World's Best Scientists 2026 revealed!
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Earth Science
USA
2026

D-Index & Metrics

Earth Science

D-Index
98
Citations
47208
World Ranking
146
National Ranking
73

Research.com Recognitions

  • 2026 - Research.com Earth Science in United States Leader Award
  • 2025 - Research.com Earth Science in United States Leader Award
  • 2009 - Fellow of the American Society of Agronomy (ASA)
  • 1961 - Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)

Overview

James W. C. White is affiliated with the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in the United States. Their research primarily focuses on Earth and Planetary Sciences, with significant contributions to Environmental Science.

Their work spans several subfields including Atmospheric Science, Global and Planetary Change, Environmental Chemistry, Ecology, and Geochemistry and Petrology. The main topics covered by their research include Geology and Paleoclimatology, Cryospheric studies and observations, Atmospheric and Environmental Gas Dynamics, Methane Hydrates and Related Phenomena, Isotope Analysis in Ecology, Groundwater and Isotope Geochemistry, and Hydrocarbon exploration and reservoir analysis.

James W. C. White has published in numerous venues, with frequent publications in:

  • UNC Libraries
  • Atmosphere
  • Publishing Network for Geoscientific and Environmental Data (PANGAEA) (Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research)
  • Nature Communications
  • Scientific Data

Selected recent papers include:

  • "The anatomy of past abrupt warmings recorded in Greenland ice" (2021, Nature Communications)
  • "A 120,000-year long climate record from a NW-Greenland deep ice core at ultra-high resolution" (2021, Scientific Data)
  • "Continuous-Flow Analysis of δ17O, δ18O, and δD of H2O on an Ice Core from the South Pole" (2021, Frontiers in Earth Science)
  • "The role of sublimation as a driver of climate signals in the water isotope content of surface snow: laboratory and field experimental results" (2021, The Cryosphere)
  • "Strong sensitivity of the isotopic composition of methane to the plausible range of tropospheric chlorine" (2020, Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics)

Throughout their career, James W. C. White has collaborated extensively with other researchers. Frequent coauthors include:

  • Bruce H. Vaughn
  • Tyler R. Jones
  • Bo Vinther
  • Vasileios Gkinis
  • Valerie Morris

James W. C. White's body of work demonstrates a focus on understanding climatic and environmental changes through isotope analysis and cryospheric studies. Their contributions also address the dynamics of atmospheric gases and their interaction with climate systems. The range of their research topics reflects interdisciplinary approaches bridging geology, atmospheric sciences, and environmental chemistry.

Best Publications

  • High-resolution record of Northern Hemisphere climate extending into the last interglacial period.

    K. K. Andersen;N. Azuma;J.-M. Barnola;M. Bigler

  • Comparison of oxygen isotope records from the GISP2 and GRIP Greenland ice cores

    P. M. Grootes;M. Stuiver;J. W. C. White;S. Johnsen;S. Johnsen

  • Abrupt increase in Greenland snow accumulation at the end of the Younger Dryas event

    R. B. Alley;D. A. Meese;C. A. Shuman;A. J. Gow

  • A Large Northern Hemisphere Terrestrial CO2 Sink Indicated by the 13C/12C Ratio of Atmospheric CO2.

    P. Ciais;P. P. Tans;M. Trolier;J. W. C. White

  • Oxygen isotope and palaeotemperature records from six Greenland ice‐core stations: Camp Century, Dye‐3, GRIP, GISP2, Renland and NorthGRIP

    Sigfus J. Johnsen;Sigfus J. Johnsen;Dorthe Dahl-Jensen;Niels Gundestrup;Jørgen P. Steffensen

  • Contribution of anthropogenic and natural sources to atmospheric methane variability

    P. Bousquet;P. Bousquet;P. Ciais;J. B. Miller;J. B. Miller;E. J. Dlugokencky

  • Molecular Paleohydrology: Interpreting the Hydrogen-Isotopic Composition of Lipid Biomarkers from Photosynthesizing Organisms

    Dirk Sachse;Isabelle Billault;Gabriel J. Bowen;Yoshito Chikaraishi

  • Continental-scale temperature variability during the past two millennia

    Moinuddin Ahmed;Kevin J. Anchukaitis;Kevin J. Anchukaitis;Asfawossen Asrat;Hemant P. Borgaonkar

  • The abrupt termination of the Younger Dryas climate event

    W. Dansgaard;J. W. C. White;S. J. Johnsen

  • High-Resolution Greenland Ice Core Data Show Abrupt Climate Change Happens in Few Years

    Jørgen Peder Steffensen;Katrine K. Andersen;Matthias Bigler;Matthias Bigler;Henrik B. Clausen

  • Increase in observed net carbon dioxide uptake by land and oceans during the past 50 years

    A. P. Ballantyne;C. B. Alden;J. B. Miller;J. B. Miller;P. P. Tans

  • The ‘flickering switch’ of late Pleistocene climate change

    K. C. Taylor;G. W. Lamorey;G. A. Doyle;R. B. Alley

  • Observational constraints on recent increases in the atmospheric CH4 burden

    E. J. Dlugokencky;L. Bruhwiler;J. W. C. White;L. K. Emmons

  • Validity of the temperature reconstruction from water isotopes in ice cores

    J. Jouzel;R. B. Alley;K. M. Cuffey;W. Dansgaard

  • Global Carbon Sinks and Their Variability Inferred from Atmospheric O2 and δ13C

    M. Battle;M. L. Bender;P. P. Tans;J. W. C. White

  • Very Strong Atmospheric Methane Growth in the 4 Years 2014–2017:Implications for the Paris Agreement

    E. G. Nisbet;M. R. Manning;E. J. Dlugokencky;R. E. Fisher

  • The origin of Arctic precipitation under present and glacial conditions

    S. J. Johnsen;W. Dansgaard;J. W. C. White;J. W. C. White

  • Eemian interglacial reconstructed from a Greenland folded ice core

    D. Dahl-Jensen;M. R. Albert;A. Aldahan;N. Azuma

  • Stable isotopic variations in west China: A consideration of moisture sources

    Lide Tian;Lide Tian;Tandong Yao;K. MacClune;J. W. C. White

  • Changes in oceanic and terrestrial carbon uptake since 1982

    R. J. Francey;P. P. Tans;C. E. Allison;I. G. Enting

  • The D/H ratios of sap in trees: implications for water sources and tree ring D/H ratios

    James W.C. White;Edward R. Cook;James R. Lawrence;S Broecker Wallace

  • Eemian interglacial reconstructed from a Greenland folded ice core (SCI)

    D Dahl-Jensen;M R Albert;A Aldahan;N Azuma

Frequent Co-Authors

Bruce H. Vaughn
Bruce H. Vaughn University of Colorado Boulder
John B. Miller
John B. Miller National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Eric J. Steig
Eric J. Steig University of Washington
Sigfus J Johnsen
Sigfus J Johnsen University of Copenhagen
Bo M Vinther
Bo M Vinther University of Copenhagen
Richard B. Alley
Richard B. Alley Pennsylvania State University
Edward J. Dlugokencky
Edward J. Dlugokencky National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Pieter P. Tans
Pieter P. Tans National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Jean Jouzel
Jean Jouzel Laboratoire des Sciences du Climat et de l'Environnement
Wouter Peters
Wouter Peters Wageningen University & Research

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