Dr. Patricia Corcoran

Sedimentary Petrology, Plastic Pollution, Precambrian Geology

Patricia Corcoran

Professor
Ph.D. Dalhousie University, 2001
Office: BGS 1068
Labs: BGS 1024; Biotron 020
Phone: (519) 661-2111 x.86836
Website: Email: pcorcor@uwo.ca

Research Interests

Sedimentary petrology; factors controlling the composition and dispersal of natural and anthropogenic sedimentary deposits; distribution, accumulation and degradation of plastic debris in sediment, water, soils, air, and fish; effects of climate, transport and recycling on sedimentary textures and composition.

Selected Publications

  • Hill-Svehla, C.M., Corcoran, P.L., 2023. Microbial, tidal, and storm activity in a macrotidal to shallow marine shelf environment during the Paleoproterozoic era. Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences, 60: 713-738.

  • Belontz, S., Corcoran, P.L., de Haan-Ward, J., Helm, P.A., Marvin, C., 2022. Factors driving the spatial distribution of microplastics in nearshore and offshore sediment of Lake Huron, North America. Marine Pollution Bulletin, 179: 113709. .

  • Arturo, I., Corcoran, P.L., 2022. Categorization of plastic debris on sixty-six beaches of the Laurentian Great Lakes, North America. Environmental Research Letters, 17: 045008. .

  • Hill-Svehla, C.M., Corcoran, P.L., 2022. Microbial, tidal and storm activity in a macro-tidal to shallow marine shelf environment during the Paleoproterozoic Era. Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences, 60: 713-738. .

  • Wardlaw, C., Corcoran, P.L., Neff, B.D., 2022. Factors influencing the variation of microplastic uptake in demersal fishes from the upper Thames River Ontario. Environmental Pollution, 313. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2022.120095.

  • Corcoran, P.L., 2021. Degradation of microplastics in the environment. In: Handbook of Microplastics in the Environment (Edited by T. Rocha-Santos, M. Costa, C. Mouneyrac), Springer, Cham.

  • Corcoran, P.L., Belontz, S.L., Ryan, K., Walzak, M.J., 2020. Factors controlling the distribution of microplastic particles in benthic sediment of the Thames River, Canada. Environmental Science & Technology, 54: 818-825.

  • Corcoran, P.L., Jazvac, K., 2020. The consequence that is plastiglomerate. Nature Reviews Earth & Environment, 1: 6-7.  

  • Corcoran, P.L., de Haan Ward, J., Arturo, I., Belontz, S.L., Moore, T., Hill-Svehla, C.M., Robertson, K., Wood, K., Jazvac, K. A., 2020. comprehensive investigation of industrial plastic pellets on beaches across the Laurentian Great Lakes and the factors governing their distribution. Science of the Total Environment, 747: 141227.

  • Huntington, A., Corcoran, P.L., Jantunen, L., Thaysen, C., Bernstein, S., Stern, G.A., Rochman, C.M. A first assessment of microplastics and other anthropogenic particles in Hudson Bay and the surrounding Eastern Canadian Arctic waters of Nunavut. FACETS 5: 432–454. doi: 10.1139/facets-2019-004 

  • Belontz, S.L., Corcoran, P.L., Davis, H., Hill, K.A., Jazvac, K., Robertson, K., Wood, K., 2018. Embracing an Interdisciplinary Approach to Plastics Pollution Awareness and Action. Ambio, 48: 855-866. .

  • Dean, B.Y., Corcoran, P.L., Helm, P.A., 2018. Factors Influencing Microplastic Abundances in Nearshore, Tributary and Beach Sediments along the Ontario Shoreline of Lake Erie. Journal of Great Lakes Research, 44: 1002-1009. 

  • Hill, C.M., Corcoran, P.L., 2018. Processes responsible for the development of soft-sediment deformation structures (SSDS) in the Paleoproterozoic Gordon Lake Formation, Huronian Supergroup, Canada. Precambrian Research, 310: 63-75. 

  • Corcoran, P.L., Jazvac, K., Ballent, A., 2017. Plastics and the Anthropocene inEncyclopedia of the Anthropocene, Elsevier, 8pp, .

  • Ballent, A., Corcoran, P.L., Madden, O., Helm, P.A., Longstaffe, F.J., 2016. Sources and sinks of microplastics in Canadian Lake Ontario nearshore, tributary and beach sediments. Marine Pollution Bulletin, 110: 383–395. 

  • Hill, C., Corcoran, P.L., Aranha, R.A., Longstaffe, F.J., 2016. Microbially induced sedimentary structures in the Paleoproterozoic, upper Huronian Supergroup, Canada. Precambrian Research, 281: 155-165.

  • Zalasiewicz, J., Waters, C.N., Ivar do Sul, J., Corcoran, P.L., Barnosky, A.D., Cearreta, A., Edgeworth, M., Galuszka, A., Jeandel, C., Leinfelder, R., McNeill, J.R., Steffen, W., Summerhayes, C., Wagreich, M., Williams, M., Wolfe, A.P., Yonan, Y., 2016. The geological cycle of plastics and their use as a stratigraphic indicator of the Anthropocene. Anthropocene, 13: 4-17. 

  • Corcoran, P.L., 2015. Benthic plastic debris in marine and fresh water environments. Environmental Science: Processes and Impacts, 17: 1363-1369. 

  • Corcoran, P.L., Norris, T., Ceccanese, T., Walzak, M.J., Helm, P.A., Marvin, C.H., 2015. Hidden plastics of Lake Ontario, Canada and their potential preservation in the sediment record. Environmental Pollution, 204: 17-25. 

  • Corcoran, P.L., Moore, C., Jazvac, K., 2014. An anthropogenic marker horizon in the future rock record. GSA Today, 24: 4-8. the future rock record. GSA Today, 24: 4-8. .

Courses Taught

  • Earth Sciences 2250Y: Introductory Field Mapping Techniques
  • Earth Sciences 3314B: Sedimentary Petrology
  • Geology 9580A/9680A: Graduate Seminar
  • Earth Sciences 4490/Environmental Science 4999/Environmental Science 4970: Senior Thesis