Research
Dr. Pedersen’s research group is focused on oceanographic history along the western margin of North America and the relationship of observed variability to global and regional climate change; the geochemistry of silver in the sea; and the chemical evolution of abandoned mine site pit lakes. A variety of instrumentation and analytical methods are employed.
Current Projects
We are actively working on marine sediments from several sites (see maps below). On-going work in Effingham Inlet (MD02-2494) in southwest Vancouver Island, the Vancouver Island margin (MD02-2496), Guaymas Basin in the Gulf of California, and the Gulf of Alaska (ODP 887) involves the studies of productivity, sedimentary redox and ocean ventilation histories over glacial-interglacial cycles. Low-latitude to high-latitude ocean-atmosphere teleconnections are investigated as part of Theme IV of the Polar Climate Stability Network (www.pcsn.ca).
A variety of paleoenvironmental proxies are measured, either in-house, in partnership with other SEOS facilities, or externally. The proxies include:
-
total carbon and nitrogen (in-house)
- inorganic and organic carbon (in-house)
- carbon and nitrogen isotopes (via the Biogeochemistry Lab)
- opal (biogenic silica) (UBC)
- major and minor elements (UBC)
- trace elements (Ag, Cd, Re and Mo)(via the ICP-MS Lab)
Dr. Ivanochko’s research is focused on reconstructing paleoenvironments and investigating global change on decadal – millennial timescales (timescales not explained by variations in the Earth’s orbital parameters). Using biogeochemical analyses of marine sediment cores, she investigates the climate connections between the tropics and higher latitudes and the related mechanisms of global environmental change. Her project involves reconstructing local environmental history and variations in the strength of the Aleutian Low pressure system over the last 10,000 years using sediments collected from Effingham Inlet, British Columbia.
Dr. Chang’s research involves the examination of paleoenvironments from a range of scales, from subseasonal events to multidecadal ocean-climate signals as recorded in sediments. Using a combination of micropaleontology and a variety of geochemistry proxies, she investigates local, regional and hemispheric changes in paleoenvironment across time. Her research involves sediments from Effingham Inlet, the Vancouver Island margin and Guaymas Basin.
Sediment core showing subsampling