Benjamin Tanner

Associate Professor and Chair of Environmental Science and Studies

Ben Tanner is a field-oriented environmental geoscientist and outdoor enthusiast who seeks to inspire the next generation to appreciate and preserve our natural areas through the hands-on study of earth places and materials.

  • PhD, geology, University of Tennessee
  • MS, quaternary and climate studies, University of Maine
  • BS, anthropology, Florida State University

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Benjamin Tanner

Biography

Ben Tanner's education and background - beginning with an anthropology degree (Florida State University), then continuing into Quaternary and climate studies (University of Maine), and culminating in geology (University of Tennessee) - relate to how humans interact with the environment. He currently uses the tools of geology to study wetlands and how they respond to climate and environmental change. He also uses wetland deposits to elucidate past climate changes, including temperature, precipitation and sea level changes. He has involved undergraduate students in all aspects of his research and has mentored many undergraduates in research experiences outside of class. Many of these experiences have led to co-authored conference presentations and a journal article publication with the students. Florida's abundant wetland environments provide many research opportunities for his students.

More About Benjamin Tanner

Areas of Expertise

  • Geochemistry in natural environments
  • Wetland environments
  • Geomorphology

Course Sampling

  • Introduction to Environmental Studies and Science
  • Introduction to Geology
  • Wetland Systems

  • Wetland environments
  • Global climate change
  • Stable isotope and organic geochemistry

  • Tanner, B.R., Douglas, M.L., Greenberg, C.H., Chamberlin, J.N., and Styers, D.M., 2018, A Macroscopic Charcoal and Multiproxy Record From Peat Recovered From Depression Marshes in Longleaf Pine Sandhills, Florida, USA, Quaternary, v. 1(3), 25.
  • Tanner, B.R., Lane, C.S., Martin, E.M., Young, R., and Collins, B., 2015, "Sedimentary Proxy Evidence of a mid-Holocene Hypsithermal Event in the Location of a Current Warming Hole," North Carolina, USA, Quaternary Research, v. 83, p. 315-323.
  • Bostic, J., Tanner, B., and McDowell-Peek, K., 2015, "Apparent Downdrift Impacts of T-Head Groin Construction on a Salt Marsh," Hunting Island State Park, SC, Southeastern Geology, v. 51, p. 51-64.
  • Perry, L., Farmer, B., Onder, D., Tanner, B., and Burton, C., 2015, "A Community-Based Activities Survey: Systematically Determining the Impact on and of Faculty," Metropolitan Universities Journal v. 26, p. 25-45.
  • Tanner, B.R., Kinner, D.A., Griffith, A.D., Young, R.S., and Sorrell, L.M., 2011, "Presence of Arundinaria gigantea (river-cane) on Numerous Non-wetland Sites Suggests Improper Ecological Classification of the Species," Wetlands Ecology and Management v. 19, p. 521-532.
  • Wilson, K.R., Kelley, J.T., Tanner, B.R. and Belknap, D.F., 2010, "Examining North-Temperate Salt-Marsh Geologic Records: Determining Origin of and Defining a Unique Stratigraphic Signature for Salt Pools of Six Maine Salt Marshes," U.S.A., Journal of Coastal Research v. 26, p. 1007-1026.
  • Song, X., Tanner, B.R., and Neff, K.E., 2010, "Exploring Possibilities for Using UV/Vis and Fourier - Transform Infrared Spectroscopy to Directly Differentiate Soil Organic Matter in a Soil Profile," Spectroscopy Letters v. 43, p. 561-566.
  • Tanner, B.R., Kelley, J.T., Uhle, M.E., Mora, C.I., Lane, C., Schuneman, P.J., and Allen, E.S., 2010, "Comparison of Bulk and Compound-Specific δ13C Analyses and Determination of Carbon Sources to Salt Marsh Sediments Using n-Alkane Distributions (Main, USA)," Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science v. 86, p. 283-291.
  • Griffith, A.D., Kinner, D.A., Tanner, B.R., Moore, A., Mathews, K.G., and Young, R.S., 2009, "Nutrient and Physical Soil Characteristics of River Cane Stands," Western North Carolina, Castanea, v. 74, p. 224-235.
  • Tanner, B.R., Uhle, M.E., Kelley, J.T., and Mora, C.I., 2007, "C3/C4 Variations in Salt Marsh Sediments: An Application of Compound Specific Isotopic Analysis of Lipid Biomarkers to Late Holocene Paleoenvironmental Research," Organic Geochemistry v. 38, p. 474-484.
  • Tanner, B.R., Perfect, E., and Kelley, J.T., 2006, "Fractal Analysis of Maine's Glaciated Shoreline Tests Four Compartment Coastal Classification Scheme," Journal of Coastal Research v. 22, p. 1300-1304.