Jason H. Curtis

Dr. Jason H. Curtis serves as the manager of the Light Stable Isotope Mass Spectrometry Laboratory within the Department of Geological Sciences. His expertise focuses on paleoclimate reconstruction using lake sediment cores, particularly in the American tropics over the past 10,000 years. He specializes in sediment coring techniques, lab instrument maintenance, and training researchers in sample collection and analysis. Dr. Curtis holds a Ph.D. in Geology from the University of Florida (1997). His fieldwork spans 30 countries including Mexico, Guatemala, Colombia, and Madagascar, emphasizing tropical and subtropical regions.

Research Interests:

• Paleoclimatology using stable isotope geochemistry
• Lake sediment archives as climate proxies
• Maya civilization environmental context
• Human-landscape interactions
• Coastal sediment dynamics

Publications Trends: Recent work emphasizes Maya environmental history, Holocene climate variability, and methodological advances in isotope analysis. Over 50 published articles focus on tropical paleoenvironmental reconstruction, with a recurring theme of climate-human interaction in Mesoamerica.

Laboratory Management: Directs the Isotope Lab's instrumental operations, supporting interdisciplinary research across geosciences and archaeology. Develops innovative sampling protocols for carbonate and water samples.

Geographic Focus: Primarily Central America and the Caribbean, with significant contributions to understanding Holocene hydroclimate dynamics in lowland tropical regions.