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Student Showcase
Students carry out their own research as summer projects or as part of directed studies courses. Students have chosen to research a diverse array of topics including: interactions between civil society and multinational corporations in the Peruvian mining sector with a specific focus on local opposition to Canadian mining companies; climate change over the past 300 years along the Bay of Fundy; the habitat of an endangered species, the pine marten, in Newfoundland’s only remaining old-growth forest; Aboriginal knowledge and resource management; and the human dimensions of aquaculture management.
Students have received university summer fellowships and grants from the Royal Canadian Geographical Society to fund their research.
A real Stradivarius? A student researcher helps find the answer
Cecilia Jennings was awarded the Founder's Award for best undergraduate presentation at the 23rd Annual Meeting of the Atlantic Canadian Association of Geographers for her presentation of her summer of research. Jennings looked at whether an old violin was actually a Stradivarius, made by the most well-known instrument-maker of the 18th century. The owner of the violin delivered it to the Mount Allison Dendrochronology Laboratory (MAD Lab), with a Stradivarius-like label on the inside of the instrument that said the violin was made in 1734. Jennings dated the wood using dendrochronology, a scientific method of dating based on the analysis of patterns of tree-rings. To read more>
Interactive Wind Atlas for the Maritimes
This summer we have been developing an Interactive Wind Atlas for the Maritime provinces of Canada under the supervision of Dr. David Lieske. Our goal is to create a professional tool that will allow the end user to print off the prevailing wind trends on dates they select. The end user will be able to "see"/visualize/map the wind information. To do this, we are using ArcGIS and Visual Basic to process information from the Department of Fisheries and Oceans’ weather buoys situated throughout the Maritimes.
Man Sing Kwan, Hong Kong and Neil Gouder, Hillegom, Netherlands
Fundy Biosphere Reserve Atlas Project
My job for the past two summers has been to create an atlas of the UNESCO Fundy Biosphere Reserve using GIS software. The atlas includes numerous maps illustrating topographic and demographic features of the south-eastern portion of New Brunswick where the Biosphere is located and will serve as both an outreach and an educational tool.
The information combines the natural components of the area (for example watersheds, soils, forest cover) with the human components (such as income, educational attainment, agricultural areas). This project is sponsored by the UNESCO Fundy Biosphere Reserve under the joint supervision of Drs. David Lieske and Paul Bogaard.
Courtney Morrison, Sussex
Change Detection with Animated Duck Population Maps
"I'm working under the supervision of Dr. David Lieske to study the 'change detection' problem. Change detection, also known as viewer blindness, is the inability of viewers to see large changes in their field of view, as it relates to temporal animated maps. In our case, we have built American Black Duck prediction models with over 4000 prediction grid cells, so it's immensely difficult to "take in all the details" and make sense of it all at the same time. These details include such information as the geographic region, location of wetland areas, road systems, and black duck population numbers over time.
We're investigating ways that animations can be to expose and conceal important changes that occur both in time and space, and help alleviate viewer blindness."
Lindsay Laltoo, Moncton
Read about some recent research projects
by clicking on the titles below:
Environmental Science students research effects of climate change on oceans
Andrew Nelles, Helena van Tol and Susan Sharpe
Climate Change
in the Fundy Region
Ben Phillips
Sea- Level Rise
in the Tantramar Region: Vulnerabilities and Adaptive Strategies
Jenn Heckman, (Manotick, Ontario)
Examining Alpine
Tree Islands in Jasper National Park
Sarah Hart, (Haddon Heights, NJ)
A Parallel Study
of Decay Rates of Two Old-Growth Forests in Atlantic Canada
Lanna Campbell
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