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Profile
Research interests
Quaternary science, tephrochronology, geohazards, geomorphology
PhD title
Creating a tephrochronological framework for linking environmental change and human settlement of the South Pacific
Project description
The archipelagos of Polynesia in the South Pacific were the last islands on Earth inhabited by humans. However, the timing of the settlement has been poorly resolved across many islands, with dates varying by up to 1000 years. To begin to answer questions about the interplay between prehistoric human migration, the climate and environment, geological archives need to be well dated and independently synchronised.
Geochemically characterised volcanic ash (tephra) layers are widely used for linking and dating paleoenvironmental records. Advances in the detection of invisible (crypto)tephra horizons have led to the ongoing development and integration of regional tephra frameworks. Although there are multiple volcanic sources that could potentially have supplied volcanic ash to the South Pacific region, geological archives in this area currently lack tephra markers.
The project aims to produce the first tephrochronological framework for South Pacific islands. The use of tephras as time-parallel marker beds will allow to date shifts within climate systems, human settlement of Polynesia, as well as the interaction between people and the environment. The project also attempts to fill the gaps in the volcanic record of the Pacific Islands.
Academic background
MSc, Geology, University of Iceland
BSc, Geography, Lomonosov Moscow State University
Supervisors
Dr Anna Bourne, School of Geography, QMUL
Dr Heather Ford, School of Geography, QMUL
Funding
Queen Mary University of London Research Studentship
Publications
Garova, E., Chadromtsev, B., Pedanov, A., Grebennikov, P., Iltuganov, I., Lobanov, P., Fuchs, S. (2025). A general methodological framework for hazard assessment in remote mountain areas combining geomorphological mapping with UAV survey. Journal of Mountain Science, 22(3), 763-775.
Conference publications
Garova, E., Fuchs, S., Chadromtsev, B., Pedanov, A., Grebennikov, P., Iltuganov, I., Lobanov, P., Ponomarjov, P. (2024). Infrastructure safety in Russian mountains: From debris flow assessment to technical mitigation. In Proceedings of the 7th International Conference “Debris flows: disasters, risk, forecast, protection” (Chengdu, China, September 23-27, 2024), 115-124.
Garova, E., Kalliokoski, M., Guðmundsdóttir, E. (2021). Cryptotephras of Icelandic eruptions in European Arctic. In Proceedings of the II Conference “Paths of evolutionary geography, Russian Academy of Sciences” (Moscow, Russia, November 22-25, 2021), 775-777.
Memberships
Commission on Tephrochronology, IAVCEI
European Geosciences Union