Dr. Paul Aharon
Loper Professor of Environmental Geology

   

Education

B.S. 1972 and M.S. 1974, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel;
Ph.D. 1980, The Australian National University, Canberra, Australia.;
Postdoctoral: Queen Elizabeth Fellow, Research School of Earth Sciences, ANU (1980-1982)

Research Interests

Paleoenvironmental Reconstructions; Rapid climate events in the Quaternary; Sealevel reconstructions; Coral Reefs in tectonically active areas; Microbial processes in sediments; Modern and fossil submarine hydrocarbon seeps and vents and chemosymbiotic fauna; Messinian Salinity Crisis; Paleohydrology; Molecular Paleontology; Applications of Sr and U-Series isotopes; Geology and Geochemistry of Carbonates and Evaporites. Conducted field investigations along the Red Sea, New Guinea, Australia, Southwest Pacific, Costa Rica, Austria, Gulf Coast (USA), Gulf of Mexico, Italy. Conducted submersible dives on the Gulf of Mexico slope and deep basin with Johnson-Sea Link (1989, 1990, 1991, 1993, 1995, 1997) and Alvin (1990). Presently I am leading an international group study investigating submarine hydrocarbon emissions in the Gulf of Mexico and Miocene-age hydrocarbon seeps in the Italian Apennines.

Selected Recent Publications

Aharon, P. and Liew, T.C. An Assessment of the Precambrian/Cambrian Transition Events on the Basis of Carbon Isotope Records. In  Early Organic Evolution: Implications for Minerals and Energy Resources, (M. Schidlowski et al, eds.), Springer-Verlag Berlin, 212-223 (1992).

Schidlowski, M.and Aharon, P. Carbon cycle and carbon isotope record: Geochemical impact of life over 3.8 Ga of earth history. In Early Organic Evolution: Implications for Mineral and Energy Resources. (eds. M. Schidlowski et al.), Springer-Verlag, Berlin-Heidelberg, 147-175 (1992)

Aharon, P., Roberts, H.H., and Snelling, R. Submarine venting of brines in the deep Gulf of Mexico: Observations and geochemistry. Geology 20, 483-486 (1992).

Aharon, P., Goldstein, S.L., Wheeler, C.W., and Jacobson, G. Sea level events in the South Pacific linked with the Messinian Salinity Crisis. Geology 21, 771-775 (1993)

Chmura, G.L. and Aharon, P. Stable carbon isotope signatures of sedimentary carbon in coastal wetlands as indicators of salinity regime. Journal of Coastal Research 10 (4), 644-668 (1994)

Aharon, P. and Sen Gupta B.K. Bathymetric reconstructions of the Miocene-age "calcari a Lucina" (northern Apennines, Italy) from oxygen isotopes and benthic foraminifera. In: (Aharon P., ed.) Geology and Biology of Modern and Ancient Submarine Hydrocarbon Seeps and Vents. Geo-Marine Letters 14, 219-230 (1994)

Aharon, P. Geology and biology of modern and ancient submarine hydrocarbon seeps and vents: An Introduction. Geo-Marine Letters 14, 69-73 (1994)

Aharon, P. Carbon and oxygen isotope tracers of submarine hydrocarbon emissions: Northern Gulf of Mexico. Isr. J. Earth Sci. 43, 157-164 (1994)

Fu, B., Aharon, P., Van Gent, D.L., and Scott, L.M. Anomalously high 226Ra in fluids advecting to the sea floor: A new nradioactive source in the Gulf of Mexico. GCAGS Trans. 46: 125-131 (1996).

Aharon, P., Schwarcz, H.P. and Roberts, H.H. Radiometric dating of submarine hydrocarbon seeps in the Gulf of Mexico. Geol. Soc. Am. Bull. 109 (5): 568-579 (1997)

Wheeler, C.W. and Aharon, P. The geology and hydrogeology of Niue, South Pacific. In: (Vacher, L. and Quinn, T. eds.) Geology and Hydrogeology of Carbonate Islands, Developments in Sedimentology 54, Elsevier Science, Amsterdam, Ch. 31: 540-562 (1997).

Wheeler, C.W. ,Aharon, P., and Ferrell R Successions of late Cenozoic platform dolomites distinguished by texture geochemistry and crystal chemistry: Niue, South Pacific. Journal of Sedimentary Research (in press).

Aharon, P. Microbial processes and products fueled by hydrocarbons at submarine seeps. In Microbial Sediments (ed. R. Riding), Springer-Verlag (in press).

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