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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
Sedflux 2.0: An advanced process-response model that generates three-dimensional stratigraphy
Publication Date: 2008-10-01
Type: Journal Article
Predictive modeling in sediment transport and stratigraphy
Publication Date: 2008-10-01
Type: Journal Article
Global N removal by freshwater aquatic systems using a spatially distributed, within-basin approach
Wollheim WM; Vorosmarty CJ; Bouwman AF; Green P; Harrison J; Linder E; Peterson BJ; Seitzinger SP; Syvitski JPM...
- Wollheim WM
- Vorosmarty CJ
- Bouwman AF
- Green P
- Harrison J
- Linder E
- Peterson BJ
- Seitzinger SP
- Syvitski JPM
Publication Date: 2008-06-20
Type: Journal Article
Deltas at risk
Publication Date: 2008-04-01
Type: Journal Article
Will human catalysts or climate change have a greater impact on the sediment load of the Waipaoa River in the 21st century?
Type: Chapter
Predicting discharge and sediment flux of the Po River, Italy since the Last Glacial Maximum
Publication Date: 2008-01-01
Type: Chapter
Changing sediment supply in arctic rivers
Type: Chapter
Scaling sediment flux across landscapes
Type: Chapter
Modeling suspended sediment discharge from the Waipaoa River system, New Zealand: The last 3000 years
Publication Date: 2007-07-12
Type: Journal Article
Morphodynamics of deltas under the influence of humans
Publication Date: 2007-06-01
Type: Journal Article
On the flux of water and sediment into the Northern Adriatic Sea
Publication Date: 2007-02-01
Type: Journal Article
The impact of floods and storms on the acoustic reflectivity of the inner continental shelf: A modeling assessment
Publication Date: 2007-02-01
Type: Journal Article
The mechanics of marine sediment gravity flows
Parsons JD; Friedrichs CT; Traykovski PA; Mohrig D; Imran J; Syvitski JPM; Parker G; Puig P; Buttles JL; Garcia MH...
- Parsons JD
- Friedrichs CT
- Traykovski PA
- Mohrig D
- Imran J
- Syvitski JPM
- Parker G
- Puig P
- Buttles JL
- Garcia MH
Publication Date: 2007-01-01
Type: Chapter
Prediction of margin stratigraphy
Syvitski JPM; Pratson LF; Wiberg PL; Steckler MS; Garcia MH; Geyer WR; Harris CK; Hutton EWH; Imran J; Lee HJ...
- Syvitski JPM
- Pratson LF
- Wiberg PL
- Steckler MS
- Garcia MH
- Geyer WR
- Harris CK
- Hutton EWH
- Imran J
- Lee HJ
Publication Date: 2007-01-01
Type: Chapter
Writing a Rosetta stone: insights into continental-margin sedimentary processes and strata
Publication Date: 2007-01-01
Type: Chapter
Sediment gravity flows: Initiation, transport and deposition
Type: Chapter
Geology, geography, and humans battle for dominance over the delivery of fluvial sediment to the coastal ocean
Publication Date: 2007-01-01
Type: Journal Article
Inverse modeling of post last glacial maximum transgressive sedimentation using 2D-SedFlux: Application to the northern Adriatic Sea
Publication Date: 2006-12-18
Type: Journal Article
Stratigraphic model predictions of geoacoustic properties
Publication Date: 2006-04-01
Type: Journal Article
Assessing the effect of natural controls and land use change on sediment yield in a major Andean river: The Magdalena drainage basin, Colombia
Publication Date: 2006-03-01
Type: Journal Article
Stratigraphic variability due to uncertainty in model boundary conditions: A case-study of the New Jersey Shelf over the last 40,000 years
Publication Date: 2005-11-30
Type: Journal Article
Distributary channels and their impact on sediment dispersal
Publication Date: 2005-11-15
Type: Journal Article
Advances on our understanding of delta/prodelta environments: A focus on southern European margins
Publication Date: 2005-11-15
Type: Journal Article
Advance and application of the stratigraphic simulation model 2D-SedFlux: From tank experiment to geological scale simulation
Publication Date: 2005-07-15
Type: Journal Article
Predicting the flux of sediment to the coastal zone: Application to the Lanyang Watershed, Northern Taiwan
Publication Date: 2005-05-01
Type: Journal Article
Pages
Teaching
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