Background/Research Interests

John Rolison started working as a postdoctoral researcher at LLNL in June 2016 after completing his PhD at University of Otago in New Zealand. John is broadly interested in developing methods for high-precision and high-accuracy isotope ratio and concentration measurements using multi-collection inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry and applying these methods to various research topics, including isotope geochemistry, chemical oceanography, and nuclear forensics.

Rolison’s recent research has focused on the stable isotope fractionation of iron and uranium induced by redox transformations in the Black Sea, developing radiochronometry methods for age-dating nuclear materials, and investigating non-traditional stable isotope fractionation in the nuclear fuel cycle. His current projects include investigating the paleoceanographic significance of zinc and cadmium stable isotope compositions of marine sediment cores collected off the coast of South Africa through the International Ocean Discovery Program (IODP). He is also developing molybdenum isotope fractionation as a signature of the nature of enrichment occurring during the nuclear fuel cycle.

Ph.D., Chemical Oceanography, University of Otago, 2016

M.S., Chemical Oceanography, Florida State University, 2012

B.S., Chemistry & Marine Science, University of South Carolina, 2008

1. Rusiecka, D., Gledhill, M., Milne, A., Achterberg, E.P., Annett, A.L., Atkinson, S., Birchill, A., Karstensen, J., Lohan, M., Mariez, C., Middag, R., Rolison, J.M., Tanhua, T., Ussher, S., Connelly, D. (2018). Anthropogenic signatures of lead in the Northeast Atlantic. Geophysical Research Letters, doi: 10.1002/2017GL076825.
2. Rolison, J.M., Stirling C.H., Middag, R., Gault-Ringold, M., George, E., and Rijkenberg, M.J.A. (2018). Iron isotope fractionation during pyrite formation in a sulfidic Precambrian ocean analogue. Earth and Planetary Science Letters 488, 1–13.
3. Rolison, J.M., Treinen, K.C., McHugh, K.C., Gaffney, A.M, and Williams, R.W. (2017). Application of the 226Ra-230Th-234U and 227Ac-231Pa-235U radiochronometers to uranium certified reference materials. J. Radioanal. Nucl. Chem. 314, 2459–2467.
4. Rolison, J.M., Stirling, C.H., Middag, R., and Rijkenberg, M.J.A. (2017). Uranium stable isotope fractionation in the Black Sea: Modern calibration of the 238U/235U paleo-redox proxy. Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta 203, 69–88.
5. Rolison, J.M., Middag, R., Stirling, C.H., Rijkenberg, M.J.A, and de Baar, H.J.W. (2015). Zonal distribution of dissolved aluminium in the Mediterranean Sea. Marine Chemistry 177, 87–100.
6. Ren, X., Luke, W.T., Kelly, P., Cohen, M., Artz, R., Walker, J., Brooks, S., Moore, C., Swartzendruber, P, Bauer, D., Remeika, J., Hynes, A., Dibb, J., Rolison, J.M., Krishnamurthy, N., Landing, W.M., Hecobian, A., Shook, J., and Huey, G. (2014). Mercury speciation at a coastal site in the Northern Gulf of Mexico: results from the Grand Bay intensive studies in summer 2010 and spring 2011. Atmosphere 5 (2), 230–251.
7. Rolison, J.M., Landing, W.M., Luke, W., Cohen, M., and Salters, V.J.M. (2013). Isotopic composition of species-specific atmospheric Hg in a coastal environment. Chemical Geology 336, 37–49.

• DHS/NTNFC Postdoctoral Fellowship, 2016-present
• University of Otago International Doctoral Scholarship, 2013-2016
• Brooker Travel United Doctoral Travel Grant, 2014