Dennis Darby

DepartmentOrganizationEmailPhoneAddressNorfolk , Virginia 23529United StatesBioDennis Darby is Professor of Geological Oceanography in the Department of Ocean, Earth, and Atmospheric Sciences at Old Dominion University, where he has been since 1977. He earned a B.S. in 1966 and an M.S. in 1968, both in Geology, from the University of Pittsburgh and a Ph.D. in Geology and Oceanography in 1971 from the University of Wisconsin, Madison. His research deals with the paleoclimatology and paleoceanography of the Arctic Ocean as determined by fingerprinting iron oxide sand grains using their chemical composition measured by electron microprobe and matching these grains to similar grain types in potential source areas around the Arctic Ocean. Knowing the precise source of each grain provides a detailed picture of the mix of sources for each layer in deep-sea sediment cores and this helps to elucidate the past circulation patterns of drifting ice that transported these grains. It also indicates where glacial ice existed and when this ice calved into the Arctic. The same technique is used to study modern ice floes and the export of this ice through Fram Strait into the Greenland Sea where it can melt and affect climate.

Darby has served on a number of national committees and organizing groups, including the NSF Arctic System Science (ARCSS) Program Ocean-Atmosphere-Ice Interaction Science Steering Committee and the Arctic Program Planning Group of Joint Oceanographic Institutions for Deep Earth Sampling (JOIDES), charged with developing a science plan for arctic deep-sea drilling dealing with global climate problems.

Darby recently lead two successful coring expeditions to the central Arctic as part of the Healy-Oden Trans-Arctic Expedition (HOTRAX). This historic expedition, only the second crossing of the central Arctic by icebreakers, collected nearly 500 meters of sediment core and used multibeam swath mapping of the seafloor and chirp seismic to profile the sub-bottom in the upper 50 meters. This was the first such coring expedition to the central Arctic to use such technology to locate core sites and interpret the geologic setting of each site.

Darby is interested in addressing all types of audiences and is available at all times of year. His lecture topics include:



The Role of the Arctic Ocean in global climate * Past Circulation Changes in the Arctic Ocean Based on Ice-rafted Detritus * Future Paleoceanographic Research in the Arctic Ocean: From Ocean Drilling to High Resolution Piston Coring * The HOTRAX'05 Expedition, Crossing the Arctic the Hard Way



Darby is interested in participating in the Visiting Speakers program because there is a need to educate people about arctic research.

Science Specialties

paleoceanography, glacimarine processes

Current Research

History and sources of ice-rafting from the Arctic Ocean through Fram Strait over the past 50 kyr.Record of shelf-basin interactions between the Chukchi Shelf and the Northwind Basin over the last 50-100 kyr.Sea-ice transport patterns and processes in the Arctic Ocean: tracing the sources of ice-rafted debris by chemical fingerprints in detrital Fe oxide grains.