Dr. Jonathan Price and Dr. Richard Kelly in the Department of Geography and Environmental Management have been awarded funds totalling more than $1.5M for cutting edge research in wetland and cryospheric science.
- Jonathan Price (Geography and Environmental Management): Wetland Ecosystem Terrain Systems Simulator (WETSyS) ($1,083,524). WETSyS will provide a facility to manipulate large living wetland mesocosms in a chamber that controls soil and atmospheric temperatures, light levels and gas composition, fitted with a re-circulating water flow system that mimics flow directions and rates found in nature. It will provide insight into how changes in climate affect GHG feedbacks, carbon losses in flowing water, changes in nutrient dynamics and their effect on wetland functions. It will also simulate the migration and breakdown of solutes and non-aqueous contaminants like hydrocarbons, so we can better understand the capacity of natural systems to disperse them.
- Richard Kelly (Geography and Environmental Management): Airborne Cryospheric SAR (CryoSAR) System ($493,158). The CryoSAR system is a Ku and L-band synthetic aperture radar (SAR) system capable of state of the art radar observations of snow, ice, and soil moisture. CryoSAR will be the first system of its kind in N. America and will be deployed over land and water (lakes and sea) environments to develop game changing measurements of key water cle variables. As a community instrument, team members from across Canada will have access to this state of the art system for regional applications.
The Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI) was built on the ideals of thinking big and investing in areas that matter to Canadians. Since its creation in 1997, the CFI has ensured Canadian researchers have the tools — the cutting-edge labs, facilities and equipment — they need to push the frontiers of knowledge in all disciplines, and to contribute to the full spectrum of research — from discovery to technology development. This has allowed our brightest minds to contribute to better health outcomes, a cleaner, greener environment, evidence-based policy-making and the competitiveness of Canadian businesses.