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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
Postglacial sequence stratigraphy of Lake Melville, Labrador
Publication Date: 1997-11-01
Type: Journal Article
FLOC: Image analysis of marine suspended particles
Publication Date: 1997-11-01
Type: Journal Article
Effects of the readvance of an ice margin on the seismic character of the underlying sediment
Publication Date: 1997-11-01
Type: Journal Article
INFLO1: A model predicting the behaviour of turbidity currents generated at river mouths
Publication Date: 1997-11-01
Type: Journal Article
Numerical modelling of a mid-sized gravity flow: The 1979 Nice turbidity current (dynamics, processes, sediment budget and seafloor impact)
Publication Date: 1997-04-01
Type: Journal Article
Des courants de turbidité hyperpycnaux dans la tête du canyon du Var? Observations hydrologiques et données de terrain
Publication Date: 1997-01-01
Type: Journal Article
Water-Escape Sea Floor Depressions
Type: Chapter
Lobate Staked Moraines: Lake Melville, Labrador
Type: Chapter
Glaciation-Influenced Debris Flow Deposits: East Greenland Slope
Type: Chapter
Modelling of erosion and deposition by sediment gravity flows generated at river mouths
Publication Date: 1997-01-01
Type: Journal Article
Hyperpycnal turbidity currents at the head of the Var Canyon? Hydrological data and geological observations.
Publication Date: 1997-01-01
Type: Journal Article
In situ characteristics of suspended particles as determined by the Floc camera assembly FCA
Publication Date: 1996-09-01
Type: Journal Article
Climatic and Morphologic Relationships of Rivers: Implications of Sea-Level Fluctuations on River Loads
Publication Date: 1996-09-01
Type: Journal Article
Evidence for an earthquake-triggered basin collapse in Saguenay Fjord, Canada
Publication Date: 1996-07-01
Type: Journal Article
Sediment deposition in an iceberg-dominated glacimarine environment, East Greenland: Basin fill implications
Publication Date: 1996-03-01
Type: Journal Article
Origin of the turbidity currents recorded at the Var River mouth in 1971
Type: Journal Article
Palaeoceanographic information derived from acoustic surveys of glaciated continental margins: Examples from eastern Canada
Publication Date: 1996-01-01
Type: Chapter
Continental-Slope Sedimentation: The View from Northern California
Publication Date: 1996-01-01
Type: Journal Article
Abrupt changes in marine conditions, Sunneshine fiord, eastern Baffin island, NWT during the last deglacial transition: Younger Dryas and H-O events
Publication Date: 1996-01-01
Type: Chapter
TURBIDITY CURRENTS GENERATED AT RIVER MOUTHS DURING EXCEPTIONAL DISCHARGES TO THE WORLD OCEANS
Publication Date: 1995-05-01
Type: Journal Article
RIVER3 - SIMULATION OF RIVER DISCHARGE AND SEDIMENT TRANSPORT
Publication Date: 1995-02-01
Type: Journal Article
Sedimentology and Geomorphology of Fjords
Type: Chapter
THE EASTERN CANADIAN ARCTIC AT CA.6 KA BP - A TIME OF TRANSITION
Publication Date: 1995-01-01
Type: Journal Article
IN-SITU CHARACTERISTICS OF PARTICLES SETTLING WITHIN A DEEP-WATER ESTUARY
Publication Date: 1995-01-01
Type: Journal Article
TRANSPORT OF SUSPENDED PARTICULATE MATTER IN AN ANTARCTIC FJORD
Publication Date: 1994-11-01
Type: Journal Article
Pages
Teaching
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