Previously Funded Projects

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.

2 projects in Natural Hazards All Projects
  • 2021-22 | |
    • Anthony Giang, Student
    • Jessica Pilarczyk, Faculty

    Reconstructing a Mid- to Late- Holocene Paleotsunami Record in Northern Cascadia

    Abstract: Geologic records of past Cascadia earthquakes and tsunamis from Washington, Oregon, and northern California record up to the last ~4,500 years of repeated earthquakes and tsunamis. This information has informed rupture models and improved risk assessment for the Cascadia coastline. However, long-term records of earthquakes and tsunamis in northern Cascadia (i.e., southern British Columbia) are not as common and rarely predate the most recent 1700 event, hindering a complete understanding of the entire subduction zone. To address this knowledge gap, this project aims to reconstruct the longest onshore record of tsunamis in northern Cascadia. Salt marsh sediments in Port Alberni (Vancouver Island) will be investigated using a multi-proxy approach (i.e., stratigraphy, micropaleontology, elemental geochemistry, and sediment grain size) to document a series of previously reported and newly discovered units that are inferred to be from past tsunamis spanning at least the last ~5,000 years. The Quaternary Research Centre has provided funding for radiocarbon dating to constrain the age of each event. These dates will be used to create a robust Bayesian age-depth model permitting the correlation of events between Port Alberni and further afield locations in Washington State (e.g., Discovery Bay). Correlations between sites in middle and northern Cascadia will tease out local and distant sources for earthquakes and tsunamis, providing insight to the magnitude and frequency patterns of past events. Not only is a record from northern Cascadia critical in assessing seismic hazards in Canada, it will also elucidate subduction zone characteristics that have implications for the entire Cascadia coastline.

    Report: pending

  • 2018-19 | |
    • Brian Atwater, Member
    • Jim O'Connor, co-PI
    • Stephen Beckham, co-PI
    • Rick Minor, co-PI
    • Patrick Pringle, co-PI
    • Nathaniel Reynolds, co-PI
    • David Yamaguchi, co-PI

    Open access to Bridge of the Gods

    Abstract: A landslide dammed the lower Columbia River six centuries ago. Oral histories tell of a wondrous crossing, the Bridge of the Gods, at historical rapids where fish were caught and a difficult portage was required. Lewis and Clark invoked a slide to explain lacustrine drowning of forests upstream. Recent findings delineate a Bonneville landslide and the former lake behind it, date them both to ca. 1425–1450, and provide evidence for a dam-break flood. Current questions include what set off the slide, how the blockage affected fish runs and their users, and whether flood waters plunged offshore into submarine canyons.

    This evolving story holds regional attractions for researchers and public audiences alike. It unfolds in the Pacific Northwest, and it pertains to native peoples, celebrated explorers, public engineering works, a national scenic area, and natural hazards from earthquakes, landslides, and floods. These interrelated topics dovetail with a nascent Quaternary Research Center plan to support Columbia River studies. We asked the QRC to set aside funds toward publications about the Bonneville landslide and its ramifications. The grant would cover open-access charges for five papers in Quaternary Research.

    Report: The project resulted in one paper published in Quaternary Research:

    Reynolds, N.D., O’Connor, J.E., Pringle, P.T., Bourdeau, A.C., and Schuster, R.L., 2022, Age of the late Holocene Bonneville landslide and submerged forest of the Columbia River Gorge, Oregon and Washington, USA, by radiocarbon dating: Quaternary Research, v. 109, p. 65–92, https://doi.org/10.1017/qua.2022.7.

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