James B. McClintock (born Ann Arbor, MI) is an American professor of biology at the University of Alabama at Birmingham and studies various aspects of marine biology in Antarctica.
Early life and education
McClintock grew up in Santa Barbara, California. McClintock received his bachelor's degree from the University of California, Santa Cruz in 1978 and his PhD from the University of South Florida in 1984. In 1987, after completing a National Science Foundation Postdoctoral Fellowship at the University of California, Santa Cruz, he joined the faculty of the Department of BiologyFrom (http://www.uab.edu/biology/) at the University of Alabama at Birmingham and is the Endowed University Professor of Polar and Marine Biology.From the UAB Department of Biology website (http://www.uab.edu/biology/component/content/article/149-mcclintock-vita
Since 1989 McClintock has led or co-directed fourteen scientific expeditions with the United States Antarctic Program (USAP) in which he and his research collaborators have become authorities on Antarctic marine chemical ecology. This work, funded by NSF, has been conducted at the United States research facilities McMurdo Station (Ross Sea) and Palmer Station (Antarctic Peninsula). McClintock has published over 200 scientific publications, and co-edited and co-authored several books on marine invertebrates. In 1998, the U.S. Geographic Board named McClintock Point on the north side of New Harbor, McMurdo Sound, Antarctica, in recognition of his contributions to Antarctic marine biology. In 1999 he was an elected Fellow in the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
Current Work
His current work, also funded by the NSF, focuses on the impacts of climate change along the western Antarctic Peninsula (WAP). This region of the planet is experiencing unprecedented warming.Marshall et al., "The Impact of a Changing Southern Hemisphere Annular Mode on Antarctic Peninsula Summer Temperatures", Journal of Climate, vol. 19, pp. 5388–5404, October 2006. Moreover, Antarctic seas are uniquely subject to the impacts of ocean acidification, the result of oceans absorbing anthropogenic atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2). Research projects are underway to examine how the combination of rising seawater temperatures and increased levels of ocean acidification may impact Antarctic marine plants and animals that have calcified body parts. A separate NSF-funded research program co-directed by McClintock involves an investigation of large populations of king crabs currently invading Antarctic shelf watersFrom https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/04/110419191022.htm as sea temperatures rise and their prospective impacts on seafloor communities.
McClintock participates in educational outreach activities related to his work as an Antarctic marine ecologist. He is an appointed member of the Advisory Board of the E.O. Wilson Biodiversity Foundation.
In addition to participating in research expeditions, McClintock leads an annual educational tourist ship based Climate Change Challenge cruise to the Antarctica Peninsula. He also co-leads study programs to the Galapagos, Bahamas and Costa Rica as part of his teaching activities at UAB. He is the author of A Naturalist Goes Fishing, published by St. Martin's Press (2015).
References
External links UAB-Biology website Lecture: From Penguins to Plankton: The Dramatic Effects of Climate Change on the Antarctic Peninsula (Starts at 17 mins in) UAB website with blogs and photos by McClintock