Athabasca University's Master of Science – Earth System Science (MSc ESS) is an interdisciplinary graduate program grounded in an Earth-systems perspective—one that examines how the atmosphere, hydrosphere, cryosphere, geosphere, and biosphere interact, and how these interconnected systems are influenced by both natural processes and human activities.

This page is designed to help you explore research fit by outlining the program’s six focus areas and highlighting faculty whose research aligns with each area. Use these profiles to refine your interests, identify promising research directions, and connect with potential supervisors for thesis or project work.

Environmental Science

Quaternary Earth Systems

Environmental Analytics

This focus area emphasizes data-intensive and computational approaches to studying Earth’s systems. Students develop skills in environmental data analysis, statistical and numerical modeling, and geospatial methods to integrate and interpret large, complex datasets. Applications include tracking pollution, assessing biodiversity patterns, analyzing land-use and land-cover change, and evaluating other environmental indicators. Research in this area supports evidence-informed decision-making in environmental science and management.

Darcy Cordell Email Profile	I study electromagnetic induction in the Earth across diverse applications. My recent work focuses on geomagnetic storms and their impacts on power networks. I also use induction to map subsurface electrical conductivity linked to minerals, fluids, and magma. This involves geophysical field measurements and supports mineral and geothermal exploration, volcano hazards, tectonics, and environmental studies.
Frédérique Pivot Email Profile	My research in physical geography focuses on remote sensing and geospatial analysis to investigate land surface processes and environmental change across spatial and temporal scales. Advancing remote sensing methods and observing systems for environmental monitoring and understanding climate-related environmental change, with particular interest in applications to cryospheric and other land surface dynamics such as snow cover and soil moisture variability, wildfire disturbance, and vegetation or land cover change.
Junye Wang Email Profile	I am a full professor in computational sustainability and environmental analytics, specializing in multiscale, multidisciplinary modeling of energy and environmental systems. My work spans micrometer to watershed scales, combining physical and data-driven models. Applications include ecosystems, water, greenhouse gases, bioremediation, soil carbon, pollutant transport, bioenergy, and machine learning for environmental management, air pollution, and resource security.
Scott Ketcheson Email Profile	My research advances ecosystem sustainability by understanding hydrological processes. As a field hydrologist, I study water movement among forests, wetlands, and streams in northern Alberta using traditional methods and sensor networks. I have established a research Headwater Catchment Observatory and I also collaborate on oil sands reclamation, peatland biogeochemistry, mercury dynamics, seismic line restoration, and wildfire impacts.
Shauna Zenteno Email Profile	I focus on understanding environmental impacts related to water quality and their downstream effects on health and food security. I work collaboratively with other researchers and First Nations communities, integrating Traditional Knowledge with multidisciplinary Western science approaches. My current research examines the role of biofilms in preserving biodiversity and aquatic system health, with the goal of restoring ecosystems impacted by human development and climate change.
Shawn Lewenza Email Profile	My research focuses on oil sands microbiology, bioremediation, genomics, biofilms and antibiotic resistance. We use genetic and bioinformatic approaches to identify specific genes required for resisting antibiotics or degrading oil sands pollutants. Our current focus is the application of naphthenic acids biosensors for monitoring NA in oil sands tailings and to identify NA degrading bacteria for applications in bioaugmentation.
Srijak Bhatnagar Email Profile	My interest is in studying microbial ecology of contaminated ecosystems, with an emphasis on global-scale impacts, bioremediation, and biomonitoring using DNA/RNA-based sequencing. This includes leveraging large public data sets for regional, continental, and global trends in microbial communities and their roles and interconnectedness in a one health paradigm.

Bioinformatics

Environmental Space Science

Climate Change