Ecology and Evolution 

I am an archaeologist who studies intercultural communication networks in the Northern Aegean because I am interested in how intercultural interaction processes affected state formation in the protohistoric period. In this regard, in order to comprehend the Canakkale Strait's significance in intercultural communication networks during the Bronze Age, I have been conducting an archaeological survey (The Survey Project of Bronze Age Harbours in the Canakkale Strait) since 2021. At the same time, I am managing the project called "Integration of Remote Sensing Methods into the Prehistoric Archeology of the Gallipoli Peninsula" that is funded by the TUBITAK 2218 - National Postdoctoral Research Fellowship Program. In this project, it is aimed at evaluating the archaeological findings obtained from the aforementioned survey in question with interdisciplinary methods and introducing new methods to the science of archaeology.
 
 

Climate and Marine Sciences

  • My research centers on the response that terrestrial ecosystems, more specifically key forest woody taxa, give to disturbances (i.e. wildfires) whose primary triggers are climate change and anthropogenic pressures. I research how the amplitude and the frequency of these disturbances may change (and with them, the ecosystem), and how post-disturbance succession, potential competition between taxa, and the feedback from these processes may take place, and what the direction and the speed of any potential migration which the post-disturbance dynamics may initiate may be. While doing this, I also keep an eye out for any potential refugia that may emerge in the highly heterogeneous topography of my study area, which is currently Anatolian Peninsula and its immediate neighbours. I conduct risk analyses for my study region from an ecosystem services' perspective, through a combination of modelling and observation. I verify the results of my simulations (which I conduct using high resolution climate datasets and a process based dynamic vegetation model) with remote sensing datasets and ground observation (field measurements and on-site research). I conduct my post-doctoral research with Prof. Dr. Tolga Görüm, at Eurasia Institute of Earth Sciences, under the TUBITAK project 123N871, titled "Changes in rock mass properties after wildfires." We are collaborating with Czech scientists in this multi-disciplinary project to analyze the effects of two high intensity fire episodes on the abiotic components of ecosystems in two different geographies. Our research involves two different ecosystems, and we consider the biotic and abiotic components both, their interaction, the human signal, and the resulting changes in rock mass properties as conditions change. In addition, I'm currently monitoring a post-wildfire Pinus halepensis forest for secondary succession through a permit granted by the Nature Conservation and National Parks Directorate of Türkiye. The area is part of a protected zone in southwest Türkiye, one of the two important seed banks for the species on their native Taurus Mountain Range.

  • Solid Earth Sciences

    I am a geomorphologist mainly focused on hillslope processes. I investigate landslide dynamics, susceptibility, hazard, and risk in the components of slope processes. I create models for my studies using various tools in GIS and Remote Sensing. Presently, I am conducting a comprehensive study on lateral spreading along the stream bank based on the seismic effect. I have been detecting Geomorphologic Change (GCD) using the temporal Digital Elevation Models (DEMs). In this context, I am leading a project titled “High Resolution 2- and 3-Dimensional Digital Elevation Model in the Eastern Mediterranean Basin” under the TUBITAK 2218- National Postdoctoral Research Fellowship Program.