USC College Department of Biology

Faculty

Biological Sciences has more than 60 full-time faculty members, as well as more than 20 faculty with joint appointments and 15 visiting or adjunct professors. Among its many distinctions and honors, the Ph.D. program faculty includes two members of the National Academy of Sciences, four members of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and 18 holders of endowed chairs and professorships.

Burt Jones

Professor (research) of Biological Sciences

Contact Information
E-mail: bjones@usc.edu
Phone: (213) 740-5765
Office: AHF B30

LINKS
Personal Website

Biographical Sketch

Burton Jones is a Professor (Research) in the Marine Environmental Biology section of the Biology Department at the University of Southern California. His research interests include bio-optical oceanography, physical-biological interactions, coastal processes, and coastal ocean observing systems. He received his B.S. in biological engineering from Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology and his Ph.D. in biological oceanography from Duke University. After a post-doctoral fellowship at Bigelow Laboratory he joined the research faculty at University of Southern California. He has been involved in studying the dynamics of physical/bio-optical interactions in a variety of environments that include coastal California, the Arabian Sea, Japan/East Sea, and the Adriatic Sea. Recently, as part of the Southern California Coastal Ocean Observing System (SCCOOS) and research in harmful algal bloom monitoring, Dr. Jones has been involved in implementing a coastal observing system that includes both fixed sites and autonomous vehicles. This includes participation in the development of an intelligent network of fixed and mobile nodes capable of adaptive mapping and sampling strategies. He is involved regionally in the development of collaborations between academic research and regional monitoring agencies, and is co-chair of the Executive Steering Committee of SCCOOS

Education

B.S. Biological Engineering, Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, 1971
Ph.D. Biological Oceanography, Duke University, 1977

Postdoctoral Training

Post-Doctoral Fellow, Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences, 09/1977-08/1980

Academic Appointment, Affiliation, and Employment History

Post-Doctoral Fellow, Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences, 06/01/1977-08/30/1980

Description of Research

Research Specialties

Biological oceanography, physical/biological interactions, ocean optics, ocean observing, coastal urban issues

Detailed Statement of Research Interests

Professor Jones is interested in the coupling of phytoplankton processes in the ocean with the physical processes that affect the upper layer of the world’s oceans. These physical processes include transport from currents, mixing processes, and frontal and convergent dynamics. Often these processes transport nutrients to the upper layer of the ocean stimulating phytoplankton growth and production when stratification and light availability are sufficient for these biological processes to occur. Forcing comes from a variety of processes including winds, flow over complex topography, coastal upwelling, river inputs, and in urban areas through anthropogenic processes. The biological results of these processes not only result in changes of biomass and primary productivity, but also in community structure, sometimes causing blooms that are considered either a nuisance or toxic to animals up the food chain, including humans. These processes are important not only to phytoplankton and the higher food web in the ocean, but also to bacteria and viruses that either occur naturally or are the result of anthropogenic inputs. Members of the Jones lab work on a variety of problems related to these processes. Because of the interdisciplinary nature of these problems we use a variety of tools to examine these processes. Bio-optical sensors that measure the processes that modify the light field through light absorption and scattering have proven to be invaluable for this research because they measure the optical characteristics of phytoplankton, other particles, and dissolved organic matter in the ocean at time and space scales consistent with the physical processes that affect these organisms. Bio-optical sensors are used in conjunction with physical sensors that can be deployed on profilers, moorings, tow vehicles and autonomous vehicles to obtain either highly resolved time series or spatially resolved oceanographic mapping of features. We use autonomous gliders equipped with physical and bio-optical sensors to map out processes that occur on or near the continental shelf. We utilize the resources of coastal ocean observing to obtain long time series of physical and bio-optical processes that enable us to understand how the ocean is functioning over moderate spatial scales for extended periods of time. Subsurface mapping using gliders, fixed sensor platforms, remote sensing, and mapping of surface currents are just part of the tool set that we actively use to monitor the ocean and make the data available in real-time.

Affiliations with Research Centers, Labs, and Other Institutions

Southern California Coastal Ocean Observing System, Co-Chair - Executive Steering Committee,http://www.sccoos.org/
Wrigley Institute of Enviornmental Studies, Research Professor,http://wrigley.usc.edu/

Publications

Journal Article

Cetinic, I., Jones, B. H., Moline, M. A., Schofield, O. (2008). Resolving urban plumes using autonomous gliders in the coastal ocean. Journal of Geophysical Research/American Geophysical Union.
Caron, D. A., Garneau, M. -., Seubert, E., Howard, M. D., Darjany, L., Schnetzer, A., Cetinic, I., Filteau, G., Lauri, P., Jones, B. H., Trussell, S. (2009). Harmful algae and their potential impacts on desalination operations off southern California. Water Research. Vol. 43
Noble, M., Jones, B. H., Hamilton, P., Xu, J., Robertson, G., Rosenfeld, L., Largier, J. (2009). Cross-shelf transport into nearshore waters due to shoaling internal tides in San Pedro Bay, CA. Continental Shelf Research. Vol. 29 (5), pp. 1768-1785.
Reifel, K. M., Johnson, S. C., DiGiacomo, P. M., Mengel, M. J., Nezlin, N. P., Warrick, J. A., Jones, B. H. (2009). Impacts of Stormwater Runoff Contaminants in the Southern California Bight: Relationships among Plume Constituents. Continental Shelf Research. Vol. 29 (5), pp. 1821-1835.
Smith, R. N., Das, J., Heidarsson, H., Pereira, A. M., Arrichiello, F., Cetinic, I., Darjany, L., Garneau, M. -., Howard, M. D., Oberg, C., Ragan, M., Seubert, E., Smith, E. C., Stauffer, B. A., Schnetzer, A., Toro-Farmer, G., Caron, D. A., Jones, B. H., Sukhatme, G. S. (2009). The USC Center for Integrated Networked Aquatic PlatformS (CINAPS): Observing and Monitoring the Southern California Bight. IEEE Robotics and Automation Magazine.
Nezlin, N. P., DiGiacomo, P. M., Diehl, D. W., Jones, B. H., Johnson, S. C., Mengel, M. M., Reifel, K. M., Warrick, J. A., Wang, M. (2008). Stormwater plume detection by MODIS imagery in the southern California coastal ocean. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science / Elsevier. Vol. 80 (1), pp. 141-152.
Marini, M., Jones, B., Campanelli, A., Grilli, F., Lee, C. M. (2008). SEASONAL VARIABILITY AND PO RIVER PLUME INFLUENCE ON BIOCHEMICAL PROPRIETIES ALONG WESTERN ADRIATIC COAST. Journal of Geophysical Research/American Geophysical Union. Vol. 113 (C5), pp. 18.
Warrick, J. A., DiGiacomo, P. D., Weisberg, S. B., Nezlin, N., Mengel, M., Jones, B. H., Ohlman, C., Washburn, L., Terrill, E. J., Farnsworth, K. L. (2007). River plume patterns and dynamics within the Southern California Bight. Continental Shelf Research. Vol. 27, pp. 2427-2448.
Schnetzer, A., Miller, P. E., Schaffner, R. A., Stauffer, B., Jones, B., Weisberg, S. B., DiGiacomo, P. M., Berelson, W. M., Caron, D. A. (2007). Blooms of Pseudo-nitzschia and Domoic Acid in the San Pedro Channela and Los Angeles harbor areas of the Southern California Bight, 2003-2004. Harmful Algae / Elsevier. Vol. 6 (3), pp. 372-387.
Ashjian, C., Arnone, R. A., Davis, C., Jones, B., Kahru, M., Lee, C. M., Mitchell, B. G. (2006). Biological Structure and Seasonality in the Japan/East Sea. Oceanography/The Oceanography Society. Vol. 19(3), pp. 122-133.

Service to the Profession

Professional Memberships

The Oceanography Society, 1987-
American Geophysical Union, 1981-
American Society of Limnology and Oceanography, 1972-