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Dr. Erin Argyilan

Dr. Erin Argyilan Marram 236   Office (219) 980-7124  FAX (219) 980-6673  eargyila@iun.edu

• Ph.D. - Geotechnical Engineering and Earth & Environmental Sciences, University of Illinois at Chicago, 2004
• B.S. - Biology, University of Illinois at Chicago, 1998

Courses Taught

• Introduction to Earth Science
• Environmental Geology
• Hydrogeology
• Meteorology
• Quaternary Environments

Research Interests

• Hydrometeorological processes in the Laurentian Great Lakes region related to climate change and climate variability
• Great Lakes water level change during the Holocene
• Optically stimulated luminescence dating of relict shorelines in the Great Lakes
• Landscape dynamics and climate change impacts on watersheds. 
 

The Laurentian Great Lakes are the world’s single largest reservoir of usable fresh water.  Evaluating past climate variability in the Great Lakes region is tantamount to understanding system response to projected climate change.  High resolution instrumental and observational and instrumental datasets of the past 100 – 150 years provide an opportunity to evaluate shifts in seasonality, and hydrologic response.  Recent research focuses on establishing a geochronologic history of lake level during the past 5 ky in Lake Superior by applying newly developed approaches in optically stimulated luminescence to coastal landforms.  Ongoing research investigates landcover, land use, geomorphic, and climatic changes at the watershed scale and addresses issues of water quality, water availability, and ecosystem stability.

Publications

• Lake level response to seasonal climatic variability in the Lake Michigan-Huron system from 1920 to 1995.  (2003)  Journal of Great Lakes Research 29(3): 488-500.
• Optically stimulated luminescence dating of late Holocene raised strandplain sequences adjacent to Lakes Michigan and Superior, upper peninsula, Michigan, USA. (2005) Quaternary Research 63 122-135.