The LPC of the University of Ottawa is engaged in 2 kinds of research projects: the collection and analysis of new paleoenvironmental data and the synthesis and mapping of large-scale patterns of past climates. Presently there are 2 postdocs, 8 graduate students, and several undergraduates engaged in a variety of paleoenvironmental and environmental projects.

The lab consists of a computer room and several wet and dry labs. The computer lab contains a UNIX workstation and 6 PCs, extensive software for GIS and statistical analysis, and large collections of modern and Quaternary data. Current projects include the quantitative reconstruction and mapping of climates and vegetation since the Last Glacial Maximum, analysis of the modern and postglacial climate of the arctic, and the study of climate impacts in southern Ontario. This research program is part of the CSHD (Climate System History and Dynamics) NSERC Research Network and students wishing to apply the latest GIS and statistical methods to paleoenvironmental questions are welcome.

The lab is equipped for the analysis of sediment cores and tree-ring analysis. Sediment cores are described and sampled in several rooms, where x-rays, magnetic susceptibility and other aspects of sediment stratigraphy are studied. Sub-sampling is done in a clean hood. In addition to a number of identification manuals, the microscope room has an extensive pollen and macrofossil collection emphasizing northern Canada. Collections of wood thin-sections, ostracods and chironomids are under development as is the documentation of northern diatoms. Current projects include the study of the postglacial environmental history of the Canadian Arctic Islands (in collaboration with the Museum of Nature) through diatom, pollen and chironomid analysis, paleolimnology and paleoecology of the Kluane Lake region of the southwest Yukon, tree-ring studies in the Yukon, and treeline studies in northern Québec. Multi-proxy studies, quantitative analyses of ecosystem changes and high resolution studies are emphasized.

Our web site contains information of use to palynologists. Pollen data from the Canadian Pollen Database are available: Excel files containing pollen counts and metadata can be downloaded from the Special Projects section. These data will also be incorporated into North American Pollen Database (NAPD) in the usual format. Those wishing to use data from the NAPD, but don’t have the time to learn database programming, can download F70 files from the NOAA site, and bring them into Excel using the macro F7002Excel (Freeware/data/LPCReports section). In that section you can also find various GIS and statistical tools, including the popular spatial autocorrelation programme, ROOKCASE (1999 Bull ESA. 80:231). Copies of recent poster presentations can be downloaded and there is a section of lab and field method descriptions that can supplement class textbooks. A detailed compilation of arctic climate data will soon be available.

Web site: http://www.uottawa.ca/academic/arts/geographie/lpcweb/index.htm.
For more information, contact Konrad Gajewski, Department of Geography and Ottawa-Carleton Geoscience Centre, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, K1N 6N5, Canada

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Note: This article first appeared in CAP Newsletter 23(2):24, 2000.