The workshop, which took place in Vancouver from September 5 to 7, 2012, convened several experts in the fields of hydrology, law, economics, and biology with the goal of looking at the legal and scientific principles relevant to creating a co-ordinated basin-wide approach to management. John Pomeroy and Robert Sandford from the Centre for Hydrology contributed to writing the report. The workshop was co-hosted by the Walter and Duncan Gordon Foundation and Simon Fraser University's Adaptation to Climate Change Team.

It concludes that hydrological regimes and the environment of the Basin are at risk from global warming and that the water and ecosystems of the Basin are globally important and require Basin residents and Canada to assume full stewardship responsibilities for the Basin. The Report recommends mandatory posting of significant performance bonds on the part of extractive industries wishing to operate in the Basin, increased water monitoring throughout the Basin, incorporation of local and enhanced scientific knowledge in decision making, re-invigorating the Mackenzie River Basin Board, and the use of the precautionary principle for developments and actions which could adversely affect the region. The Report can be downloaded here.

These details were also reported by the CBC, as visible online here.

The course will aim to familiarize students with the principles of object-oriented physically-based hydrological process modelling for the cold regions of western and northern Canada, and train students to use the Cold Regions Hydrological Modelling Platform (CRHM) to create purpose built hydrological models that are appropriate for hydrological prediction problems in western and northern Canada.

On completion, students should be able to describe which physical process algorithms are most appropriate for modelling forested, prairie, mountain and arctic river basins under various levels of meteorological and parameter data availability, and use CRHM to construct and run an appropriate hydrological model for small river basins in western and northern Canadian environments.

More information, including pre-requisite qualifications and details of how to register, is available online here, and also in PDF format.

The melt generated a sudden and impressive runoff response, which was captured by Phillip's 30-minute time-lapse photography. The video is available here.

Phillip's paper was based on his MSc research on the assessment of uncertainty in hydrological models introduced by non-physical precipitation phase calculations.

Well done Phillip!

CCRN aims to understand, diagnose and predict interactions among the cryospheric, ecological, hydrological and climatic components of the changing Earth system at multiple scales, with a focus on the Saskatchewan and Peace-Athabasca-Mackenzie River Basins. It will improve our understanding of recent Earth system change in the cold interior of Canada, advance prediction of water, weather, and climate, improve our hydrological, ecological and climatological modeling capability, enhance our capacity for water management, and train the next generation of hydrologists.

The network will support research at several Centre for Hydrology research basins in the Canadian Rockies, Yukon, Northwest Territories and Saskatchewan, provide funds for enhanced student training, and enable further development of the Cold Regions Hydrological Model. The funding of the network at this time is very important, given the extreme weather and water events and rapid climate change which have become evident in western and northern Canada.

Professor John Pomeroy announced the funding of the new network at the American Geophysical Union Meeting of the Americas in Cancun, Mexico on 17 May 2013. The presentation may be viewed here.

CH Director Prof. John Pomeroy and alumna Nathalie Brunet both contributed to a piece broadcast by the French language service of Radio Canada, which focused on the challenges of predicting flood risk in the Province, and the potential for automating forecasting methods. The clip is available here.

Dr Cherie Westbrook was asked by Global TV about the likelihood of imminent flooding in and around Saskatoon: the interview is available online here.

Prof. Pomeroy also provided an overview of the role of albedo in governing the timing and rate of snowmelt for The Afternoon Edition on Radio Canada: the interview is posted here and here.

The same theme was covered in an agricultural context by The Western Producer: the article is available here.

The piece looked at the likely prospects for water resources, and risks of both drought and flood, as implied by the spring snowpack on both sides of the Great Divide.

It is available for online viewing here

Participants will study interactions between cryospheric, ecological, hydrological and climate components at multiple scales, with particular emphasis on Western Canada’s rapidly changing cold interior, including the Western Cordillera, Western Boreal Forest, Lowland Permafrost and Prairies, the Saskatchewan, Mackenzie and Peace-Athabasca basins, and the regional climate system.

The network is now seeking a number of world-class post-graduate students and post-doctoral fellows, as detailed in the full listing available in PDF format here. More information about GIWS is available at www.usask.ca/water.

The meeting generated interest from several local and regional newspapers;

- Calgary Herald, 4th March 2013

- Rocky Mountain Outlook, 14th March 2013

- Rocky Mountain Outlook, 14th February 2013

- Calgary Herald, 23rd February 2013

- Saskatoon Star Phoenix, 25th February 2013

- Rocky Mountain Outlook, 14th March 2013

Information about the workshop, including presentations given by a range of eminent hydrologists and CH alumni, is available here

Details are available on the station's website, here.

The event (for which the official notice is available here) is to take place from 4 to 6pm on Friday 22nd March, in the Convocation Hall, Peter MacKinnon Building.