Clayton H. Riddell Faculty of Environment, Earth, and Resources

Honours Program Advisors

Below you will find a list of potential honours thesis advisors within the Department of Environment and Geography.  For those of you in the Environmental Science or Studies programs, you may also seek out an advisor from faculty across campus, as well as qualified individuals off-campus (please discuss with the Honours Course Coordinator to confirm the acceptability of off-campus advisors prior to commencing).

Dr. Karen Alley

Doctor karen alley posing in parka and toque hands in pockets.

Research Focus: Glaciology, Ice-Ocean Interaction, Remote Sensing

Possible Honours Projects:
1. Measuring ice sheet-ocean interaction through basal channel change
2. Using visible-band satellite imagery to detect ice-sheet surface melt
3. Investigating long-term changes in ice shelf geometry and velocity
4. Supraglacial lake changes on Arctic mountain glaciers

Dr. Warren Bernauer

Dr. Warren Bernauer

Research Focus: resource conflicts; energy transitions; extraction; conservation; waste; (de)colonization

Possible Honours Projects:
1. The politics of nuclear waste disposal
2. Critical mineral extraction and social justice 
3. The politics of 'fast-tracking' development projects
4. Indigenous peoples and the conservation economy

Dr. Kristina Brown

Katrina brown standing and smiling

Research Focus: Arctic Ocean Biogeochemistry, River-Ocean Interactions

Possible Honours Projects:
1. Assessment of the biochemical cycles of nutrients and carbon in the southern Northwest Passage 
2. Tracing river water distributions in the marine environment using isotope tracers 
3. Evaluating methods to collect inorganic carbon system parameters along the river-ocean salinity gradient
4. Connecting river geochemical fingerprints to landscape-scale variables using Arc-GIS
5. Developing in-situ tools to observe inorganic carbon system parameters under sea ice

Dr. Michael Campbell

Doctor. michael campbell.

Research Focus: Nature Based Tourism, Human Dimensions of Wildlife

Possible Honours Projects:
1. Motivations for travel to natural areas
2. Urban wildlife management
3. Changing attitudes to wildlife management and the “place” of wildlife in cities
4. Volunteer tourist motives in natural environments
5. The role of popular media in creating demand to visit natural areas

Dr. Eric Collins

Dr. eric collins sitting outside by some rocks.

Research Focus: Arctic Microbial Ecology and Genomics

Possible Honours Projects:
1. Understanding the role of horizontal gene transfer in adaptation to icy environments
2. Discovering novel Arctic microbes through metagenomics
3. Investigating the impacts of oil spills on marine microbial ecosystems
4. Exploring the biodiversity of sea ice microbial communities

Dr. Alex Crawford

Dr. alex crawford standing outside.

Research Focus: Arctic Climate System, Extratropical Cyclones, Sea Ice, Climate Modeling

Possible Honours Projects: 
Linking rain-on-snow events in the Arctic to changing storm systems
Shifting climatology of Canadian storms: Mackenzie Lows and Alberta Clippers
Climate change assessments for areas of natural and cultural significance (e.g., Auyuittuq National Park, Winnipeg’s Nestaweya River Trail for ice skating)

Dr. Jens Ehn

Doctor jens ehn wearing a blue parka and red touque in the arctic.

Research Focus: Arctic marine physics and climate

Possible Honours Projects:
1. Remote sensing and modelling of river plumes and mixing fronts in the Arctic coastal domain
2. Development and application of ice drift algorithm using new high-resolution satellite imagery
3. Role of sea ice in sediment transport in coastal environments
4. Assessment of the sea ice-albedo feedback mechanism during the Arctic melt season
5. Analysis of climate trends and variability in high-latitude marine environments
6. Scientific and indigenous use of sea ice as platforms: benefits and obstacles
7. Same as for 1-6 above, but for freshwater systems (lakes, river and glaciers) of your choice

Dr. Bruce Erickson

a headshot photo of doctor bruce erickson

Research Focus: Tourism, Political Ecology, Cultural Geography

Possible Honours Projects:
1. Canoeing, Culture and Politics
2. Historical Aspects of Tourism in Churchill Manitoba
3. Iconography of Polar Bears in Manitoba
4. Environmental Movements in North America
5. Development of Winnipeg Tourism

Dr. Bonnie Hallman

Dr. Bonnie Hallman standing inside a library with many books on the wall behind her.

Research Focus: Social and cultural geography; therapeutic landscapes and wellness; families and caregiving

Possible Honours Projects: These are fairly broad themes which in collaboration with interested Honours students would be developed into specific foci for a research project that can be accomplished within 6-7 months.
Space/places/geographies of wellness – e.g., effects of engagement with nature, social interaction and sense of community amongst different social groups

Therapeutic landscapes: ‘blue place’ (e.g, water, prairie skies) as therapeutic/source of mental & physical wellness – may involve creative work
Food geographies topics: e.g., social media and notions about healthy food, food trends, tor echnologies such as 3D food printing

Dr. John Hanesiak

John Hanesiak standing outside

Research Focus: Storms, Extreme/Severe Weather, Convection, Surface-Atmosphere Interactions

Possible Honours Projects:
1) Characterizing historical tornado events
2) Characterizing historical storm events (any season)
3) Analysis of future changes in severe weather
4) Projects in collaboration with the Prairie and Arctic Storm Prediction Centre

Dr. Mark Hanson

Doctor mark hanson posing outside in red jacket and baseball cap.

Research Focus: Aquatic Ecotoxicology and Risk Assessment

Possible Honours Projects:
1. Biological mechanisms of microplastic formation in freshwater ecosystems.
2. Characterizing recovery of aquatic plants following herbicide exposure.
3. Understanding the use of pesticides by Old Order Mennonites.
4. Investigating reporting biases within the ecotoxicology literature.
5. Lead in wetlands as driver of invertebrate declines.

Dr. Lisa Loseto

Doctor lisa loseto posing against a dark background smiling at camera.

Research Focus: Arctic Marine Ecology

Possible Honours Projects:
1. Photo analyses of beluga health from harvested whales.
2. Beluga health: visual and biotracer analysis blubber
3. Indigenous knowledge of Beluga whales in the ISR.
4. Temporal trends in beluga diet
5. Characterizing vocalization of beluga calls.

Dr. Juliana Marini Marson

Dr. Juliana Marson on a boat posing in front of an iceberg.

Research Focus: Polar Physical Oceanography, Ice-Ocean interaction, Numerical Modelling

1. Comparing modeled iceberg dispersion to observations
2. Antarctic-origin water masses representation in a North Atlantic-Arctic model domain
3. Role of iceberg melt plume on primary production
4. Iceberg dispersal and climate change
5. Freshwater accumulation and release from the Arctic in perturbed simulations

Dr. Stephane McLachlan

Dr. stephane mcLachlan and students study a plant in the forest.

Research Areas: COVID-19 and Indigenous communities

Other Research Areas:
Environmental health; environmental justice; cross-cultural environmental impact assessment; environmental education; land-based education; experiential and community service learning; environmental conservation and restoration; community-based research with Indigenous and rural communities; food justice; Indigenous food systems and sovereignty; alternative agriculture; risk analysis; risk communication; documentary film

Possible Honours Projects:
(there may be opportunities for student employment for all the projects below)

1. COVID-19 and its implications for Indigenous communities across Canada
2. Impacts of past pandemics including H1N1 and Spanish Flu for Indigenous communities
3. Land-based environmental education with Indigenous communities.
4. Community-based environmental monitoring in the North focusing on fish, wildlife and/or water quality
5. Health and food implications of hydropower for nearby Indigenous communities in northern Manitoba
6. International alliances and environmental justice as related to megadams

Dr. C.J Mundy

Doctor cj mundy posing outdoors in red toque and parka.

Research Focus: Biological Oceanographer – focus on Arctic primary producers

1) Phenology (timing) of Arctic phytoplankton production – remote sensing from under the sea ice
2) Physical and environmental drivers of kelp distribution and production
3) Light availability and limitation in the sea ice ecosystem
4) Nutrient uptake and limitation in the sea ice ecosystem
5) Tracing the importance of ice algae in an Arctic marine foodweb (collaboration with DFO researcher)
6) Distribution of zooplankton around Southampton Island, northern Hudson Bay (collaboration with DFO researcher)

Dr. Tim Papakyriakou

Doctor Tim Papakyriakou standing behind a solar panel.

Research Focus: Microclimate of northern marine and aquatic systems

Possible Honours Projects:
• Several opportunities under the umbrella of carbon budget studies on Manitoba Great Lakes, including Lake Winnipeg in addition to northern rivers and estuaries in MB.

Dr. Jonathan Peyton

Dr. peyton headshot standing in front of a banner

Research Focus: Environmental History, Political Ecology, Resource Conflict

Possible Honours Projects
1. The history of oil and gas extraction in the Arctic
2. Resource transitions on the Canadian Prairies
3. Animals, Energy and the politics of protected areas in the North
4. Socioeconomic and environmental effects of extractive economies
5. Nature in the city: Urban political ecology in Winnipeg

Dr. David Walker

Doctor david walker in blue shirt against orange background.

Research Focus: Research Focus: Geographic Information Systems, Urban Green Space, Wildlife Conservation, Plant and Habitat Assessment

Possible Honours Projects:

1. Plant communities and management of grasslands
2. Habitat mapping and site suitability for species at risk
3. Urban greenspace biodiversity and management
4. Upland bird and plant conservation
5. Remote sensing of grassland systems

Dr. Feiyue Wang

Doctor feiyue wang looking at camera over right shoulder.

Research Focus: Environmental chemistry; biogeochemistry; environmental contaminants

Possible Honours Projects:
1. Mercury and other trace element contaminants in the Arctic/global environment
2. Fate and response techniques for oil spills in Arctic/marine waters
3. Microplastics in Arctic/marine waters
4. Chemical processes at freezing temperatures

Dr. Nicole J. Wilson

Nicole Wilson standing outside in the snow wearing a parka and touque

Research Focus: Community-Based Monitoring, Environmental change, Environmental governance, Indigenous studies, Water governance and policy

Possible Honours Projects:

1. Climate change adaptation in Indigenous communities
2. Community-Based Monitoring of environmental change
3. Indigenous governance and the environment
4. Ground water security in the Arctic
5. Water governance and policy and climate change