LEADERS-CREATE: Program for Leaders in Water and Watershed Sustainability

Emma Lanciault

sf60 — Wed, 19 Jan 2022 20:29:52 +0000

Emma Lanciault sf60 Wed, 01/19/2022 - 15:29

Last name

Lanciault

First name

Emma

Position / job title

M.Sc. Candidate

16egl@queensu.ca

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2022 - Present

Supervisor(s): Neal Scott, Geof Hall

Research Project: Land-use Change Impacts on Nutrient Inputs and Water Quality in Dog Lake

People Directory Affiliation Category

Geography & Planning

Graduate Student

School

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Department

Geography & Planning

The rapidly increasing number of eutrophics lakes in Southern Ontario is alarming. The shift to eutrophic environments has drastic impacts on water quality, biological activity, and recreational opportunities. Many of the lakes exhibiting eutrophication in Southern Ontario are shallow, man-made systems established over abandoned farmland, raising questions about the sources of excess nutrient inputs. Nutrients may originate from contemporary agriculture and land-use change in the watershed, or they could be from nutrient release within the lakes because of pre-flooding land-use practices. The goal of this research is to use a modeling framework for Dog Lake (located in Battersea Ontario) which was selected due to its origin being productive (Class 1) farmland, turned into a eutrophic lake. This study presents the opportunity to assess flows contributing to the watershed that have not previously been accounted for in hopes of mapping and assessing nutrient flows contributing to nutrient loading in the lakes. To address this problem, a modeling framework is needed to assess spatial and temporal controls over nutrient flows, and how factors such as land-use change has influenced those flows. To evaluate the different sources of phosphorus and nitrogen entering lake systems both a modeling framework and water quality monitoring will be utilized. Key research questions will assess the relative importance of different nutrient sources including the impact of land use change on nutrient budgets and water quality over time and how this can be applied to other watersheds experiencing poor water quality. The goal is to create a detailed framework to evaluate changes in watershed-scale nutrient budgets over time, and how this information can contribute to Source Water Protection programs being implemented in many of the Conservation Authorities in Ontario.

Thomas Stanton

sf60 — Wed, 19 Jan 2022 20:10:09 +0000

Thomas Stanton sf60 Wed, 01/19/2022 - 15:10

Last name

Stanton

First name

Thomas

Position / job title

M.Sc. Candidate

20tds3@queensu.ca

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2022 - Present

Supervisor(s): Neal Scott

Research Project: Environmental Controls on C and N Cycling in Upland Thermokarst Features Located in Permafrost-Dominated Watersheds

People Directory Affiliation Category

Geography & Planning

Graduate Student

School

��˴�Ƭ

Department

Geography & Planning

Permafrost is an integral component of the world’s ecosystems, with unparalleled carbon storage capacity amongst terrestrial environments. Permafrost underlays about 10% of land globally, and is estimated to store 50% of the planet's total carbon. With projected temperature increases in Northern environments expected to continue thawing these ice rich zones, portions of their landscape are projected to change into upland thermokarst. Upland thermokarst is a type of landscape caused by thawing permafrost and is responsible for a large scale shift in Arctic hydrology and nutrient cycling. This shift is expected to potentially cause a positive feedback loop whereby when permafrost thaws, it releases carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases (GHG), further warming the climate and thawing even more permafrost. The previously frozen carbon, nitrogen, and other nutrients released via permafrost thaw will have profound effects on surface water quality and aquatic ecosystems. Upland thermokarst features are projected to occupy 20 - 50% of all upland ecosystems in the Arctic by 2100. The key question concerning the coming ubiquity of these disturbances is how they will contribute to the possible climate-carbon feedback loop, how they will influence water quality and watershed nutrient budgets, and how net losses of carbon and nutrients via thermokarst will affect Arctic ecosystems. The objectives of this study will be to assess major changes in carbon and nutrient cycling within upland thermokarst features, including to ascertain key GHG fluxes and to evaluate changes in soil nutrient cycling processes and how they are likely to change with projected changes in climate.

BWRC & LEADERS Seminar Series – Stuart Pearson

sf60 — Mon, 17 Jan 2022 15:38:05 +0000

BWRC & LEADERS Seminar Series – Stuart Pearson sf60 Mon, 01/17/2022 - 10:38

Ana Gisell Pazmino-Sosa

sf60 — Wed, 12 Jan 2022 16:49:24 +0000

Ana Gisell Pazmino-Sosa sf60 Wed, 01/12/2022 - 11:49

Last name

Pazmino-Sosa

First name

Ana Gisell

Position / job title

Ph.D. Candidate

Phone

N/A

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2020

Supervisor(s): Pascale Champagne

Research Project: Role of algae in enhancing the photobiological degradation of POC

People Directory Affiliation Category

Civil Engineering

Graduate Student

School

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Department

Civil Engineering

Understanding the degradation mechanisms for different classes of POCs by different algal species under temperate region conditions is essential for implementing algal systems for small and remote systems. This project will undertake lab scale reactor studies to determine the photodegradation pathways that can be enhanced by algae. Model POCs will include common compounds detected in wastewater Ourococcus multisporus, Nannochloris sp, Senedesmus spp, Chlamydomonas and Chlorella vulgaris will be cultivated in 2L photobioreactors. For kinetic photodegradation experiments, batch experiment will be carried out in triplicate in 15-day cycles and radiation intensity and photoperiod will be constant (12 hours, 27.4 μmol/m2/s), while pH (5-10), temperature (5-20oC), OM (humic acid, 0-30 mg/L), NO3 (0-10 mg/L) and POC (0-1 mg/L) will be varied. In seasonal effects experiments, temperature, radiation intensity and photoperiod will be varied to mimic the diurnal cycles expected in a temperate climate. POCs and by-product identification will be carried out by GC/MS, HPLC/MS or UV/VIS/NIR. Growth and ecotoxicology assays, and extracellular polymeric substances (EPS), carotenoids, chlorophyll and pigments measurements will be performed based on established procedures Moreover, identification of photodegradation by-products will be carried out by isotope fractionation.

Azizi D, Arif A, Blair D, Dionne J, Filion Y, Ouarda Y, Pazmino AG, Pulicharia R, Rilstone V, Tiwari B, Vignale L, Brar SK, Champagne P, Drogui P, Langlois VS, Blais JF. (2021) A comprehensive review on current technologies for removal of endocrine disrupting chemicals from wastewaters. Environmental Research, 112196.

Humanitarian Water Engineering Course

sf60 — Fri, 12 Nov 2021 18:56:14 +0000

Humanitarian Water Engineering Course sf60 Fri, 11/12/2021 - 13:56

Mengsi Dong

sf60 — Mon, 08 Nov 2021 15:30:30 +0000

Mengsi Dong sf60 Mon, 11/08/2021 - 10:30

Last name

Dong

First name

Mengsi

Position / job title

Ph.D. Candidate

Phone

N/A

19dm13@queensu.ca

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2021 - Present

Supervisor(s): Ana Maria da Silva

Research Project: Formation and effects of alternate bars in gravel rivers and streams

People Directory Affiliation Category

Civil Engineering

Graduate Student

School

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Department

Civil Engineering

Alternate bars are three-dimensional large-scale river bed forms that scale with river width. They are characterized by diagonal fronts, ending with scour holes in the neighborhood of the banks alternating from the left to the right bank. In contrast to ripples and dunes, which form only under sub-critical flow conditions and typically occur in sand streams, alternate bars occur under both sub-critical and super-critical flow conditions, and are particularly prominent features in gravel and gravel-dominated streams. Even though many hydraulic related aspects of alternate bars have been the focus of intensive research in the past, it is not until very recently that they have been recognized as a major contributor to the health of the river eco-system. They lead to sequences of pools and riffles along the streams, with the pools providing resting places for the fish as they migrate upstream and the riffles being a preferred feature for the fish to deposit their eggs; and they are a primary factor in the development of hyporheic flows (exchanges of water between the surface and groundwater flows) thus playing an important role in moderating habitat life conditions in the riverbed and determining the spatial and temporal patterns of dissolved oxygen and nutrients along rivers. Mengsi's research will aim at advancing the understanding of the formation and effects of alternate bars in rivers and streams, by focusing on aspects that remain unknown and are of particular relevance to the enhancement of river characteristics promoting habitat for fish and subsurface micro-organisms.

Corinna Dally-Starna

sf60 — Mon, 08 Nov 2021 15:18:58 +0000

Corinna Dally-Starna sf60 Mon, 11/08/2021 - 10:18

Last name

Dally-Starna

First name

Corinna

Position / job title

Ph.D. Candidate

5cd11@queensu.ca

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2021 - Present

Supervisor(s): Stephen Brown, Yves Filion and Warren Mabee

Research Project: First Nations water security: The role of project and engineering management

People Directory Affiliation Category

Environmental Studies

Graduate Student

School

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Department

Environmental Studies

Despite decades of dedicated funding, policies, and programs, many First Nations (FN) communities are experiencing water insecurity and its cascading effects: reduced health outcomes, high rates of suicide, out-migration, loss of cultural continuity, overcrowding, and economic disparities. Canada subscribes to evidence-based policy-making. This research hypothesizes that despite the wealth of Indigenous water governance literature, critical data are lacking to inform effectual solutions to address FN drinking water (DW) crises, specifically how to achieve long-term service delivery of FN DW infrastructure--a critical determinant of water security. Although international engineering and infrastructure research and FN leaders are pointing to project and engineering management practices as one possible factor contributing to the under-performance and lack of sustainability of FN DW infrastructure, this critical area of water infrastructure management remains largely unexplored in the Indigenous water governance literature. To fill this data gap, Corinna's research examines what changes, if any, in project and engineering management need to be made to ensure DW infrastructure service delivery consistent with FN needs, wants, and engineering standards in the era of climate change.

Dally-Starna C. (2020) Water crisis in First Nations communities runs deeper than long-term drinking water advisories. The Conversation.

Courtney Robichaud

sf60 — Thu, 26 Aug 2021 17:21:16 +0000

Courtney Robichaud sf60 Thu, 08/26/2021 - 13:21

Last name

Robichaud

First name

Courtney

Position / job title

Postdoctoral Fellow

courtney.robichaud@queensu.ca

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2021

Supervisor(s): Diane Orihel

Research Project: Identifying how biotic complexity mediates the effects of microplastics

People Directory Affiliation Category

Biology

Postdoctoral Fellow

School

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Department

Biology

Microplastics are a global contaminant of concern that present a challenging area of research as they are both a solid plastic and contain a suite of chemical additives. Recent reviews have identified substantial gaps regarding the effects of microplastics on freshwater aquatic food webs, which include a lack of experimentation on higher levels of biological organization (e.g. community- and ecosystem-level). In addition to microplastics, many freshwater systems in Canada are under stress from surrounding land use. These stressors and disturbances result in the taxonomic and functional homogenization of biological communities, which may have a synergistic effect with microplastic pollution. Phytoplankton are an essential component of freshwater ecosystems and are sensitive to environmental perturbations. As such, stressors such as nutrient addition can alter the composition of freshwater phytoplankton communities. Courtney's research will test the response of diverse phytoplankton communities and simplified phytoplankton communities to better understand how biotic complexity modulates the effects of microplastics in freshwater aquatic ecosystems.

Hudson Ward

sf60 — Thu, 26 Aug 2021 17:19:46 +0000

Hudson Ward sf60 Thu, 08/26/2021 - 13:19

Last name

Ward

First name

Hudson

Position / job title

B.Sc. Candidate

hudson.ward@queensu.ca

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Summer 2021

Supervisor(s): Ana da Silva

Research Project: Assessment of vortex-induced vibration failure risk of exposed pipelines in rivers

People Directory Affiliation Category

Civil Engineering

Undergraduate Student

School

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Department

Civil Engineering

Within Canada there is over 840,000 km of oil and gas pipelines which are critical to the Canadian economy, and whose failure can have significant economic and environmental impacts. It is essential to ensure the integrity of these systems. Many pipelines cross rivers, with river scour being a significant hazard for pipelines in Canada. This scour often results in the exposure of a buried pipeline, and if it leads to a free spanning pipeline, then this may fail due to fatigue caused by vortex induced vibration (VIV). At present there is a lack of procedures to assess the risk of VIV induced by river scour. Hudson’s project addresses this need and its primary objective is to develop physically based formulations to predict if the pipelines are at risk of becoming exposed and if VIV failure is likely to occur. The research involves novel laboratory experiments and numerical tests. The experiments will enable the observation of the process of exposure of buried pipelines, and constitute benchmark cases for the validation of FLOW-3D. The results will be used to develop an updated procedure for determining the depth of scour beneath a pipeline, ultimate free-span length and propagation rate for different flow conditions.

Baris Uzel

sf60 — Thu, 26 Aug 2021 17:17:44 +0000

Baris Uzel sf60 Thu, 08/26/2021 - 13:17

Last name

Uzel

First name

Baris

Position / job title

M.Sc. Candidate

19bu@queensu.ca

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2020 - 2021

Supervisor(s): Neal Scott

Research Project: The effect of winter warming on nitrogen transformation rates in High Arctic soils

People Directory Affiliation Category

Geography & Planning

Graduate Student

School

��˴�Ƭ

Department

Geography & Planning

Arctic air temperatures are increasing at more than double the global rates with warming occurring predominantly in the winter months. Precipitation in the Arctic is expected to increase throughout the century causing enhanced snow deposition that can act as a soil insulator during the cold winter months. The combined effect of both these factors can influence soil microbial communities, biogeochemical cycles, and potentially surface water quality. Microbial activity during the winter can play a crucial role in ecosystem dynamics in the High Arctic. During the winter, fungal dominated microbial communities can access multiple mircosites through their mycelia and thereby mineralize greater amounts of nitrogen (N). This is a key process since Arctic ecosystems are N deficient which causes a limit to both vegetation and soil microbiome productivity during the growing season. Changes in the N cycle can also impact surface waters. Warmer winters can increase microbial productivity causing higher N mineralization rates, thereby, decrease N deficiency in the growing season which can trigger feedback mechanisms that could wither induce or dampen further warming. Baris' goal is to understand the effect of winter temperatures on nitrogen transformation rates in the Cape Bounty Arctic Watershed Observatory by conducting an incubation study using soil samples taken from a wet sedge tundra ecosystem.

LEADERS-CREATE: Program for Leaders in Water and Watershed Sustainability

Emma Lanciault

���˴�Ƭ Emma's Research

Thomas Stanton

���˴�Ƭ Thomas' Research

BWRC & LEADERS Seminar Series – Stuart Pearson

Ana Gisell Pazmino-Sosa

���˴�Ƭ Gisell's Research

Publications

Humanitarian Water Engineering Course

Mengsi Dong

���˴�Ƭ Mengsi's Research

Corinna Dally-Starna

���˴�Ƭ Corinna's Research

Publications

Courtney Robichaud

���˴�Ƭ Courtney's Research

Hudson Ward

���˴�Ƭ Hudson's Research

Baris Uzel

���˴�Ƭ Baris' Research