Integrating Environmental Water Research Across Multi Scales and Disciplines
Water is our most precious natural resource. All human activities, from agriculture and industrial processes to domestic uses, depend on water of sufficient quantity and quality. This is also true for natural ecosystems. In contrast to highly visible water quantity stressors, such as flash floods and prolonged droughts, changes in water quality are often more gradual and more difficult to detect, and their cumulative impacts more difficult to predict and manage. Water quality deterioration, however, poses more pervasive and chronic risks to the economy, human health and the ecological life-support systems of the planet.
Water quality degradation is a global phenomenon. In Canada, for example, harmful and nuisance algal blooms are a persistent problem for many freshwater bodies, including the iconic Laurentian Great Lakes, while many of our First Nations communities still live under drinking water advisories. Globally, awareness is also growing that climate change adaptation must be an integral part of planning and implementing effective water management policies and practices.
For general inquires about the Ecohydrology Research Group, please email ecohydrology@uwaterloo.ca.
News
New paper compares semi-empirical methods for retrieving satellite-derived chlorophyll concentrations in Lake Ontario
A new paper published in the journal Remote Sensing presents a thorough comparison of the performance of semi-empirical methods aimed at retrieving spatial and temporal distributions of chlorophyll-a (Chl-a) concentrations in both the nearshore and offshore waters of the western part of Lake Ontario.
Philippe Van Cappellen appointed UW University Professor
Philippe Van Cappellen, professor in the Earth and Environmental Sciences department and Canada Excellence Research Chair Laureate in Ecohydrology, has been appointed a University Professor by the University of Waterloo. This designation recognizes exceptional scholarly achievement and international pre-eminence. Van Cappellen is the first Earth and Environmental Sciences professor to receive this honour.
Global Water Futures Observatories (GWFO) officially launched
The Global Futures Observatories (GWFO) was launched officially today. The launch event included welcoming remarks from GWFO Director John Pomeroy and Terry Duguid, MP and Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister. Representatives of the four core universities (Saskatchewan, Waterloo, Laurier, McMaster) and the Real-Time Aquatic Ecosystem Observation Network (RAEON) gave overviews of their observatories and associated research facilities. Philippe Van Cappellen presented on behalf of the Waterloo GWFO team.