Photo of Loucas  Diamant Boustead

Loucas Diamant Boustead

I completed my BA in Geography with a concentration in Physical Geography here at Carleton University, during which I took Permafrost with Dr. Chris Burn. This course sparked my interest in permafrost which was perfect as I had already discovered my love for working in the Arctic through various summer jobs earlier in my undergrad.

My MSc thesis focuses on the isotopic composition of hillslope ice wedges on Richards Island and includes a bunch of other isotope data from storms in Inuvik, snowpits, and nearby permafrost. Understanding the isotopic composition of ice wedges can show relative temperature changes throughout the lifespan of the wedge, which in some cases predates de-glaciation. My thesis aims to further understand the factors that influence a wedges isotopic composition while further building on the knowledge of hillslope ice wedge development.