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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
Planetary Opportunities: A Social Contract for Global Change Science to Contribute to a Sustainable Future
DeFries RS; Ellis EC; Chapin FS; Matson PA; Turner BL; Agrawal A; Crutzen PJ; Field C; Gleick P; Kareiva PM...
- DeFries RS
- Ellis EC
- Chapin FS
- Matson PA
- Turner BL
- Agrawal A
- Crutzen PJ
- Field C
- Gleick P
- Kareiva PM
Publication Date: 2012-06-01
Type: Journal Article
International Year of Deltas 2013: A proposal
Foufoula-Georgiou E; Syvitski J; Paola C; Hoanh CT; Tuong P; Vörösmarty C; Kremer H; Brondizio E; Saito Y; Twilley R...
- Foufoula-Georgiou E
- Syvitski J
- Paola C
- Hoanh CT
- Tuong P
- Vörösmarty C
- Kremer H
- Brondizio E
- Saito Y
- Twilley R
Publication Date: 2011-10-04
Type: Journal Article
High-frequency sea level and sediment supply fluctuations during Termination I: An integrated sequence-stratigraphy and modeling approach from the Adriatic Sea (Central Mediterranean)
Publication Date: 2011-09-01
Type: Journal Article
Global sediment fluxes to the Earth's coastal ocean
Publication Date: 2011-06-01
Type: Journal Article
Sediment flux and the Anthropocene
Publication Date: 2011-03-13
Type: Journal Article
Defining the concept of stratigraphic grade and applying it to stratal (reservoir) architecture and evolution of the slope-to-basin profile: An outcrop perspective
Publication Date: 2011-03-01
Type: Journal Article
CSDMS—A Modeling System to Aid Sedimentary Research
Publication Date: 2011-01-01
Type: Journal Article
Warming of waters in an East Greenland fjord prior to glacier retreat: mechanisms and connection to large-scale atmospheric conditions
Christoffersen P; Mugford RI; Heywood KJ; Joughin I; Dowdeswell JA; Syvitski JPM; Luckman A; Benham TJ...
- Christoffersen P
- Mugford RI
- Heywood KJ
- Joughin I
- Dowdeswell JA
- Syvitski JPM
- Luckman A
- Benham TJ
Publication Date: 2011-01-01
Type: Journal Article
Cyclone-driven deep sea injection of freshwater and heat by hyperpycnal flow in the subtropics
Publication Date: 2010-11-04
Type: Journal Article
A Spatial Simulation Experiment to Replicate Fluvial Sediment Fluxes within the Magdalena River Basin, Colombia
Publication Date: 2010-07-01
Type: Journal Article
Mechanisms of sediment retention in estuaries
Publication Date: 2010-04-10
Type: Journal Article
Projecting arctic coastal change
Type: Chapter
SHIFTING DISCHARGE PEAKS IN ARCTIC RIVERS, 1977-2007
Publication Date: 2010-01-01
Type: Journal Article
A Community Approach to Earth Systems Modeling
Publication Date: 2010-01-01
Type: Journal Article
Experimental exploration of the stratigraphy of fjords fed by glaciofluvial systems
Publication Date: 2010-01-01
Type: Chapter
Fluvial responses to environmental perturbations in the Northern Mediterranean since the Last Glacial Maximum
Publication Date: 2009-11-01
Type: Journal Article
Sinking deltas due to human activities
Syvitski JPM; Kettner AJ; Overeem I; Hutton EWH; Hannon MT; Brakenridge GR; Day J; Vorosmarty C; Saito Y; Giosan L...
- Syvitski JPM
- Kettner AJ
- Overeem I
- Hutton EWH
- Hannon MT
- Brakenridge GR
- Day J
- Vorosmarty C
- Saito Y
- Giosan L
Publication Date: 2009-10-01
Type: Journal Article
Simulating changes to the sediment transport regime of the Waipaoa River, New Zealand, driven by climate change in the twenty-first century
Publication Date: 2009-06-01
Type: Journal Article
Late Holocene dispersal and accumulation of terrigenous sediment on Poverty Shelf, New Zealand
Publication Date: 2009-04-01
Type: Journal Article
Battling to save the world's river deltas
Publication Date: 2009-03-01
Type: Journal Article
Morphodynamic models: An overview
Type: Chapter
Producing CSDMS-compliant morphodynamic code to share with the RCEM community
Type: Chapter
Geolocation of man-made reservoirs across terrains of varying complexity using GIS
Publication Date: 2008-10-01
Type: Journal Article
Response of the Rhone deltaic margin to loading and subsidence during the last climatic cycle
Publication Date: 2008-10-01
Type: Journal Article
HydroTrend v.3.0: A climate-driven hydrological transport model that simulates discharge and sediment load leaving a river system
Publication Date: 2008-10-01
Type: Journal Article
Pages
Teaching
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