Current students

A new paper was published in the journal Ecological Indicators by ERG researchers Chris Wellen (now at Ryerson University) and Philippe Van Cappellen, together with colleagues from the Ontario Ministry of Environment, Conservation and Parks and Environment and Climate Change Canada. In this study, the authors estimate the sample sizes required to detect statistically significant changes in annual nutrient loads and flow weighted concentrations brought about by conservation measures in agricultural watersheds.

A new paper by ERG researchers and colleagues from China University of Geosciences, published in Environmental Science and Technology, sheds light on the role of flavins in iron redox cycling. Flavins are an important class of electron transfer mediators secreted by a variety of microorganisms and plants.

Research projects by Ecohydrology group students and researchers were recently featured in the online Arts and Science Community Showcase hosted by the rare Charitable Research Reserve.

A new paper in the journal Water Resources Research, co-authored by Ecohydrology Research Group member Fereidoun Rezanezhad, assesses the centennial-scale shifts in hydro-physical properties of peat induced by drainage.

The paper Global Dam‐Driven Changes to Riverine N:P:Si Ratios Delivered to the Coastal Ocean published in Geophysical Research Letters was selected as a Research Spotlight by AGU’s weekly magazine Eos.

The annual meeting for a Collaborative Research and Development project led by the Ecohydrology Research Group was held on September 10, 2020. The project, titled “Elucidating the biogeochemical processes controlling natural source zone depletion (NSZD) of petroleum hydrocarbons in contaminated soils under dynamic redox conditions,” is funded by an award from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada and in partnership with Imperial Oil Limited for 3 years (2019-2022).

The annual meeting for a research project funded by NSERC’s Advancing Climate Change Science in Canada program and led by the University of Waterloo’s Ecohydrology Research Group was held virtually on September 16, 2020. The project, titled “Winter Carbon Losses in Wetland Ecosystems under Current and Future Climates,” includes researchers and collaborators from Laurentian University, Wilfrid Laurier University, Grenfell Campus of Memorial University of Newfoundland, and Natural Resources Canada.

In a new book chapter published by Nova Science Publishers, ERG researchers Tariq Aziz and Philippe Van Cappellen describe the uncertainties associated with estimating monetary values of ecosystem services.

The recently published paper Changes in Sedimentary Phosphorus Burial Following Artificial Eutrophication of Lake 227, Experimental Lakes Area, Ontario, Canadapublished in Journal of Geophysical Research: Biogeosciences was selected as a Research Spotlight from the 22 peer-reviewed journals published by the American Geophysical Union (AGU).

The damming of rivers is one of the most impactful modifications of the flows of water and associated materials from land to sea. Included in these materials are nutrient elements like nitrogen and phosphorus, which are elements required by all life on Earth, and silicon, which is required by diatoms, the algae that account for the largest fraction of biological productivity of the oceans. Past studies have shown that changes in the ratios in which these nutrient elements enter the coastal oceans affect plankton communities, even causing harmful algal blooms or “red tides” to occur. In a new paper published in Geophysical Research Letters, (former) ERG researchers Taylor Maavara, Zahra Akbarzadeh and Philippe Van Cappellen use models of nitrogen, phosphorus, and silicon cycling in dam reservoirs to determine how the damming of rivers change the nutrient ratios delivered to coastal zones worldwide.