You are in: Home » Staff and students » Postgraduate students » Christine Batchelor

Christine Batchelor BA MPhil

PhD Student

Marine Geological and Geophysical Investigation of the Beaufort-Mackenzie Margin

Biography

Christine studied Geography at the University of Cambridge from 2006-2009. Her undergraduate dissertation examined the maximum extent of Loch Lomond Stadial glaciation at the Black Mountain, South Wales. In 2009-2010, Christine undertook an M.Phil. in Polar Studies at the Scott Polar Research Institute, where her research focused upon submarine landforms and Late Quaternary ice flow in Hinlopen Trough, Northern Svalbard margin. In 2010, Christine received a full Natural Environmental Research Council (NERC) studentship to fund her Ph.D. at the Scott Polar Research Institute.

Qualifications

2010– Present: Ph.D. Candidate, Scott Polar Research Institute, University of Cambridge (Girton College), UK. Funded by the UK Natural Environmental Research Council (NERC).
2009-2010: M.Phil. (Distinction) in Polar Studies, Scott Polar Research Institute, University of Cambridge (Girton College), UK.
2006-2009: B.A. (Cantab. Hons.) (First class) in Geography, University of Cambridge (Girton College), UK.

Research

My Ph.D. research focuses on the Pliocene – Quaternary stratigraphy of the Beaufort-Mackenzie continental margin, Canadian and Alaskan Arctic Ocean. The surface and subsurface architecture of the Beaufort-Mackenzie margin has been shaped by a wide range of glacial and glaciofluvial processes during the Pliocene and Quaternary (last c. 5 myr). Limited access due to the constraints of sea ice cover has previously prevented the development of a complete stratigraphy for the Beaufort-Mackenzie margin.

In this project, analysis of an extensive suite of seismic reflection data will facilitate the construction of a comprehensive stratigraphy for this high-latitude passive margin, whilst knowledge of geological and glaciological processes will enable the identification and interpretation of subsurface features and landform assemblages. The data utilised in this project includes an extensive and high-resolution dataset of 2-D seismic profiles and a smaller quantity of 3-D seismic data. Data collected from wells on the continental shelf will supplement seismic reflection data, facilitating the correlation of important stratigraphic horizons. Observations from this region will be considered in relation to their implications for the dynamics of the Laurentide Ice Sheet and the glacial history of the Beaufort-Mackenzie margin.

Publications

Batchelor, C.L., Dowdeswell, J.A. and Hogan, K.A., 2011. Late Quaternary ice flow and sediment delivery through Hinlopen Trough, northern Svalbard margin: submarine landforms and depositional fan. Marine Geology, v. 284, p. 13-27.

Teaching

Part 1A: Environmental change through time: Quaternary environmental change supervisor, 2010 – present
Part 1A: Environmental change through time: cryosphere and environmental change supervisor, 2010 - present