Research Opportunities
We are dedicated to fostering a collaborative research environment that values and celebrates equity, diversity, and inclusion. If you are interested in MSc or PhD opportunities with the research group, please contact carsten.meyer-jacob@uqat.ca.
MSc position Arctic Paleolimnology - Greening landscapes and thawing permafrost: Long-term impacts of climate change on carbon cycling in Arctic lakes
The Canadian Arctic is undergoing rapid environmental transformation due to ongoing climate change. Expanding vegetation and widespread permafrost thaw are altering carbon pools and transport pathways across the landscape, with important implications for the amount and form of carbon entering lake ecosystems. But how have these changes evolved over time, and what do they mean for the future of Arctic lakes?
This project will use lake sediment cores as natural archives to reconstruct long-term shifts in carbon dynamics between lakes and the surrounding landscape over the past several centuries. The MSc research will involve fieldwork in the Arctic, laboratory analysis of lake sediments, and multi-proxy techniques, including geochemical analyses, spectroscopic methods, and remote sensing and satellite image interpretation. The student will be supervised by Professors Carsten Meyer-Jacob (UQAT) and Milla Rautio (Université du Québec à Chicoutimi (UQAC)).
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MSc position Aquatic Biogeochemistry - Investigating the impacts of spruce budworm defoliation on contemporary lake-water quality
Spruce budworm (Choristoneura fumiferana) outbreaks are one of the most important natural disturbances in Canada’s boreal forest, causing extensive tree defoliation and mortality. These terrestrial changes can have cascading effects on nearby lakes by influencing runoff, nutrient inputs, and organic matter transport.
This MSc project will analyze a comprehensive dataset from a spatial survey of heavily defoliated watersheds from the Côte Nord region of Quebec. Key research questions include how SBW outbreaks influence carbon and nutrient concentrations, dissolved organic matter quality, and greenhouse gas emissions. While the project is primarily data-based, there will also be opportunities to visit study sites, allowing the student to connect field context to analytical results and gain valuable ecological insights.
You will work with a high-quality dataset alongside historical defoliation records, in close collaborations with partners at the Canadian Forest Service and Natural Resources Canada. Supervision will be provided by Professors Carsten Meyer-Jacob (UQAT) and Roxane Maranger (Université de Montréal).
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MSc Position Paleolimnology - Investigating the long-term impacts of spruce budworm defoliation on boreal lake ecosystems
Spruce budworm (Choristoneura fumiferana) outbreaks are one of the most important natural disturbances in Canada’s boreal forest, causing extensive tree defoliation and mortality. These terrestrial changes can have cascading effects on nearby lakes by influencing runoff, nutrient inputs, and organic matter transport to lakes. Yet, the long-term impacts on lake ecosystems remain poorly understood. How do insect outbreaks affect lake water quality and carbon cycling? What will happen if outbreaks become more frequent under climate change?
This project will address these questions using lake sediment cores as natural archives of past environmental changes. Sediments preserve evidence of how forests and lakes have responded to insect disturbances over decades to centuries. The MSc student will use multi-proxy techniques, including geochemical analyses, spectroscopic methods, and remote sensing and satellite image interpretation. The student will be supervised by Professor Carsten Meyer-Jacob and will work in close collaborations with partners at the Canadian Forest Service and Natural Resources Canada within a dynamic, interdisciplinary research environment focused on forest–lake interactions under climate change.
For more information:
