National Academies Press: OpenBook

Understanding Earth's Deep Past: Lessons for Our Climate Future (2011)

Chapter: Appendix A: Committee Biographical Sketches

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Suggested Citation:"Appendix A: Committee Biographical Sketches." National Research Council. 2011. Understanding Earth's Deep Past: Lessons for Our Climate Future. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13111.
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Appendix A

Committee Biographical Sketches

Isabel P. Montañez (Chair) is a professor in the Department of Geology at the University of California, Davis. Dr. Montañez is a field geologist and geochemist whose research focuses on the sedimentary archive of paleoatmospheric composition and paleoclimatic conditions, in particular reconstructing records of greenhouse gas-climate linkages during periods of major climate transitions. Her past work has involved study of marine and terrestrial successions of Cambrian through Pleistocene age. Dr. Montañez is a fellow of the Geological Society of America. She received her Ph.D. in geology from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University.

Thomas J. Algeo is a professor in the Department of Geology at the University of Cincinnati. Prior to joining the faculty at Cincinnati, Dr. Algeo worked as a petroleum geologist at both Exxon and Amoco exploration companies. His research focuses on the processes driving long-term development of Earth’s ocean-atmosphere-biosphere systems, using stratigraphic and geochemical proxies from marine carbonates and black shales. Dr. Algeo received his Ph.D. in geological sciences from the University of Michigan.

Mark A. Chandler is an associate research scientist at the Center for Climate Systems Research at Columbia University. Dr. Chandler’s primary research involves the use of global climate models to analyze Earth’s past climates, from previous times of global warming to snowball Earth episodes. His other major research focus is on improving the usability and accessibility of computer three-dimensional climate models. Dr. Chandler

Suggested Citation:"Appendix A: Committee Biographical Sketches." National Research Council. 2011. Understanding Earth's Deep Past: Lessons for Our Climate Future. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13111.
×

directs the Educational Global Climate Modeling Project, which develops, distributes, and supports a fully functional version of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration/Goddard Institute for Space Studies General Circulation Model Model II for use in precollege and university-level science courses. He received his Ph.D. in geological sciences from Columbia University.

Kirk R. Johnson is vice president of Research and Collections and Chief Curator at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science. Dr. Johnson’s research interests span paleobotany, paleoecology, biogeography, geochronology, and biostratigraphy with a particular focus on the Cretaceous to Eocene period. As well as his research publications, Dr. Johnson is the lead author of several popular science books and he has appeared on numerous television programs to popularize geoscience concepts. Dr. Johnson received his Ph.D. in geology and paleobotany from Yale University, and he is a fellow of the Geological Society of America.

Martin J. Kennedy is a professor in the School of Earth and Environmental Sciences at the University of Adelaide, Australia. Previously, he was a professor in the Department of Earth Sciences at the University of California, Riverside, and before then was a senior research geologist at Exxon Production Research Co. His research interests are focused on paleoceanographic and paleoclimate events recorded in the stratigraphic record, using sedimentological and geochemical data integrated with high-resolution sequence and isotope stratigraphic techniques to understand controls of the ancient carbon cycle and biogeochemical feedbacks within the biosphere. Dr. Kennedy received his Ph.D. from the University of Adelaide, Australia.

Dennis V. Kent (NAS) is a professor in the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences at Rutgers University and an adjunct senior research scientist at Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory. Dr. Kent’s research interests focus on the use of Cenozoic and Mesozoic magnetostratigraphy and geomagnetic polarity timescales to address geological problems, including paleoclimatology and paleogeography. Dr. Kent is a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the American Geophysical Union, and the Geological Society of America. He received his Ph.D. in marine geology and geophysics from Columbia University.

Jeffrey T. Kiehl is a senior scientist in the Climate Change Research Section of the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) in Boulder, Colorado. Dr. Kiehl’s current research focuses on using climate modeling to understand Earth’s warm greenhouse climates for deep-time periods

Suggested Citation:"Appendix A: Committee Biographical Sketches." National Research Council. 2011. Understanding Earth's Deep Past: Lessons for Our Climate Future. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13111.
×

ranging between 300 and 50 million years ago, and on understanding climate feedback processes in Earth’s climate system. Dr. Kiehl has served on the National Research Council Committee on Global Change Research and Climate Research Committee, and he was a contributing author for the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Third Assessment Report. He received his Ph.D. in atmospheric science from the State University of New York, Albany.

Lee R. Kump is a professor of geosciences at the Pennsylvania State University and is also currently associate director of the Earth System Evolution Program at the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research. Dr. Kump’s research focuses on the long-term evolution of the oceans and atmosphere and the dynamic coupling between global climate and biogeochemical cycles. He is a fellow of the Geological Society of America and the Geological Society of London. Dr. Kump received his Ph.D. in marine sciences from the University of South Florida.

Richard D. Norris is professor of paleobiology at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography of the University of California, San Diego. Dr. Norris’s research interests focus on the use of biogeochemical and paleoceanographic data to understand Earth-ocean-biosphere linkages, with particular emphasis on Cretaceous and Paleogene warm climates and the Cretaceous Thermal Maximum. Dr. Norris received his Ph.D. from Harvard University, and he is a fellow of the Geological Society of America.

A. Christina Ravelo is a professor of ocean sciences in the Department of Ocean Sciences at the University of California, Santa Cruz (UCSC). She is also director of the Santa Cruz branch of the Institute of Geophysics and Planetary Physics (IGPP) at UCSC. Previously, she was chair of the U.S. Science Advisory Committee for Scientific Ocean Drilling and director of the IGPP’s Center for the Dynamics and Evolution of the Land-Sea Interface. Dr. Ravelo’s research interests are focused on understanding Cenozoic paleoclimates and paleoceanography using stable isotope geochemistry. She received her Ph.D. in geological sciences from Columbia University.

Karl K. Turekian (NAS) is the Sterling Professor of Geology and Geophysics at Yale University. Dr. Turekian’s research focuses on the use of radioactive and radiogenic nuclides for deciphering the environmental history of Earth. He received his Ph.D. in geochemistry from Columbia University and has served on the faculty at Yale since 1956. Dr. Turekian is a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the American Geophysical Union, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and the Geological Society of America.

Suggested Citation:"Appendix A: Committee Biographical Sketches." National Research Council. 2011. Understanding Earth's Deep Past: Lessons for Our Climate Future. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13111.
×

NATIONAL RESEARCH COUNCIL STAFF

David A. Feary is a senior program officer with the NRC’s Board on Earth Sciences and Resources, and a Research Professor in the School of Earth and Space Exploration and the School of Sustainability at Arizona State University. He earned his Ph.D. at the Australian National University before spending 15 years as a research scientist with the marine program at Geoscience Australia. During this time he participated in numerous research cruises—many as chief or co-chief scientist—and he was co-chief scientist for Ocean Drilling Program Leg 182. His research activities focused on the role of climate as a primary control on carbonate reef formation and on efforts to improve the understanding of cool-water carbonate depositional processes.

Nicholas D. Rogers is a Financial and Research Associate with the NRC Board on Earth Sciences and Resources. He received a B.A. in history, with a focus on the history of science and early American history, from Western Connecticut State University in 2004. He began working for the National Academies in 2006 and has primarily supported the board on a broad array of Earth resources, mapping, and geographical sciences issues.

Courtney R. Gibbs is a Program Associate with the NRC Board on Earth Sciences and Resources. She received her degree in graphic design from the Pittsburgh Technical Institute in 2000 and began working for the National Academies in 2004. Prior to her work with the board, Ms. Gibbs supported the Nuclear and Radiation Studies Board and the former Board on Radiation Effects Research.

Eric J. Edkin is a Senior Program Assistant with the NRC Board on Earth Sciences and Resources. He began working for the National Academies in 2009 and has primarily supported the board on a broad array of Earth resources, geographical sciences, and mapping sciences issues.

Suggested Citation:"Appendix A: Committee Biographical Sketches." National Research Council. 2011. Understanding Earth's Deep Past: Lessons for Our Climate Future. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13111.
×
Page 181
Suggested Citation:"Appendix A: Committee Biographical Sketches." National Research Council. 2011. Understanding Earth's Deep Past: Lessons for Our Climate Future. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13111.
×
Page 182
Suggested Citation:"Appendix A: Committee Biographical Sketches." National Research Council. 2011. Understanding Earth's Deep Past: Lessons for Our Climate Future. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13111.
×
Page 183
Suggested Citation:"Appendix A: Committee Biographical Sketches." National Research Council. 2011. Understanding Earth's Deep Past: Lessons for Our Climate Future. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13111.
×
Page 184
Next: Appendix B: Workshop Agenda and Participants »
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There is little dispute within the scientific community that humans are changing Earth's climate on a decadal to century time-scale. By the end of this century, without a reduction in emissions, atmospheric CO2 is projected to increase to levels that Earth has not experienced for more than 30 million years. As greenhouse gas emissions propel Earth toward a warmer climate state, an improved understanding of climate dynamics in warm environments is needed to inform public policy decisions. In Understanding Earth's Deep Past, the National Research Council reports that rocks and sediments that are millions of years old hold clues to how the Earth's future climate would respond in an environment with high levels of atmospheric greenhouse gases.

Understanding Earth's Deep Past provides an assessment of both the demonstrated and underdeveloped potential of the deep-time geologic record to inform us about the dynamics of the global climate system. The report describes past climate changes, and discusses potential impacts of high levels of atmospheric greenhouse gases on regional climates, water resources, marine and terrestrial ecosystems, and the cycling of life-sustaining elements. While revealing gaps in scientific knowledge of past climate states, the report highlights a range of high priority research issues with potential for major advances in the scientific understanding of climate processes. This proposed integrated, deep-time climate research program would study how climate responded over Earth's different climate states, examine how climate responds to increased atmospheric carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases, and clarify the processes that lead to anomalously warm polar and tropical regions and the impact on marine and terrestrial life.

In addition to outlining a research agenda, Understanding Earth's Deep Past proposes an implementation strategy that will be an invaluable resource to decision-makers in the field, as well as the research community, advocacy organizations, government agencies, and college professors and students.

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