Jaclyn Cockburn

My research interests are in past and contemporary landscape processes and specifically how environmental variability has modified or changed these process dynamics. As well, I am interested in how our knowledge of past processes is informed through the use of paleoenvironmental proxies and rely on sedimentary records (e.g., clastic varve or annually laminated sedimentary units) and tree ring growth records (e.g., eccentric growth and reaction wood) to help reconstruct past landscape processes. In the context of future global change or land use management changes, high-resolution records will help us understand how surface processes in the past have responded to variability and how they might change in the future.

In addition, I am actively evaluating instrument records (temperature, precipitation, discharge, water quality) as a way of establishing baseline conditions to which future scenarios are compared. I am also developing and/or improving field instruments used in monitoring and measuring sedimentary processes in lakes and streams.

*Denotes student co-author was supervised or co-supervised by J. Cockburn

Refereed Articles

Newman, D. R., Lindsay, J. B., & Cockburn, J. (2018). Evaluating metrics of local topographic position for multiscale geomorphometric analysis. Geomorphology. DOI:10.1016/j.geomorph.2018.04.003.

Krompart*, J., Cockburn, J., & Villard, P. V. (2018). Pocket wetlands as additions to stormwater treatment train systems: a case study from a restored stream in Brampton, ON, Canada. Canadian Water Resources Journal. DOI: 10.1080/07011784.2018.1459863

Hughes, G. B., Adams, J., & Cockburn, J. M. (2018). Solar Activity Expressed in a Modern Varve-Thickness Sequence. Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences. DOI: 10.1139/cjes-2018-0111

Newman, D., Lindsay, J. B., & Cockburn, J. (2018). Measuring hyperscale topographic anisotropy as a continuous landscape property. Geosciences. DOI: 10.3390/geosciences8080278

Davis*, L., Cockburn, J., & Villard, P. (2017). Deploying action cameras to observe fish in shallow, ice-covered streams. Journal of Freshwater Ecology. 32: 193-198 DOI: 10.1080/02705060.2016.1258013

Cockburn, J., & Garver, J.I. (2016). Building a coalition of concerned stakeholders to guide watershed decisions. GSA Today. DOI: 10.1130/GSAT267GW.1

Cockburn, J., Vetta*, M., & Garver, J.I. (2016). Tree-ring evidence linking late twentieth century changes in precipitation to slope instability, central New York State, USA. Physical Geography. DOI: 10.1080/02723646.2016.1157741

Burns, T., Berg, A., Cockburn, J., & Fetlock, E. (2016). Regional scale spatial and temporal variability of soil moisture in a prairie region. Hydrological Processes. DOI: 10.1002/hyp.10954.

Stretch, V., Gedalof, Z., Cockburn, J., & Pisaric, M. (2016). Sensitivity of reconstructed fire histories to detection criteria in mixed-severity landscapes. Forest Ecology and Management. DOI: 10.1016/j.foreco.2016.08.009.

Cockburn, J, Villard, P., & Hutton*, C. (2015). Assessing instream habitat suitability and hydraulic signatures of geomorphic units in a reconstructed single thread meandering channel Authors. Ecohydrology. DOI: 10.1002/eco.1705

Cockburn, J. & Garver, J.I. (2015). Change in runoff regimes in the Catskill Mountains: above average discharge in the last two decades. Journal of Hydrology: Regional Studies, 3, 199-210, doi:10.1016/j.ejrh.2014.11.006.

Lindsay, J.B., Cockburn, J.M.H., & Russell, H.A. (2015). An integral image approach to performing multi-scale topographic position analysis. Geomorphology, 245, 51-61, doi:10.1016/j.geomorph.2015.05.025.

Molder*, B., Cockburn, J., Berg, A., Lindsay, J., & Woodrow*, K. (2015). Sediment-assisted nutrient transfer from a small, no-till, tile drained watershed in Southwestern Ontario. Agricultural Water Management, 152, 31- 40, doi: doi:10.1016/j.agwat.2014.12.010.

Bhamjee, R., Lindsay, J.B., & Cockburn, J. (2015). Monitoring ephemeral headwater streams: a paired- sensor approach. Hydrological Processes. DOI: 10.1002/hyp.10677

• Mohawk Watershed Symposium, an annual meeting to discuss the state of the Mohawk Watershed
  • Here is the link for 2015, http://minerva.union.edu/garverj/mws/2015/symposium.html
  • Union College, Schenectady, NY, Friday March 20, 2015
• Twentieth century changes in river and stream regimes throughout New York and New England
• Sediment-assisted nutrient runoff in response to summer rainfall in agricultural drainage systems
• Slope instability risk related to subsurface hillslope drainage connectivity, Schoharie Valley, New York
• Stream restoration using ‘natural’ channel design principles to minimize water quantity and quality impacts of storm water management systems, and to promote species at risk habitat and overall stream resilience
• Sedimentary records of climate and sediment supply variability in the Canadian High Arctic
• Geomorphic and hydrologic responses to co-seismic and inter-seismic uplift and subsidence along the Copper River Delta and Alaganik Slough, Alaska

• GEOG*1350 Earth: Hazards and Global Change
• GEOG*2000 Geomorphology
• GEOG*2110 Climate and the Biophysical Environment
• GEOG*4150 Catchment Processes
• GEOG*4690 Geography Field Research
• GEOG*4990 Independent Study in Geography
• GEOG*6060 Special Topics in Geography
• GEOG*6610 Global Hydrology

I am always excited to speak with enthusiastic scholars looking to pursue potential graduate (MSc) or senior undergraduate research opportunities. In particular, individuals driven by curiosity and a keen sense for understanding the processes that shape the world around us through a geoscience lens. Our work looks at how fluvial geomorphology and ecohydrology intersect within the context of disturbed systems (e.g., land use land change, climate variability, pre & post disasters or extreme events).

Opportunities for Fall 2024 include sediment budget based on sediment cores, ice and winter conditions and their impact on channel morphodynamics, and tool development to track fluvial geomorphic changes in restored channels. Successful applicants will receive funding following our department’s graduate financial support policy.

Funds for fieldwork, conference attendance and other opportunities for professional development are also available and will be allocated based on the research projects. Students with strong backgrounds & interest in Physical Geography, Physical and Environmental Sciences are encouraged to contact me to discuss available projects and funding.