ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR JOHN COMPTON
 
    ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR RELATED WEBSITES
  Department of Geological Sciences Marine Geology and Geophysics
  Louis Ahrens Building, Library Road Environmental Geochemistry
  University of Cape Town Sedimentology Laboratory
  Rondebosch, 7701, RSA
     
  ph: #27 (0)21 650 2927  
  fax: #27 (0)21 650 3783  
  email: john.compton@uct.ac.za  
     
     
  Biography Staff Research Publications Teaching Students Personal  
 
   
Degrees
  • PhD, Harvard University Earth Science, 1986
  • BA, University of California, San Diego Chemistry/Earth Science, 1981.
 
Employment
  • Senior Lecturer / Associate Professor, University of Cape Town, 1996-present
  • Assistant/Associate Professor, Department of Marine Science, University of South Florida, St. Petersburg, FL 1986-1996
 
Professional Associations
  • American Geophysical Union
  • Southern African Society for Quaternary Research (SASQUA) President 2003-2005
  • Scientific Committee on Oceanic Research (SCOR) South African National Committee member 2005-2008
  • Geological Society of South Africa (Council Vice Chair of the Western Cape Branch 2005-2008)
 
My general area of interest is the geochemistry of marine sediments with a focus on the origin of authigenic minerals such as francolite (phosphorite rock), dolomite, and glauconite during the early diagenesis of organic-rich sediments.

I have research interests in the carbon isotope record of the oceans and inferred variations and interactions of the global carbon and phosphorus cycles. Recent projects include the age and origin of the phosphorite on the western margin of South Africa off of the Orange River, variations in the global phosphorus cycle and the age and origin of large Miocene phosphorite deposits of the southeastern USA (Florida) and their paleoceanographic significance. Current interests are in the Miocene to Recent sediment record of early diagenetic minerals such as phosphorite, dolomite and glauconite associated with the Benguela Upwelling System off southwest Africa.

Another area of interest is the Quaternary evolution of coastal environments, including evaporite pan deposits and associated authigenic dolomite, Holocene sea-level fluctuations inferred from salt marsh deposits at Langebaan Lagoon, and the dynamics of coast-parallel dunes and inland sand plumes on the west coast of South Africa. In addition to coastal environments, high-resolution Holocene records are being developed from mud belt shelf sediments and glacial-interglacial records from upper slope sediments recovered on the western margin during the R/V METEOR Expedition M57-1. Terrigenous mud delivered to the western martin is transported off the shelf during the high- amplitude sea level fluctuations of glacial/interglacial cycles and may provide an important source of nutrients such as iron to the Southern Ocean.


 
Books

Compton, J.S. 2004. The Rocks & Mountains of Cape Town Double Storey Books (Juta & Co.), Cape Town, South Africa, 112 p. (ISBN 1-919930-70-1).
Journal Articles

Compton, J. S. 2007 Holocene evolution of the Anichab Pan on the southwest coast of Namibia Sedimentology 54, 55-70 download pdf

Herbert, C. and Compton, J.S. 2007 Depositional environments of the lower Permian Dwyka diamictite and Prince Albert shale infered from the geochemistry of early diagenetic concretions, southwest Karoo Basin, South Africa Sedimentary Geology 194 263-277 download pdf

Soderberg, K. and Compton, J.S. 2007 Dust as a nutrient source to the fynbos ecosystem, South Africa Ecosystems 10 550-561. DOI: 10.1007/s10021-007-9032-0 download pdf

Franceschini, G. and Compton, J.S. 2007 Abrasion of foraminifera tests along an active dune cordon, Western Cape, South Africa Palaios 22 686-690 download pdf

Wigley, R.A., and Compton, J.S. 2007 Oligocene to Holocene glauconite- phosphorite pellets from the Head of the Cape Canyon on the Western Margin of South Africa Deep-Sea Research II 54 1375-1395 download pdf

Compton, J.S. and Maake, L. 2007 Source of the suspended load of the upper Orange River, South Africa South African Journal of Geology 110 339-348 download pdf

Herbert, C. and Compton, J.S. 2007 Geochronology of Honocene sediments on the western margin of South Africa South African Journal of Geology 110 327-338 download pdf

Wigley, R. and Compton, J.S. 2006 Late Cenozoic evolution of the outer continental shelf at the Head of the Cape Canyon, South Africa Marine Geology 226 1-23 download pdf

Franceschini, G. and Compton, J.S. 2006 Holocene evolution of the Sixteen Mile Beach Complex, Western Cape, South Africa Journal of Coastal Research 22 1158-1166 download pdf

Compton, J.S. 2006 The mid-Holocene sea-level highstand at Bogenfels Pan on the southwest coast of Namibia Quaternary Research 66 330-310 download pdf

Orton, J. and Compton, J.S. 2006 A reworked mid-Holocene lithic assemblage at Dunefield Midden 1, Elands Bay, South Africa South African Archaeological Bulletin 61 90-95 download pdf

Compton, J.S., Franceschini, G. and Wigley, R. 2006 A proposed Neogene synthesis of the West Coast and West Coast Fossil Park African Natural History 2 182-183 (Abstract)

Compton, J.S. and Franceschini, G. 2005 Holocene geoarchaeology of the Sixteen Mile Beach barrier dunes in the Western Cape, South Africa Quaternary Research 63 99-107 download pdf

Franceschini, G., McMillan, I. and Compton, J.S. 2005 Foraminifera of Langebaan Lagoon salt marsh and their application to the interpretation of late Pleistocene depositional environments at Monwabisi, False Bay coast, South Africa South African Journal of Geology 108 285-296

Compton, J.S. and Franceschini, G. 2005 Reply to discussion by DI Cole South African Journal of Geology 108 580-581

Smith, M. and Compton, J.S. 2004 Origin and evolution of major salts in the Darling Pans, Western Cape, South Africa Applied Geochemistry 19 645-664 download pdf

Compton, J.S., Wigley, R. and McMillan, I. 2004 Late Cenozoic phosphogenesis on the western shelf of South Africa in the vicinity of the Cape Canyon Marine Geology 206 19-40 download pdf

Franceschini, G. and Compton, J.S. 2004 Aeolian and marine deposits of the Tabakbaai Quarry area, Western Cape, South Africa South African Journal of Geology 107 619-632 download pdf

Compton, J.S., White, R.A. and Smith, M. 2003 Rare Earth element behavior in soils and salt pan sediments of a semi-arid granitic terrain in the Western Cape, South Africa Chemical Geology 201 239-255 download pdf

Franceschini, G., Compton, J.S., and Wigley, R. 2003 Sand transport along the Western Cape coast: one with the wind? South African Journal of Science 99 317-318 download pdf

Compton, J.S., Mulabisana, J. and McMillan, I. 2002 Origin and age of phosphorite from the Last Glacial Maximum to Holocene transgressive succession off the Orange River, South Africa. Marine Geology 186 243-261 download pdf

Compton, J.S. 2001. Holocene sea-level fluctuations inferred from the evolution of depositional environments of the southern Langebaan Lagoon salt marsh, South Africa. The Holocene 11, 395-405. download pdf

Compton, J.S., Harris, C., and Thompson, S. 2001. Pleistocene dolomite from the Namibian shelf: High 87Sr/86Sr and d18O values indicate an evaporative, mixed-water origin. Journal of Sedimentary Research 71 800-808.

de Villiers, S., Compton J.S., and Lavelle, M. 2000. The strontium isotope systematics of the Orange River, southern Africa. South African Journal of Geology 103 237-248.

Compton, J.S., Mallinson, D. J., Glenn, C.R., Filippelli, G., Follmi, K., Shields, G., and Zanin, Y. 2000. Variations in the global phosphorus cycle. In: Glenn, C.R. et al., eds., Marine Authigenesis: From global to microbial Society of Sedimentary Geology, Special Publication Number 66 21-33.

Compton, J.S., Conrad, M.E., and Vennemann, T.W. 1999. Stable isotope evolution of volcanic ash layers during diagenesis of the Miocene Monterey Formation, California. Clays and Clay Minerals 47 84-95.

Harris, C., Compton, J.S. and Bevington, S.A. 1999. Oxygen and hydrogen isotope composition of kaolinite deposits, Cape Peninsula, South Africa: low-temperature, meteoric origin. Economic Geology 94 1353-1366.

Mallinson, D.J. and Compton, J.S. 1998 The influence of iron sulfide oxidation on the sulfur isotope analysis of Miocene phosphorites from Florida, USA Geochemica et Cosmochimica Acta 62 3689-3694
 
 
First semester course: Introduction to Earth and Environmental Sciences (ERT1000F/GEO1009F)

Course Convenor: An introduction to the fundamental concepts of Earth, environmental and archaeological sciences.

Honours (4th year) Module: Marine and Environmental Geochemistry

 
 
Doctoral Theses
  • Rochelle Wigley (2005) Sedimentary facies from the Head of the Cape Canyon: Insights into the Cenozoic evolution of the western margin of South Africa
  • Giuliana Franceschini (2003) Geology of aeolian and marine deposits in the Saldanha Bay region, Western Cape, South Africa
Masters' of Science
  • James Wiltshire (2007) Late Quaternary sedimentation on the continental slope off Cape Columbine: Variation in off-shelf transport related to glacial driven sea-level fluctuations
  • Arthur (Teke) Taylor (2004) A Trace Element Study of the Olifants and Berg River Estuaries and the Off-Shore Mud Belt Sediments
  • Wijnand Germs (2004) A geochemical investigation into the occurrence and fate of nitrogen and phosphorus in the lower Olifants River, Western Cape
  • Keryn Simpson (2003) Foraminiferal species distributions and sedimentological dynamics of the Knysna Estuary, South Africa
  • Xavier Middleton (2003) Petrographic and geochemical evidence for the origin of phosphorites and phosphate rocks from the West Coast of South Africa
  • Naadira Haniff (2003) Trace metal accumulation in urban sediments, Black River, Western Cape, South Africa (co-supervisor)
  • Andre Smit (2003) Geochemistry of a pristine fynbos ecosystem in the Harold Porter National Botanical Gardens and Kogelberg biosphere reserve
  • Keir Soderberg (2003) Geochemistry of the fynbos ecosystem in a Table Mountain Group sub-catchment of the Olifants, River, Western Cape, South Africa