Jeff Chanton

FSU climate scientists receive Department of Energy funding to study greenhouse gas emissions from peatlands

Peatlands store a significant amount of the Earth’s carbon and have functioned as an important moderator of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere for thousands of years. But as peatlands are lost to overextraction and affected by a warmer climate, the impact on these natural carbon scrubbers remains unclear. A team of researchers from Florida State […]

FSU teams with 13 other universities to investigate effect of climate change on Arctic ecosystems

Florida State University is one of 14 universities from around the globe that have collectively been awarded $12.5 million from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to launch a new Biology Integration Institute (BII), called EMERGE, which will focus on better understanding ecosystem and climate interactions — like the thawing of the Arctic permafrost — and […]

FSU researchers study Gulf of Mexico in international collaboration

When the Deepwater Horizon oil rig suffered a blowout in 2010 and began spilling oil into the Gulf of Mexico, scientists got to work understanding the effects of that disaster. But limited data on the typical conditions in the Gulf made understanding the potential changes from the spill more difficult. To make sure scientists weren’t […]

FSU researcher available to comment on unintended environmental impacts of COVID-19

As people around the world isolate in their homes to prevent the spread of COVID-19, research indicates there may be some positive environmental outcomes. Robert O. Lawton Distinguished Professor Jeff Chanton from the Department of Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Science (EOAS) said data show significant decreases in air pollution since January 2020. Chanton explained how the change in people’s patterns because of […]

FSU experts available to comment on accelerating rates of sea level rise

Sea levels are rising at record-shattering rates, and coastal communities around the world are beginning to feel the effects. As global atmospheric temperatures continue to climb, land-based ice thawing will accelerate and ocean water will warm and expand. At present, sea levels are estimated to be rising at a rate of one-eighth of an inch […]

Commencement speakers urge graduates to be good stewards of the Earth, to embrace change

Jeff Chanton, professor of oceanography, hired hundreds of Florida State University graduates for a job he said would provide lifetime benefits, even if it is unpaid. The job? To be good stewards of the earth. “Today, we are crowding other species off the planet,” he said. Chanton spoke to graduates during the first of two fall commencement ceremonies […]

Acclaimed climate scientist named 2017-2018 Robert O. Lawton Distinguished Professor

Jeffrey Chanton, an acclaimed climate scientist who has also done extensive work investigating the effects of the BP oil spill, has been named the 2017-2018 Robert O. Lawton Distinguished Professor, the highest honor given by the Florida State University faculty to one of its own. “Jeff is a tremendous researcher and an asset to the […]

Study: Warming global temperatures may not affect carbon stored deep in northern peatlands

Deep stores of carbon in northern peatlands may be safe from rising temperatures, according to a team of researchers from several U.S.-based institutions. And that is good news for now, the researchers said. Florida State University research scientist Rachel Wilson and University of Oregon graduate student Anya Hopple are the first authors on a new […]

Planning ahead: Researchers work to solve sustainability puzzle

When most people think of Earth Month they think of recycling bottles and choosing paper over plastic. But these activities are just a small piece of the puzzle of humanity’s long-term existence on Earth, a puzzle that Florida State University researchers are helping to solve. “Sustainability means different things to different people, but at the […]