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Bio
Fjords, rivers, deltas, estuaries, particle dynamics, sediment transport and stratigraphy, continental margins, gravity flows, animal-sediment interactions, global change.
Professor Jaia Syvitski received doctorate degrees (Oceanography & Geological Science) from the University of British Columbia in 1978, where she developed a quantitative understanding of particle dynamics across the land-sea boundary. She held a variety of appointments within Canadian universities (1978-1995: U. Calgary, Dalhousie U., U. Laval, Memorial U., and INRS-oceanologie) and was a Senior Research Scientist within the Geological Survey of Canada at the Bedford Institute of Oceanography (1981-1995). Jaia served as Director of INSTAAR from 1995-2007, and held faculty appointments in in Geological Sciences, Applied Mathematics, Atmospheric and Ocean Sciences, Hydrological Sciences, and Geophysics. She has over 500 publications, including authorship or co-authorship of 65 peer-reviewed books, and has served in various editorial positions for many international journals. Jaia had leadership roles in several large international projects (SAFE, ADFEX, SEDFLUX, COLDSEIS, STRATAFORM, EuroSTRATAFORM, CSDMS), and served as an advisor for NSF, ONR, ARCUS, LOICZ, IGBP, IUGS, INQUA, SCOR, GWSP, and various energy, mining, and environmental companies.
Education
- PhD: University of British Columbia, 1978
Awards
- Honorary Doctorate of Science in Sustainability, Newcastle University, 2016
- Francis Shepard Medal, Society for Sedimentary Geology, 2016
- Fellow, American Geophysical Union, 2010
- Huntsman Medal, Royal Society of Canada, 2009
Research
Jaia works in the forefront of computational geosciences: sediment transport, land-ocean interactions and Earth-surface dynamics. She was formerly Executive Director of the Community Surface Dynamics Modeling System, an international effort in 68 countries to develop, support, and disseminate integrated computer models to the broader geoscience community. Jaia chaired ICSU’s International Geosphere-Biosphere Programme (2011-2016) that provides essential scientific leadership and knowledge of the Earth system to help guide society onto a sustainable pathway during rapid global change.
Publications
Latest publications
Recent deforestation causes rapid increase in river sediment load in the Colombian Andes
Publication Date: 2015-06-01
Type: Journal Article
Exploring the impacts of hurricanes and cold fronts on the morphological evolution of the Wax Lake Delta, LA
Type: Conference Proceeding
Global scale modeling of riverine sediment loads: tropical rivers in a global context
Type: Conference Proceeding
How important and different are tropical rivers? - An overview
Publication Date: 2014-12-15
Type: Journal Article
Protect the world's deltas
Publication Date: 2014-12-04
Type: Journal Article
InSAR measurements of compaction and subsidence in the Ganges-Brahmaputra Delta, Bangladesh
Publication Date: 2014-08-01
Type: Journal Article
Global suspended sediment and water discharge dynamics between 1960 and 2010: Continental trends and intra-basin sensitivity
Publication Date: 2014-04-01
Type: Journal Article
Moderate seismic activity affects contemporary sediment yields
Vanmaercke M; Kettner AJ; Van den Eeckhaut M; Poesen J; Mamaliga A; Verstraeten G; Radoane M; Obreja F; Upton P; Syvitsk...
- Vanmaercke M
- Kettner AJ
- Van den Eeckhaut M
- Poesen J
- Mamaliga A
- Verstraeten G
- Radoane M
- Obreja F
- Upton P
- Syvitski JPM
Publication Date: 2014-04-01
Type: Journal Article
Earth is (mostly) flat: Apportionment of the flux of continental sediment over millennial time scales Comment
Publication Date: 2014-01-01
Type: Journal Article
MODIS observed increase in duration and spatial extent of sediment plumes in Greenland fjords
Publication Date: 2014-01-01
Type: Journal Article
Tipping from the Holocene to the Anthropocene: How threatened are major world deltas?
Renaud FG; Syvitski JPM; Sebesvari Z; Werners SE; Kremer H; Kuenzer C; Ramesh R; Jeuken A; Friedrich J...
- Renaud FG
- Syvitski JPM
- Sebesvari Z
- Werners SE
- Kremer H
- Kuenzer C
- Ramesh R
- Jeuken A
- Friedrich J
Publication Date: 2013-12-01
Type: Journal Article
Land subsidence at aquaculture facilities in the Yellow River delta, China
Publication Date: 2013-08-16
Type: Journal Article
Global mapping of storm surges and the assessment of coastal vulnerability
Publication Date: 2013-04-01
Type: Journal Article
Modeling for environmental change
Publication Date: 2013-04-01
Type: Journal Article
WBMsed, a distributed global-scale riverine sediment flux model: Model description and validation
Publication Date: 2013-04-01
Type: Journal Article
Isostatic flexure of a finite slope due to sea-level rise and fall
Publication Date: 2013-04-01
Type: Journal Article
Strategies for integrated modeling: The community surface dynamics modeling system example
Publication Date: 2013-01-01
Type: Journal Article
Farming practices and anthropogenic delta dynamics
Publication Date: 2013-01-01
Type: Chapter
9.40 Impacts of Humans on River Fluxes and Morphology
Type: Chapter
Calibration of satellite measurements of river discharge using a global hydrology model
Publication Date: 2012-12-19
Type: Journal Article
Fjords Processes and Products
Type: Book
SWAMPED
Publication Date: 2012-12-01
Type: Journal Article
Socio-economic Impacts on Flooding: A 4000-Year History of the Yellow River, China
Publication Date: 2012-11-01
Type: Journal Article
Floods, floodplains, delta plains - A satellite imaging approach
Publication Date: 2012-08-01
Type: Journal Article
Fluvial landscapes of the Harappan civilization
Giosan L; Clift PD; Macklin MG; Fuller DQ; Constantinescu S; Durcan JA; Stevens T; Duller GAT; Tabrez AR; Gangal K...
- Giosan L
- Clift PD
- Macklin MG
- Fuller DQ
- Constantinescu S
- Durcan JA
- Stevens T
- Duller GAT
- Tabrez AR
- Gangal K
Publication Date: 2012-06-26
Type: Journal Article
Pages
Teaching
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