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Jason A. Addison, Ph.D.

Jason is a Research Geologist with Geology, Minerals, Energy, and Geophysics Science Center. He received a Ph.D in Geological Sciences from University of AK Fairbanks, a BS in Geological Sciences and in Aquatic and Fisheries from University of Washington. Since joining the USGS in 2011 as a Mendenhall Research Fellow, he has continued to put his expertise as a paleoceanographer to work.

He is a research geologist in the Geology, Minerals, Energy, and Geophysics Science Center, stationed in Menlo Park, CA. Jason is trained to use geochemical proxies to reconstruct past ocean conditions. His primary interest is in how past climates affect ocean ecosystems in the North Pacific Ocean during the Holocene (past 11,700 years). He is currently contributing to different projects using geochemical and geophysical tools to reconstruct past ocean ecosystem productivity and environmental conditions using multiple processes from organic carbon, CaCO3, and biogenic silica concentrations;  organic matter (C & N) stable isotope ratios; inorganic trace metal data; 3-D computerized tomography (CT) scanning; core-scanning XRF; to multivariate statistical analyses. In addition, he also uses a combination of radiocarbon dating, tephrochronology (the identification and dating of volcanic ash deposits), and varve counts to develop robust age-depth models in marine sediment cores.