James Gardner is a research professor with a Ph.D. in Marine Geology and Geophysics. He completed his thesis on the paleoceanography of the eastern Equatorial Atlantic in 1973. He spent 2 years (1973-1975) with the Deep Sea Drilling Project at Scripps Institution of Oceanography, From 1075 to 2003, he was a Senior Research Marine Geologist with the U.S. Geological Survey in Menlo Park, CA. Since joining the Center for Coastal and Ocean Mapping at the University of New Hampshire, Durham in 2003, he has been in charge of the U.S. Law of the Sea Bathymetry Project and has conducted mapping in all of the areas of U.S. interest except the Arctic Ocean. This involves planning and conducting mapping cruises, processing the data during each cruise for bathymetry and acoustic backscatter and archiving the data on the CCOM-JHC Law of the Sea website and at NOAA/NGDC.
His research interests are in investigating the morphology of continental margins and adjacent deep-ocean basins. He speculates on the sedimentary processes that contributed to the evolution of the deep-sea landscapes.
Dr. Gardner is currently working with various panels of the U.S. State Department’s ECS Task Force to compile the bathymetric evidence for extended continental shelves on U.S. continental margins.
In addition to leading all non-Arctic US Law of the Sea bathymetry cruises , Jim is also involved in research methods to extract meaningful geological information from multibeam acoustic backscatter through ground truth and advanced image analysis methods.
Jim was honored by the SEPM/Society of Sedimentary Geology in 2012 by receiving the Francis P. Shepard Medal for Sustained Excellence in Marine Geology.
Selected Publications
Gardner, J. V., Calder, B. R., & Armstrong, A. A. (2021). Geomorphometric descriptions of archipelagic aprons off the southern flanks of French Frigate Shoals and Necker Island edifices, Northwest Hawaiian Ridge. GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA BULLETIN, 133(9-10), 2189-2209. doi:10.1130/B35875.1
Gardner, J. V., Peakall, J., Armstrong, A. A., & Calder, B. R. (2020). The Geomorphology of Submarine Channel Systems of the Northern Line Islands Ridge, Central Equatorial Pacific Ocean. FRONTIERS IN EARTH SCIENCE, 8. doi:10.3389/feart.2020.00087
Sowers, D. C., Masetti, G., Mayer, L. A., Johnson, P., Gardner, J. V., & Armstrong, A. A. (2020). Standardized Geomorphic Classification of Seafloor Within the United States Atlantic Canyons and Continental Margin. FRONTIERS IN MARINE SCIENCE, 7. doi:10.3389/fmars.2020.00009
Gardner, J. V. (2017). The Morphometry of the Deep-Water Sinuous Mendocino Channel and the Immediate Environs, Northeastern Pacific Ocean. GEOSCIENCES, 7(4). doi:10.3390/geosciences7040124
Mosher, D. C., Campbell, D. C., Gardner, J. V., Piper, D. J. W., Chaytor, J. D., & Rebesco, M. (2017). The role of deep-water sedimentary processes in shaping a continental margin: The Northwest Atlantic. MARINE GEOLOGY, 393, 245-259. doi:10.1016/j.margeo.2017.08.018
Jakobsson, M., Mayer, L., Coakley, B., Dowdeswell, J. A., Forbes, S., Fridman, B., . . . Weatherall, P. (2012). The International Bathymetric Chart of the Arctic Ocean (IBCAO) Version 3.0. GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH LETTERS, 39. doi:10.1029/2012GL052219
Hovland, M., Gardner, J. V., & Judd, A. G. (2002). The significance of pockmarks to understanding fluid flow processes and geohazards. GEOFLUIDS, 2(2), 127-136. doi:10.1046/j.1468-8123.2002.00028.x
Gardner, J. V., Prior, D. B., & Field, M. E. (1999). Humboldt Slide - a large shear-dominated retrogressive slope failure. MARINE GEOLOGY, 154(1-4), 323-338. doi:10.1016/S0025-3227(98)00121-2
Dean, W. E., Gardner, J. V., & Piper, D. Z. (1997). Inorganic geochemical indicators of glacial-interglacial changes in productivity and anoxia on the California continental margin. GEOCHIMICA ET COSMOCHIMICA ACTA, 61(21), 4507-4518. doi:10.1016/S0016-7037(97)00237-8
FIELD, M. E., GARDNER, J. V., JENNINGS, A. E., & EDWARDS, B. D. (1982). EARTHQUAKE-INDUCED SEDIMENT FAILURES ON A 0.25-DEGREE SLOPE, KLAMATH RIVER DELTA, CALIFORNIA. GEOLOGY, 10(10), 542-546. doi:10.1130/0091-7613(1982)102.0.CO;2
