Jason Briner

Jason Briner is a Professor and Associate Chair in the Department of Geology at the State University of New York at Buffalo, part of the College of Arts and Sciences. He leads the Paleoclimate Lab and conducts extensive field and laboratory research on Arctic glacial systems and climate history.

• Institution: State University of New York at Buffalo
• School: College of Arts and Sciences
• Department: Department of Geology
• Position: Professor and Associate Chair

Briner earned his PhD in Geological Sciences from the University of Colorado, Boulder in 2003. His research focuses on Quaternary geology, glacial history, paleoclimatology, and Arctic environmental change. He uses cosmogenic nuclide dating (particularly 10Be and 26Al), lake sediment analysis, and geomorphological mapping to reconstruct the history of ice sheets, especially the Greenland Ice Sheet, and their responses to past climate changes. His work spans regions including Greenland, Alaska, Baffin Island, Norway, and New York.

His recent publications reflect a strong emphasis on ice sheet sensitivity, deglaciation chronologies, and Holocene climate variability. These studies often involve interdisciplinary collaboration and high-impact modeling efforts. Trends in his research include the use of threshold lakes to track ice margin changes, the application of deep learning in crevasse detection, and major drilling initiatives like GreenDrill to access subglacial bedrock.

Dr. Briner has been awarded significant scientific funding, notably from the National Science Foundation for projects such as GreenDrill and GRate, which aim to understand the stability and historical behavior of the Greenland Ice Sheet under climate change. He has mentored numerous graduate and undergraduate students, many of whom are now active researchers and faculty members.

He is a member of professional organizations including:

• Geological Society of America
• American Quaternary Association
• American Geophysical Union

His lab, the Paleoclimate Lab, hosts a team of postdoctoral researchers, PhD and MS students, and undergraduates, and is involved in field campaigns across the Arctic. The lab maintains strong collaborations with institutions such as Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, University of Massachusetts Amherst, and Penn State.