climate variability forced by Northern Hemisphere ice-sheet topography

CU Boulder Authors: Jones, Tyler R.; Markle, Bradley Ross; White, James William Carl

All Authors: Jones TR; Roberts WHG; Steig EJ; Cuffey KM; Markle BR; White JWC

Published in: Nature
Publication Date: 2018-02-15
Type: Journal Article

Improved methodologies for continuous-flow analysis of stable water isotopes in ice cores

CU Boulder Authors: Jones, Tyler R.; White, James William Carl; Markle, Bradley Ross; Vaughn, Bruce H

All Authors: Jones TR; White JC; Steig EJ; Vaughn BH; Morris V; Gkinis V; Markle BR; Schoenemann SW

Published in: Atmospheric Measurement Techniques
Publication Date: 2017-02-27
Type: Journal Article

Water isotope diffusion in the WAIS Divide ice core during the Holocene and last glacial

CU Boulder Authors: White, James William Carl; Jones, Tyler R.; Markle, Bradley Ross

All Authors: Jones TR; Cuffey KM; White JWC; Steig EJ; Buizert C; Markle BR; McConnell JR; Sigl M

Published in: Journal of Geophysical Research: Earth Surface
Publication Date: 2017-01-01
Type: Journal Article

Global atmospheric teleconnections during Dansgaard-Oeschger events

CU Boulder Authors: Jones, Tyler R.; White, James William Carl; Markle, Bradley Ross

All Authors:

Markle BR; Steig EJ; Buizert C; Schoenemann SW; Bitz CM; Fudge TJ; Pedro JB; Ding Q; Jones TR; White JC...

Markle BR
Steig EJ
Buizert C
Schoenemann SW
Bitz CM
Fudge TJ
Pedro JB
Ding Q
Jones TR
White JC

Published in: Nature Geoscience
Publication Date: 2017-01-01
Type: Journal Article

RC2 Author Response

CU Boulder Authors: Jones, Tyler R.

All Authors: Jones T

Publication Date: 2016-11-02
Type: Journal Article

RC1 Author Response

CU Boulder Authors: Jones, Tyler R.

All Authors: Jones T

Publication Date: 2016-11-02
Type: Journal Article

A First Step Toward Quantifying the Climate's Information Production over the Last 68,000 Years

CU Boulder Authors: White, James William Carl; Jones, Tyler R.; Bradley, Liz

All Authors: Garland J; Jones TR; Bradley E; James RG; White JWC

Published in: Lecture Notes in Artificial Intelligence
Publication Date: 2016-01-01
Type: Journal Article

Precise interpolar phasing of abrupt climate change during the last ice age

CU Boulder Authors: Clow, Gary D; Vaughn, Bruce H; Jones, Tyler R.; Markle, Bradley Ross; White, James William Carl

All Authors:

Buizert C; Adrian B; Ahn J; Albert M; Alley RB; Baggenstos D; Bauska TK; Bay RC; Bencivengo BB; Bentley CR...

Buizert C
Adrian B
Ahn J
Albert M
Alley RB
Baggenstos D
Bauska TK
Bay RC
Bencivengo BB
Bentley CR

Published in: Nature
Publication Date: 2015-04-30
Type: Journal Article

Siple Dome shallow ice cores: a study in coastal dome microclimatology

CU Boulder Authors: Jones, Tyler R.; White, James William Carl

All Authors: Jones TR; White JWC; Popp T

Published in: Climate of the Past
Publication Date: 2014-01-01
Type: Journal Article

Siple Dome shallow ice cores: a study in coastal dome microclimatology

CU Boulder Authors: White, James William Carl; Jones, Tyler R.

All Authors: Jones TR; White JWC; Popp T

Publication Date: 2013-05-24
Type: Journal Article

Eemian interglacial reconstructed from a Greenland folded ice core

CU Boulder Authors: White, James William Carl; Vaughn, Bruce H; Jones, Tyler R.

All Authors:

Dahl-Jensen D; Albert MR; Aldahan A; Azuma N; Balslev-Clausen D; Baumgartner M; Berggren A-M; Bigler M; Binder T; Blunie...

Dahl-Jensen D
Albert MR
Aldahan A
Azuma N
Balslev-Clausen D
Baumgartner M
Berggren A-M
Bigler M
Binder T
Blunier T

Published in: Nature
Publication Date: 2013-01-24
Type: Journal Article

Teaching

I am always excited to chat with prospective graduate students - please get in touch.

I am currently accepting students (M.Sc. or Ph.D.) who have their own funding source.

Current students

Kevin Rozmiarek

PhD Student •
• Permafrost carbon biogeochemistry • Atmospheric hydrological cycle • Polar ice cores

Geological Sciences

What if we did isotope biogeochemistry while flying?

kevin.rozmiarek@colorado.edu 512 573-8279

---

Outreach

---

News

An ice core from the West Antarctic Ice Sheet Divide is giving scientists a hint at the continent’s seasonal temperatures across millennia. Photo by Heidi Roop/NSF, CC BY-NC-ND 4.0

Ice cores record long-ago seasons in Antarctica (AGU Eos)

March 17, 2023

Researchers led by INSTAAR Tyler Jones used ice core data to reconstruct seasonal temperatures throughout the Holocene. The results link especially hot summers with patterns in Earth’s orbit. The results are the first seasonal temperature record stretching back 11,000 years.

Tyler Jones on the deck of a research vessel.

Study offers most detailed glimpse yet of planet’s last 11,000 summers and winters (CU Boulder Today)

Jan. 11, 2023

By analyzing Antarctic ice cores, CU Boulder scientists and an international team of collaborators have revealed the most detailed look yet at the planet’s recent climactic history, including summer and winter temperatures dating back 11,000 years to the beginning of what is known as the Holocene. Published today in Nature, the study is the very first seasonal temperature record of its kind, from anywhere in the world. INSTAAR Tyler Jones is lead author of the study.

Rows and rows of silver tubes holding ice cores in an NSF freezer facility

Cores 3.0: Future-proofing Earth sciences’ historical records (Eos)

June 24, 2021

Core libraries store a treasure trove of data about the planet’s past. What will it take to sustain their future?

A satellite view of the Yukon River watershed in Alaska

Arctic communities planning for abrupt permafrost thaw

Oct. 21, 2020

A new INSTAAR-led project will engage Indigenous and Western knowledge systems to better understand abrupt permafrost change in Alaska. The National Science Foundation selected the project as part of its Navigating the New Arctic funding area, one of ten “Big Ideas” that NSF is investing in as an area of profound national challenge and opportunity. The research project brings Alaskan communities together with social and natural scientists to examine changes in permafrost thaw lake environments, including associated effects on villages in the Yukon River watershed.

Close up image of a section of ice core from the WAIS Divide, Antarctica. Eli Duke, Flickr and WikiMedia.

White paper sets priorities for Antarctic ice coring

Aug. 14, 2020

Data from ice cores can show not only what Earth was like in prehistoric times, but how the mechanisms of climate work and how our climate may transform in the near future. INSTAAR research scientist Tyler Jones led an effort to synthesize ideas about the most meaningful, impactful questions that researchers might answer using ice cores from Antarctica. The result is a white paper that lays out priorities for ice core work in Antarctica for the next five to ten years.

More Jones news >

Search

Breadcrumb

Tyler Jones

Bio

Education

Research

Publications

Pages

Teaching

Current students

Outreach

News