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.
Bathymetry and hydrography of proglacial Brandywine Lake, British Columbia
Abstract: Mountains are high-energy environments characterized by instability and variability. Since the end of the Little Ice Age (LIA) about 100 years ago, climate has warmed, causing extensive loss of snow and ice in mountains throughout the world. Downwasting and retreat of glaciers has destabilized alpine geomorphic systems and accelerated some catastrophic natural processes, including outburst floods from moraine- and glacier-dammed lakes.
There has been a recent proliferation of research on ice-ocean interactions especially after the influence of ocean heat and circulation on subaqueous melt of floating ice shelves was recognized. The current research will utilize a new suite of cutting edge instruments including a portable, shallow-water multibeam sonar to collect some of the first high resolution bathymetric measurements in a proglacial lake. These data will contribute to our understanding of how glacial lakes evolve as the glaciers feeding them retreat.