Dr. Catherine H. Yansa

Catherine H. Yansa
  • Adjunct Associate Professor
  • Geography, Environment, and Spatial Sciences

AREA OF STUDY

Paleo-environments. Pollen and plant macrofossils, primarily in the upper Midwest and Canada.

RESEARCH INTERESTS

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.