Treitz, P. 

 

Kobayashi, A.

 

Godlewska, A.¹, Holmes, J., Kobayashi, A.^2,3, Lovell, W.G.¹, McCaughey, J.H.², Rosenberg, M.W., Treitz, P.

 

Associate Professor

Cameron, L.J.⁴, Chen, D., Davidson, J., Donald, B.J., Lamoureux, S., Mullings, B.A.⁵, Scott, N.A.⁴

 

Danby, R., Lafrenière, M.², Mabee, W.E.

 

Gilbert, R., Goheen, P.G., Moore, E.G.,Osborne, B.S., Riddell, J.B., Tinline, R.R.

Buttle, J., Lafleur, P., Layzell, D.B., Wilson, D. 

 

 

1 On Leave January-June 2012

2 On Leave July 1, 2011-June 30, 2012

3 QRC

4 CRC

5 QNS

Admission is based upon the completion of a Master's degree or its equivalent at a superior level at a recognized university.

The Ph.D. program involves:

1 Coursework: A minimum of three graduate term (semester) courses beyond the Master's. Courses must be selected with the concurrence of a faculty member and the Coordinator of the Graduate Committee. Normally one of these may be taken outside the department and at least two courses must be taken within the department, one of which must be GPHY-801*.

2 Language: The Coordinator of the Graduate Committee, in consultation with the student's supervisor, will require the student to gain competence in a language, other than English, if it is judged to be pertinent to a candidate' s program.

3 Qualifying Examination: This examination is held once the student has completed required course work. The focus of the examination will be a discussion of a research proposal and the broader philosophical, methodological and substantive issues which define the intellectual content of the area in which the student's work is located. Students enrolled in the Ph.D. program are required to have successfully completed their qualifying examination within six terms of residence for the Ph.D. degree. Students are permitted to sit the examination a second time, so long as the second examination is completed within the time limits as prescribed above.

4 Dissertation

Studies at the Master's and Doctoral level are offered in the following areas:

 

   EARTH SYSTEM SCIENCE

The broad emphasis in the field of Earth System Science is on developing an integrative understanding of the Earth as a physical system of interrelated phenomena. The focus is on the interaction and linkages between the lithosphere, atmosphere, hydrosphere, cryosphere, and biosphere and on physical, chemical, and biological processes operating at a wide range of spatial and temporal scales. Measurement, integration, and modelling of earth system elements to understand these linkages are key foci of research and graduate training activities. Field measurements and sample collection are matched with laboratory and data analysis, and modelling.

 

The overlapping foci of faculty research fall into two broad themes:

1.    Forest Systems: The primary biophysical and physiological processes of forest systems (especially boreal), exchange of energy, water, and trace gases, and local and regional integration with remote sensing and modelling approaches.

 

2.    Cold Regions: This focus operates across diverse polar and alpine environments, with emphasis on hydrological, marine, geomorphic and biogeochemical processes and sedimentary systems.

 

   HUMAN GEOGRAPHY

1.    Geographies of Work, Identity, and Place

Labour geographies; labour market restructuring and regulation; international divisions of labour; labour migration; knowledge, creativity and skills; employment equity; entrepreneurship; gender divisions of labour.

 

2.    Geographies of Globalization, Development, Economies and Sustainability Effects of globalization neoliberalism and the new economy; development economies and restructuring; industrial geographies; commodity chains and cultural economy; economy and governance; innovation; transnational economies; political economies of cities; global change and health; international political economy.

 

3.    Geographies of Bodies, Health, and Health Care

The human and social body; socio/historical constructions of bodies; bodies and nature; access to health care; gender and health; emotional geographies; aging; demographic change; critical disability studies; food, nutrition, and food security; health and environment; environmental justice.

 

4.    Geographies of Citizenship, Identity, Justice and Governance

Immigration; race and racism; feminist geographies; citizenship participation and social justice; social movements; identity, multiculturalism, and cosmopolitanism; urban citizenship; indigenous social justice (historical and contemporary); access to services; urban governance; urban land use planning and change; housing.

 

5.    Geographies of Postcolonialism, Indigenous Peoples and Place

Historical and contemporary: practices of representation; indigenous places; literary geographies; colonial and postcolonial discourses; emotional geographies of place; cultural politics of race, class, and gender; geographies of nature and science.

 

   GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION SCIENCE

Faculty examine the theoretical, technical and applied aspects of cartography, geographic information systems, remote sensing and image processing, and modeling of human and natural systems. Specific research interests include: contemporary and historical cartography; land cover/use change detection and analysis; disease modeling; mapping/modeling human impacts on the environment; social, economical, and environmental interaction; biophysical remote sensing;  image processing; resource/location optimization; geo-visualization;environmental exposure analysis; accuracy and error modeling.

Excellent research facilities include:

 

COMPUTING

The Geography Department has a range of computing facilities including a general-use teaching laboratory and a specialized facility for Geographic Information Science (GISC). In addition, there is a separate general purpose lab for use by graduate students that contains a range of social science research packages including NVivo and SPSS. Some faculty members possess computing equipment in their laboratories for their individual areas of research.

 

The GISC teaching and research facility provides an integrated teaching and computing environment for courses in GIS, remote sensing, and related topics. By combining a teaching computing lab and a seminar-style classroom area, the facility provides flexible support for courses where information technology is a core component of the material being taught. The facility currently contains 16 computer workstations as well as a number of internet and application servers. In addition, plotting and printing services comparable to a commercial GIS facility are available. A wide range of programming, Web-development, GIS, remote sensing, statistical, and office-productivity tools are available in this facility.

EARTH SYSTEM SCIENCE: FACILITIES AND EQUIPMENT

Laboratory equipment, enabling a broad range of environmental analyses, is distributed throughout both general and specialized laboratory spaces, all in support of the integrated departmental focus in Earth System Science. Field and laboratory research is supported by a range of common equipment.

 

A new soil sediment, vegetation and sample processing laboratory is available for a wide range of uses. Soils analysis is supported by the standard analytical laboratory facilities including combustion furnaces and drying ovens. Soil processing is facilitated by a SPEX Certi-Prep soil grinder, balances of varying capacity, and pH meters. Preparation of plant material is accomplished using a UDY cyclone mill. Limnological analysis is supported by GPS units, conductivity meters, water and sediment acoustic profiling equipment, ground-penetrating radar, a vibracorer, dredges and surface corers, and a Hydrosond. Boats equipped for research in lacustrine and marine environments are available.

 

The Environmental Variability and Extremes Laboratory (EVEX) houses a wet laboratory for sedimentology, geomorphology and Quaternary paleoenvironmental sample processing, including an automated Coulter laser scattering particle size analyzer, high resolution magnetic system, a high capacity furnace, analytical scales, fume hoods, and walk-in refrigeration. Numerous microscopes, digital cameras, scanners, and a Velmex measuring stage support microscopy and image analysis. A dedicated thin section laboratory including a freeze dryer and vacuum embedding system is available.

 

Extensive equipment to support field studies in hydrology, limnology, meteorology, and geomorphology are available to researchers. A number of Sequoia and RBR CTDs, submersible sensors, and data loggers are available for lake and marine work, along with a number of different sediment coring systems. Studies in lake and marine environments are supported by several boats. A large number of dataloggers and sensors for weather, soil, and river measurements are also available, including an electronics facility for developing and prototyping new environmental sensors. Field instruments are also available to support geomorphology, hydrology, and limnology, including hydrochemical and sediment flux measurements.

 

The Queen’s Climatology Laboratory (QCL) is dedicated to the measurement and analysis of the energy, water, radiation, and carbon dioxide exchanges from natural surfaces with an emphasis on forests. Measurement systems support estimation of net ecosystem productivity, gross primary productivity (photosynthesis), and ecosystem respiration. Particular importance is placed on long-term data collection and analysis. QCL is one of the centres participating in the Canadian Carbon Program, a national network to assess the influence of climate and disturbance on carbon and water cycling in Canada's managed forests and peatland ecosystems. The experimental work is supported by a wide range of modern equipment for the measurement of flux and environmental variables. Eddy covariance as well as energy balance measurement systems are available along with sensor packages for radiation, temperature, humidity, wind, soil moisture, and leaf area index. The computer workstations in the laboratory are networked via the university's high speed Ethernet link, and satellite data links exist between the QCL and field sites in Ontario and Saskatchewan for on-line data downloads and field experimental control.

 

The Laboratory for Remote Sensing of Earth and Environmental Systems (LARSEES) is a facility dedicated to remote sensing research related to estimation and characterization of biogeophysical processes and patterns over diverse landscapes. A specialized computing facility has been designed to support memory intensive remote sensing research. A suite of remote sensing, GIS, and statistical software is available to meet the demands of diverse remote sensing data types and analyses. Specialized equipment available for in situ measurements of spectra and canopy biophysical parameters include an ASD 350-2500 nm spectroradiometer, two LiCor Plant Canopy analyzers, and a canopy hemispherical photographic system. Field equipment is also available to support forest and arctic biophysical measurements.

 

The Laboratory for Geographic Information and Spatial Analysis (LaGISA) is a facility dedicated to the understanding and modeling of the interaction between human activities and physical environments by using GIS, remote sensing, and quantitative spatial analysis. It includes a state-of-the-art computing and display facility to support memory intensive geo-computational modeling and visualization research. A wide range of GIS, remote sensing, and statistical software is available.

 

Facility for Biogeochemistry Research on Environmental Change and the Cryosphere (FaBRECC)

This research laboratory, a shared facility between two faculty members, emphasizes the measurement of organic and inorganic constituents in aqueous samples, the analysis of nutrients (C, N, P) in soil and vegetation samples, and the measurement of key greenhouse gases.  Research in the lab focuses on understanding the processes controlling streamwater chemistry in arctic and alpine environments, and understanding the impacts of land-use change and other disturbances on net greenhouse gas emissions. Research in the lab is supported by a Millipore water system producing 18 Mohm, < 5 ppb TOC water and a Miele dishwasher system.  Other analytical equipment dedicated to low-level chemical analyses includes a Shimadzu Total Organic Carbon analyzer with high sensitivity catalyst and a Total Nitrogen module and a Dionex 3000 liquid ion chromatograph equipped for the simultaneous analysis of anion and cations from a single sample. A laminar flow hood provides a clean air (Class 100) bench space for sample preparation and processing. Higher concentrations of various anions and cations in water and salt solutions can be measured on an Astoria Pacific Astoria2 automated colorimetric system equipped with an auto-diluter. Analysis of carbon and nitrogen in solid samples is carried out with a LECO TruSpec carbon/nitrogen analyzer.  Analysis of various greenhouse gases is accomplished with an SRI Greenhouse Gas GC system.  Assorted gas pumps and flow controllers are used to prepare custom mixes of gases for analytical standards and soil incubations.  Future additions to the lab include a Shimadzu Greenhouse Gas Analyzer equipped with an autosampler.  The facility is also supported by various small pieces of laboratory equipment: pH meters, conductivity meters, pipettes, ovens, furnaces, incubators, shakers, and balances. Field research is supported by soil and stream water sampling and monitoring equipment.

 

Further information regarding these facilities may be found on the Department of Geography's website.