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Update: 1 Mar 2024
Open for future MSc students
Deglacial Wetlands and Megafauna Habitats
Previous research suggested extensive wetland development at the southern margins of Laurentide Ice Sheet during the last deglaciation. This project is aimed to revisit the faunal fossil records for the suggested wetland habitats and discuss the adaptation strategies of extinct large animals.
- Recommended for a MSc porject with data science interest.
- Data acquisition from open-source paleobiology and paleoecology databases.
This project is a continuation of the M. Gjevori’s CGCS summer research internship program at University of Toronto.
Pleistocene Megaherbivores in Korea?
- Review and synthesize fossil bone records from caves in Korea.
- Develop palynological proxies to reconstruct megaherbivore activities.
- Establish connections between the bone fossils and palynological proxies.
Other topical reviews in geoecology
Students are welcome to propose their own research interests in the interactions between geological phenomena and ecological phenomena. For example, earthquakes cause forest and soil disturbances, but how far and how long? And do we have ‘good’ proxies for identifying such interactions in the past?
Ongoing projects (open for collaborations)
Korean Paleoecology Database 🌏
- Main collaborator: Dr. S-H Kim, KAIST.
- Compile Quaternary paleoecology sites and hitherto published records from South Korea.
- Identify key researchers, important sites, and foundational records to discuss recent developments in this field of research and suggest future directions.
Boreal Swamp Forest Biomass 🌳
- Swamps are an important wetland type, but their contribution to carbon sequestration is difficult to assess because they are considered an ecosystem type transitioning to forests in northern temperate and boreal regions (i.e., so, who’s in charge of investigating this ecosystem–a wetland scientist or a forest scientist? Preferred answer: both and together).
- Based on data-sharing agreement with Ontario NDMNRF and established access to the provincial forestry database.
- Expected outcome: a data-driven prediction model to estimate the differences in total biomass growth in swamp and non-swamp forest plots.
Prospective research projects in development
Mountain Glacier Ice Core Pollen Analysis
- Extract pollen and spores from mountain glacier ice cores.
- Establish the time series of the pollen and spore counts throughout.
- Interpret with climate signals obtained from the ice core geochemistry.
- Research collaboration with Korean Polar Research Institute (KOPRI).
- PhD student only. Pending on a dedicated research funding.
Paleoecological reconstruction of the Yellow Sea.
- During the Last Glacial Maximum, the Yellow Sea was likely an exposed landmass.
- Find potential sampling sites based on available bathymetric data.
- Establish research collaborations for marine sediment core acquisitions.
- Conduct paleoecological reconstruction studies using the sediment cores.
- PhD student only. Pending on a dedicated research funding.