Thomas J. Whitmore

My research specialty is in the field of paleolimnology, which can be defined as the study of the history of lakes based upon geochemical and biological evidence found in sediments. In particular, I study diatom assemblages in sediment cores, and reconstruct past water quality using statistical models that have been calibrated with sedimented diatom assemblages and water-quality measures for a large set of lakes. Past water-quality inferences are compared with other types of sedimentary evidence, including geochemistry, sedimented algal pigments, stable isotopes, and radiometric dating in order to interpret the patterns and timing of environmental change. This allows us to assess long-term climatic and human influences on lakes and watersheds.

My paleolimnological research in Florida began at the University of Florida (UF) in 1980-1988 under Edward S. Deevey, Jr., then proceeded with Claire L. Schelske and others in the UF Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences Department until 2003. Mark Brenner, who is with the Department of Geology and the Land Use and Environmental Change Institute at the University of Florida, has been a long-standing colleague and friend throughout this research. In addition to reconstructing past water quality in Florida, I have participated in studies to reconstruct long-term climatic changes in China and Mexico, and to quantify the human component of accelerated soil erosion in Chinese watersheds. In recent years, I also have focused on assessing inadvertent contamination of lake sediments by herbicide applications, and on the possible accumulation of contaminants in aquatic food chains.

I moderate the Paleolimnology Forum (PALEOLIM), which is the official listservice for the International Paleolimnology Association (IPA). This listservice has approximately 750 subscribers, and it is a communications medium for all aspects of paleolimnology. Please contact me if you would like more information about joining this listservice. Along with Mark Brenner at the University of Florida, I also serve as Editor in Chief for the Journal of Paleolimnology, and as an ex officio member on the IPA board.

Selected Publications
Deevey, E.S., M.W. Binford, M. Brenner and T.J. Whitmore. 1986. Sedimentary records of accelerated nutrient loading in Florida lakes. Hydrobiologia 143: 49-53.

Whitmore, T.J. 1989. Florida diatom assemblages as indicators of trophic state and pH. Limnology and Oceanography 34: 882-895.

Whitmore, T.J., M. Brenner, B.E. Rood and K.E. Japy. 1991. Deoxygenation of a Florida lake during winter mixing. Limnology and Oceanography 36: 577-585.

Brenner, M., T.J. Whitmore, M.S. Flannery, and M.W. Binford. 1993. Paleolimnological methods for defining target conditions in lake restoration: Florida case studies. Lake and Reservoir Management 7(2): 209-217.

Whitmore, T.J., M. Brenner and Song X. 1994. Environmental implications of the late Quaternary diatom history from Xingyun Hu, Yunnan Province, China. In J.P. Kociolek (ed.). Proceedings of the 11th International Diatom Symposium. Memoirs of the California Academy of Sciences, 17: 525-538.

Whitmore, T.J., M. Brenner, D.R. Engstrom and Song X.L. 1994. Accelerated soil erosion in watersheds of Yunnan Province, China. Journal of Soil and Water Conservation, 49(1): 333-338.

Whitmore, T.J., M. Brenner, J.H. Curtis, B.H. Dahlin, and B. Leyden. 1996. Holocene climatic and human influences on lakes of the Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico: an interdisciplinary, palaeolimnological approach. The Holocene 6(3): 273-287.

Whitmore, T.J., M. Brenner and C.L. Schelske. 1996. Highly variable sediment distribution: a case for sediment mapping surveys in paleolimnological studies. Journal of Paleolimnology 15: 207-221.

Whitmore, T.J., M. Brenner, Jiang Z.W., J.H. Curtis, A.M. Moore, D.R. Engstrom, and Wu Y.A. 1997. Water quality and sediment geochemistry in lakes of Yunnan Province, Southern China. Environmental Geology 32(1): 45-55.

Brenner, M., T.J. Whitmore, J.H. Curtis, D.A. Hodell, and C.L. Schelske. 1999. Stable isotopes (d13C and d15N) of sedimented organic matter as indicators of historic lake trophic state. Journal of Paleolimnology 22: 205-221.

Rosenmeier, M.F., M. Brenner, W.F. Kenney, T.J. Whitmore, and C.M. Taylor. 2004. Recent eutrophication in the southern basin of Lake Peten Itza, Guatemala: human impact on a large tropical lake. Hydrobiologia 511: 161-172.

Whitmore, T.J. and M.A. Riedinger-Whitmore. 2004. Lake Management Programs: the importance of sediment assessment studies. LakeLine: quarterly magazine of the North American Lake Management Society, April 2004.

Riedinger-Whitmore, M.A., Whitmore, T.J., Smoak, J.M., Brenner, M., Moore, A., Curtis, J. and C.L. Schelske. 2005. Cyanobacterial proliferation is a recent response to eutrophication in many Florida lakes: A paleolimnological assessment, Lake and Reservoir Management, 21: 423-435.

Whitmore, T.J., Mark Brenner, K.V. Kolasa, W.F. Kenney, M.A. Riedinger-Whitmore, J.H. Curtis, and J.M. Smoak. 2006. Inadvertent alkalization of a Florida lake caused by increased ionic and nutrient loading to its watershed. Journal of Paleolimnology 36: 353-370.

Brenner, M., T.J. Whitmore, M.A. Riedinger-Whitmore, B. DeArmond, D.A. Leeper, W.F. Kenney, J.H. Curtis, and B. Shumate. 2006. Geochemical and biological consequences of groundwater augmentation in lakes of west-central Florida (USA). Journal of Paleolimnology 36: 371-383.

Escobar, J., M. Brenner, T.J. Whitmore, W.F Kenney, J.H. Curtis. 2008. Ecology of testate thecamoebians in substropical Florida lakes. Journal of Paleolimnology DOI 10.1007/s10933-008-9195-5

Whitmore, T.J., M.A. Riedinger-Whitmore, J.M. Smoak, K.V. Kolasa, E.A. Goddard and R. Bindler. 2008. Arsenic contamination of lake sediments in Florida: evidence of herbicide mobility from watershed soils. Journal of Paleolimnology. DOI 10.1007/s10933-008-9204-8

Other Professional Activities
- Journal of Paleolimnology, Editor-in-Chief.

- Moderator for PALEOLIM Paleolimnology Listservice (~650 subscribers).

- International Paleolimnology Association, Executive Committee ex officio member.

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If you are interested in changes in lakes and watersheds of Florida or China, or in subscribing to the Paleolimnology Listservice, please visit Dr. Whitmore's webpage or contact him:

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