John Barron, Ph.D.
John is a Scientist Emeritus with the Geology, Minerals, Energy, and Geophysics Science center in Menlo Park, CA.
John is a marine micropaleontologist (diatoms) with expertise in and biostratigraphy and paleoceanography. His biostratigraphic expertise extends from the Late Cretaceous to the Holocene, with an emphasis on the North Pacific, eastern equatorial Pacific, and Southern Ocean. John's paleoclimate expertise is mostly on the Holocene of the North Pacific, ranging from the Gulf of California to the Gulf of Alaska. As an Emeritus Research Geologist, his research is directed toward developing and comparing Holocene sea surface temperature records in these eastern North Pacific regions with hydroclimate records in western North America and suggesting links.
Professional Experience
2012- 2016 (June) - Project Chief, Pacific Ocean Climate Variability: Effects on North American Precipitation Patterns Project, Climate and Land Use Change, Research & Development Program
1995-1997 – Project Chief: Pliocene, Research, Interpretation, and Synoptic Mapping(PRISM), Global Change & Climate History Program, Volcano Hazards Team, Menlo Park
1984-1995 – Project Chief and micropaleontologist of various USGS biochronology projects providing support to USGS mapping projects, Paleontology & Stratigraphy Branch
1974-1983 –Micropaleontolgist (diatoms), Paleontology & Stratigraphy Branch
Scientific Cruise Experience
Deep Sea Drilling Project (Leg 57-Japan; 63 (California margin; 85 (eastern equatorial Pacific); micropaleontologist
Ocean Drilling Project 119 (Antarctic margin, Indian Ocean; Co-Chief Scientist), 145 (North Pacific transect, micropaleotologist).
Education and Certifications
1969 BS (Geology), University of California, Los Angeles
1974 PhD (Geology), University of California, Los Angeles
Honors and Awards
2011 - The Brady Medal of the Micropalaeological Society (UK)
1994 - U.S. Dept. of Interior Meritorious Service Award
1986 - Charles Schuchert Award - from the Paleontological Society for excellence and promise in paleontology for scientists under 40 years old
Science and Products
Data Report: Intra-annual variability of the diatom assemblages at Hole 1034B (Saanich Inlet) near 9 ka
Sedimentary record of the California Current system, middle Miocene to Holocene: A synthesis of Leg 167 results
Data report: Mid-Pliocene diatom assemblages at sites 1016, 1021, and 1022
Microfossil and stable isotope data from the last interglacial records of Ocean Drilling Program (ODP) sites 1018 and 1020
Middle Pliocene paleoenvironmental reconstruction; PRISM2
Late Neogene changes in diatom sedimentation in the North Pacific
A rapidly deposited pennate diatom ooze in Upper Miocene-Lower Pliocene sediment beneath the North Pacific polar front
Comparative ultrastructure of two closely related thalassiosira species: Thalassiosira vulnifica (gombos) fenner and T. fasciculata Harwood et Maruyama
Evidence of Pliocene Nothofagus in Antarctica from Pliocene marine sedimentary deposits (DSDP Site 274)
Diatom constraints on the position of the Antarctic Polar Front in the middle part of the Pliocene
Late Pliocene diatoms in a diatomite from Prydz Bay, East Antarctica
Diatom constraints on sea surface temperatures and sea ice distribution during the middle part of the Pliocene
Science and Products
- Science
- Publications
Filter Total Items: 114
Data Report: Intra-annual variability of the diatom assemblages at Hole 1034B (Saanich Inlet) near 9 ka
Ocean Drilling Program (ODP) Site 1034 (48°38.000´N, 123°30.000´W) was drilled at a water depth of 200 m in the Saanich Inlet, an anoxic fjord on the southeastern coast of Vancouver Island, British Columbia, to a depth of 118.2 meters below seafloor (mbsf). The uppermost 50 m consists of very well-laminated (triplet varves) diatomaceous muds deposited over the past 7000 yr. Below, sediments becomeAuthorsElisabeth Fourtanier, John A. BarronSedimentary record of the California Current system, middle Miocene to Holocene: A synthesis of Leg 167 results
During Ocean Drilling Program Leg 167, the California continental margin was drilled from about 30°N to 42°N to sample high-resolution paleoceanographic and paleoclimatic records in the California Current system. Because of typically high sedimentation rates along the margin (80 to >200 m/m.y.), drilling has proved necessary to collect late Pleistocene sedimentary records that usually are sampledAuthorsMitchell Lyle, Itaru Koizumi, Margaret L. Delaney, John A. BarronData report: Mid-Pliocene diatom assemblages at sites 1016, 1021, and 1022
Diatom assemblages from the middle part of the Pliocene (3.2-2.5 Ma) were investigated from Ocean Drilling Program Sites 1016, 1021, and 1022 in an effort to infer paleotemperature fluctuations off California.Diatoms are very sparse in virtually all of the samples that were examined from Sites 1016 and 1021. This is presumably because these sites were seaward (west) of the coastal zone of diatom pAuthorsJohn A. BarronMicrofossil and stable isotope data from the last interglacial records of Ocean Drilling Program (ODP) sites 1018 and 1020
No abstract available.AuthorsR. Z. Poore, H.J. Dowsett, J.A. Barron, L. Heusser, A. C. Ravelo, A. Mix, A. McMahonMiddle Pliocene paleoenvironmental reconstruction; PRISM2
No abstract available.AuthorsH.J. Dowsett, J.A. Barron, R. Z. Poore, R.S. Thompson, T. M. Cronin, S. E. Ishman, D. A. WillardLate Neogene changes in diatom sedimentation in the North Pacific
During the late Neogene, North Pacific diatom sedimentation underwent major changes in response to high-latitude cooling and changes in surface and deep water circulation. At 9 Ma diatom mass accumulation rates (MARs) increased in the NW Pacific and off northeast Japan, possibly due to shoaling of the Isthmus of Panama, which lead to an enrichment of nutrients in North Pacific deep waters. DuringAuthorsJ.A. BarronA rapidly deposited pennate diatom ooze in Upper Miocene-Lower Pliocene sediment beneath the North Pacific polar front
Rapidly deposited Thalassionema-Thalassiothrix pennate diatom oozes previously have been described in Upper Miocene-Lower Pliocene sediment beneath the frontal boundary of the eastern equatorial Pacific. Here we document a new occurrence of Thalassionema-Thalassiothrix ooze in Upper Miocene Lower Pliocene sediment beneath the frontal boundary of the subarctic North Pacific. The ooze is a 6 m interAuthorsG.R. Dickens, J.A. BarronComparative ultrastructure of two closely related thalassiosira species: Thalassiosira vulnifica (gombos) fenner and T. fasciculata Harwood et Maruyama
The distinctive morphology and relatively short geological range (3.25 to 2.5 Ma) of Thalassiosira vulniflca (Gombos) Fenner make it especially useful for Pliocene biostratigraphic studies in the Antarctic region. Thalassiosira fasciculata Harwood et Maruyama has a geological range (4.5 to 0.75 Ma) that overlaps that of T. vulnifica and it resembles this taxon in possessing prominent fultoportulaeAuthorsAlbert D. Mahood, John A. BarronEvidence of Pliocene Nothofagus in Antarctica from Pliocene marine sedimentary deposits (DSDP Site 274)
Microfossil assemblages in Pliocene sediments from DSDP Site 274 (68??59.81???S, 173??25.64???E) provide data on the age of the sediments and suggest the presence of Nothofagus (southern beech) in Antarctica during the Pliocene. A suite of 17 samples was collected in an interval from Samples 28-274-6R-1, 83-87 cm to 28-274-11R-4, 73-77 cm (48.33-100.29 mbsf). Biostratigraphic study of the abundantAuthorsR.F. Fleming, J.A. BarronDiatom constraints on the position of the Antarctic Polar Front in the middle part of the Pliocene
The relative percentages of diatom taxa in 5 deep-sea cores (DSDP 266, ODP 699A, ODP 747A, ODP 751A, and Eltanin Core 50-28) from the Southern Ocean are determined for an interval centered on 3.1 to 2.9 Ma in the middle part of the Pliocene. This climatically warm interval, which is being studied by the PRISM Project of the U.S. Geological Survey, coincides with a proposed interval of major deglacAuthorsJ.A. BarronLate Pliocene diatoms in a diatomite from Prydz Bay, East Antarctica
Very well-preserved Pliocene diatoms from a diatomite unit interbedded within glacial sediments at Ocean Drilling Program Site 742 in Prydz Bay, Antarctica are documented and illustrated. The presence of Thalassiosira kolbei, T. torokina, Actinocyclus actinochilus, A. karstenii and the absence of Nitzschia interfrigidaria. T. insigna and T. vulnifica in Sample 119-742A-15R-4, 44-46cm constrain itsAuthorsA.D. Mahood, J.A. BarronDiatom constraints on sea surface temperatures and sea ice distribution during the middle part of the Pliocene
No abstract available.AuthorsJ.A. Barron - News