Denis Lacelle
Assistant professor, Department of Geography
Member of the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies and thereby authorized to supervise theses.
Office: Simard 014
Telephone: 613-562-5800, ext. 1059
E-mail: dlacelle@uOttawa.ca
University degrees
2006 – PhD. Department of Earth Sciences, University of Ottawa, Canada
2002 – MSc. Department of Geography, University of Ottawa, Canada.
2000 – B.A. Department of Geography, University of Ottawa, Canada
Fields of interest
- Cold region geomorphology
- Permafrost hydrology and weathering processes
- Origin, stability and habitability of ancient permafrost and ground ice
- Quaternary paleoclimate and paleoenvironment studies
- Development of field-based instruments for continuous measurements in cold regions
- Planetary ice / permafrost studies
Current research projects (graduate student name in parentheses)
- Investigation of near-surface permafrost disturbances on water quality under changing climate near Fort McPherson, NWT, Canada;
- Origin, stability and habitability of ancient ground ice and permafrost;
- Climate change recorded in Agassiz Ice Cap (1960 to present-day);
- Ice-cemented ground in the Dry Valleys of Antarctica as a new paleo-climate proxy;
- Ice dynamics of perennially covered lakes in the Dry Valleys of Antarctica;
- Polar environments as planetary analogues;
- Development of field-deployable instruments for continuous high-frequency analysis in
remote locations.
Career
2011- present: Assistant Professor, Department of Geography, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada
2010-2011: Sessional Lecturer, Departments of Geography and Earth Sciences, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada
2010-2011: Research Associate, Department of Earth Sciences, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada
2007-2010: NSERC Visiting Fellow, Canadian Space Agency, St-Hubert, QC, Canada
Courses taught
GEG1301 Introduction to Physical Geography
GEG3102 Hydrology
GEG 3307 Polar Geography
GEG 3306 / GEO 2334 Quaternary Geology and Climate Change
GEG2720 Introduction aux SIG et teledection
Selected publications
27. Lacelle, D., Radtke, K., Clark, ID., Fisher, D., Lauriol, B., Utting, N., Whyte, LG. 2011. Geomicrobiology and occluded O2-CO2-Ar analyses provide evidence of microbial respiration in ancient terrestrial ground ice bodies. Earth and Planetary Science Letters 306, 46-54.
26. Lacelle, D. 2011. On the d18O, dD and D-excess relations in meteoric precipitation and during equilibrium freezing: theoretical approach and field examples. Permafrost and Periglacial Processes 22, 13-25.
25. St-Jean, M., Clark, ID, Lauriol, B., Lacelle, D., Zdanowicz, C. 2011. Investigation of ice wedge infilling processes using stable O-H isotopes, crystallography and occluded gases (O2, N2, Ar). Permafrost and Periglacial Processes 22, 49-64.
24. Lacelle, D. Davila, A., Pollard, WH., Andersen, D., Heldmann, J., Marinova, M., McKay, CP. 2011. Stability of massive ground ice bodies in University Valley, McMurdo Dry Valleys of Antarctica: using stable O-H isotopes as tracers of sublimation in hyper-arid regions. Earth and Planetary Science Letters 301, 403-411.
23. Lauriol, B. Lacelle, D., St-Jean, M., Clark, ID., Zazula, G. 2010. Late Quaternary paleoenvironments and growth of intrusive ice in eastern Beringia (Eagle River valley, northern Yukon, Canada). Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences 47, 941-955.
22. Lacelle, D. 2010. Discussion: “The biogenic origin of needle fibre calcite” by G. Cailleau et al., 2009. Sedimentology 57, 1147-1149.
21. Lacelle, D., Bjornson, J., Lauriol, B. 2010. Climatic and geomorphic factors affecting contemporary (1950-2004) activity of retrogressive thaw slumps on the Aklavik Plateau, Richardson Mountains, N.W.T., Canada. Permafrost and Periglacial Processes 1, 1-15.
20. Lacelle, D., Léveillé, R. 2010. Acid drainage generation and associated Ca-Fe-SO4 minerals in a periglacial environment, Eagle Plains, northern Yukon, Canada: a potential analogue for low temperature sulfate formation on Mars. Planetary and Space Science 58, 509-521.
19. Lacelle, D., St-Jean, M., Lauriol, B., Clark, ID, Lewkowicz, A., Froese, D., Kuehn, SC., Zazula, G. 2009. Burial and preservation a 30,000 year old perennial snowbank in Red Creek valley, Ogilvie Mountains, central Yukon, Canada. Quaternary Science Reviews 28, 3401-3413.
18. Pellerin, A., Lacelle, D., Fortin, D., Clark, ID, Lauriol, B. 2009. Microbial diversity in endostromatolites and the surrounding permafrost landscape, Haughton impact crater, Devon Island, Canada. Astrobiology 9, 807-822.
17. Lacelle, D., Lauriol, B., Clark, ID. 2009. Formation of seasonal ice bodies and associated cryogenic carbonates in Caverne de l’Ours, Québec, Canada: Kinetic isotope effects and pseudo-biogenic crystal structures. Journal of Cave and Karst Studies 71, 48-62.
16. Lauriol, B., Lacelle, D., Labrecque, S., Duguay, C.R., Telka, A. 2009. Holocene evolution of lakes in the Bluefish Basin, northern Yukon, Canada. Arctic 62, 212-224.
15. Labrecque, S., Lacelle, D., Duguay, C.R., Lauriol, B., Hawkings, J. 2009. Contemporary (1951-2001) evolution of lakes in the Old Crow Basin, northern Yukon, Canada: remote sensing, numerical modeling and stable isotope analysis. Arctic 62, 225-238.
14. Lacelle, D., Pellerin, A., Clark, ID., Lauriol, B., Fortin, D. 2009. (Micro)morphological, inorganic-organic isotope geochemistry and microbial populations in endostromatolites (cf. fissure calcretes), Haughton impact crater, Devon Island, Canada: the influence of geochemical pathways on the preservation of isotopic biomarkers. Earth and Planetary Science Letters 281, 202-214.
13. Lacelle, D., Juneau, V., Pellerin, A., Lauriol, B., Clark, ID. 2008. Weathering regime and geochemical conditions in a polar desert environment, Haughton impact structure region, Devon Island, Canada. Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences 45, 1139-1157.
12. Lacelle, D., Fisher, D., Clark, ID., Berinstain, A. 2008. Distinguishing between vapor- and liquid-formed ground ice in the northern Martian regolith and potential for biosignatures preserved in ice bodies. Icarus 197, 458-469.
11. Lacelle, D., Lauriol, B., Clark, ID., Cardyn, R., Zdanowicz, C. 2007. Nature and origin of a Pleistocene-age massive ground ice body exposed in the Chapman Lake moraine complex, central Yukon Territory. Quaternary Research 68, 249-260.
10. Cardyn, R., Clark, ID., Lacelle, D., Lauriol, B. Zdanowicz, C., Calmels, F. 2007. Molar gas ratios of air entrapped in ice: a new tool to determine the nature and origin of relict massive ground ice bodies in permafrost. Quaternary Research 68, 239-248.
9. Lacelle, D., Doucet, A., Clark, ID., Lauriol, B. 2007. Acid drainage generation and seasonal recycling in disturbed permafrost near Eagle Plains, northern Yukon Territory, Canada. Chemical Geology 243, 157-177.
8. Lacelle, D. 2007. Environmental setting, (micro)morphologies and stable C-O isotope composition of cold-climate carbonate precipitates - a review and evaluation of their potential as paleoclimatic proxies. Quaternary Science Reviews 26, 1670-1689.
7. Lacelle, D., Lauriol, B., Clark, ID. 2007. Origin, age and paleo-environmental significance of carbonate precipitates from a granitic environment, Akshayuk Pass, southern Baffin Island, Canada. Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences 44, 61-79.
Graduate student supervision
Dave Fox (Department of Geography, McGill University; co-supervision with Dr. Wayne Pollard)
Laura Malone (Department of Earth Sciences, University of Ottawa; co-supervision with Dr. Ian D. Clark)