Graduate Student,
Masters in Climatology
University of Delaware

Website: copland.udel.edu/~mdemitrf/

E-mail: mdemitrf@udel.edu




Area of Study:
Pleistocene periglacial environments (NJ, Delmarva Peninsula), paleosols, wetlands, Pine Barrens geography, arboriculture, land conservation.

Biography:
I am a native of the New Jersey Pinelands, a tract of semi-wild terrain located in the urbanized corridor between Boston and Washington, DC. This is a landscape rich in natural and cultural heritage, and under extraordinary threat from development’s rapid encroachment. Through the study of unusual geomorphic features interpreted as relicts of rigorous cold climate conditions, my goal is to advocate the outstanding research opportunities present in the Pines. Recognition of Ice Age periglacial landforms adds insight across a range of disciplines beyond geomorphology, such as ecology, archeology, climatology, history and land-use planning. Of particular concern is an apparent widespread fading of local wetlands that are critical habitat for specialized plants and animals. This phenomenon is attributed to a regional lowering near-surface water table. I was recently awarded a University Competitive Fellowship to help document these periglacial landscapes, and cultural elements that commemorate their pre- and post-contact era adaptive use.