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
A 2000-year-long record of climate from the Gulf of California
Interplay of late Cenozoic siliciclastic supply and carbonate response on the southeast Florida platform
Planktonic marine diatom record of the past 18 m.y.: Appearances and extinctions in the Pacific and Southern Oceans
High-resolution climatic evolution of coastal northern California during the past 16,000 years
Late Miocene and early Pliocene biosiliceous sedimentation along the California margin
Sequence stratigraphy of a South Florida carbonate ramp and bounding siliciclastics (late Miocene-Pliocene)
Interglacial theme and variations: 500 k.y. of orbital forcing and associated responses from the terrestrial and marine biosphere, U.S. Pacific Northwest
Surface-geophysical characterization of ground-water systems of the Caloosahatchee River basin, southern Florida
Climate variability of the Holocene, Site 1098, Palmer Deep, Antarctica
Report of the workshop on marine fossils and climate change
Multiproxy record of the last interglacial (MIS 5e) off central and northern California, U.S.A., from Ocean Drilling Program sites 1018 and 1020
Bathymetric, geophysical and geologic sample data from Medicine Lake, Siskiyou County, northern California
Science and Products
- Science
- Publications
Filter Total Items: 114
A 2000-year-long record of climate from the Gulf of California
No abstract available.AuthorsJohn A. Barron, David Bukry, James L. BischoffInterplay of late Cenozoic siliciclastic supply and carbonate response on the southeast Florida platform
High-resolution seismic-reflection data collected along the length of the Caloosahatchee River in southwestern Florida have been correlated to nannofossil biostratigraphy and strontium-isotope chemostratigraphy at six continuously cored boreholes. These data are interpreted to show a major Late Miocene(?) to Early Pliocene fluvial-deltaic depositional system that prograded southward across the carAuthorsK.J. Cunningham, S. D. Locker, A. C. Hine, D. Bukry, J.A. Barron, L.A. GuertinPlanktonic marine diatom record of the past 18 m.y.: Appearances and extinctions in the Pacific and Southern Oceans
Recently published diatom biochronologies provide accurate (to 0.1 m.y.) determination of the ages of appearances and disappearances of planktonic diatoms during the past 18 m.y. in the equatorial Pacific, North Pacific, and Southern Ocean. Comparisons of these records reveal the age of evolutionary appearance and extinction of species and their region of origin. Extinct planktonic diatom speciesAuthorsJ.A. BarronHigh-resolution climatic evolution of coastal northern California during the past 16,000 years
Holocene and latest Pleistocene oceanographic conditions and the coastal climate of northern California have varied greatly, based upon high-resolution studies (ca. every 100 years) of diatoms, alkenones, pollen, CaCO3%, and total organic carbon at Ocean Drilling Program (ODP) Site 1019 (41.682°N, 124.930°W, 980 m water depth). Marine climate proxies (alkenone sea surface temperatures [SSTs] and CAuthorsJ.A. Barron, L. Heusser, T. Herbert, M. LyleLate Miocene and early Pliocene biosiliceous sedimentation along the California margin
Biogenic opal sedimentation is compared between offshore and onshore areas of the California margin during the late middle Miocene, the late Miocene, and the early Pliocene. The records from offshore ODP Sites 1010 and 1021 have declining opal abundance, with a dramatic three-fold decline at about 11.5 Ma and a second, less pronounced drop occurring at about 7.6 Ma. Thick stratigraphic sections ofAuthorsJohn A. Barron, Mitchell Lyle, Itaru KoizumiSequence stratigraphy of a South Florida carbonate ramp and bounding siliciclastics (late Miocene-Pliocene)
In southern peninsular Florida, a late-early to early-late Pliocene carbonate ramp (Ochopee Limestone Member of the Tamiami Formation) is sandwiched between underlying marine siliciclastics of the late Miocene to early Pliocene Peace River Formation and an overlying late Pliocene unnamed sand. At least three depositional sequences (DS1, DS2, and DS3), of which two contain condensed sections, are rAuthorsKevin J. Cunningham, David Bukry, T. Sato, John A. Barron, Laura A. Guertin, Ronald S. ReeseInterglacial theme and variations: 500 k.y. of orbital forcing and associated responses from the terrestrial and marine biosphere, U.S. Pacific Northwest
Sediments collected off northern California by Ocean Drilling Program Leg 167 contain time series that show strong, orbitally driven insolation forcing of surface oceanographic conditions. Orbital forcing caused a strong response in the distribution of major terrestrial vegetation but a less predictable response for primary productivity offshore. Terrestrial vegetation responded primarily to regioAuthorsMitchell Lyle, Linda Heusser, Timothy Herbert, Alan Mix, John A. BarronSurface-geophysical characterization of ground-water systems of the Caloosahatchee River basin, southern Florida
The Caloosahatchee River Basin, located in southwestern Florida, includes about 1,200 square miles of land. The Caloosahatchee River receives water from Lake Okeechobee, runoff from the watershed, and seepage from the underlying ground-water systems; the river loses water through drainage to the Gulf of Mexico and withdrawals for public-water supply and agricultural and natural needs. Water-use deAuthorsKevin J. Cunningham, Stanley D. Locker, Albert C. Hine, David Bukry, John A. Barron, Laura A. GuertinClimate variability of the Holocene, Site 1098, Palmer Deep, Antarctica
Detailed study of four Holocene sediment intervals from Ocean Drilling Program Site 1098 (Palmer Deep, Antarctic Peninsula) reveals that in situ dissolution of calcareous foraminifers in the core repository has significantly altered and in some cases eliminated calcareous foraminifers. Despite dissolution, the foraminifer and supporting diatom data show that the most open-ocean and reduced sea-iceAuthorsLisa E. Osterman, Richard Z. Poore, John A. BarronReport of the workshop on marine fossils and climate change
No abstract available.AuthorsJohn A. Barron, Lloyd H. BurckleMultiproxy record of the last interglacial (MIS 5e) off central and northern California, U.S.A., from Ocean Drilling Program sites 1018 and 1020
Environmental and climatic conditions during the last interglacial (about 125,000 years ago) along the Central and Northern California coastal region are interpreted from study of marine cores recovered by the Ocean Drilling Program at sites 1018 and 1020. Marine microfossil and pollen assemblages, oxygen isotopes in benthic foraminifers, physical properties, and calcium carbonate contents of coreAuthorsRichard Z. Poore, H.J. Dowsett, J.A. Barron, L. Heusser, A. C. Ravelo, A. MixBathymetric, geophysical and geologic sample data from Medicine Lake, Siskiyou County, northern California
In September, 1999, the U.S. Geological Survey acquired high-resolution bathymetry, seismic reflection profiles, and geologic sample data from Medicine Lake, a high altitude (2,036 m) lake located within the summit caldera/basin at Medicine Lake volcano (MLV), a dormant Quaternary shield volcano located in the Cascade Range, 50 km northeast of Mt. Shasta. It last erupted less than 1000 years ago.TAuthorsJonathan R. Childs, J. B. Lowenstern, R. L. Phillips, P. E. Hart, J. J. Rytuba, J. A. Barron, S. W. Starratt, Sarah Spaulding - News