Nicolas Leroux wins Wiesnet Medal

Nicolas Leroux, PhD student in the Centre for Hydrology, part of the Department of Geography & Planning at the University of Saskatchewan, has won the 2015 Wiesnet Medal for best overall student paper at the Eastern Snow Conference in Sherbrooke, Quebec.

Student papers from across North America on aspects of snow, ice, glaciers, hydrology and climate were presented at the meeting. Mr Leroux presented the paper A dual pathway heterogeneous flow snow model at the 72nd Annual Eastern Snow Conference and was awarded the Weisnet Medal at the ESC banquet at the Jouvence Centre, near Sherbrooke on June 10th. The paper and presentation documented an advanced physically based approach to modelling 2D preferential flow through melting snowpacks that has great promise. Well done Nicolas!

New Water Security CREATE Program Invites Applications for Coordinator Post

The University of Saskatchewan, with funding from NSERC and in collaboration with University of Calgary, University of Manitoba, McMaster University and University of Waterloo, is seeking a Program Coordinator for its newly established NSERC CREATE program in Water Security. The NSERC CREATE program in Water Security is a national water resources graduate training program housed in the Department of Geography and Planning, in coordination with the Centre for Hydrology and Global Institute for Water Security. The NSERC CREATE program in Water Security will play a key role in transitioning graduate students from academic to professional environments through internships, lab exchanges and specialized university-level professional training courses. Reporting directly to the Program Director, the Program Coordinator will organize student-learning opportunities and support the flow of information between and among the program’s students, faculty and practitioner partners. The Program Coordinator will be people-oriented and will have the ability to manage multiple priorities promptly, efficiently and professionally, while ensuring deadlines are met within a demanding and fast-paced environment.

Position Details
Position: Half time (20 hrs/wk) – Grant funded
Term: Up to 6 years, renewed annually based on performance
Salary: $26,000 – $30,000 /yr
Start date: 15 July 2015
Closing date: Applications will be reviewed starting 19 June 2015

Duties

  • Provides ongoing support to the Program Director including scheduling and advertising courses, workshops and lecture series
  • Schedules and organizes program committee meetings; prepares materials and agendas, takes minutes and follows up on action items
  • Acts as the first point of contact and provides information to prospective and active students regarding general inquiries and concerns; tracks students’ progress and reviews student’s meeting of certificate program requirements
  • Liaises with practitioner (industry and government) partners and participating universities
  • Composes and reviews business documents such as e-mails, reports, presentations, and other correspondence and marketing resources
  • Makes arrangements for the annual workshop
  • Assists with monitoring financial activities and ensures compliance with sponsor conditions
  • Develops, renews and maintains promotional material
  • Works with Global Institute for Water Security staff to maintain the program website via advising the web designer of any needed changes
  • Maintains databases that track: i) students registered in the program; ii) student progress and funding sources; and iii) program evaluation metrics.
  • Drafts annual program progress reports for the funding agency under the guidance of the Program Director

Qualifications

  • Enjoys working and interacting with people and supporting their professional development
  • Excellent written and oral communication skills, strong organization skills, and a high level of accuracy and attention to detail
  • Superior computer skills (word processing, database management)
  • Excellent initiative, resourcefulness, willingness to accept responsibility, and self-motivated
  • Experience working in educational or research environments greatly preferred
  • Working knowledge in social media communication, concepts and platforms preferred
  • Education: Minimum of a Bachelor’s degree (environmental science, environmental engineering, environmental studies, ecology or related field), and a post-secondary business or office administration diploma preferred; equivalent combinations of education and experience will be considered

We thank all applicants for their interest; however, only those individuals selected for an interview will be contacted. Please send your résumé, cover letter and names of three references (as a PDF document) to Dr. Cherie Westbrook.

The University of Saskatchewan is strongly committed to a diverse and inclusive workplace that empowers all employees to reach their full potential. All members of the university community share a responsibility for developing and maintaining an environment in which differences are valued and inclusiveness is practiced. The university welcomes applications from those who will contribute to the diversity of our community. All qualified candidates are encouraged to apply; however, Canadian citizens and permanent residents will be given priority.

Post-Doctoral Fellowship in Snow Modelling

The Centre for Hydrology at the University of Saskatchewan is seeking a Post-Doctoral Fellow to join Canada’s Changing Cold Regions Network.

Working in conjunction with Environment Canada, the succcessful candidate will seek to improve the representation of snow processes and incorporate data assimilation techniques in large-scale hydrological models for application in prairie, forest and alpine contexts throughout western Canada.

Full details of the post and application process are available here.

 

Dr Cherie Westbrook Leads New U of S CREATE Program in Water Security

CH member Dr Cherie Westbrook is the project leader for a new water security training program, established at the U. of S. through the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council’s Collaborative Research and Training Experience (CREATE) scheme. The aim of the initiative is to provide a multi-disciplinary grounding for graduate students and post-doctoral fellows in issues such as water resources, floods, drought and water quality.

The program will receive $1.65 million of NSERC funding over the next six years, and over $2.8 Million from the U. of S., the University of Waterloo, University of Calgary, University of Manitoba, and McMaster University, and from industrial collaborators.

More information is available here.

Opportunity for a Hydrology Research Officer

The University of Saskatchewan Centre for Hydrology, with funding from Yukon Environment Water Resources Branch and in collaboration with McMaster University, under a climate change study supported by Transport Canada, is inviting applications for the post of Hydrology Research Officer.

We are looking for an energetic hydrologist to carry out field and office research which includes:

  • Installation, maintenance and operation of hydrological and meteorological monitoring instrumentation in Wolf Creek Research Basin, and along the Dempster Highway, Yukon;
  • Hydrological and meteorological data retrieval, quality control and assurance, archiving and dissemination of data;
  • Carrying out hydroclimatic analyses;
  • Preparation of technical reports.

Qualifications:
Applicants must have a BSc degree and preferably a MSc degree in a hydrology, atmospheric science, natural resources, or an environmental engineering field. The successful applicant should have interests in hydrology and meteorology. Applicants should have an aptitude for conducting field work in a challenging environment while programming, deploying and maintaining hydrological and meteorological instrumentation. All candidates must demonstrate that they have excellent oral and written communication skills and an ability to work with a diverse research team.

Position:
The one year position (with possibility for extension) will be staffed through the University of Saskatchewan Centre for Hydrology and will be based in Whitehorse. Salary will be commensurate with level of experience and demonstrated abilities.

Applications will be reviewed starting June 15, 2015. The position will remain open until a suitable candidate is found. See further details at www.usask.ca/hydrology. Please email your CV, cover letter, and names and contact information of three references to Joni Onclin at centre.hydrology@usask.ca.

This posting is available in PDF format here.

CBC Interview Covers Challenges of Managing for Flood and Drought Risks

Professor John Pomeroy was interviewed on 11th May 2015 by the CBC Radio One Calgary Eyeopener morning show, to discuss this year’s lower snowpack and early snowmelt, and the challenges of managing reservoirs so that they are equally effective for both flood control and sustaining low flows during dry years.

The interview also resulted in an article on the CBC website, available online here.

 

Flood-Mitigation Potential of Beavers Highlighted

At the recent joint CGU / AGU congress in Montreal, Dr Cherie Westbrook presented a detailed assessment of the effectiveness of beaver dams as natural flood defences, based on observations made in the Kananaskis area during the major Alberta floods of June 2013. Her work has also been profiled in Science News, in an article available here.

INARCH Announcement Published in Nature

The new International Network for Alpine Research Catchment Hydrology (INARCH), which has been established as a GEWEX cross-cut project following its founding by Professor John Pomeroy and an initial list of 25 participants from around the world, was formally announced in a recent edition of Nature. The article is available online here, and full details of the aims of INARCH are provided on its website.

Call for National Climate Plan to Address Flooding and Drought

The 24th April edition of the Saskatoon StarPhoenix includes an article discussing the federal government’s continued failure to formulate a climate-change mitigation strategy. It includes some forthright observations from the CH director Professor John Pomeroy about Canada’s embarrassing record in this area.

The piece is currently (25 April 2015) available online here, and as a PDF archive here.

Alpine snowmelt season already under way in the Rocky Mountains

With surveys by the Alberta Department of Environment and Sustainable Resource Development reporting generally below-average snowpack at lower elevations in the Alberta Rockies (details), and signs of an early melt already getting under way even at higher levels, the Calgary Herald has been asking CH staff for their perspective on what this may mean for water supplies in the coming summer.

In an article published on April 8th, Prof. John Pomeroy notes the connections between these patterns in Canada and persisting severe drought conditions in California.

The piece is available in its original form here, or as a PDF archive.