Expired Projects (2021)

Geological fieldwork

The following research projects are available for the summer of 2021. The associated pay is $6000 for a 12 week period of 35 hours per week. The start and end dates are to be determined by the project supervisors as are any break periods. The 12 working weeks must fall in the May-August period.

Applications should be submitted by email to: cress.utsc@utoronto.ca by March 26, 2021.

Applications should include an attached student transcript, a resume, a statement of interest clarifying the project being applied for, why the applicant is interested in this particular project and why the applicant is qualified to undertake the described project. Statements are limited to a single page. All submitted files should be in pdf or .docx format.

Inquiries may be sent to Professor Julian Lowman at cress.utsc@utoronto.ca and should include "inquiry regarding project" in the subject heading.

Analysising water quality trends in Ontario Lakes

The student will look at a large dataset of 200+ lakes from Algonquin park and the Muskoka region. The depth of the thermocline varies between these lakes, as does the value of dissolved oxygen levels. The student will test various hypothesis about lake geometry and nutrient levels. For instance, lakes that are large tend to have deeper thermoclines than lakes that are small, due to wind sheltering effects. Lakes which are only slightly deeper than thermocline tend to be more susceptible to have low oxygen levels. Students will need to have a good math and stats background for this project. This analysis project can be completed via remote Zoom with supervisor, Prof. M. Wells.

Investigating planetary surface mobility using a thermochemical model of mantle convection

Plate tectonics is the surface manifestation of convection in the Earth's mantle. Accordingly, the composition of the Earth's mantle influences the mobility of its surface. Seismic tomography has identified Large Low-Shear Wave Velocity Provinces below Africa and the Pacific. Some lines of evidence suggest these provinces are chemical in origin. This project shall investigate the feedback between a compositionally anomalous and intrinsically dense component in the deep mantle and surface mobility, using a state-of-the-art parallelized numerical model. The project will be entirely computational in nature and will require running simulations on the SciNet High Performance Computer in consultation with the Principal Investigator, Prof. J. Lowman. Student responsibility will entail the  submission of job scripts and the post-processing of data. Interested applicants should be enrolled in a Physics Program with a strong interest in Earth and Planetary Science and some knowledge of a programming language like Python or an equivalent tool.  Knowledge of FORTRAN would also be an asset.

Quantifying the contribution of stratospheric ozone depletion to recent Arctic Amplification

Using existing Earth system model output, the response of high cloud to long-term changes in stratospheric ozone depletion will be explored. Three existing 10-member ensembles of Community Earth System Model (CESM) integrations will be analyzed. Each integration spans the time period of 1955-2005, the time period over which atmospheric concentrations of ozone-depleting substances rapidly increased.

  1. A 10-member ensemble of “historical“ integrations (following the IPCC “historical” forcing protocol).
  2. Identical to 1. except that ozone-depleting substances and stratospheric ozone concentrations are held fixed at year 1955 values.
  3. Identical to 2. except that only ozone-depleting substance concentrations are held fixed at year 1955 values.

Analysis will include examining the dynamical mechanisms responsible for the response in high cloud and quantifying the Arctic warming contribution from high cloud using standard rapid adjustment and feedback analysis tools. The project, under the supervision of Prof. K. Smith, will take place remotely from May-August 2021.

A new Glacial Map of Canada

Canada’s Pleistocene ice age legacy is complex and on a continental scale presents challenges that no other country faces in understanding how glaciated landscapes evolved and how their geology can guide development of natural and human resources. The last glacial map of Canada was produced using air photographs in 1967 and is now outdated. Knowledge is is now more than 50 years old and does not meet current demands. The recent availability of high-resolution digital imagery (e.g., ArcticDEM, NRCan’s new HRDEM, SRTM DEM, LiDar, etc.) and the development of machine learning techniques to rapidly analyse such data now allows Automated Mapping. A new glacial map of northern Canada will drive future innovation in mineral exploration, assist in groundwater resource mapping, including permafrost, and guide development in the north in a warming climate. This will be conducted at UTSC in the Eyles lab and provides opportunities for undergraduate training in the analysis of ‘big data.’  We seek enthusiastic individuals willing to join our team for summer 2021. This is part of a larger 5-year project with the Geological Survey of Canada and there are excellent opportunities for preparing undergraduate students for graduate studies.