Geography Symposium

Fri. Apr. 6 01:00 PM - Fri. Apr. 6 04:00 PM
Location: The University Club, 4th Floor, Wesley Hall

Geography  students will be presenting the results of their thesis or research work at a Symposium:

Domenica Burroughs

An Evaluation of the Arctic SDI

Advisor: Dr. Christopher Storie

The Arctic covers 30 million square kilometres, encompasses 8 countries and has a population of over 4 million. With datasets produced by private and public stakeholders all over the world, there is an opportunity to collaborate and create a unified Spatial Data Infrastructure (SDI). The Arctic SDI, supported by the Arctic Council has been working since 2007 to unify 8 National Mapping Authorities, and create a useful SDI for all stakeholders. As a voluntary project, the success of the Arctic SDI is dependent on the participation of the 8 nations, and a willingness to continue to communicate. This paper explores the current state of the Arctic SDI and develops a framework to evaluate current and future progress of the regional collaboration. A further critique is made about the limitations and opportunities that can be presented to stakeholders and end users.

Danielle Nowosad

Nutrient Uptake in Sediments of Varying Properties in Subarctic Ponds

Advisor: Dr. Nora Casson

Increasing atmospheric temperatures has resulted in increasing permafrost melt (Payette et al. 2004). This includes changes to hydrology, geophysical processes, and ecology (Ford and Smit, 2004). The impacts of melting permafrost on water quality in subarctic ponds is of importance because of the potential ecological and social changes, as increased volume of standing water allows further development of ecosystems within this new environment (Payette et al. 2004). This 72 hour study used a mesocosm approach to test response from the water column and sediments when a nutrient amendment was introduced. Nitriate and phosphate was introduced in a single pulse, and water samples were taken in increments at time 0, 24 hours, and 72 hours. Current analyses includes testing water samples from each time step for nitrate, phosphorus, and ammonium concentration, as well as testing carbonate content and loss on ignition in the sediments from each mesocosm. It is expected that the results will show that the nutrient amendments were rapidly taken up by the sediments (previous studies show uptake in the first 4-6 hours; Eichel et al., 2014) however rates may differ depending on the varying properties of the sediments.

Jeremy Leathers

The effect of freeze-thaw cycles on phosphorus release from riparian macrophytes in cold regions

Advisor: Dr. Nora Casson

Riparian regions and wetlands play an important role in the cycling and storage of nutrients that can contribute to the ongoing eutrophication of waterbodies such as Lake Winnipeg. Aquatic macrophytes like cattails (Typha spp.) are often used to take up nutrients from agricultural or urban runoff and prevent them from accumulating downstream. However, in regions that experience freeze/thaw cycles (FTCs) annually, it has been found that plant materials can become sources of nutrients as a result of their tissues freezing and thawing. This study assessed how FTCs affected the amount of phosphorus released by Typha spp. andPhragmites australis. Samples were collected from 11 wetlands across 3 different regions of Canada and a common experimental protocol was followed at each location. The results indicate that there is a tendency for more phosphorus to be released from macrophyte tissue as a result of FTCs, although that was not always the case. Further, the effect was greatest in stalks taken earlier in the growing season. Based upon these results, new management strategies such as harvesting macrophytes in the early fall should be considered in order to better mitigate the amount of nutrients ending up in local water bodies.