Mark Jellinek

I run a very small group but the problems on which I work are varied. Current questions in which I am interested include (please also see publications): 1) Why do the largest volcanic eruptions in the geological record have an equivocal expression in Earth’s record of climate change? How did the eruption dynamics governing the injection of a SO2-rich plume into the stratosphere during the 1991 eruption of Mt. Pinatubo ensure a large effect on global climate change? Why did the more powerful 2020 Hunga Tonga eruption through a shallow ocean produce virtually no effect? What if the climate effects of a massive Yellowstone-style eruption simply do not matter very much? 2) Can the particle-scale microphysics governing the injection, spread and residence times of volcanic clouds provide critical clues to the ecological consequences of dissolving metal-particle-rich plumes produced during imminent deep-sea mining operations? Can we use the sensitive dependence of the dynamics, structure and longevity of volcanic clouds on vent source conditions to optimize the engineering of deep-sea mining operations to minimize ecological risks and impacts? 3) To what extent can we use the structure, planform and morphometry of valley systems inferred from satellite and ground-based remote sensing data to constrain rigorously the history and cadence of glacial-interglacial cycles on Earth? What about the history of water and ice on ancient Mars? 4) What are the “frequency response properties” of high-Arctic landscapes? How are their evolving and varied responses in space and time to global warming and to unprecedented intensified summertime temperature variability manifest in the structure and evolution of landscapes, in the delivery of surface water, sediment, nutrients and pathogens into watersheds, and through consequence for at-risk Indigenous populations? How do we best characterize this response with satellite- and ground-based remote sensing studies? How do we incorporate Indigenous “Local Ecological Knowledge” (LEK) into this analysis and into the development of optimally-useful risk-assessment tools like “Apps”? 5) How does the intermittent assembly and breakup of supercontinents modulate Earth’s climate through transient effects on mantle convection, volcanism, mountain building, sea level change, weathering and the diversity of the biosphere? What are consequences for Earth's atmosphere, ocean and biosphere and how are these effects expressed in proxy data? Research Areas: Atmospheric Science Climate Science Environmental Science Geochemistry Geology Geophysics Glaciology Planetary Science