About

Jacob Jones is a Kobe Steel Distinguished Professor of Materials Science and Engineering at NC State University. He has been appointed as the interim associate vice chancellor for research initiatives, where he manages a range of institutional research activities, including overseeing centers and institutes administered by the Office of Research and Innovation, and leading initiatives such as the Laboratory for Analytic Sciences, National Security and Special Research Initiatives, and the Quantum Initiative. Jones is also the director of the Science and Technologies for Phosphorus Sustainability (STEPS) Center and the Research Triangle Nanotechnology Network (RTNN), serving as director and principal investigator for both. With a track record of innovation, he has published over 300 papers and received several awards for his research and education activities, including the 2025 Alexander Quarles Holladay Medal for Excellence, the highest honor bestowed by NC State. He earned his Ph.D. at Purdue University and has previously served as director of the Analytical Instrumentation Facility at NC State.

Research topics

• Paleontology
• Geology
• Political Science
• Climatology
• Oceanography
• Public administration
• Environmental planning
• Environmental resource management
• Public relations
• Geography
• Law
• Business

Selected publications

• Antarctic sea ice over the past 130 000 years – Part 1: a review of what proxy records tell us

  Climate of the past · 2022 · 44 citations

  • Oceanography
  • Geology
  • Climatology

  Abstract. Antarctic sea ice plays a critical role in the Earth system, influencing energy, heat and freshwater fluxes, air–sea gas exchange, ice shelf dynamics, ocean circulation, nutrient cycling, marine productivity and global carbon cycling. However, accurate simulation of recent sea-ice changes remains challenging and, therefore, projecting future sea-ice changes and their influence on the global climate system is uncertain. Reconstructing past changes in sea-ice cover can provide additional insights into climate feedbacks within the Earth system at different timescales. This paper is the first of two review papers from the Cycles of Sea Ice Dynamics in the Earth system (C-SIDE) working group. In this first paper, we review marine- and ice core-based sea-ice proxies and reconstructions of sea-ice changes throughout the last glacial–interglacial cycle. Antarctic sea-ice reconstructions rely mainly on diatom fossil assemblages and highly branched isoprenoid (HBI) alkenes in marine sediments, supported by chemical proxies in Antarctic ice cores. Most reconstructions for the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) suggest that winter sea ice expanded all around Antarctica and covered almost twice its modern surface extent. In contrast, LGM summer sea ice expanded mainly in the regions off the Weddell and Ross seas. The difference between winter and summer sea ice during the LGM led to a larger seasonal cycle than today. More recent efforts have focused on reconstructing Antarctic sea ice during warm periods, such as the Holocene and the Last Interglacial (LIG), which may serve as an analogue for the future. Notwithstanding regional heterogeneities, existing reconstructions suggest that sea-ice cover increased from the warm mid-Holocene to the colder Late Holocene with pervasive decadal- to millennial-scale variability throughout the Holocene. Studies, supported by proxy modelling experiments, suggest that sea-ice cover was halved during the warmer LIG when global average temperatures were ∼2 ∘C above the pre-industrial (PI). There are limited marine (14) and ice core (4) sea-ice proxy records covering the complete 130 000 year (130 ka) last glacial cycle. The glacial–interglacial pattern of sea-ice advance and retreat appears relatively similar in each basin of the Southern Ocean. Rapid retreat of sea ice occurred during Terminations II and I while the expansion of sea ice during the last glaciation appears more gradual especially in ice core data sets. Marine records suggest that the first prominent expansion occurred during Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 4 and that sea ice reached maximum extent during MIS 2. We, however, note that additional sea-ice records and transient model simulations are required to better identify the underlying drivers and feedbacks of Antarctic sea-ice changes over the last 130 ka. This understanding is critical to improve future predictions.

  DOI

• Sea ice changes in the southwest Pacific sector of the Southern Ocean during the last 140 000 years

  Climate of the past · 2022 · 15 citations

  1st authorCorresponding
  • Geology
  • Oceanography
  • Climatology

  Abstract. Sea ice expansion in the Southern Ocean is believed to have contributed to glacial–interglacial atmospheric CO2 variability by inhibiting air–sea gas exchange and influencing the ocean's meridional overturning circulation. However, limited data on past sea ice coverage over the last 140 ka (a complete glacial cycle) have hindered our ability to link sea ice expansion to oceanic processes that affect atmospheric CO2 concentration. Assessments of past sea ice coverage using diatom assemblages have primarily focused on the Last Glacial Maximum (∼21 ka) to Holocene, with few quantitative reconstructions extending to the onset of glacial Termination II (∼135 ka). Here we provide new estimates of winter sea ice concentrations (WSIC) and summer sea surface temperatures (SSST) for a full glacial–interglacial cycle from the southwestern Pacific sector of the Southern Ocean using the modern analog technique (MAT) on fossil diatom assemblages from deep-sea core TAN1302-96. We examine how the timing of changes in sea ice coverage relates to ocean circulation changes and previously proposed mechanisms of early glacial CO2 drawdown. We then place SSST estimates within the context of regional SSST records to better understand how these surface temperature changes may be influencing oceanic CO2 uptake. We find that winter sea ice was absent over the core site during the early glacial period until MIS 4 (∼65 ka), suggesting that sea ice may not have been a major contributor to early glacial CO2 drawdown. Sea ice expansion throughout the glacial–interglacial cycle, however, appears to coincide with observed regional reductions in Antarctic Intermediate Water production and subduction, suggesting that sea ice may have influenced intermediate ocean circulation changes. We observe an early glacial (MIS 5d) weakening of meridional SST gradients between 42 and 59∘ S throughout the region, which may have contributed to early reductions in atmospheric CO2 concentrations through its impact on air–sea gas exchange.

  DOI

• Review of official responsibility for the Salish Sea marine environment

  Ocean & Coastal Management · 2021 · 13 citations

  1st authorCorresponding
  • Political Science
  • Public administration
  • Political Science
  DOI

Frequent coauthors

• George Wise

  28 shared

• P.G. Miller

  27 shared

• Gary Anderson

  University of Manitoba

  27 shared

• Xavier Crosta

  Université de Bordeaux

  11 shared

• Helen Bostock

  University of Queensland

  10 shared

• Johan Etourneau

  10 shared

• Carina B. Lange

  University of Concepción

  8 shared

• Laurie Menviel

  UNSW Sydney

  6 shared

Awards & honors

• 2025 Alexander Quarles Holladay Medal for Excellence

Similar researchers at North Carolina State University

• Jonathan Lindseyh-101
• Edward Breitschwerdth-100
• José Alonsoh-94
• Rob Dunnh-94
• Frances S. Liglerh-92