INTERDISCIPLINARY
NATURE-BASED SOLUTIONS
FOR CLIMATE CHANGE
Three Water Institute members were awarded new projects from Environment and Climate Change Canada to investigate nature-based solutions for climate change. Maria Strack (Geography and Environmental Management) leads Can-Peat which will quantify the potential of Canada’s vast peatlands to mitigate climate change. Laura Hug (Biology) leads Mitigation of Methane Emission Hot-spots from Municipal Landfills which will assess state-of-art monitoring and soil cover technologies for reducing methane emissions. Nandita Basu (Earth and Environmental Sciences and Civil and Environmental Engineering) leads SOLUTIONSCAPES which will design climate and water smart agricultural solutions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
INTERDISCIPLINARY
NATURE-BASED SOLUTIONS
FOR CLIMATE CHANGE
Three Water Institute members were awarded new projects from Environment and Climate Change Canada to investigate nature-based solutions for climate change. Maria Strack (Geography and Environmental Management) leads Can-Peat which will quantify the potential of Canada’s vast peatlands to mitigate climate change. Laura Hug (Biology) leads Mitigation of Methane Emission Hot-spots from Municipal Landfills which will assess state-of-art monitoring and soil cover technologies for reducing methane emissions. Nandita Basu (Earth and Environmental Sciences and Civil and Environmental Engineering) leads SOLUTIONSCAPES which will design climate and water smart agricultural solutions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
The climate crisis is a water crisis.
INDIGENOUS FRAMEWORKS
FOR SAFE WATER
Kelsey Leonard (Environment, Resources and Sustainability) and Indigenous colleagues have defined Water Back for Water Research, a framework to return to Indigenous governance to empower resurgent Indigenous Water relationships integral to Indigenous cultural, biological, spiritual and political sovereignty. Kelly Skinner, Brian Laird and Mylène Ratelle (Public Health Sciences) are working to provide safe water to Indigenous communities by understanding how people’s perception of tap water affects consumption.
ICE AND CLIMATE CHANGE
Christine Dow (Geography and Environmental Management) discovered a 460 km river under the Antarctica ice sheet showing that the glacier base has more active water flow than previously thought and indicating that previous studies may have been underestimating ice sheet melting. Andrea Scott (Systems Design Engineering) is using machine learning approaches to provide daily forecasts of the probability of sea ice with lead times up to 90 days, critical for safe shipping.
ICE AND CLIMATE CHANGE
Christine Dow (Geography and Environmental Management) discovered a 460 km river under the Antarctica ice sheet showing that the glacier base has more active water flow than previously thought and indicating that previous studies may have been underestimating ice sheet melting. Andrea Scott (Systems Design Engineering) is using machine learning approaches to provide daily forecasts of the probability of sea ice with lead times up to 90 days, critical for safe shipping.
WATER INSTITUTE SEED GRANT IMPACT
publications generated
of HQP trained
of downstream revenue generated
new interdisciplinary collaborations funded
return on investment over 9 years
new interdisciplinary collaborations funded
Canada research Chairs
in water research funding since 2009
Return on Investment over 9 years
COLLABORATING
FOR A HEALTHIER GRAND RIVER
Twenty years ago, Mark Servos (Biology) discovered that male fish in the Grand River were developing female or intersex characteristics. In response, the Region of Waterloo has invested in significant upgrades to its wastewater treatment plants and river quality has improved dramatically, with intersex characteristics disappearing and other species coming back. Helen Jarvie (Geography and Environmental Management) recently identified an improved metabolic regime and ecosystem health in the Grand River due to the same upgrades.
COLLABORATING
FOR A HEALTHIER GRAND RIVER
Twenty years ago, Mark Servos (Biology) discovered that male fish in the Grand River were developing female or intersex characteristics. In response, the Region of Waterloo has invested in significant upgrades to its wastewater treatment plants and river quality has improved dramatically, with intersex characteristics disappearing and other species coming back. Helen Jarvie (Geography and Environmental Management) recently identified an improved metabolic regime and ecosystem health in the Grand River due to the same upgrades.
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