Jackson was born and raised in India, which probably established his interest in all aspects of Asia, which is where much of his current research has been concentrated. Jackson attended the University of Cambridge graduating with a 1st Class degree in Geology in 1976. Then, under the tutelage of Dan McKenzie at the Bullard Laboratories, Cambridge, he received his PhD in 1980. His research used earthquakes to study the processes that produce the major surface features of the continents, such as mountain belts and basins. Between 1977 and 1981 he was a Visiting Scientist in the Seismic Discrimination Group at MIT before returning to Cambridge to take up a research fellow position in Queens' College, Cambridge, where he became Assistant Dean in 1983. In 1984, he was appointed as an assistant lecturer in the Department of Earth Sciences, Cambridge, lecturer in 1988 and reader in 1996. He was made Professor of Active Tectonics in the Department of Earth Sciences in 2003.
Current research
Using evidence from earthquakes, remote sensing, geodesy and geomorphology he is able to observe, quantitatively, the geometry and rates of deformation processes while they are active. In addition to seismology, his current research uses space-based remote sensing combined with observations of the landscape in the field, to study the evolution and deformation of the continents on all scales, from the movement of individual faults in earthquakes to the evolution of mountain belts. Much of his work is carried out in collaboration with researchers from the COMET Project where he is Associate Director.
McKenzie, D. & Jackson, J. 1983, "The relationship between strain rates, crustal thickening, palaeomagnetism, finite strain and fault movements within a deforming zone.", Earth & Planetary Science Letters, vol. 65, no. 1, pp. 182–202.
Jackson, J. & McKenzie, D. 1988, "The relationship between plate motions and seismic moment tensors, and the rates of active deformation in the Mediterranean and Middle East", Geophysical Journal – Royal Astronomical Society, vol. 93, no. 1, pp. 45–73.
Ambraseys, N.N. & Jackson, J.A. 1990, "Seismicity and associated strain of central Greece between 1890 and 1988", Geophysical Journal International, vol. 101, no. 3, pp. 663–708.
Taymaz, T., Jackson, J. & McKenzie, D. 1991, "Active tectonics of the north and central Aegean Sea", Geophysical Journal International, vol. 106, no. 2, pp. 433–490.
Jackson, J., Norris, R. & Youngson, J. 1996, "The structural evolution of active fault and fold systems in central Otago, New Zealand: Evidence revealed by drainage patterns", Journal of Structural Geology, vol. 18, no. 2–3, pp. 217–234.
Ambraseys, N.N. & Jackson, J.A. 1998, "Faulting associated with historical and recent earthquakes in the Eastern Mediterranean region", Geophysical Journal International, vol. 133, no. 2, pp. 390–406.
Maggi, A., Jackson, J.A., McKenzie, D. & Priestley, K. 2000, "Earthquake focal depths, effective elastic thickness, and the strength of the continental lithosphere", Geology, vol. 28, no. 6, pp. 495–498.
Jackson, J. 2002, "Strength of the continental lithosphere: Time to abandon the jelly sandwich?", GSA Today, vol. 12, no. 9, pp. 4–10.
