Johan Varekamp

Spring 2008 Courses:
EES 359 - Global Climate Change - lectures and experiments on the earth 'greenhouse'

Johan "Joop" C. Varekamp
Harold T. Stearns Professor of Earth Sciences and Chair

Adjunct Professor in Latin American Studies

office tel: 860 685 2248

office fax: 860 685 3651

My research field is Geochemistry, with applications in a wide variety of geologic directions. Most of my work is analytical, with extensive field work for sample collection, and I make some diversions into modelling. The E&ES department maintains facilities for the analyses of waters and rocks, including XRF, XRD, ICP-AES (PE-Plasma400), IC (a 2001 Dionex 600), and Hg by dedicated AAS (including a 2002 Milestone Hg analyzer and PSA fluorescence analyzer). The university maintains a SEM with analytical facility. I am in the process of setting up a gamma-ray counting facility, predominantly for ¹³⁷Cs and ²¹⁰Pb analyses. We have a LICOR infra-red CO₂ analyzer, which we are running for atmospheric CO₂-monitoring and in experiments on CO₂ absorption kinetics.

I have an interest in the application of the sciences in society and I was one of the initiators of the Environmental Studies Certificate Program at Wesleyan University, now headed by the Schumann Professor in Environmental Studies, Dr. Barry Chernoff.

I can usally be found in my office or labs, or at the coffee maker. My favourite colleague and collaborator (and spouse) is Ellen Thomas; she recently moved to the Center for the Study of Global Change at Yale University, New Haven, CT (http://ethomas.web.wesleyan.edu/)

Harold T. Stearns (Wesleyan class of '21) served for 16 years as the district geologist of the US Geological Survey in Hawaii. He wrote the book "Geology of the State of Hawaii" (1966, pp. 266, Pacific Books, Publishers, Palo Alto, CA) and later wrote "Memoirs of a Geologist - from poverty peak to piggery gulch" (1983, pp. 242, Hawaii Institute of Geophysics, HI). He donated generously to his alma mater and I am proud to have a chair named in his honor.

My vitae can be found under JCV-CV and a list of publications by topic under PUBLICATIONS

Slight diversions into Dutch history (Adriaen Block), and climate and beavers... (pdf file)

Johan C. Varekamp