News & Events @ Centre for Hydrology

The Centre for Hydrology is co-sponsoring a suite of presentations hosted by the Interpretive Guides' Association on Thursday, March 1 at the Policeman’s Creek Drop-In Centre in Canmore, AB, entitled Why Cold Matters: The State and Fate of Canada’s Ice and Snow.

The evening will feature presentations by Prof John Pomeroy (Director of the Centre for Hydrology), Bob Sandford (CH associate and chair of the Canadian arm of the UN’s Water for Life Decade), and glaciologist Dr Shawn Marshall (University of Calgary): all three presenters are key members of the Western Watersheds Research Collaborative.

“Canadians love their snow and its beauty, but often see it as something to be only shovelled or skied upon,” says Dr Pomeroy. “But, not only is it one of the most beautiful and physically complex natural phenomena, it is the home of many plants and animals, the food source for many more and the provider of water for the alpine summer and for the rivers that drain the mountains to provide water to the parched prairies.”

The role of snow as a part of the mountain ecosystem, how it interacts with forests and alpine vegetation and how it is sensitive to climate warming comprise just part of the focus of the presentation.

Summarizing the recent findings of two networks of cold regions research funded by the Canadian Foundation for Climate & Atmospheric Science that form the basis of his forthcoming book, Cold Matters: The State and Fate of Canada’s Fresh Water, Mr Sandford will focus on how seemingly small changes in temperature are influencing not just Canada’s climate, but also Canadians’ very identity.

“We are likely the first generation of human beings to accurately measure and fully understand how what we may have once thought were very small relative changes in mean temperature – changes as small as a single degree Celcius – can result in changes in the behaviour of the atmosphere noticeable enough to be reflected in the patterns of the seasons,” Sandford said.

“Because the most pronounced warming is occurring in winter, the most visibly obvious changes are related to the extent and duration of snow pack and snow cover. Snow cover, atmospheric circulation and temperature are inter-dependent and relate to one another as feedbacks. Water and temperature define climate. Climate defines ecosystems; and ecosystems define us."

“In the absence of snow we would be different people living in a different world. It appears that, in the context of where and how we live in Canada, cold really does matter.”

Dr Marshall will discuss the latest research findings related to the effects of contemporary climatic trends on the extent and influence of glaciers in Canada’s western mountains and abroad, while Pomeroy will share the findings of his own research.

“The water security of Western Canada is predicated on the preservation of the natural flows and storage of mountain snow, ice and water,” Pomeroy said. “This controls our natural ecosystems and our ability to provide communities, food and energy throughout Western Canada. We risk everything by losing it, and so must conserve our mountain cold environments.”

Why Cold Matters: The State and Fate of Canada’s Ice and Snow takes place on Thursday, March 1 at the Policeman’s Creek Drop-In Centre. Doors open at 7 with the presentation beginning at 7:30. Admission is free.

Posted by mia801 at 10:02 AM | Permalink

The 11th annual Western Canada CGU Hydrology Section student conference will be held at the University of Saskatchewan on February 11th, 2012.

Abstracts (max 250 words) are invited for oral presentations by CGU members, by January 25th, 2012.

More information about the event - including details of how to submit your abstract - is available here

Posted by mia801 at 11:01 AM | Permalink

The Centre for Hydrology and Canadian Society for Hydrological Sciences will again be holding their popular short course in Physical Principles of Hydrology in the Kananaskis Valley, Alberta, from March 1-12, 2012.

The course is intended for hydrology and water resources graduate students and early to midlevel career water resource engineers, hydrologists, aquatic ecologists and technologists from Canada who are either working directly in hydrology and water resources or are looking to broaden their understanding of hydrological systems and processes.

Factors governing hydrological processes within the context of distinctly Canadian landscape features will be discussed. Students will be exposed to an overview of each subject, with recent scientific findings and new cutting edge theories, tools and techniques, through a combination of classroom sessions at the University of Calgary’s Biogeoscience Institute’s Barrier Lake Station, and fieldwork at the Marmot Creek Research Basin.

Students will emerge from the course with a deeper understanding of physical hydrological processes and how they interact to produce catchment water budgets and streamflow response, together with state-of-the-art field instrumentation and measurement techniques.

More information is available here, or from Dr Chris Spence or Dr John Pomeroy

Posted by mia801 at 03:19 PM | Permalink

Andrew Ireson, Assistant Professor in Subsurface Hydrology with the School of Environment and Sustainability and the Global Institute for Water Security, is keen to hear from grad. students who may be interested in participating in an Invitational Drought Tournament.

This is a game in which students from U of Alberta, U of Regina and U of Saskatchewan will form multi-disciplinary teams, consisting of approximately five players. Having chosen their initial conditions or 'preparedness strategies', teams will be guided through a simulated multi-year drought scenario of unknown length and severity, throughout which they will work collaboratively to discuss and select adaptation options that should help them better prepare for, adapt to, respond to, and recover from the drought’s impacts. The chosen strategies should maximize economic benefits and reduce social and ecological stress. More details are given here, in a description of a similar tournament held last year.

The game will take place in late February / early March of 2012. At this stage, Andrew is looking to find out who is interested in participating. This is all about decision-making under pressure, with finite resources, focusing on minimizing environmental impacts of droughts, which are one of the most expensive, devastating natural disasters in the Canadian prairies (billion dollar impacts). It should also be great fun – it’s a game after all. If you think you would like to take part, or if you have any questions or comments please get in touch with Andrew.

Posted by mia801 at 07:34 PM | Permalink

The Global Institute for Water Security is pleased to present a lecture by Bob Sandford, EPCOR Chair of the Canadian Partnership Initiative in support of the UN Water for Life Decade, on October 7, 2011.

The lecture, entitled Northern Voices, Southern Choices: Water policy lessons for Saskatchewan drawn from leading Canadian and international examples will begin at 1:45 pm in Room 144 Kirk Hall.

The presentation will be followed by a panel discussion featuring Howard Wheater (Global Institute for Water Security and SENS), Patricia Gober (Johnson-Shoyama Graduate School of Public Policy), and John Pomeroy (Centre for Hydrology and Department of Geography and Planning). More details here.

Posted by mia801 at 10:02 AM | Permalink

With funding for the IP3 network - which has been headquartered at CH - to end in September 2011, a series of workshops has been scheduled to share final results with the larger cold regions hydrology and water resources communities. These will focus on the advances made by the network in scientific understanding and modelling capability.

Program of Events:

Cold Regions Hydrological Model (CRHM) Training Course
Wednesday September 7th, 9am to 5pm
Advance registration required: participation limited to a maximum of 30 people.

MEC, Surface and Hydrology (MESH) / Canadian Land Surface Scheme (CLASS) Training Course
Thursday September 8th, 9am to 5pm
Advance registration required: participation limited to a maximum of 30 people.

IP3 Reception
Thursday September 8th, 5:30pm
Reception for IP3 Network participants, supporters, and course participants.

IP3 Final Results Workshop
Friday September 9th, 9am to 3pm
A final presentation of IP3 network scientific results, followed by a discussion on implications for the future development of public policy on water issues.

To register, or for more information, please contact Nadine at nadine.kapphahn@usask.ca, advising which workshop(s) you wish to attend.

Posted by mia801 at 04:57 PM | Permalink

Presentations by candidates for faculty posts in the Global Institute for Water Security have been scheduled as follows:

Candidates for Post in Hydro-ecological Assessment or Modelling

Candidate 1
8:30 a.m., 24 May 2011: Room 144, Kirk Hall

Candidate 2
1:00 p.m., 31 May 2011: Room 2E25, Agriculture Building

Candidates for Post in Hydrometeorology and Climate Science

Candidate 1
1:00 p.m., 24 May 2011: Room 2E17, Agriculture Building

Candidate 2
11:00 a.m., 26 May 2011: Room 2E17, Agriculture Building

Candidate 3
1:00 p.m., 30 May 2011: Room 2E25, Agriculture Building

Candidates for Post in Statistical Hydrology and Stochastic Processes

Candidate 1
8:30 a.m., 27 May 2011: Room 2E17, Agriculture Building

Candidate 2
1:00 p.m., 7 June 2011: Room 2C01, Engineering Building

Candidate 3
1:00 p.m., 8 June 2011: Room 2C01, Engineering Building

A Q&A session will follow each presentation.

Posted by mia801 at 02:15 PM | Permalink

The Centre for Hydrology's 'Canadian Rockies Snow & Ice' initiative is partnering with the Western Watersheds Climate Research Collaborative and Interpretive Guides Association to present 'Storm Warning: Emerging Issues in Water & Climate Science'.

Presentations will provide a synopsis of recent advancements in glacial research and hydro-climatic science related to the interface between ice, water and the atmosphere, here in the Rockies and around the world.

The Forum will be moderated by Dr Ed Johnson, Director of the University of Calgary's Biogeoscience Institute, and speakers will include Dr Mike Demuth (head of the Glaciology Division of the Geological Survey of Canada), Jocelyn Hirose (University of Calgary, glaciology), and Bob Sandford (EPCOR Chair in support of the United Nations Water for Life Decade in Canada). More information is available here.

The event will take place in the Canmore Collegiate High School Theatre at 7pm on Thursday, April 14th, 2011.

Posted by mia801 at 01:47 PM | Permalink

Dr Dennis Lettenmaier of the University of Washington will speak on the topic of 'Unanswered questions in predicting the hydrologic impacts of climate change', on Wednesday, March 23, 2011, from 10:30 to 11:30 am, in the Convocation Hall.

Here is an abstract of Dr Lettenmaier's presentation:

From a societal perspective, changes in the land surface water cycle, perhaps aside from sea level rise, represent the most pervasive impacts of climate change. It is well established that increases in concentrations of greenhouse gases, most notably CO2 and CH4, will lead to increases in surface temperatures globally, and these effects are now evidenced in global observations. Furthermore, from first principles, increases in air temperature lead to higher atmospheric moisture, and in turn precipitation. Unfortunately, the implications of these global changes are much more difficult to unravel on a regional level, a problem that is compounded, from the standpoint of land surface hydrology, by the low skill of current generation climate models in representing precipitation. However, even absent these uncertainties, there remain key issues in our ability to represent land surface hydrologic sensitivities to a changing climate. Dr Lettenmaier will discuss three of these areas of uncertainty:
- In hydrologic model predictions of the precipitation and temperature sensitivities of annual runoff
- In the sensitivity of floods to changes in precipitation
- In the coupled interaction of atmospheric circulation and river runoff

Posted by mia801 at 02:22 PM | Permalink

Centre for Hydrology PhD Student Robert Armstrong will present details of his work on 'Spatial Variability of Actual Evaporation in a Prairie Landscape' on Monday 28 March, 2011 at 2:30pm, 144 Kirk Hall.

The following abstract provides an overview of his work;

Actual evaporation has considerable spatial variability that is not captured by point scale estimates from meteorological station data. Physically-based point scale evaporation models were found to provide reasonable estimates of evaporation for temporal scales from several days to seasonal periods but provided poorer estimates for daily and sub-daily periods. Remote sensing was valuable for deriving key variables needed for distributing point scale models for direct estimates over a larger area. A method was developed for distributing net radiation at the field scale which can be used to obtain the spatial variability of evaporation estimates. There was no evidence that spatial covariance between surface variables driving the Granger feedback evaporation model influenced upscaled evaporation estimates which can be attributed to offsetting interactions between model parameters. The variability of point scales estimates obtained from long term hydrological simulations during drought and non-drought periods was further considered across the Canadian Prairie region. The structure of drought was dynamic and there was no consistent spatial pattern of actual evaporation. The variability of evaporation increased as the drought progressed and declined sharply with ensuing wetter conditions.

The results contribute to a better understanding of the effects of spatial associations of key factors on evaporation estimates in a Prairie landscape. The methodology developed for distributing net radiation from assimilated visible and thermal images could potentially be used in regional scale modelling applications for improving evaporation estimates using point scale estimation techniques. The modelling algorithms applied to derive point estimates of evaporation from surface reference data may be useful for operational purposes that require estimates of evaporation (e.g. agriculture, hydrology, ecology, etc.).

Posted by mia801 at 03:33 PM | Permalink

The Saskatchewan Branch of the CWRA is hosting a one-day workshop to explore aspects of interjurisdictional water quantity management in Prairie Canada. It will cover policy, governance, public engagement, and data harmonization.

The workshop's objectives include
- Assessment of water quantity management at international and interprovincial boundaries, with an emphasis on the Prairies region
- Exploration of innovative and effective best practices for addressing boundary issues through case studies
- Promotion of interdisciplinary approaches for integrated transboundary water quantity management

It will be held on Friday 4th February 2011, at the Radisson Plaza Hotel Saskatchewan in Regina. The registration deadline is 1st February 2011: early-registration discounts are available until 10th January 2011.

More details are available from the announcement poster, and the registration form is available here.

Posted by mia801 at 02:14 PM | Permalink

The University of Saskatchewan and the Canadian Society for Hydrological Sciences is offering an intensive course on the physical principles of hydrology with particular relevance to Canadian conditions.

Factors governing hydrological processes in Canadian landscapes will be discussed including precipitation, interception, snow accumulation, snowmelt, evaporation, infiltration, groundwater movement and streamflow. These processes will be framed within the context of distinctly Canadian landscape features such as glaciers, peatlands and seasonally frozen ground. State of the art statistical analyses will be presented. Students will be exposed to an overview of each subject, with recent scientific findings and new cutting edge theories, tools and techniques. They will complete numerical and essay assignments to develop skills in problem solving and in synthesizing complex hydrological concepts. Field examinations in nearby environments and research basins will enhance the learning experience. Students will emerge from the course with a deeper understanding of physical hydrological processes and how they interact to produce catchment water budgets and streamflow response.

The course will take place at the University of Calgary Biogeoscience Institute’s Barrier Lake Station in the Kananaskis Valley from February 28 – March 11, 2011. The course will focus on classroom instruction, but will take advantage of the proximity to the Marmot Creek Research Basin to expose students to current field instrumentation and measurement techniques. Each day will start with lectures on the primary subject, and include time to work on assigned exercises. Certain days will include a field work component to examine the processes and measurement techniques relevant to the lectures.

The course is intended for hydrology and water resources graduate students and early to mid-level career water resource engineers, hydrologists, aquatic ecologists and technologists from Canada who are either working directly in hydrology and water resources or are looking to broaden their understanding of hydrological systems and processes. In 2010, participants were from several universities and employers such as Northwest Hydraulic Consultants, Syncrude, Ducks Unlimited, Brookfield Power, Knight Piesold, AMEC, and Alberta Environment. Participants came from across Canada and the United States.

Course capacity is 30 students. Registration ends February 7, 2011. This physical science course is quantitative in nature and so a firm foundation in calculus and physics at the first year university level and some undergraduate hydrology or hydraulics training is required. Registration and course information can be found here:

If you have further questions, please contact Dr Christopher Spence or Dr John Pomeroy. If interested in receiving academic credit for your participation, please contact Dr Pomeroy. Arrangements have been made for people not currently enrolled in a university program to receive academic credit.

The full announcement is available in PDF form here.

Posted by mia801 at 05:30 PM | Permalink

Prof Howard Wheater, Canada Excellence Research Chair in Water Security at the University of Saskatchewan, will give a lecture entitled 'Water Futures and the Perfect Storm' on Monday 25th October 2010, at 7pm in the St Thomas More College Auditorium. Please note that seating may be limited.

This event has been organised by the College of Agriculture and Bioresources, and made possible by the William Rekunyk Fund.

Posted by mia801 at 02:12 PM | Permalink