John W. Valley

Valley grew up in Lexington, Massachusetts, and started collecting rocks when he was four years old.{{cite web|url=https://ls.wisc.edu/news/geosciences-john-valley-honored-for-distinction-in-the-field|title=Geoscience's John Valley honored for distinction in the field|author=Conklin, Aaron R.|date=October 24, 2019|website=University of Wisconsin-Madison}} He studied geology at Dartmouth College (AB 1970) and at the University of Michigan (MS 1977, PhD 1980){{cite thesis|url=https://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/handle/2027.42/115588 |hdl=2027.42/115588 |title=Calc-silicate reactions in Grenville marble, Adirondack MTS., New York / |date=1977 |type=M.S. Thesis |last1=Valley |first1=John W. }} {{cite thesis|url=https://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/handle/2027.42/158015 |hdl=2027.42/158015 |title=The Role of Fluids During Metamorphism of Marbles and Associated Rocks in the Adirondack Mountains, New York |date=1980 |type=Ph.D. Thesis |last1=Valley |first1=John Williams }} He was an assistant professor at Rice University (1980-1983) before moving to the University of Wisconsin, Madison, where he was an assistant professor (1983-1985), associate professor (1985-1989), and full professor from 1989 until his retirement in 2019 as professor emeritus. In 2005 he was appointed Charles R. Van Hise Distinguished Professor. He was a Fulbright Scholar at the University of Edinburgh (1989-1990). His doctoral students include Claudia Mora, Jean Morrison, and John Eiler.{{cite web | url=https://www.nasonline.org/member-directory/members/20038936.html | title=Member Directory - NAS }}

Valley is an expert on stable isotope geochemistry applied to metamorphic, igneous and sedimentary rocks. He has worked extensively on high-grade metamorphic Precambrian rocks, especially in the Grenville Province of New York and Canada. He and his colleagues investigated the Sierra Nevada batholith,{{cite journal|doi=10.1016/j.epsl.2005.04.003 |title=Supracrustal input to magmas in the deep crust of Sierra Nevada batholith: Evidence from high-O zircon |date=2005 |last1=Lackey |first1=J. |last2=Valley |first2=J. |last3=Saleeby |first3=J. |journal=Earth and Planetary Science Letters |volume=235 |issue=1–2 |pages=315–330 }}{{cite journal|doi=10.1093/petrology/egn030 |title=Dynamic Magma Systems, Crustal Recycling, and Alteration in the Central Sierra Nevada Batholith: The Oxygen Isotope Record |date=2008 |last1=Lackey |first1=Jade Star |last2=Valley |first2=John W. |last3=Chen |first3=James H. |last4=Stockli |first4=Daniel F. |journal=Journal of Petrology |volume=49 |issue=7 |pages=1397–1426 |doi-access=free }} lavas from Pacific islands,{{cite journal|doi=10.1029/95JB03194 |title=Oxygen isotope ratios in olivine from the Hawaii Scientific Drilling Project |date=1996 |last1=Eiler |first1=John M. |last2=Valley |first2=John W. |last3=Stolper |first3=Edward M. |journal=Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth |volume=101 |issue=B5 |pages=11807–11813 |bibcode=1996JGR...10111807E |s2cid=46215107 |url=https://resolver.caltech.edu/CaltechAUTHORS:20120824-074858864 }}{{cite journal|doi=10.1038/377138a0 |title=Oxygen isotope evidence against bulk recycled sediment in the mantle sources of Pitcairn Island lavas |date=1995 |last1=Eiler |first1=John M. |last2=Farley |first2=Kenneth A. |last3=Valley |first3=John W. |last4=Stolper |first4=Edward M. |last5=Hauri |first5=Eric H. |last6=Craig |first6=Harmon |journal=Nature |volume=377 |issue=6545 |pages=138–141 |bibcode=1995Natur.377..138E |s2cid=4360176 }}{{cite journal|doi=10.1093/petrology/41.2.229 |title=Oxygen Isotope Geochemistry of Oceanic-Arc Lavas |date=2000 |last1=Eiler |first1=J. M. |journal=Journal of Petrology |volume=41 |issue=2 |pages=229–256 |doi-access=free }} and rhyolites from the Yellowstone Plateau Volcanic Field.{{cite journal|doi=10.1093/petrology/42.8.1491 |title=Low-δ¹⁸O Rhyolites from Yellowstone: Magmatic Evolution Based on Analyses of Zircons and Individual Phenocrysts |date=2001 |last1=Bindeman |first1=Ilya N. |last2=Valley |first2=John W. |journal=Journal of Petrology |volume=42 |issue=8 |pages=1491–1517 |doi-access=free }}

Valley has studied numerous proxies for paleoclimate including speleothems,Orland IJ, Bar-Matthews M, Kita NT, Ayalon A, Matthews A, Valley JW (2009) Climate deterioration in the eastern Mediterranean from 200 BC to 1100 AD as revealed by ion microprobe analysis of speleothems from Soreq Cave, Israel. Quat. Res., 71: 27-35. mollusks,Linzmeier BJ, Kozdon R, Peters SE, Valley JW (2016) Oxygen isotope variability within growth bands suggests daily depth migration behavior is recorded in Nautilus shell aragonite, PLOS One, p 1-31. DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0153890 foraminifera,Kozdon R; Ushikubo T; Kita NT; Spicuzza M; Valley JW (2009) Intratest oxygen isotope variability in planktonic foraminifera: New insights from in situ measurements by ion microprobe. doi:10.1016/j.chemgeo.2008.10.032, Chem. Geol., 258, 327-337. otoliths,Helser T, Kastelle C, McKay J, Orland IJ, Kozdon R, Valley JW (2018) Evaluation of micromilling/conventional isotope ratio mass spectrometry and secondary ion mass spectrometry of δ18O in fish otoliths for sclerochronology. Rapid Comm. in Mass Spectrometry. 32: 1781-1790. DOI: 10.1002/rcm.8231 pearls,Farfan GA, Zhou C, Valley JW, Orland IJ (2021) Coupling Mineralogy and Oxygen Isotopes to Seasonal Environmental Shifts Recorded in Modern Freshwater Pearl Nacre from Kentucky Lake. Geochem Geophys Geosyst, 22, 12, 17p, doi.org/10.1029/2021GC009995. and fossil teeth.Kohn, M. J., Schoeninger, M. J., and Valley, J. W., (1996) Herbivore tooth oxygen isotope compositions: Effects of diet and physiology. Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta, 60, 3889-3896. He organized three conferences on applications of new SIMS technology to paleoclimatology (HiRes2013, 2015 and 2017). http://www.geology.wisc.edu/~wiscsims/HiRes2017/pdfs/talks/HiRes2017_D1_0900_Valley.pdf

File:Apex Chert.jpg, 3,500 million years old, and contain no nucleus (prokaryotes). They are either spherical or in filament-like chains. Chert typically consists of the petrified remains of siliceous ooze.]]

Valley and others demonstrated that carbonates in the Martian meteorite Allan Hills 84001 formed at low temperatures,{{cite journal|doi=10.1126/science.275.5306.1633 |title=Low-Temperature Carbonate Concretions in the Martian Meteorite ALH84001: Evidence from Stable Isotopes and Mineralogy |date=1997 |last1=Valley |first1=John W. |last2=Eiler |first2=John M. |last3=Graham |first3=Colin M. |last4=Gibson |first4=Everett K. |last5=Romanek |first5=Christopher S. |last6=Stolper |first6=Edward M. |journal=Science |volume=275 |issue=5306 |pages=1633–1638 |pmid=9054355 |bibcode=1997Sci...275.1633V |s2cid=29483663 }} and that material from the comet 81P/Wild is chondrule-like indicating transport from the asteroid belt to the cold outer reaches of the Solar System.{{cite journal|doi=10.1126/science.1160995 |title=Chondrulelike Objects in Short-Period Comet 81P/Wild 2 |date=2008 |last1=Nakamura |first1=Tomoki |last2=Noguchi |first2=Takaaki |last3=Tsuchiyama |first3=Akira |last4=Ushikubo |first4=Takayuki |last5=Kita |first5=Noriko T. |last6=Valley |first6=John W. |last7=Zolensky |first7=Michael E. |last8=Kakazu |first8=Yuki |last9=Sakamoto |first9=Kanako |last10=Mashio |first10=Etsuko |last11=Uesugi |first11=Kentaro |last12=Nakano |first12=Tsukasa |journal=Science |volume=321 |issue=5896 |pages=1664–1667 |pmid=18801994 |bibcode=2008Sci...321.1664N |s2cid=206514269 }}

In 2001, Valley, with 3 co-workers, discovered the oldest known samples of Earth, detrital zircons from the Jack Hills in Western Australia, which document the existence of differentiated crust on Earth by 4.4 Ga (billion years ago) about 150 Myr (million years) after the Earth's formation at 4.55 Ga. {{cite journal|doi=10.1038/35051550 |title=Evidence from detrital zircons for the existence of continental crust and oceans on the Earth 4.4 Gyr ago |date=2001 |last1=Wilde |first1=Simon A. |last2=Valley |first2=John W. |last3=Peck |first3=William H. |last4=Graham |first4=Colin M. |journal=Nature |volume=409 |issue=6817 |pages=175–178 |pmid=11196637 |bibcode=2001Natur.409..175W |s2cid=4319774 }} The oxygen isotope ratios of these zircons indicate that the Earth cooled sooner, by over 600 Myr, than previous evidence indicated and that oceans were habitable to life by 4.3 Ga, 800 Myr earlier than the oldest well-documented micro-fossils. He has also shown, by a unique correlation of carbon isotope ratios (measured at micron-scale) to morphology, that these ancient fossils are indeed biogenic and lived in complex communities of microbial life 3,465 million years ago, indicating that the first life came earlier.Schopf JW, Kitajima K, Spicuzza M, Kudryavtsev A, Valley JW (2018) SIMS Analyses of the Oldest Known Assemblage of Microfossils Document Their Taxon-Correlated Carbon Isotope Compositions. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. 115: 53-58. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1718063115

Valley has been active in professional service. In 2005, he founded the Wisconsin Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry Laboratory (WiscSIMS){{cite web|title=Wisconsin Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry Laboratory|website=University of Wisconsin-Madison|url=https://wiscsims.geoscience.wisc.edu}} to develop new methods for measuring stable isotopes in the nano to micrometer range. Over 400 scientists have now worked at WiscSIMS. He served on many committees for mineralogy, geochemistry, and geology, including the NRC Committee on the Scientific Context for the Exploration of the Moon (2007). {{cite web|title=The Scientific Context for the Exploration of the Moon|year=2007|website=National Academies Press|url=https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/11954/the-scientific-context-for-exploration-of-the-moon}} From 2014 to 2023 he served on the board of governors for the Gemological Institute of America. He has been associate editor for the Geological Society of America Bulletin (1985-1991), the American Journal of Science (1996-) and the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (2021-). From 2011 to 2015 he was an editor in chief for the journal Elements. He was the president of Mineralogical Society of America in 2005–2006.

Valley was elected a Fellow of the Geological Society of America (GSA, 1992), the Mineralogical Society of America (MSA, 1993), the American Geophysical Union (AGU, 1996), the European Association of Geochemistry (2011), and the Geochemical Society (2011). AGU gave him the Norman L. Bowen Award in 2003{{cite web|url=https://connect.agu.org/vgp/vgp-awards/norman-l-bowen-award |title=Norman L. Bowen Award|website=American Geophysical Union (AGU)}} In 2019 GSA awarded him the Arthur L. Day Medal. In 2022 he received the Roebling Medal from MSA.{{cite journal|author=Star Lackey, Jade|author2=Peck, William H.|title=Presentation of the 2022 Roebling Medal from MSA|journal=American Mineralogist|volume=108|issue=4|year=2023|page=781|doi=10.2138/am-2023-AP108424 |url=https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.2138/am-2023-AP108424/html?lang=en}} He was elected a Member of the National Academy of Sciences in 2019.

In 2017, the International Mineralogical Association (IMA) approved the name "valleyite" for the mineral Ca₄Fe₆O₁₃, discovered by Huifang Xu and named in honor of John W. Valley.{{cite web|title=Valleyite|website=mindat.org|url=https://www.mindat.org/min-51963.html}}{{cite web|title=Huifang Xu|website=University of Wisconsin-Madison|date=16 September 2021 |url=https://geoscience.wisc.edu/people/xu-huifang/}}

In 1972 Valley married Andrée Simone Taylor.https://www.andreevalley.com/ They have two sons, Matthew and David. Valley is also a skilled woodworker. Before graduate school, he made furniture in Helena, Montana, while there with Andrée, who was Resident Artist at the Archie Bray Foundation for the Ceramic Arts. Andrée works extensively in metal and ceramic sculpture. https://www.andreevalley.com/ Her work is displayed internationally.

• Valley JW and O’Neil JR. (1982) Oxygen isotopic evidence for shallow emplacement of Adirondack anorthosite. Nature 300, 9, 497–500.
• {{cite journal|doi=10.1038/301226a0 |title=Metamorphic fluids in the deep crust: Evidence from the Adirondacks |date=1983 |last1=Valley |first1=J. W. |last2=McLelland |first2=J |last3=Essene |first3=E. J. |last4=Lamb |first4=W |journal=Nature |volume=301 |issue=5897 |pages=226–228 |bibcode=1983Natur.301..226V |hdl=2027.42/62547 |s2cid=4361510 |hdl-access=free }}
• Valley, J. W., Bohlen, S. R., Essene, E. J., and Lamb, W. (1990) Metamorphism in the Adirondacks. II. The Role of Fluids. Jour. Petrol. 31, Part 3, 555–596.
• Valley, J. W. and Graham, C. M. (1993) Cryptic Grain-Scale Heterogeneity of Oxygen Isotope Ratios in Metamorphic Magnetite. Science 259, 1729-1733.
• {{cite journal|doi=10.1016/0012-821X(94)90106-6 |title=Oxygen isotope geochemistry of zircon |date=1994 |last1=Valley |first1=John W. |last2=Chiarenzelli |first2=JR |last3=McLelland |first3=JM |journal=Earth and Planetary Science Letters |volume=126 |issue=4 |pages=187–206 |bibcode=1994E&PSL.126..187V }}
• Valley, J. W., Kitchen, N. E., Kohn, M. J., Niendorf, C. R., and Spicuzza, M. J. (1995) UWG-2, A Garnet Standard for Oxygen Isotope Ratio: Strategies for High Precision and Accuracy with Laser Heating. Geochimica Cosmochimica Acta 59, 5223-5231.
• Valley JW, Kinny PD, Schulze DJ & Spicuzza MJ (1998) Zircon Megacrysts from Kimberlite: Oxygen isotope heterogeneity among mantle melts. Contributions to Mineralogy & Petrology, 133, 1–11.
• {{cite journal|doi=10.1130/0091-7613(2002)030<0351:ACEE>2.0.CO;2|issn=0091-7613 |date=2002 |volume=30 |page=351 |title=A cool early Earth |last1=Valley |first1=JW |last2=Peck |first2=WH |last3=King |first3=EM |last4=Wilde |first4=SA |journal=Geology |issue=4 |bibcode=2002Geo....30..351V }}
• {{cite journal|doi=10.1007/s00410-005-0025-8 |title=4.4 billion years of crustal maturation: Oxygen isotope ratios of magmatic zircon |date=2005 |last1=Valley |first1=J. W. |last2=Lackey |first2=J. S. |last3=Cavosie |first3=A. J. |last4=Clechenko |first4=C. C. |last5=Spicuzza |first5=M. J. |last6=Basei |first6=M. A. S. |last7=Bindeman |first7=I. N. |last8=Ferreira |first8=V. P. |last9=Sial |first9=A. N. |last10=King |first10=E. M. |last11=Peck |first11=W. H. |last12=Sinha |first12=A. K. |last13=Wei |first13=C. S. |journal=Contributions to Mineralogy and Petrology |volume=150 |issue=6 |pages=561–580 |bibcode=2005CoMP..150..561V |s2cid=53118854 }}
• {{cite journal|doi=10.1038/ngeo2075 |title=Hadean age for a post-magma-ocean zircon confirmed by atom-probe tomography |date=2014 |last1=Valley |first1=JW |last2=Cavosie |first2=AJ |last3=Ushikubo |first3=T |last4=Reinhard |first4=DA |last5=Lawrence |first5=DF |last6=Larson |first6=DJ |last7=Clifton |first7=PH |last8=Kelly |first8=TF |last9=Wilde |first9=SA |last10=Moser |first10=DE |last11=Spicuzza |first11=MJ |journal=Nature Geoscience |volume=7 |issue=3 |pages=219–223 |bibcode=2014NatGe...7..219V }}
• Valley JW, Spicuzza MJ, Ushikubo T (2014) Correlated δ¹⁸O and [Ti] in Lunar Zircons: A Terrestrial Perspective for Magma Temperatures and Water Content on the Moon. Contributions to Mineralogy & Petrology, vol 167 (1): 1-15. doi:10.1007/s00410-013-0956-4.
• Valley JW, Reinhard DA, Cavosie AJ, Ushikubo T, Lawrence DF, Larson DJ, Kelly TF, Snoeyenbos D, Strickland A (2015) Nano- and Micro-geochronology in Hadean and Archean Zircons by Atom-Probe Tomography and SIMS: New Tools for Old Minerals. American Mineralogist, 100: 1355-1377. doi.org/10.2138/am-2014-5134.

• Valley JW, Taylor HP and O'Neil JR (1986) Stable Isotopes in High Temperature Geological Processes. Reviews in Mineralogy, Vol. 16, 570 p.
• Valley JW and Cole DR, eds. (2001) Stable Isotope Geochemistry. Reviews in Mineralogy and Geochemistry, Vol. 43, 662 p.

{{Reflist}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Valley, John W.}}

Category:1948 births

Category:Living people

Category:American geochemists

Category:American mineralogists

Category:Petrologists

Category:Dartmouth College alumni

Category:University of Michigan alumni

Category:University of Wisconsin–Madison faculty

Category:Fellows of the American Geophysical Union

Category:Fellows of the Geological Society of America

Category:Members of the United States National Academy of Sciences