QRC members lead and participate in a wide range of disciplinary and interdisciplinary research projects from the study of past earth climates and glaciations to shifts in the geographic distributions and evolution of vegetation and faunal communities, to the evolution and dispersals of the genus Homo and the increasing scales of human modification of earth environments through the Holocene. QRC provides a venue for meeting and collaborating with scholars across Quaternary disciplines. We are also fortunate to be able to provide seed funding and small grants for member research projects. We are especially happy to support grad student and junior scholar research activities, much of which leads to larger, external funding from agencies like the National Science Foundation.
Abstract: We are developing a new tool to quantitatively map the extent of permafrost on a regional-scale. Our method uses satellite data and numerical modeling; in-situ measurements are essential to calibrate and validate our models. In 2017, QRC funded our successful expedition to the Ojos del Salados region of the Atacama, Andes, where we installed data loggers and thermistors at various depths, along with conducting a preliminary field survey. Since our first expedition, we analyzed satellite data and are developing models based on MODIS and other satellite data. The retrieval of hourly soil temperature data is critical for ground truthing and the development of our model delineating permafrost using remote sensed images. Furthermore, we will trench and survey in detail presence and depth of ground ice and water content for validation purposes.