{"id":765,"date":"2021-06-10T14:39:54","date_gmt":"2021-06-10T12:39:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.unil.ch\/ice\/?page_id=765"},"modified":"2021-06-10T14:39:55","modified_gmt":"2021-06-10T12:39:55","slug":"xiaoxia-wen","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/wp.unil.ch\/ice\/team\/xiaoxia-wen\/","title":{"rendered":"Xiaoxia Wen"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>Research statement<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Earth\u2019s climate significantly cooled since 2-3 Ma and experienced periodic glaciations that saw the expansion of mid-latitude alpine glaciers. Glacial processes such as abrasion and plucking are suggested to be the primary erosion mechanisms in Alpine valley incision. However, the linkages between climate and (glacial) erosion are still debated mainly because of a lack of geochronological methods that cover the time span of 10<sup>3<\/sup>-10<sup>6<\/sup> years. While conventional thermochronometers like (U-Th-He) in apatite can constrain timescales of 10<sup>6<\/sup> years, and cosmogenic nuclide (CN) dating can constrain timescales of 10<sup>1<\/sup>-10<sup>3<\/sup> years, it remains difficult to resolve changes in erosion rates at the timescale of glacial\/interglacial cycles. Optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) and electron spin resonance (ESR) thermochronometry have the potential to span this temporal gap, allowing erosion rate changes to be calculated at these timescales.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>PhD Project<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>My PhD project focuses on the impact of Quaternary glaciation on rates of erosion and timing of Alpine valley incision in the western European Alps, which were intensively glaciated during the Quaternary period. This area is characterized by low uplift rates making any competing tectonic effects on rock cooling histories relatively minor. Thus, it is an ideal place to investigate the relationship between glacial erosion rates and mountain landscape evolution.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>To estimate rates of erosion, we will develop electron spin resonance (ESR) thermochronometry to constrain the timescale of 10<sup>3<\/sup>-10<sup>6<\/sup> years. We will combine the ESR thermochronometry data together with OSL thermochronometry and detrital cosmogenic nuclide dating to cover the timespan of 10<sup>1<\/sup>-10<sup>4<\/sup> years. Using numerical modelling, I will then try to identify the local glacial incision history and resolve the temporal variation of erosion rates between glacial\/interglacial cycles during the late Pleistocene.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Biography<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>After receiving my bachelor\u2019s degree at Central China Normal University in 2017, I completed my master\u2019s thesis titled \u2018Cosmogenic Nuclide <sup>10<\/sup>Be Exposure Dating of the Older Moraine from Yingpu Valley, Northern Queer Mountain\u2019 at South China Normal University. During the project, I participated in an expedition to the southeast of the Tibetan Plateau, and collected and prepared samples for OSL and TCN dating from glaciofluvial terraces and moraines. I also conducted numerical modelling of glacial landscapes. Following this work, I have been captivated by landscape evolution and geochronology. Combining with my previous expertise and interests, I joined the Institute of Earth Surface Dynamics in May 2021 to start my PhD. I look forward to doing research in this field and my adventure in Switzerland.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Contact<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Xiaoxia Wen<br>University of Lausanne<br>Institute of Earth Surface Dynamics<br>G\u00e9opolis, office 3151<br>1015 Lausanne, Switzerland<br>+41 (0)21 692 35 43<br>xiaoxia.wen@unil.ch<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Research statement Earth\u2019s climate significantly cooled since 2-3 Ma and experienced periodic glaciations that saw the expansion of mid-latitude alpine glaciers. Glacial processes such as abrasion and plucking are suggested &hellip; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1001880,"featured_media":0,"parent":2,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-765","page","type-page","status-publish"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.unil.ch\/ice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/765","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.unil.ch\/ice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.unil.ch\/ice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.unil.ch\/ice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1001880"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.unil.ch\/ice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=765"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/wp.unil.ch\/ice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/765\/revisions"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.unil.ch\/ice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.unil.ch\/ice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=765"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}