New CBC interview- Effects of coal mining on water quality

What effect could coal mining in Alberta have on water quality of Saskatchewan’s rivers?
Blue Sky with Garth Materie
CBCListen
February 4, 2021

A controversy is raging in Alberta over plans to allow open-pit coal mines on the eastern slopes of the Rockies. This could have an effect in Saskatchewan. Many of the rivers near the proposed mines eventually run into the Saskatchewan river system. This project has seen opposition from a wide range of groups including Indigenous communities and rancher/musician Corb Lund.

 

We spoke with Ian Urquhart, the Conservation Director for the Alberta Wilderness Association. We were also joined by John Pomeroy, the director of the Global Water Futures Project at the University of Saskatchewan and we heard from Garry Carriere, President of the Cumberland House Fisheries.

Listen to the episode at: https://www.cbc.ca/listen/live-radio/1-189-blue-sky

Read the corresponding CBC article:‘An abomination’: Sask. water expert warns of contamination following Alberta’s coal policy changes, by Mickey Djuric, CBC News, February 5, 2021

 

 

Centre Hydrologist Dr. John Pomeroy featured on The Weather Network

Snow laughing matter: Why you should never eat snow
Rachel Schoutsen
The Weather Network
February 1, 2021

Have you ever taken a bite out of winter? Eating snow may look harmless, however there could be thousands of elements in a single bite of snow. Auto emissions, bacteria, sea salts and nitrate are just the start!

 

Watch the interview at: https://www.theweathernetwork.com/ca/news/article/why-you-should-not-eat-snow

Centre Hydrologist discusses melting glaciers on CBC news

Melting ice and glaciers could lead to water crisis
Tashauna Reid, CBC News
January 28th

A new study finds that ice is disappearing around the globe at an alarming rate and glaciers represent a significant amount of ice loss. Researchers in Canada say the retreat of glaciers will have major impacts on water security in Canada.

Watch the video here: https://www.cbc.ca/player/play/1849913411823

 

New Journal Article – Snow Model Intercomparison

Scientific and Human Errors in a Snow Model Intercomparison

Cecile B. Menard, Richard Essery, Gerhard Krinner, Gabriele Arduini, Paul Bartlett, Aaron Boone, Claire Brutel-Vuilmet, Eleanor Burke, Matthias Cuntz, Yongjiu Dai, Bertrand Decharme, Emanuel Dutra, Xing Fang, Charles Fierz, Yeugeniy Gusev, Stefan Hagemann, Vanessa Haverd, Hyungjun Kim, Matthieu Lafaysse, Thomas Marke, Olga Nasonova, Tomoko Nitta, Masashi Niwano, John Pomeroy, Gerd Schädler, Vladimir A. Semenov, Tatiana Smirnova, Ulrich Strasser, Sean Swenson, Dmitry Turkov, Nander Wever, and Hua Yuan

Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society, Volume 101, Issue 1
January 14, 2021
https://doi.org/10.1175/BAMS-D-19-0329.1

Abstract
Twenty-seven models participated in the Earth System Model–Snow Model Intercomparison Project (ESM-SnowMIP), the most data-rich MIP dedicated to snow modeling. Our findings do not support the hypothesis advanced by previous snow MIPs: evaluating models against more variables and providing evaluation datasets extended temporally and spatially does not facilitate identification of key new processes requiring improvement to model snow mass and energy budgets, even at point scales. In fact, the same modeling issues identified by previous snow MIPs arose: albedo is a major source of uncertainty, surface exchange parameterizations are problematic, and individual model performance is inconsistent. This lack of progress is attributed partly to the large number of human errors that led to anomalous model behavior and to numerous resubmissions. It is unclear how widespread such errors are in our field and others; dedicated time and resources will be needed to tackle this issue to prevent highly sophisticated models and their research outputs from being vulnerable because of avoidable human mistakes. The design of and the data available to successive snow MIPs were also questioned. Evaluation of models against bulk snow properties was found to be sufficient for some but inappropriate for more complex snow models whose skills at simulating internal snow properties remained untested. Discussions between the authors of this paper on the purpose of MIPs revealed varied, and sometimes contradictory, motivations behind their participation. These findings started a collaborative effort to adapt future snow MIPs to respond to the diverse needs of the community.

Read the full article here.

New Journal Article – Snow cover duration

Snow cover duration trends observed at sites and predicted by multiple models

Richard Essery, Hyungjun Kim, Libo Wang, Paul Bartlett, Aaron Boone, Claire Brutel-Vuilmet, Eleanor Burke, Matthias Cuntz, Bertrand Decharme, Emanuel Dutra, Xing Fang, Yeugeniy Gusev, Stefan Hagemann, Vanessa Haverd, Anna Kontu, Gerhard Krinner, Matthieu Lafaysse, Yves Lejeune, Thomas Marke, Danny Marks, Christoph Marty, Cecile B. Menard, Olga Nasonova, Tomoko Nitta, John Pomeroy, Gerd Schädler, Vladimir Semenov, Tatiana Smirnova, Sean Swenson, Dmitry Turkov, Nander Wever, and Hua Yuan

The Cryosphere, Vol 14, Issue 12
December 21, 2020
https://doi.org/10.1002/hyp.13986

Abstract:
The 30-year simulations of seasonal snow cover in 22 physically based models driven with bias-corrected meteorological reanalyses are examined at four sites with long records of snow observations. Annual snow cover durations differ widely between models, but interannual variations are strongly correlated because of the common driving data. No significant trends are observed in starting dates for seasonal snow cover, but there are significant trends towards snow cover ending earlier at two of the sites in observations and most of the models. A simplified model with just two parameters controlling solar radiation and sensible heat contributions to snowmelt spans the ranges of snow cover durations and trends. This model predicts that sites where snow persists beyond annual peaks in solar radiation and air temperature will experience rapid decreases in snow cover duration with warming as snow begins to melt earlier and at times of year with more energy available for melting.

Read the full article here.

New Article- What Canada’s melting glaciers tell USask researchers

Chris Morin
University of Saskatchewan News
Jan 8, 2021

It may seem unfathomable, but these masses of ice are melting at an alarming rate. Canadian glaciers have shrunk 15 per cent since 1985, and estimated glacier loss in the Rockies could rise to 100 per cent by the end of the century, according to University of Saskatchewan (USask) hydrology PhD candidate Caroline Aubry-Wake.

One of the areas that Aubry-Wake conducts research at is the Peyto Glacier in Banff National Park and the Athabasca Glacier in Jasper National Park. It’s an area that’s a cause for alarm—not just the immediate region, but also those areas downstream—and a look at the region’s rapid ice loss makes this clear.

Read the full article at: https://news.usask.ca/articles/research/2021/what-canadas-melting-glaciers-tell-usask-researchers.php

New Journal Article – Isotope analysis of subalpine forest water sources

A δ18O and δ2H stable water isotope analysis of subalpine forest water sources under seasonal and hydrological stress in the Canadian Rocky Mountains

Lindsey E. Langs, Richard M. Petrone and John W. Pomeroy

Hydrological Processes
Volume 24, Issue 26
December 18, 2020
https://doi.org/10.1002/hyp.13986

Abstract:
Subalpine forests are hydrologically important to the function and health of mountain basins. Identifying the specific water sources and the proportions used by subalpine forests is necessary to understand potential impacts to these forests under a changing climate. The recent “Two Water Worlds” hypothesis suggests that trees can favour tightly bound soil water instead of readily available free‐flowing soil water. Little is known about the specific sources of water used by subalpine trees Abies lasiocarpa (Subalpine fir) and Picea engelmannii (Engelmann spruce) in the Canadian Rocky Mountains. In this study, stable water isotope (δ18O and δ2H) samples were obtained from S. fir and Engelmann spruce trees at three points of the growing season in combination with water sources available at time of sampling (snow, vadose zone water, saturated zone water, precipitation). Using the Bayesian Mixing Model, MixSIAR, relative source water proportions were calculated. In the drought summer examined, there was a net loss of water via evapotranspiration from the system. Results highlighted the importance of tightly vadose zone, or bound soil water, to subalpine forests, providing insights of future health under sustained years of drought and net loss in summer growing seasons. This work builds upon concepts from the “Two Water Worlds” hypothesis, showing that subalpine trees can draw from different water sources depending on season and availability. In our case, water use was largely driven by a tension gradient within the soil allowing trees to utilize vadose zone water and saturated zone water at differing points of the growing season.

Read the full article here.

 

Virtual Gallery Opening – Canada, Russia and the UK collaborate

Global Water Futures and Rossotrudnichestvo (Russian Culture House) invite you to:

Cold Regions Warming
Documenting Circumpolar Climate Change and Impacts on Freshwater

Join us for the virtual gallery opening of the Cold Regions Warming Exhibition at Rossotrudnichestvo, London.

Thursday, 17 December 2020
10-11 am MST | 11-12 am CST | 12-1 pm EST | 5-6 pm GMT

The Cold Regions Warming exhibit is a collaboration between artist Gennadiy Ivanov, John Pomeroy, Director of Global Water Futures programme, and Trevor Davies, University of East Anglia. The exhibit presents an art-science perspective on climate change threats to the vast cold regions shared by Russia and Canada.

This event will feature remarks by:
His Excellency, Mr. Andrei Kelin, Russian Ambassador to UK
Her Excellency, Madam Janice Charette, the High Commissioner for Canada to UK
Anton Chesnokov, Director of Russian Culture House UK
Distinguished Prof., John Pomeroy, Director of Global Water Futures Programme
Gennadiy Ivanov, Norwich Art Gallery, UK
Prof. Trevor Davies, University of East Anglia

Register Here

About the Cold Regions Warming Exhibition

Cold Regions Warming presents an art-science perspective on the climate change threats to the vast cold regions shared by Russia and Canada. The burning forests, thawing permafrost, melting glaciers and declining snow and ice cover are damaging the natural capital of the vast boreal and arctic ecosystems that support our economies and the Arctic Ocean. A rescue will require an immediate mobilization for a great common endeavour, on a scale that vastly exceeds that for any previous great cause in human history.
“Gennadiy Ivanov’s paintings have a distinctive communicative power. Within the raw energy of colour and motion, Gena captures his subject with elements of pure stillness – an absolute likeness suggesting sensations or emotions that are instantly recognisable. This immediacy gives Ivanov’s work an unusually broad appeal, as audiences are drawn to paintings that are brilliantly beautiful and perfectly legible.”

– Representative office of the Rossotrudnichestvo in Great Britain

Cold Regions Warming Exhibit Catalogue

Event Contact:
Event Logistics: Stephanie Merrill, Global Water Futures Programme: stephanie.merrill@usask.ca
General Inquiries: Stacey Dumanski, Global Water Futures Programme: stacey.dumanski@usask.ca

New Article – Fort McMurray residents still cleaning, considering options after spring flooding

Dr. John Pomeroy was interviewed in a recent article relating to the spring 2020 flooding in Lethbridge Alberta and it’s aftermath:

Lethbridge News Now
December 5, 2020

FORT MCMURRAY, Alta. — More than seven months ago, Cora Dion and her husband fled Fort McMurray for the second time in four years as a spring flood threatened their home in northern Alberta.

They returned to a soggy mess in the basement, a dispute with their insurance company and the near-foreclosure of their home in the city’s downtown.

“We’re home,” Dion said in an interview earlier this week. “Our basement is still naked, but we have hot water and we have a furnace.”

Dion is one of 13,000 residents who were forced to flee the city in late April when ice jams led to major flooding by causing the Athabasca and Clearwater rivers to overflow their banks.

Read the full article with Dr. Pomeroy’s insights here.

New Article – ‘It’s been a pretty wild ride’: USask course attracts students from around the world, demonstrates innovation in teaching and learning

By Shannon Boklaschuk
College of Arts & Science News
December 3, 2020

The first university course Dr. Martyn Clark (PhD) ever taught is memorable for many reasons.

First, Clark started teaching the University of Saskatchewan (USask) graduate geography course—GEOG 825—in September 2020, when most USask classes moved online due to the global COVID-19 pandemic. Second, because the course was offered remotely, students from more than a dozen countries around the world signed up. Third, Clark employed innovative teaching and learning practices in the course, including cloud computing, super-computing and hands-on model development.

As a result, teaching GEOG 825 involved a lot of “learning by doing,” said Clark, a professor in the Department of Geography and Planning in USask’s College of Arts and Science and the associate director of the Centre for Hydrology. “It’s been a pretty wild ride,” he said.

Read the full article here.