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I am originally from Alberta and grew up spending much of my time in the Rocky Mountains, hiking and skiing. This cultivated a lifelong interest in the outdoors and understanding how landscapes are formed and respond to change. To this day I am happiest backpacking in the mountains. I graduated with a B.Sc.H. from the University of Alberta with a specialty in geomorphology. I was fortunate to have an early opportunity to be involved in research in the High Arctic and pursued this theme through my graduate research. I completed graduate work in climatology and paleoclimatology (Massachusetts Amherst, M.S.) and geomorphology and sedimentology (Alberta, Ph.D.). I came to Queen’s as a NSERC Postdoctoral Researcher in 1998 and joined the Department in 1999. I have also worked in a community mapping program office and in a rural planning office.

My teaching and research interests are in physical geography and in particular the areas of hydrology, geomorphology, limnology and climatology. I have carried out field research throughout North America and over 25 years of fieldwork across much of the Arctic. Current research focuses on the role of climate and permafrost change play in altering Arctic surface waters and landscapes. My research group combines field data collection with laboratory analyses of water and sediment, sediment core analysis, and modelling. We are investigating how surface water is generated in Arctic settings, and how landscape disturbance and change alters water availability and downstream quality. Research extends to lake systems where we are concerned with the physical and chemical processes, and the sedimentary depositional system. Research is taking exciting new directions, with geophysical and UAV (drone) mapping and subsurface characterization work underway.

My teaching varies by year but is usually a combination of GPHY 102, 209, 215 and 304. I also teach a graduate seminar on northern processes (GPHY 824). I try to bring the excitement and adventure of the field into courses to inspire student interest in the subject. I also supervise undergraduate special projects and theses in Geography and Planning.

Affiliate Website:

Environmental Variability and Extremes Laboratory

Curriculum Vitae (PDF 667 kB)