Brown University researchers highlight the roles of carbon dioxide and ocean currents as key drivers of temperature fluctuations in the tropical Andes over a 16,000 year period.
Read Article
Department of Earth, Environmental & Planetary Sciences
James Russell
Senior Associate Dean of Dean of the Faculty, Professor
GeoChem Building
Room 143
Room 143
Research Interests
Earth History, Environmental Science, Oceans Ice and Atmospheres, Geochemistry
Pronouns
he/him
Biography
I am a climate scientist and geochemist working to understand tropical environmental change. I received my bachelor’s degree in Earth and Environmental Sciences from Wesleyan University in 1998 and my Ph.D. in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology from the University of Minnesota. Broadly, I am interested in the patterns and mechanisms of tropical climate variability and change, and the impacts of climate change on terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. My research group develops and applies organic geochemical, isotopic, and sedimentological tools to lake sediments to reconstruct climate and environmental change, and we use these paleoenvironmental records to test predictions from climate models. I have active field programs on four continents and enjoy cooking, anything outdoors, and working with students.
Recent News
News from DEEPS
Student Research Stories: Gabriel Traietti
Gabriel Traietti ‘25, concentrating in Geochemistry, investigates the terrestrial paleoclimate of the Congo River Basin in Senior Associate Dean James Russell’s lab. He emphasizes how DEEPS gave him the tools to explore his passion for reconstructing ancient climate to help anticipate the effects of climate change on a local level.
Read Article
News from Brown
Faculty at Brown earn prominent awards, distinctions in 2023
Over the last year, prestigious national and international organizations recognized Brown faculty for their research, scholarship and leadership.
Read Article
GSA Today
Jim Russell Elected to GSA Fellowship
Jim Russell, Senior Associate Dean of the Faculty and Professor of Earth, Environmental, and Planetary Sciences, has been elected as a Geological Society of America Fellow. Society Fellowship is an honor in recognition of a sustained record of distinguished contributions to the geosciences.
Read Article
Yale Environment 360
For Uganda’s Vanishing Glaciers, Time Is Running Out
A trek through tropical forest, mud fields, and scree reveals the last remnants of the once-sprawling ice fields in Uganda’s Rwenzori Mountains. “The loss of these glaciers is the loss of a critical component of a system, and it isn’t going to come back any time in the foreseeable future,” said James Russell, who has led expeditions to the Rwenzoris almost every year since 2006.
Read Article
News from DEEPS
James Russell named Sr. Associate Dean of Faculty
The Brown University Dean of the Faculty has announced that James Russell, Professor of Earth, Environmental, and Planetary Sciences, has been appointed Senior Associate Dean of the Faculty, effective July 1, 2023.
Read Article