Projects

Recent Projects

The following projects are active. Please contact me for more information. Interested students are welcome to join us!

Revealing 92 Years of Water Tower Transformation in the Peruvian Andes by Mining Lost Photo Archives

Collaborators: Anton Seimon (PI, Bard College, U.S.), Tracie Seimon (Wildlife Conversation Society, U.S.), Edu Taipe Maquerhua (Institute of Geology, Mining, and Metallurgy [INGEMMET], Peru)

Students: Elise Arnett, Renato Marimon-Alvarez, Scott Pieknik, Kyle Soule, and Kate Truitt

We map ninety years of glacier extent and mass changes as well as glacial lake changes in the Peruvian Andes by comparing photographs from the Shippee-Johnson Aerial Expedition to Peru from 1931 with recent Google Earth and unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) or ‘drone’ imagery. 

PaleoArchives from Wetlands (PAW): From Critical Bofedales to Dynamic Coastal Wetlands in Southern Peru

Collaborators: Thomas Bianchette (Oakland University), Christopher Harpel (U.S. Geological Survey)

Student: student needed

We strive to produce a large-scale, paleoenvironmental reconstruction covering multiple wetland sites spanning much of Peru. We intend to connect highland paleoclimatological records with those from the lowlands to establish hydrological connections (if any) between the headwaters of the Amazon Basin and the coast of Peru. Our studies should also reveal sedimentological evidence of paleotsunami- and paleostorm-related inundation, and mineralogical evidence of paleovolcanoes along many sites, determining eruption histories. 

Wetland Inventory for Peru

Collaborators: Bijeesh Veettil (Van Lang University, Vietnam), Christopher Harpel (U.S. Geological Survey) 

Student: Casey Mcgill

90+ Years of Land Use and Land Cover Changes in the Arequipa Region of Southern Peru

Student: student needed

We map ninety years of land use and land cover changes (LULCC) in the wider Arequipa region of southern Peru, with a focus on the Colca Valley, by comparing photographs from the Shippee-Johnson Aerial Expedition to Peru from 1931 with recent Google Earth and unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV, ‘drone’) imagery. 

Holocene Hurricane Reconstructions from Western Mexico: Filling the Gap from the Understudied Coasts of Jalisco and Nayarit 

Collaborators: Thomas Bianchetti (PI, Oakland University, U.S.)

Closed Projects

2022-2023.  Dust in Detroit: Investigating Fugitive Dust Profiles to Inform Local Environmental Health Policies. University of Michigan-Dearborn, U.S.A.

2022-2023.  A Drone's-eye-view of the Peruvian Andes: Documenting 90 Years of Glacial Change Using Historical and Drone Aerial Imagery. University of Michigan-Dearborn, U.S.A.

2019-2022.  Visualizing 90 Years of Water Tower Transformations in the Peruvian Andes. National Geographic Society (NGS), U.S.A. UM-Dearborn News; Presentation Recording

2018-2019.  Mapping Landscape Changes Using the 1931 Shippee-Johnson Peruvian Expedition Photography Collection. University of Michigan-Dearborn, U.S.A.

2017-2018.  Enhancing the Curricula for the Environmental Science Faculty, Kabul University, Afghanistan. United Nations Environment Program (UNEP).

2016-2018.  Impact of Climate Change on Runoff from Glaciers, Snow and Rainfall in the Pamir and Hindu Kush Mountains: A Comparison of the Amu Darya and Kabul River Basins. Collaborator: Green Social Research Organization, Herat, Afghanistan. U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and National Academy of Sciences (NAS).

2016-2017.  Snow Avalanche Information System (SAIS) for Glacier National Park, Montana. U.S. Geological Survey (USGS).

2015-2016.  Stream Flow Formation in the Sapta Koshi Basin, Nepal: Glaciers, Snowmelt and Rainfall as Components of Basin Runoff. The World Bank.

2013-2014.  Assessing the Role of Glaciers in Stream Flow from the Pamir and Tien Shan Mountains. The World Bank.

2011-2012.  Hindu Kush-Himalaya-Karakoram (HKH) Glacier Monitoring Project. The World Bank.

2010-2011.  Glacier Monitoring in the Mongolian Altai Mountains Using GIScience Technology. Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, Germany. 

2010-2011.  Retracing the 1910 Carruthers Royal Geographical Society Expedition to the Turgen Mountains of Mongolia. American Center for Mongolian Studies (ACMS) and University of Montana, U.S.A.

2006-2008.  Mapping of Geomorphology and Glaciers in the Ladakh and Zanskar Ranges (India) Using Remote Sensing Techniques. University of Montana, U.S.A.

2005-2006.  Geomorphic and Human Consequences of the October 8, 2005, Northern Pakistan Earthquake. National Science Foundation (NSF), U.S.A.

2005-2006.  Alpine Glaciation and Mass-Movement Relief Production in the Western Himalayas. National Science Foundation (NSF), U.S.A.

2004-2005.  ASTER DEM Generation for Mapping the 20th Century Recession of the Quelccaya Ice Cap, Cordillera Vilcanota, Peru. DePaul University, U.S.A.

2003-2004.  Geomorphic Analysis of the Central Cordillera de Merida, Venezuelan Andes, Using ASTER Satellite Data. DePaul University, U.S.A.

2001-present.  Glacier Monitoring in the Mongolian Altai under the GLIMS Initiative. U.S.A.

2001-2002.  Characterization of Glaciers in the High Mountains of Pakistan from Satellite Images. A Comparison of LANDSAT-7, SPOT and ASTER Data. Max Kade Foundation, U.S.A.

1999-2002.  River Habitat Assessment in Brandenburg. Brandenburg State Office for the Environment, Germany.

1999-2001.  River Habitat Assessment in Berlin. Berlin State Office for Urban Development, Environmental Protection, and Technology, Germany.

1995-1999.  Quaternary Geomorphology and Glaciations in the Eastern Hindu Kush, Pakistan. German Research Foundation (DFG), Germany.

1994-1995.  Identifying Spatial Patterns of Water Substances in Rivers and Lakes of Berlin and Brandenburg Using Casi (Compact Airborne Spectrographic Imager). Berlin Research Foundation, Germany.

1988-1989.  Basta Joint Archaeological Project, Jordan. German Research Foundation (DFG) and Freie Universität Berlin, Germany.