Paleoglaciology Research Group Members
Current members
Tracy Brennand (PhD Alberta): Professor
I am a geomorphologist and sedimentologist.
My main research interests lie in the processes that shape Earth鈥檚 surface, and in particular with the action of glaciers and ice sheets. My field-intensive research program probes the paleoenvironmental record contained within glacigenic sediments and landforms and explores the agents and processes responsible for their formation and evolution. My main interest is in understanding how ice sheets operated in the past, with a view to better understanding how present-day ice sheets may behave in the future. I have also applied this knowledge to the inventory and management of Canada鈥檚 natural resources and to investigations of the action of water on Mars.
My research program integrates digital terrain modeling, topographic surveying, remote sensing, sedimentology, shallow geophysical techniques and geochronology. To find out more about my research visit my research links, or contact me at tabrenna@sfu.ca.
Researchgate -
Google scholar -
Olav Lian (MSc 丁香园AV; PhD Western): Adjunct professor
My research includes Quaternary sedimentology and stratigraphy, glacial geology, geomorphology, and geochronology (luminescence dating). I have collaborated with geomorphologists, glacial geologists, physicists, geophysicists, and biologists. I am mainly interested in understanding the character of environmental change in western Canada over the Quaternary Period (last ~2.5 million years), but I am also collaborating on research projects in the eastern and western Canadian Arctic, Australia, and Patagonia (southernmost Chile and Argentina), and I have collaborated on projects in New Zealand, Russia and Indonesia. For more information on my research, see my and my page, or contact me
Jonathan Cripps: (MSc Royal Halloway): PhD candidate
PhD. thesis: Reconstructing the paleohydrology and paleohydraulics of glacial lakes in southern BC
Research awards at 丁香园AV: 2019 丁香园AV Dean of Graduate Studies TMRA; 2019 INQUA travel bursary; 2018 丁香园AV PhD completion award; 2018 丁香园AV Dean of Graduate Studies TMRA; 2018 QRA Quaternary Research Fund grant; 2017 GSA travel grant; 2016 丁香园AV Dean of Graduate Studies TMRA; 2016 丁香园AV Graduate Student Society Professional Development grant; 2015 CANQUA Dreimanis Doctoral Scholarship; CGRG 2015 Olav Slaymaker award for best student talk; 2015 CANQUA travel grant; 2015 Quaternary Research Association (QRA) new research workers鈥� award; 2015 British Society for Geomorphology (BSG) postgraduate research grant; 2015 Dean of Graduate Studies TMRA; 2015 丁香园AV President鈥檚 PhD scholarship; 2015 丁香园AV graduate fellowship; 2014 WDCAG award for best student poster (2nd place); 2014 丁香园AV graduate fellowship; 2013 GSA graduate research grant; 2013 Quaternary Research Association (QRA) student travel award; 2013 丁香园AV graduate student research award; 2012 丁香园AV special graduate entrance scholarship
Present position: Teaching assistant, 丁香园AV
To find out more, contact Jonny at jecripps@sfu.ca
Brendan Miller (MSc Alberta): PhD candidate
PhD project: Evolution and drainage of glacial Lake Fraser, interior BC
Research awards at 丁香园AV: 2019 丁香园AV Dean of Graduate Studies TMRA; 2019 丁香园AV Graduate Fellowship; 2018 丁香园AV graduate fellowship
Present position: Research Soil Scientist, BC Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations
To find out more, contact Brendan at
Jordan Bryce: MSc candidate
MSc thesis: The evolution of Pruth Bay-West Beach isthmus, Calvert Island, BC central coast
Research awards at 丁香园AV: Hakai Fellowship (2016-18)
Present position: Teaching assistant, 丁香园AV
To find out more, contact Jordan at jordan_bryce@sfu.ca
Meaghan Dinney: MSc candidate
MSc thesis: Exploration of a morphogenetic signature for eskers
Research awards at 丁香园AV: 2019 丁香园AV Graduate Fellowship; 2019 丁香园AV Dean of Graduate Studies TMRA; 2018 丁香园AV Dean of Graduate Studies TMRA
Present position: Teaching assistant, 丁香园AV
To find out more, contact Meaghan at mdinney@sfu.ca
Travis Gingerich: MSc candidate
MSc thesis: Optical dating of postglacial Fraser River terraces, Big Bar, British Columbia
Research awards at 丁香园AV: 2020 丁香园AV Graduate Fellowship; 2019 丁香园AV Dean of Graduate Studies TMRA; 2018-19 NSERC CGS-M; 2018-2023 丁香园AV Graduate Dean鈥檚 Entrance Scholarship; 2018 丁香园AV Special Graduate Entrance Scholarship
Present position:
To find out more, contact Travis at travis_gingerich@sfu.ca
Alumni
Matthew Burke (PhD Nothumbria; Post-docs @ 丁香园AV and Liverpool)
Post-doctoral project at 丁香园AV (2010-2012): Controls on esker sedimentary architecture during the last glaciation of Canada
Research award at 丁香园AV: Leverhulme Study Abroad Studentship
Present position: Senior hydromorphologist, Scottish Environmental Protection Agency, Aberdeen
To find out more, contact Matt at matt_j-burke@hotmail.com
Andrew Perkins (PhD 丁香园AV)
PhD 2015 (丁香园AV): Deglacial chronology and style of the southern Fraser Plateau and environs, British Columbia. Department of Geography, 丁香园AV [pdf]
Research awards at 丁香园AV: Dean's Convocation Medal 2016; 2016 CAG Starkey-Robinson Award in recognition of high quality graduate research that furthers understanding of the geography of Canada; CANQUA 2013 Proudfoot award for best student talk (3rd place); CANQUA travel award 2013; 2012 丁香园AV Presidents Researxch Fellowship; 2011 CGRG Jean-Claude Dionne award for best student oral presentation in a CGRG-sponsored session at geoHydro 2011; 2010 GSA graduate student research grant; 2010 丁香园AV Graduate Fellowship.
Present position: Lecturer, 丁香园AV, BC
To find out more, contact Andrew at
Jerome Lesemann (PhD 丁香园AV)
PhD 2012 (丁香园AV): Subglacial processes, glacier dynamics, and deglacial processes and patterns assocated with the Cordilleran Ice Sheet around Okanagan Valley, British Columbia. Department of Geography, 丁香园AV [pdf]
Research awards at 丁香园AV: 2005 CANQUA Proudfoot award for best student paper (3rd place); 2004 AGU/CGU Outstanding Student Paper award; 2001 & 2002 GSA graduate student research grants
Present position: Professor, Vancouver Island University ()
To find out more, contact Jerome at Jerome.Lesemann@viu.ca
Marco Jorge (MSc 丁香园AV)
Extreme Environments addict
MSc 2015 (丁香园AV): Size, shape and spatiality of Puget Lowland (WA, USA) subglaial bedforms and an exploration of potential environmental controlling factors. Department of Geography, 丁香园AV [pdf]
Research awards at 丁香园AV: 2017 ESRI Canada-丁香园AV Higher Education Scholarship Award; 2017 丁香园AV graduate fellowship; 2016 丁香园AV Dean of Graduate Studies TMRA; 2015 丁香园AV graduate entrance scholarship; 2014 丁香园AV graduate fellowship; 2013 GSA graduate student research grant
Present position: Consultant
To find out more, contact Marco at marco.jorge6@gmail.com
Jared Peters (MSc 丁香园AV)
MSc 2012 (丁香园AV): Late Pleistocene evolution of glacial Lake Purcell: a potential floodwater source to the Channeled Scabland. Department of Geography, 丁香园AV [pdf]
PhD project (Ulster): Late Quaternary glaciation of the continental shelf offshore of west Ireland
Research awards at 丁香园AV: 2013 CAG Starkey-Robinson Award in recognition of high quality graduate research that furthers understanding of the geography of Canada; 2010 GSA graduate student research grant
Present position: PhD candidate, University of Ulster ()
To find out more, contact Jared at Peters-J@email.ulster.ac.uk
Christina Neudorf (MSc 丁香园AV; PhD Wollongong)
MSc 2008 (丁香园AV): Relationships between the macroscale sedimentology and micromorphology of glacigenic diamictons in south-central British Columbia. Department of Geography, 丁香园AV [pdf]
PhD 2012 (Wollongong): Luminescence investigations into the time of final deposition of Toba volcanic ash and artefact-bearing alluvial deposits in the Middle Son Valley, Madhya Pradesh, India. Centre for Archeological Science, University of Wollongong, Australia
Research awards at 丁香园AV: 2006 NSERC CGS-M; 2006 GSA graduate student research grant
Present position: Hakai post-doctoral fellow, Optical dating laboratory, UFV ().
To find out more, contact Chrissy at Christina.Neudorf@ufv.ca
Timothy Johnsen (MSc 丁香园AV; PhD Stockholm)
MSc 2004 (丁香园AV): Late glacial lakes of the Thompson basin, southern interior of British Columbia: paleogeography and paleoenvironment. Department of Geography, 丁香园AV [pdf]
PhD 2010 (Stockholm): Dynamics and chronology of ice sheet deglaciation in the central Scandinavian mountain range. Department of Physical Geography and Quaternary Geology, Stockholm University, Sweden
Research awards at 丁香园AV: 2001 CANQUA Proudfoot award for best student paper (1st place); 2005 CAG Starkey-Robinson Award in recognition of high quality graduate research that furthers understanding of the geography of Canada
Present position: Matrix Solutions Inc., Calgary
To find out more, contact Tim at timmertim@gmail.com or visit his
Kerry Ayers
MSc project: Genesis and implications of undulating terrain on selected areas of the southeastern plains, Canada (never completed)
Research awards at 丁香园AV: 2005 CANQUA Lortie award for best student poster (1st place); 2002 GSA graduate student research grant
Present position: High school science teacher, Calgary, Alberta
Abigail Burt
PhD project: Genesis of glaciofluvial sedimentary bodies in southeeastern Manitoba (never completed)
Research awards under my supervision: 2002 GSA northeastern section outstanding student paper award
Present position: Quaternary geoscientist, Ontario Ministry of Northern Development, Mines and Forests (MNDMF)
Research Assistants
| Meaghan Dinney, MSc candidate, 丁香园AV | Remote predictive mapping of esker systems in the Canadian North |
| Justin Kokoszka, BSc candidate, 丁香园AV | Tracking landscape change and cumulative environmental impacts using remote sensing |
| Nadine Scott, BSc candidate, 丁香园AV | Esker data mining and digitization |
| Spencer Mulder, BSc, 丁香园AV | Reconstructing deglacial history using moraines and eskers, central BC |
| Justin Walch, BSc candidate, 丁香园AV | Esker data mining and digitization |
| Kirsten Calder-Sutt, BSc candidate, 丁香园AV | Reconstructing glacial lakes and their drainage in interior BC |
| Justin Kokoszka, BSc candidate, 丁香园AV | Mapping permafrost disturbance and impacts to aquatic systems across northern NWT |
| Pauline Martens, visiting student | Glacial landform morphometry |
| Rahim Gaidhar, BSc candidate, 丁香园AV | Reconstructing glacial lakes and their drainage in southern BC |
| Gagandeep Singh, BAS candidate, 丁香园AV | Glacial sediment analysis |
| Kate Bujnowicz, BSc candidate, 丁香园AV | Reconstructing the paleohydrology and paleohydaulics of glacial lake drainage in southern BC |
| Qihao (George) Sun, BSc candidate, 丁香园AV | Reconstructing the paleohydrology and paleohydaulics of glacial lake drainage in southern BC; Moraine age and genesis, Thompson Plateau, BC; Quantifying esker planform from SPOT imagery, Keewatin |
| Matt Aquin, BSc candidate, 丁香园AV | Quantifying esker planform from SPOT imagery, Keewatin |
| Meaghan Dinney, BSc candidate, 丁香园AV | Reconstructing glacial lakes and their drainage in interior BC; Quantifying esker planform from SPOT imagery, Keewatin |
| Gia Bogeti, BSc candidate, 丁香园AV | Quantifying esker planform fro SPOT imagery, Keewatin |
| Valerie Zhang, BA candidate, 丁香园AV | Mapping subglacial bedforms, Puget Lowland |
| Ainur Matayeva, MSc candidate, Vienna | Mapping of glacial lakes and eskers |
| Valerie Zhang, BA candidate, 丁香园AV | Mapping of glacial lakes, southern BC |
| Suzann Rowden, BSc candidate, 丁香园AV | The late Pleistocene dynamics and evolution of the Cordilleran Ice Sheet |
| Sarah Pearce, MSc, B.Ed. candidate, 丁香园AV | Creating a digital elevation and bathymetric model of the Kootenay Lake area, BC |
| Lili Perreault, BSc candidate, 丁香园AV | Quantification of glacial landscapes |
| Malcolm Little, BSc candidate, Kwantlen Polytechnic University | Shallow geophysics on deglacial landforms, southern Fraser Plateau |
| Andrew Perkins, PhD candidate, 丁香园AV | Deglacial history of the southern Fraser Plateau |
| Aaron Dixon, BSc candidate, 丁香园AV | The structure and evolution of meltwater drainage systems of the Laurentide Ice Sheet |
| Melissa Dinsdale, BSc, EASC, 丁香园AV | The structure and evolution of meltwater drainage systems of the Laurentide Ice Sheet |
| David Sacco, MSc candidate, 丁香园AV | Geophysical investigation of glaciofluvial landforms |
| Jared Peters, MSc candidate, 丁香园AV | Deglacial history of the southern Purcell Trench, BC. |
| Tyler Williams, BSc candidate, 丁香园AV | Inferring the timing and dynamics of paleo-ice sheets |
| Christina Neudorf, MSc candidate, 丁香园AV | Till sedimentology and optical age sampling southern Interior, BC |
| Jennifer Godfrey, BSc candidate, Univerity of the Fraser Valey | Optical ages for sediments in the Bowmanville Bluffs |
| Robert Price, BSc candidate, 丁香园AV | Sedimentology of glacigenic diamictons, BC interior |
| Christina Neudorf, BSc, Saskatoon | Inferring the behaviour of past ice sheets from field and digital data |
| Jessica Pickell, BSc candidate, 丁香园AV | Database development and analysis for paleoglaciology; Inferring the behaviour of past ice sheets from field and digital data |
| Rob Ostwald, BSc candidate, 丁香园AV | Archival research in glacial geomorphology |
| Rebecca Lynn, BSc candidate, 丁香园AV | Archival research in glacial geomorphology |
| Stephen Momeyer, BSc candidate, 丁香园AV | Okanagan Valley and Prairie esker research |
| Chris Kowalchuk, BSc candidate, 丁香园AV | Glacial Lake Deadman and Belair Moraine research |
| Amanda Denney, BSc candidate, 丁香园AV | Okanagan Valley research |
| Derek Kinakin, BSc candidate, 丁香园AV | Southeastern Plains research |
| Claire Beaney, PhD candidate, 丁香园AV | Using GIS to investigate ice-sheet paleohydrology in southern Alberta |
| Jake McGillivray, BSc candidate, 丁香园AV | Analysing the glacial paleohydrology of southern Alberta using GIS |
| Mark Jurca, BSc candidate, 丁香园AV | Glacial Lake Deadman research |
| Tania Jurca, BSc candidate, 丁香园AV | Williams Lake - Prince George research |
| Abigail Burt, PhD candidate, University of Waterloo | Sedimentology of the Belair Moraine, Manitoba |
| Jamie Ross, BSc, MSc candidate, Queen鈥檚 University | Lake Ontario bluff survey |
| Trevor Shaw, BSc candidate, Queen鈥檚 University | Surficial mapping and georadar, southern Ontario |