Researchers

Sierra Colpitts, BSc Hons (Physical Geography)

Sierra has been part of the LDL family for two years as a research assistant, via a NSERC URSA (undergraduate research student) award and work-study positions, while working to complete her BSc (Hons) at UFV in Physical Geography. Her Honours research is focused on providing new age estimates for the Muir Point Formation at Muir Point, SE Vancouver Island, BC. The site has been previously interpreted from palaeoecology and luminescence age estimates to have been deposited during the climate optimum of the last interglaciation (MIS 5e). It is bounded by glacial and nonglacial units of unknown age. One of these nonglacial units, which lies directly above MPF sediments, contains pollen that suggests that climate was colder than that at present and has been interpreted to be consistent with deposition during MIS 3. Radiocarbon ages from wood collected from this unit are all interpreted to be infinite, and preliminary luminescence dating has been problematic due to poor luminescence signals from quartz and feldspar ages that are too old to be corrected for anomalous fading. Sierra is collecting luminescence dating data from K-feldspar using the post-IR IRSL method that is designed to minimize the effect of anomalous fading. 

Vanessa Brewer, MSc (Earth Sciences)

Vanessa worked for several years as a research assistant in the LDL, via three NSERC URSA (undergraduate research student) awards, while completing a BSc (Hons) at UFV in Physical Geography. Her Honours research focused on applying optical dating to an important MIS 3 lithostratigraphic sequence in Roseau River valley, Manitoba. Vanessa has now started her MSc in Geological Sciences at University of British Columbia (UBC), supervised by Olav Lian and Mitch D’Arcy, where she is studying the evolution of a headland bypass dune system at Point Conception, coastal California. Her lab work for this project will be conducted in the LDL at UFV.