Catherine H. Yansa
WEBSITE
https://geo.msu.edu/directory/yansa-catherine.htmlBIOGRAPHY
My research focuses on reconstructing past environments in north-central North America since the last glacial maximum (over the last ~20,000 years) by studying plant fossils (pollen and plant macrofossils) preserved in lake sediments. The objectives and implications of my research are:
1. To document past responses of plants to climate changes at various temporal and spatial scales and use these as analogs for potential responses of plants to predicted global warming; and
2. To interpret the landscape contexts for prehistoric Native American occupations to explore long-term human-environment interactions.
AREA OF EXPERTISE
- Plant fossils (pollen and plant macrofossils)
- Past response of plants to climate change
- Predicting potential responses of plants to global warming
- Landscape contexts for prehistoric Native American occupations
- Long-term human-environment interactions