STUDENT RESEARCH AT FRONTIERS ABROAD

Research is a central part of the Frontiers Abroad student experience. During the semester, students work in groups alongside University of Canterbury faculty and local experts in Ōtautahi - Christchurch, often engaging closely with community partners. While projects vary each semester based on research mentors and community input, several overarching research themes consistently guide our work.

Supervolcanos in New Zealand

These projects focus on the world’s most recently active supervolcanoes, located in the Te Ika-a-Māui – North Island of Aotearoa New Zealand (the Taupō Volcanic Zone). Mentored by Dr. Sarah Smithies, Frontiers Abroad students analyse magma samples in the University of Canterbury research laboratories. Using the textures and compositions of erupted magma, they reconstruct the magma plumbing systems feeding super-sized eruptions. These projects provide valuable insight into the magmatic processes that cause very large eruptions.

Figure: Claire Rubin, Xavier Schlemmer, Lachlan McCallum

Semester One, 2024

Environmental rehabilitation and community conservation

These projects focus on the long-term monitoring and assessment of restoration efforts in Te Whakaraupō — Lyttelton Harbour and Banks Peninsula. Mentored by local experts, including Dr. Channell Thoms (Environment Canterbury), Dr. Sam Hampton (VolcanicKED and Te Pātaka o Rākaihautū / Banks Peninsula Geopark), Professor Darren Gravley, Frontiers Abroad students collaborate with community partners on projects related to conservation and ecosystem rehabilitation. This research explores native forest regeneration, freshwater stream ecology, bird population monitoring, predator trapping, and saltwater ecology, with a particular focus on restoration of mahinga kai (food-gathering resources).

Figure: Lillian Stone, Steph Garib, and Willa Frank

Semester Two, 2023

Living in a volcanic landscape

Ōtautahi - Christchurch is partially built upon the (now extinct) Lyttelton and Akaroa Volcanos. These projects focus on the complex processes that created the volcanic landscape and how the volcanic geology affects the lives of people living in Ōtautahi. This research is mentored by a diverse group of experts on different aspects of the volcano, including Dr. Sam Hampton (VolcanicKED and Te Pātaka o Rākaihautū / Banks Peninsula Geopark), Professor Darren Gravley, Dr. Katherine Yates, and Dr. Sarah Smithies. Research projects include mapping the volcanic deposits and understanding volcanic processes, understanding the relationship between the volcanic geology and hydrology, mapping rockfall hazards, and modelling the relationship between soil erosion and geology.

Figure: Victoria Devlin McLoughlin

Semester One, 2020

Sedimentation in Te Whakaraupō — Lyttelton Harbour

These projects focus on human-induced sedimentation in Te Whakaraupō — Lyttelton Harbour and the surrounding region. Mentored by Professor Catherine Reid, Dr. Sarah Smithies, Dr. Katherine Yates, and Professor Darren Gravley, groups of Frontiers Abroad students explore the volume, source, and rate of the sediment infilling the harbor. Rapid sedimentation in the last century is hypothesized to be caused by massive deforestation following the arrival of European settlers. These projects test this hypothesis through a range of lenses, including sedimentology, oceanography, slope stability, and paleontology. These projects emphasize collaboration with stakeholders to inform future decision-making in the harbor.

Figure: Brooke Adams, Evan Cooper, Wamuchii Mwangi

Semester One, 2024

Projecting future climate change and impacts

These projects explore what can be learned from climate models about the future of Aotearoa and the Southern Hemisphere in a changing climate. Mentored by Dr. Olivia Truax, groups of Frontiers Abroad students analyze ensembles of climate model simulations with a particular focus on the Antarctic ice sheets and the Ōtautahi - Christchurch region. Using quantitative data analysis and a storyline approach, these projects examine both the potential impacts of anthropogenic climate change and the uncertainties in different climate scenarios and models.

Figure: Cyrus Perkinson, Taryn Queenin, Elise Ringness, Natasha Wozniak.

Semester One, 2024.

Reconstructing Southern Hemisphere environmental change

These projects reconstruct past climate evolution in the Southern Hemisphere using a diverse range of geomorphological, palaeontological and sedimentological methods. Mentored by Professor Catherine Reid, Dr. Kate Pedley, Professor Stefan Winkler, and Dr. Olivia Truax, groups of Frontiers Abroad students reconstruct past conditions in Te Waipounamu (Aotearoa’s South Island) and Antarctica. These projects emphasize past-to-future connectivity and the value of the geological record to contextualize modern environmental changes.

Figure: Charlotte Soule, Jonah Rosen-Bloom

Semester One, 2024

Soil carbon sequestration

These projects investigate soil carbon sequestration in native forests and Pinus radiata plantations in Aotearoa. Mentored by Professor Travis Horton, groups of Frontiers Abroad students collaborate with community partners, Rotorua Canopy Tours and Living Springs, to examine carbon storage and CO2 flux across different land types, including old-growth forests, regenerating native forests, a Pinus radiata plantation, and turfgrass. By understanding how different forests store carbon and release CO2, this research provides valuable insights that can inform afforestation policies and broader climate change mitigation strategies in Aotearoa New Zealand.

Figure: Maggie Callow, Cara Fields, Sophia James, Kate Ratcliffe.

Semester One, 2024

Student and Faculty Publications [student name in bold]

Olsen, T., Borella, J., Stahl, T. (2020). Clast transport history influences Schmidt hammer rebound values. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms. https://doi.org/10.1002/esp.4809

Borella, J., Quigley, M., Riley, M., Trutner, S., Jol, H., Borella, M., Hampton, S., Gravley, D. (2020). Influence of anthropogenic landscape modifications and infrastructure on the geological characteristics of liquefaction. Anthropocene 29: 2213-3054.

Borella, J., Quigley, M., Krauss, Z., Lincoln, K., Attanayake, J., Stamp, L., Lanman, H., Levine, S., Hampton, S., Gravley, D. (2019). Geologic and geomorphic controls on rockfall hazard: how well do past rockfalls predict future distributions? Natural Hazards and Earth System Sciences 19: 2249-2280.

Horton, T. W., Hauser, N., Cassel, S., Klaus, K. F., de Oliveira, T. F., & Key, N. (2019). Doctor drone: Non-invasive measurement of humpback whale vital signs using unoccupied aerial system infrared thermography. Frontiers in Marine Science, 6: 1–11. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2019.00466 [see related impact links for this article]

Kilgour, G., Gates, S., Kennedy, B., Farquhar, A., McSporran, A., Asher, C. (2019). Phreatic eruption dynamics derived from deposit analysis: a case study from a small, phreatic eruption from Whakari/White Island, New Zealand. Earth, Planets and Space 71. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40623-019-1008-8

Bertolett, E. M., Prior, D. J., Gravley, D. M., Hampton, S. J., Kennedy, B. M. (2019). Compacted cumulates revealed by electron backscatter diffraction analysis of plutonic lithics. Geology, 47(5), 445–448. https://doi.org/10.1130/G45616.1

Hikuroa, D., Clark, J., Olsen, A., Camp, E. (2018). Severed at the head: towards revitalising the mauri of Te Awa o te Atua. New Zealand Journal of Marine and Freshwater Research, 52(4), 643–656. https://doi.org/10.1080/00288330.2018.1532913

Williams, S., Zhang, T., Chagué, C., Williams, J., Goff, J., Lane, E.M., Bind, J., Qasim, I., Thomas, K.L., Mueller, C. Hampton, S., Borella, J. (2018). Sedimentary and geochemical signature of the 2016 Kaikōura Tsunami at Little Pigeon Bay: A depositional benchmark for the Banks Peninsula region, New Zealand. Sedimentary Geology, 369, pp.60-70.

Horton, T.W., Oline, A., Hauser, N., Khan, M., Laute, A., Stoller, A., Tison, K.E. and Zawar-Reza, P. (2017). Thermal Imaging and Biometrical Thermography of Humpback Whales. Frontiers in Marine Science, 4, p.424.

Graeter, K.A., Beane, R.J., Deering, C.D., Gravley, D. and Bachmann, O. (2015). Formation of rhyolite at the Okataina Volcanic Complex, New Zealand: New insights from analysis of quartz clusters in plutonic lithics. American Mineralogist, 100(8-9), pp.1778-1789.

Lewis, G.M. and Hampton, S.J. (2015). Visualizing volcanic processes in SketchUp: An integrated geo-education tool. Computers & Geosciences, 81, pp.93-100.

Peacock, B.C. and Hikuroa, D. (2012). Watershed-scale prioritization of habitat restoration sites for non-point source pollution management. Ecological engineering, 42, pp.174-182.