Brian Luckman

Professor

Research Interests

Emphasis on alpine environments, dendrochronology, glacier fluctuations, and Global Change. Holocene glacier fluctuations; Reconstruction of proxy climate for the last millennium (including Little Ice Age) using tree-ring width, density and isotopic composition and dendroglaciology/ dendrogeomorphology. Major regional interests in the Canadian Rocky Mountains and the Northern Canadian Cordillera. Reconstructing climate variability along the PEP-1 transect (Alaska-Tierra del Fuego) using tree-ring chronologies from treeline environments.

Geomorphic process in alpine environments- development and characteristics of coarse clastic landforms in alpine regions (protalus, rock glaciers, avalanche landforms, talus, moraines landslides, debris flows, etc.). Geomorphic role of snow avalanches

Current Projects

  • Glacier fluctuations, dendrochronology and climate change in the Canadian Rockies
  • Glacier fluctuations and environmental history in Patagonia (with colleagues in Chile and Argentina) continuation of the former IAI Collaborative Research Network 3 (“Assessment of Present, Past and Future Climate Variability in the Americas from Treeline Environments”. 1999-2005)
  • Developing of a chronology data base and climate reconstructions for the Yukon Territory. Over the last 6 years we have sampled over 150 sites in the Yukon to develop networks of Picea glauca and Abies lasiocarpa chronologies for studies of climate variability and to provide chronological control for dendrogeomorphic studies of glacier and proglacial lake fluctuations.
  • Recently we have been awarded a new IAI CRN (CRNII-047) 5 year project (2006-10) entitled "Documenting, understanding and projecting changes in the hydrological cycle in the American Cordillera" working with scientists in Canada, USA, Mexico, Bolivia, Chile , Argentina and Brazil. This follows up some of our earlier work and is focused on changes in glacier cover and hydrological regime along the cordilleras of the Americas . The Canadian component of this project will focus on establishing proxies for reconstruction of snowpack and streamflow in the Cordillera and continued studies of glacier fluctuations, inventories and mass loss in the Rockies and Yukon. established a chronology data and adjacent areas.
  • Ongoing collaborative studies with Dr Emma Watson on reconstructions of snowpack and glacier mass balance in the Canadian Cordillera.

Publications (past 7 years)

Refereed Journals

Vinebrooke, R.D., Thompson, P.L., Hobbs, W., Luckman, B. H.., Graham, M.D. and Wolfe, A.P. 2009 'Glacially mediated impacts of climate warming on alpine lakes of the Canadian Rocky Mountains (in press) ' Verhandlungen des Internationalen Verein Limnologie 30(9)

Masiokas, M.H., Villalba, R., Luckman, B.H. and Mauget, S. (in press) 'Intra- to multi-decadal variations of snowpack and streamflow records in the Andes of Chile and Argentina between 30° and 37°S' Journal of Hydrometeorology

Luckman B.H. (in press) 'Tree Rings as Temperature Proxies' Geoscience Canada

Aravena J-C and Luckman B.H. (submitted) 'Pilgerodendron uviferum tree-ring records and rainfall variability along the Western coast of southernmost South America' Climate Dynamics

Masiokas, M.H., Luckman, B.H., Villalba, R., Ripalta, A. and Rabassa, J. 2010 'Little Ice Age fluctuations of Glaciar Río Manso in the north Patagonian Andes of Argentina' Quaternary Research 73: 96-106

Clague, J.J., Menounos, B., Osborn, G., Luckman, B.H. and Koch, J. 2009 'Nomenclature and Resolution in Holocene glacial chronologies' Quaternary Science Reviews 28: 2231-2238

Menounos, B, Clague J.J., Osborn G.D. and Luckman B.H. 2009 'Holocene and Latest Pleistocene Glacier Fluctuations in the Canadian Cordillera' Quaternary Science Reviews 28: 2049-2074

Aravena, JC and Luckman B.H. 2009 'Spatio-temporal rainfall patterns in southern South America' International Journal of Climatology 29(14): 2106-2120

Boninsegna, J.A., Argollo, J., Aravena, J.C., Barichivich, J., Christie, D., Ferrero, M.E., Lara, A., LeQuesne, C., Luckman, B.H., Masiokas, M., Morales, M., Oliveira, J.M., Roig, F., Srur, A. and Villalba, R. 2009 'South American tree rings as climate proxy records' Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology Special Issue on Regional high-resolution multiproxy climate reconstruction for South America: State of the art and perspectives 281: 210-228

Masiokas, M.H, Luckman, B.H., Villalba, R., Delgado, S., Skvarca, P. and Ripalta, A. 2009 'Little Ice Age fluctuations of small glaciers in the Monte Fitz Roy and Lago del Desierto areas, south Patagonian Andes, Argentina' Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 281(3,4): 351-362

Beedle, M.J., Menounos, B.,  Luckman, B.H. and Wheate, R. 2009 'Annual push moraines as Climate proxy' Geophysical Research Letters 36(20) doi:10.1029/2009GL039533.

Demuth, M., Pinard, V., Petroniro, A., Luckman B.H., Hopkinson, C., Dornes, P. and Comeau, L. 2008 'Recent and past-century variations in glacier resources of the Canadian Rocky Mountains: Nelson River system' Terra Glacialis 11: 27-52

Masiokas, M.H., Villalba, R., Luckman, B.H., Lascano, M.E., Delgado, S. and Stepanek, P. 2008 '20th-Century Glacier recession and regional hydroclimatic changes in northwestern Patagonia' Global and Planetary Change 60(1-2): 85-100

Edwards, T.W.D., Birks, S.J., Luckman, B.H. and MacDonald, G.M. 2008 'Climatic and hydrologic variability during the past millennium in the eastern Rocky Mountains and northern Great Plains of western Canada' Quaternary Research 70: 188-197 doi:10.1016/j.yqres.2008.04.013

Fisher, D., Osterberg, E., Dyke, A., Dahl-Jenden,D., Demuth, M., Zdanowicz, C., Bourgeois, J, Koerner, R.M., Mayewski, P., Wake, C., Kreutz, K. Steig, E., Zheng, J., Yalcin, K., Goto-Azuma, K., Luckman B.H. and Rupper, S. 2008 'The Mt. Logan Holocene- late Wisconsinan isotope record: tropical Pacific-Yukon connections' Holocene 18: 667-677

Luckman B.H. 2008 'Forty years of rockfall accumulation at the Mount Wilcox Site, Jasper National Park, Alberta, Canada' Geographica Polonica 81(1): 79-91

Youngblut, D.K. and Luckman, B.H. 2008 'Maximum June-July temperatures in the southwest Yukon Region over the last three hundred years reconstructed from tree-rings' Dendrochronologia 25: 153-166

Menounos, B, Clague, J.J., Osborn G.D. and Luckman B.H. 2009 'Holocene and Latest
Pleistocene Glacier Fluctuations in the Canadian Cordillera' Quaternary Science
Reviews' published online December 2008

Aravena, J.C. and Luckman, B.H. 2008 'Spatio-temporal rainfall patterns in southern South America' International Journal of Climatology published online December 2008

Youngblut, D.K. and Luckman B.H. 2008 'Maximum June-July temperatures in the southwest Yukon region over the last three hundred years reconstructed from tree-rings' Dendrochronologia 25(3): 153-166

Villanueva, D.J., Stahle, D.W., Luckman, B.H., Cerano-Paredes, J., Therrell, M.D., Morán, M. 2007 'Potencial dendrocronológico de Taxodium mucronatum Ten. Y acciones para su conservación en México' Ciencia Forestal en México 32: 9-38

Villanueva, D.J., Morán Martínez, R., Cerano Paredes, J. and Luckman, B.H. 2007 'Distribución estructural del sabino o ahuehuete (Taxodium mucronatum Ten.) en márgenes del río Nazas' Agrofaz 7(3): 79 – 90

Villanueva-Diaz J., Cerano-Paredes, J., Stahle, D.W., Luckman, B.H., Therrell, M.D., Cleaveland, M.K. and Cornejo-Oviedo, E. 2007 'Winter-Spring precipitation reconstructions from tree rings for northeast Mexico' Climate Change 83(1-2): 117-131

Watson, E. and Luckman, B.H. 2006 'Long hydroclimate records from tree-rings in western Canada: potential, problems and prospects' Canadian Water Resources Journal 31: 205-228

Clague, J.J., Luckman, B.H., Van Dorp, R.D., Gilbert, R., Froese, D., Jensen B.J.L and Reyes, A.V. 2006 'Rapid changes in the level of Kluane Lake, Yukon Territory, over the last millennium' Quaternary 66(2): 342-355

Masiokas, M.H., Villalba, R., Luckman, B.H., Le Quesne, C. and Aravena, J.C. 2006 'Snowpack variations in the central Andes of Argentina and Chile, 1951-2004: Large-scale atmospheric influences and implications for water resources in the region' Journal of Climate 19(24): 6334-6352

Watson, E., Luckman, B.H. and Yu, B. 2006 'Long-term relationships between reconstructed seasonal mass balance at Peyto Glacier, Canada and Pacific variability' The Holocene 16(6): 783-790

Reyes, A.V., Luckman, B.H., Smith, D.J., Clague, J.J. and Van Dorp. R.D. 2006 'Age of the maximum Little Ice Age advance of Kaskawulsh Glacier, St. Elias Mountains' Canada Arctic 50: 14-20

Roig, F. and Luckman, B.H. 2005 'Report from a South American Dendrochronological Fieldweek at Pro-Mata, Brazil' International Association of Wood Anatomists Journal 26(4): 523-524

Luckman, B.H. 2005 'Dendrochronology and Human Dimensions Issues in Global Change Research' Dendrochronologia 22: 131-134

Lara, A., Urrutia, R., Villalba, R., Luckman, B. H. Soto, D. Aravena, J.C. McPhee, J.,Wolodarsky, A., Pezoa,L. and León, J. 2005 'The Potential of tree-rings for streamflow and estuary salinity reconstruction in the Valdivian Rainforest Eco-region, Chile' Dendrochronologia 22: 155-161

Rodríguez, R., Mabres, A., Luckman, B. H. Evans, M., Masiokas, M and Ektvedt, M.K. 2005 '“El Niño” events recorded in dry-forest species of the lowlands of northwest Peru' Dendrochronologia 22: 181-186

Roig, F.A., Jimenez Osornio, J.J., Villanueva- Diaz, J. Luckman, B. H., Tiessen, H., Medina, A and Noellemeyer E.J. 2005 'Anatomy of growth rings in the Yucatán Peninsula' Dendrochronologia 22: 187-193

Villanueva-Diaz, J., Luckman, B.H., Stahle, D.W., Therrell, M. D., Cleaveland, M.K., Cerano-Paredes, J., Gutierrez-Garcia, G., Estrada-Avalos, J and Jasso-Ibarra, R. 2005 'Reconstruction of hydroclimatic variability of the upper Nazas river basin and its implications for the irrigated land area of the Comarca Lagunera, Mexico' Dendrochronologia 22: 215-223

Watson E. and Luckman, B.H. 2005 'An exploration of the controls of pre-instrumental streamflow using multiple tree-ring proxies' Dendrochronologia 22: 225-234

Watson E. and Luckman B. H. 2005 'Spatial Patterns of Pre-Instrumental moisture variability in the Southern Canadian Cordillera' Journal of Climate 18(15): 2847-2863

Lara, A., Wolodarsky-Franke, A., Aravena J.C., Villalba, R., Luckman B.H. and Cuq, E. 2005 'Spatial and temporal variation in Nothofagus pumilio growth at tree-line along its latitudinal range (35º40’to 55º S) in the Chilean Andes' Journal of Biogeography 32: 879-898

Wilson, R.J.S., Luckman, B.H. and Esper, J. 2005 'A 500-year Dendroclimatic Reconstruction of spring/summer precipitation from the Lower Bavarian Forest Region, Germany' International Journal of Climatology 25: 611-630

Luckman B. H., and Wilson R.J.S. 2005 'Summer temperature in the Canadian Rockies during the last millennium – a revised record' Climate Dynamics 24: 131-144 

Watson, E. and Luckman, B.H. 2004 'Tree-ring estimates of Mass Balance at Peyto Glacier for the last three centuries' Quaternary Research 62: 9-18

Watson, E. and Luckman, B.H. 2004 'Tree-Ring Based Reconstructions of Precipitation for the Southern Canadian Cordillera' Climatic Change 65: 209-241

Wilson, R.J.S., Esper, J. and Luckman B.H. 2004 'Utilising Historical Tree-Ring Data for Dendroclimatology: A Case Study from the Bavarian Forest, Germany' Dendrochronologia 21: 53-68

Chapters in Books

Villalba, R., Luckman, B. H., Boninsegna, J.A., D'Arrigo, R.D., Lara, A., Villanueva-Diaz, J., Masiokas M., Argollo, J., Soliz, C., LeQuesne, C., Stahle, D., Roig, F., Aravena, J.C., Wiles, G., Hartsough, P., Wilson, R.J.S., Watson, E., Cook, E.R., Cerano-Paredes, J., Therrell, M. , Cleaveland, M., Morales, M.J., Moya, J., Pacajes, J., Massacchesi, G., Biondi, F., Urrutia, R., and Martinez Pastur, G. (in press) 'Dendroclimatology from regional to continental scales: Understanding regional processes to reconstruct large-scale climatic variations across the Western Americas' in Dendroclimatology: Progress and Prospects ed M.K. Hughes, T.W. Swetnam and H.F. Diaz (Springer)

Orlove B.S., Wiegandt, E. and Luckman B.H. (in Press) The Place of Glaciers in Natural and Cultural landscapes. In “ Darkening Peaks”, B. Orlove, E. Weigand and B.H. Luckman (eds) University of California Press (Proceedings 9th Wengen Workshop: Mountain Glaciers and Society, Wengen, October 2004). Accepted December, 2006.

Ingram, J, Stone, J., Confalonieri, U., Garvin, T., Jutro, P., Klink, C., Luckman, B. H., Noellemeyer, E., and de Toledo, P.M. Delivering Global Environmental Change Science to the Policy Process. In ”Linking the Sciences of Environmental Change to Society and Policy -lessons from 10 years of research networks in the Americas” IAI-SCOPE RAP Ubatuba, Brazil – 27 November-2 December 2005 submitted to IUGS-SCOPE Paris, December, 2005

Luckman B.H. The CRN experience: A view from the cordillera In ”Linking the Sciences of Environmental Change to Society and Policy -lessons from 10 years of research networks in the Americas” IAI-SCOPE RAP Ubatuba, Brazil – 27 November-2 submitted to IUGS-SCOPE Paris, February, 2006

Watson, E., Pederson, G.T., Luckman, B.H. and Fagre, D.B Glacier mass balance in the northern U.S. and Canadian Rockies: paleo-perspectives and 20th century change. .In “ Darkening Peaks”, B. Orlove, E. Weigand and B.H. Luckman (eds) University of California Press (Proceedings 9th Wengen Workshop: : Mountain Glaciers and Society, Wengen, October 2004). In press

Pederson, G.T., Whitlock, C., Watson, E., Luckman, B.H. and Graumlich, L.J. Climate change and ecosystem history. D. Fagre and T. Prato (Eds.) In: Sustaining Rocky Mountain Landscapes: Science, Policy and Management of the Crown of the Continent Ecosystem, RFF Press, Washington D.C. (In press)

Luckman B.H The Neoglacial History of Peyto Glacier. In Peyto Glacier: One Century of Science, edited by Demuth, M.N., Munro, D.S. and Young, G.J. National Hydrology Research Institute Science Report No. 8., 25-57. (In press)

Luckman B. H. Dendroclimatology In: Scott Elias (ed) Encyclopedia of Quaternary Science, Elsevier. (In press)

Luckman B.H. Talus slopes In: Scott Elias (ed) Encyclopedia of Quaternary Science, Elsevier. (In press)

Luckman B.H. and Boninsegna, J.A. (2004) Climate Variability from Tree Rings in Treeline Environments. Annual Report 2002-2003 Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research 34-51

Luckman B.H. and Kavanagh T.A. 2003 "Documenting Recent Environmental Changes and Their Impact in the Canadian Rockies" In Taylor, L., Martin, K., Hik, D.S. and Ryall, A. (eds) "Ecology and Earth Sciences in Mountain Areas' Proceedings of the Conference held at the Banff Centre, Banff, Alberta, published by the Banff Centre, pp101-119.

Luckman B.H. (2004) Neoglaciation . In Goudie, A. (ed) International Association of Geomorphology, Dictionary of Geomorphology , Routledge, London pp 711-713.

Luckman B.H. (2004) Scree In Goudie, A. (ed) International Association of Geomorphology, Dictionary of Geomorphology , Routledge , London pp 915-917

Books

B. Orlove, E. Weigand and B.H. Luckman eds 2008 Darkening Peaks: Glacier Retreat, Science and Society (Berkley: University of California Press)

Luckman, B.H. 2005 (ed) Dendrochronology and Human Dimensions Issues in Global Change Research. Special Issue of Dendrochronologia, 22, 3 pp 131-240

Supervised Graduate Students and Theses Titles

PhD Students Year Title
D. Morimoto Current Reconstruction of climate variability in the Yukon Territory and northern British Columbia using tree rings
M. Masiokas 2008 Recent Climate and Glacier Changes in the Patagonian Andes
J.C. Aravena 2007 Reconstructing Climate Variability in Southern Chilean Andes
R. Wilson 2003 Assessment of historical tree-ring material for dendroclimatic purposes in the Bavarian forest, Germany
E. Watson 2002 Tree-ring based reconstructions of precipitation in the southern Canadian cordillera
M. Colenutt 2000 Climate reconstruction in the southern Canadian Rockies using tree-ring data from Alpine Larch
T. Kavanagh 2000 A reconstruction of treeline dynamics in Sunwapta Pass, Alberta
M. Kearney 1981 Late quaternary vegetational and environmental history of Jasper National Park, Alberta
MSc Students Year Title
H. Haines Current Changes in the hydrological regime in the 20th century in the Canadian cordillera
E. Reid Current TBA
S. Earles 2008 Dendrochronological Studies of White Spruce in the Northern Yukon, Canada
M. Kenigsberg 2005 The dendroclimatic potential of subalpine fir in the Canadian northwest
D. Youngblut 2003 The dendroclimatic potential of Whitebark pine from the western Canadian cordillera
R. Wilson 1999 Dendroclimatic reconstruction in interior British Columbia
E. Watson 1998 Tree-ring reconstruction of precipitation in B.C. and Alberta
B. Robinson 1998 Reconstruction of the glacial history of the Columbia Icefield, Alberta
R. St. George 1997 Tree-ring reconstruction of summer temperatures in Banff and Jasper National Parks
C. Mount 1995 Using remote sensing and a geographic information system to study glacier characteristics near the Columbia Icefields, Alberta
C. Rowley 1992 Debris accretion rates on a talus slope using lichenometry
M. Colenutt 1992 The dendrochronological potential of Alpine Larch
J. Hamilton 1987 Densitometric tree-ring investigations at the Columbia Icefield, Jasper National Park
H. Watson 1986 Little ice age glacial fluctuations at five sites in the premier range, British Columbia
G. Frazer 1986 Dendrogeomorphic evaluation of snow avalanche history at two sites in Banff National Park
D. McCarthy 1985 Dating holocene geomorphic activity of selected landforms in the Geikie Creek Valley, Mount Robson Provincial Park, British Columbia
J. Cronin 1984 The raised shorelines of the northern Penetanguishene Peninsula
C. MacRae 1979 Hydrologic and water quality modelling in a small urban catchment in London, Ontario
K. Crockett 1979 Computer simulation of spatial climatic variation in areas of high relief
M. Thompson 1974 Study of two remote sensing techniques for detection of sulphur dioxide stress in forest vegetation

 

Also from this web page:

Brian Luckman

  • Office: SSC 1420
  • Telephone: 519-661-2111 x85012
  • e-mail: luckman@uwo.ca

 

Courses Taught