dr. EL (Liz) Chamberlain

I specialize in optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating and its application to sedimentary systems, particularly of rivers, coasts, and deltas. I have ongoing research in the shrinking Mississippi Delta of the USA, the immense Ganges-Brahmaputra Delta of Bangladesh, and the alluvial valleys of arid northern coastal Peru. In these places, I test how river channel networks evolved over the Holocene in response to changes in sea-level, sediment supply, and human influence. Such millennial-timescale records are needed to understand natural dynamics of sedimentary systems and to pinpoint the (unintentional) consequences of engineering strategies, thereby guiding and inspiring landscape management for the 21st century.