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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
Impact of humans on the flux of terrestrial sediment to the global coastal ocean
Publication Date: 2005-04-15
Type: Journal Article
Three-dimensional numerical modeling of deltas
Type: Chapter
The morphodynamics of deltas and their distributary channels
Type: Chapter
Predicting the terrestrial flux of sediment to the global ocean: a planetary perspective (vol 162, pg 5, 2003)
Publication Date: 2004-02-16
Type: Journal Article
Advances in the numerical modeling of sediment failure during the development of a continental margin
Publication Date: 2004-01-30
Type: Journal Article
Fine-grained sediment flocculation below the Hubbard Glacier meltwater plume, Disenchantment Bay, Alaska
Publication Date: 2004-01-15
Type: Journal Article
River plume
Type: Chapter
Predicting the terrestrial flux of sediment to the global ocean: a planetary perspective
Publication Date: 2003-11-01
Type: Journal Article
Numerical modeling of hyperpycnal plume
Publication Date: 2003-10-26
Type: Conference Proceeding
Anthropogenic sediment retention: major global impact from registered river impoundments
Publication Date: 2003-10-01
Type: Journal Article
Failure of marine deposits and their redistribution by sediment gravity flows
Publication Date: 2003-10-01
Type: Journal Article
Modeling the temporal variability in the flux of sediment from ungauged river basins
Publication Date: 2003-10-01
Type: Journal Article
Global variability of daily total suspended solids and their fluxes in rivers
Publication Date: 2003-10-01
Type: Journal Article
Supply and flux of sediment along hydrological pathways: research for the 21st century
Publication Date: 2003-10-01
Type: Journal Article
The influence of climate on the flux of sediment to the coastal ocean
Type: Conference Proceeding
Marine hyperpycnal flows: initiation, behavior and related deposits. A review
Publication Date: 2003-06-01
Type: Journal Article
Sediment fluxes and rates of sedimentation
Type: Chapter
Distinguishing sediment waves from slope failure deposits: field examples, including the 'Humboldt slide' and modelling results
Publication Date: 2002-12-15
Type: Journal Article
Sediment discharge variability in Arctic rivers: implications for a warmer future
Publication Date: 2002-01-01
Type: Journal Article
2D SEDFLUX 1.0C: an advanced process-response numerical model for the fill of marine sedimentary basins
Publication Date: 2001-07-01
Type: Journal Article
Numerical models of marine sediment transport and deposition
Publication Date: 2001-07-01
Type: Journal Article
Exponential approximations to compacted sediment porosity profiles
Publication Date: 2001-07-01
Type: Journal Article
BANG1D: a one-dimensional, Lagrangian model of subaqueous turbid surges
Publication Date: 2001-07-01
Type: Journal Article
Hyperpycnal plume formation from riverine outflows with small sediment concentrations
Publication Date: 2001-04-01
Type: Journal Article
Icebergs and the sea floor of the East Greenland (Kangerlussuaq) continental margin
Publication Date: 2001-02-01
Type: Journal Article
Pages
Teaching
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