James D. Wright

James D. Wright is a Professor and Department Chair in the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences at Rutgers University's School of Arts and Sciences. His office is located in 233G Wright Geological Laboratory, and he can be reached at (848) 445-3445 or jdwright@eps.rutgers.edu.

• Ph.D., M.Phil., Columbia University
• M.S., University of South Carolina
• B.S., Louisiana Tech University
• B.S., Ouachita Baptist University

Dr. Wright's research centers on understanding how past ocean circulation changes influenced climates across various time scales. His primary research tool is the analysis of stable oxygen and carbon isotopes in marine organisms, which record sea surface temperature variations, ice volume changes, and reorganization of surface and deep-water circulation patterns. He works with pre-Pleistocene sediments to reconstruct deep-water circulation patterns in the North Atlantic for the past 25 million years, finding correlations between changes in circulation and major climate transitions. His work also extends to late Pleistocene and Holocene projects, including surface salinity variations in the North Atlantic and marine climate reconstructions along northwestern Peru.

His extensive publication record shows consistent focus on paleoceanography and climate change, with particular emphasis on the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum, Miocene climate transitions, and monsoon system evolution. The research spans multiple geographic regions including the North Atlantic, Maldives carbonate platform, and East African Rift system, utilizing diverse methodologies from stable isotope analysis to magnetic property measurements and sedimentological studies.

As Department Chair, Dr. Wright teaches undergraduate courses including Planet Earth (01:460:100) and Major Events in Earth History (01:460:480), along with graduate courses in Paleoceanography, Stable Isotopes in the Environment, and Marine Geology. His laboratory work includes the operation of a Micromass Optima mass spectrometer with a Multiprep device for automated analysis of δ 18 O and δ 13 C values in carbonate samples.