The WMO High Mountain Summit on 29-31 October 2019 concluded with a Call to Action and a roadmap of priority activities. The priority actions aim to support more sustainable development, disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation both in high-mountain areas and downstream.
John Pomeroy CWRA Webinar Online
A CWRA Webinar on the Impact of Climate Change on Canada’s Snow and Ice Resources is now available online. This is a webinar that John Pomeroy gave on March 17th as part of World Water Day.
View the webinar online
USask hydrology program earns certification by geoscientists
The new University of Saskatchewan (USask) hydrology program passed a major milestone last week by achieving certification from Saskatchewan’s licensing body for geoscientists.
At a remote meeting of the Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of Saskatchewan (APEGS) on March 24, the association’s Academic Review Committee voted that the USask Bachelor of Science Four-Year and Bachelor of Science Honours programs in hydrology meet Canadian knowledge standards in environmental geoscience.
The certification means that students graduating from the undergraduate hydrology program will be eligible for professional registration as geoscientists-in-training—the first step to becoming a professional geoscientist in Saskatchewan.
Read the full article on the Arts & Science website
Rockies’ conditions reflected in IPCC high mountains report
Earth’s high mountain areas are so significant in terms of climate change impacts that last fall the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) issued its Special Report on the Ocean and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate.
Around the world, high mountain areas are places that hold much of Earth’s cryosphere, as the frozen parts of the planet are known, including snow, glaciers, permafrost and lake ice and river ice.
These high mountain areas are also where widespread changes are taking place in response to the planet’s warming temperatures. Declining snowpacks and shifts in the amount and timing of snowmelt runoff are just some of the changes happening in these areas.
The effects aren’t limited to the mountains, but have impacts on physical, biological and human systems in the lowlands downstream.
That includes the Canadian Rockies, foothills and prairies.
Climate change, pollution and urbanization threaten water in Canada
In recent years, the daily news has been flooded with stories of water woes from coast to coast to coast.
There are melting glaciers and ice sheets in northern and western Canada and lead in drinking water in the older neighbourhoods of many cities in Canada. We see toxic blue green algae threatening pets, livestock and drinking water as well as catastrophic floods, droughts and fires.
In 2018, parts of British Columbia experienced devastating floods, followed by wildfires a couple of months later.
Our water resources are under threat from contamination, land use, urbanization and climate change. If we’re not careful, it may not be clean enough or available when we need it.
Manitoba hydro power could help Sask. cut back on coal
From the Winnipeg Sun:
A newly-approved transmission line from Manitoba to Sask. could help the latter wean itself off coal and develop more renewable energy infrastructure.
View the full article here
Trudeau government’s promises on tackling climate change stymied by lack of data
From The Globe and Mail:
The federal government has made climate change a priority by promising to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050, put a price on pollution, plant two billion trees and help Canadians manage the risk of natural disasters such as flooding.
But interviews with more than a dozen researchers, and current and former government officials, plus scores of government records, point to the same conclusion: To keep its green promises, the federal government needs better numbers…
View the full article here
New resource ebook by Robert Patrick released!
Robert Patrick has released a new ebook with Kendall Hunt Publishing: Protecting Sources of Drinking Water: A Guidebook for Indigenous Communities, Watershed Associations, Local Governments and Non-Governmental Organizations.
The ebook can be updated annually, and is practical as a resource book in both academic and non-academic settings. You can order the form or request a review copy at the following website:
CH Student Dhiraj Pradhananga: Ph.D. Thesis Defence
Centre for Hydrology student Dhiraj Pradhananga will defend his Ph.D. thesis Response of Canadian Rockies Glacier Hydrology to Changing Climate
Details:
- Date: Monday, January 6, 2020
- Time: 12:00 P.M.
- Place: University of Saskatchewan – Room 118 Thorvaldson Building
Everyone is invited to attend.
Seminar by Martin Sharp
Dr. Martin Sharp, Earth and Atmospheric Professor at the University of Alberta will present a seminar on Hypersaline subglacial lakes beneath the Devon Ice Cap, Nunavut.