In
this
seminar Barret
Kurylyk,
Research
Associate
at
McMaster
University,
presents
an
overview
of
the
role
of
heat
energy
in
the
hydrologic
cycle,
looking
at
the
role
of
heat
as
a
tracer,
of
heat
as
a
water
quality
issue,
and
the
application
of
physically-based
models
to
questions
of
permafrost
hydrology.
Register
today.
Light
refreshments
will
be
provided.
Key topics covered
Water temperature is increasingly recognized as an important water quality parameter due to its influence on water chemistry and aquatic ecosystem functioning. The thermal regimes of surface water bodies and aquifers are controlled by atmospheric and surface conditions and are thus sensitive to changes in climate and land cover. Many streams and rivers in North America exhibit warming trends, and temperature maxima in some systems are beginning to exceed critical thresholds for cold-water fish. Physically-based models can be applied to investigate the thermal sensitivity of aquatic bodies to climate change and to design thermal resilience in rivers. Also, a proper understanding of the interactions between climate change, groundwater flow, and subsurface temperatures can yield new approaches for using heat as a groundwater tracer to inform sustainable management of groundwater resources.
In cold regions, the nature of precipitation and hydrologic storage and transmission processes are strongly influenced by atmospheric, surface, and subsurface thermal regimes. For example, permafrost is relatively impermeable, and thus water routing in northern landscapes tends to be dominated by surface and shallow subsurface flow paths. Hydrologic regime shifts are now occurring in many high-latitude and alpine regions due to a warming climate and a concomitant reduction in the extent of frozen soil. Analytical solutions of soil freeze-thaw and numerical models of coupled groundwater flow and heat transfer can help elucidate fundamental drivers of permafrost thaw and the related impacts to shallow aquifers and landscape conditions. Examples of recent work in the Northwest Territories and other locations will be presented, and the implications for water resources management in cold regions will be discussed.
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