Dr. Zou Zou Kuzyk

GEOL 2390 - Environmental Geology
GEOL 3490 - Geomorphology and Glacial Geology
GEOL 4370 - Global Change
GEOL 7740 - Biogeochemistry of Coastal Waters and Sediments

I am interested in the biogeochemical cycles of carbon and other elements in northern coastal and continental shelf areas and how climate and other environmental changes modify those cycles. Coastal marine areas integrate and respond to both changes on the land (river runoff, coastal erosion) and in the marine environment (sea ice, ocean currents). One of my group’s focal areas is studying sedimentation and carbon composition and burial in coastal marine environments. Northern areas are experiencing local hydrological changes, related to hydroelectric development and regulation, and climate-driven changes to hydrological cycles. Proxy records derived from bulk properties and biomarkers in sediment cores and suspended and sinking particulate matter are used to study the sources of particulate matter in rivers and the transport and deposition of these materials within high-latitude continental margin settings. I have worked along the North American Arctic Ocean margin, in the Churchill and Nelson River estuaries in Manitoba, the Lake Melville estuary area in Labrador, and collaborate with researchers in Finland and Greenland. In order to correctly interpret sedimentary records, my group also conducts studies of sedimentation processes and examines the role of particulate matter in controlling the fate of carbon, nutrients and contaminants in coastal and shelf systems. The methods employed in my research are largely geochemical, ranging from isotopic and elemental tracers to specific biomarkers. I contribute to the research management committee of the Network of Centres of Excellence ArcticNet, co-led the Hudson Bay Integrated Regional Impact Study (IRIS), and enjoy working with communities to jointly develop new knowledge that addresses community questions and concerns. 

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Kazmiruk Z.V., Capelle D.W., Kamula C.M., Rysgaard S., Papakyriakou T., and Kuzyk, Z.A., 2021. High biodegradability of riverine dissolved organic carbon in late winter in Hudson Bay, Canada. Elementa Science of the Anthropocene, in press.

Capelle, D.W., Kuzyk, Z.A., Papakyriakou, T., Guéguen, C., Miller, L.A., Macdonald, R.W., 2020. Effect of terrestrial organic matter on ocean acidification and CO2 flux in an Arctic shelf sea. Progress in Oceanography 185, 102319.

Kamula, C.M., Macdonald, R.W., Kuzyk, Z.A., 2020. Sediment and particulate organic carbon budgets of a subarctic estuarine fjard: Lake Melville, Labrador. Marine Geology 424. 106154.

Eastwood, R.A., Macdonald, R.W., Ehn, J.K., Heath, J., Arragutainaq, L., Myers, P.G., Barber, D.G., Kuzyk, Z.A., 2020. Role of river runoff and sea ice brine rejection in controlling stratification throughout winter in southeast Hudson Bay. Estuaries and Coasts 43(4): 756-786.

Kuzyk, Z.A., Gobeil, C., Goni, M., Macdonald, R.W., 2017. Early diagenesis and trace element accumulation in North American Arctic margin sediments. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 203, 175–200.