RESEARCH

The Quaternary Geoscience Research Group supports research in three main areas.

Quaternary history and events are reconstructed using stratigraphic, sedimentologic, geomorphic, and geochronologic techniques. Research is targeted mainly at providing a better understanding of the history and style of glaciation in the Canadian Cordillera.

The Quaternary Geoscience Research Group has a strong program of research on earthquakes, tsunamis, landslides, floods, and impacts of climate change. Much of this research is driven by the need to better understand hazardous natural processes and to evaluate impacts of these processes on people and property.

A wide range of research on Holocene climate change is conducted in the Group. Tree-ring records, varved lake sediments, glacial deposits and landforms, plant fossils (diatoms, pollen, and macrofossils), and animal fossils (foraminifera and chironomids) are used to document and explain recent climate change. The research involves collaboration with faculty in the SFU Departments of Biological Sciences and Geography, and the University of Victoria Department of Geography.