UNBC Geography student, Lyssa Maurer, atop Stoppani Glacier in Patagonia    photo courtesy UNBC

Prince George, BC – UNBC Geography student Lyssa Maurer has documented an abrupt end to glacier expansion in BC, but this appears to be just the tip of the iceberg, so to speak, on her contributions to science.

Maurer’s research has found that after expanding for nearly 10-thousand years, the growth of BC’s glaciers ended abruptly in the early 1900’s.  The now-graduate student at the University of Northern BC began her research while studying for her undergraduate degree at the university.

Maurer worked with other researchers at UNBC, SFU, the University of Calgary, the University of Western Ontario, the Geological Survey of Canada, and the Alberta Geological Survey to re-construct the extent of glaciers back through time.  She says while radiocarbon dating of vegetation overrun by glaciers has been able to tell us when glaciers advanced, it could not pinpoint how far.  However, Maurer says the Castle Creek Glacier near McBride offered up new insight because it straddled a hydrologic divide.

"When the glacier is large, it flows over this divide and deposits beds of silt into a lake that otherwise collects organic sediment," says the geography student.  Based on that research, Maurer was able to determine the Castle Creek Glacier had remained close to the limits of the Little Ice Age from about 1600 years ago until the early 20th century.  

Maurer’s findings were published last month in a leading international peer-reviewed journal, the Quaternary Science Reviews, in a report she co-authored.  Her undergrad and graduate supervisor, Geography Professor Brian Menounos, says, "This study is a great example of the value of collaborative research."

He says it also highlights how hands-on research is often the catalyst for undergraduate students to consider careers in science.  "Many university professors involve students in all aspects of research – from initial planning to publishing results of studies," says Menounos.  "And science would simply grind to a halt without the active involvement of undergraduate and graduate students alike."