Megan Mackinnon
Previous Education
Cert. (Indigenous Studies), Memorial University, 2021
B.A. Hons. (Archaeology), Memorial University, 2021
Supervisor
Keywords
Shell midden archaeology, Coastal archaeology, human-environment interactions, paleoclimate, subsistence, microscopy.
Research Statement
My research is focused on what oysters can tell us about paleoclimate in Atlantic Canadian waterways. Bivalves form incremental banding that can help to determine season of harvest. I am refining visualization techniques for imaging high resolution images of growth line banding in Atlantic oysters (C. virginica), which express high visual contrast due to their northernmost habitats of their species population. Stable isotope analysis can additionally be used to measure O18 values and in turn provide data about environmental conditions such as sea surface temperature and salinity. These applications of sclerochronology will be used to analyze environmental interactions, and changes along the Atlantic Canadian coast.
Contact
Email: mcmackinnon@mun.ca