UNews - Earth Day

Compound found in tires toxic to certain fish

caroline.zentner — Tue, 19 Apr 2022 15:40:51 +0000

As the treads on tires wear down, small particles of rubber fall off onto roadways where they react with oxidants such as ozone. And when it rains, these particles get flushed down storm drains and into waterways where they can be toxic to certain species of fish.

“For some time now, we’ve seen coho salmon along the west coast of the United States die after rainfall events,” says Dr. Steve Wiseman, a ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge biology professor and Canada Research Chair in Aquatic and Mechanistic Toxicology. “Research suggested that tire-related chemicals might be responsible for this.”

These sloughed-off particles contain a chemical compound called 6PPD, which becomes 6PPD-quinone when it interacts with ozone. In addition to previous research showing that small amounts of the chemical are toxic to coho salmon, another study showed that zebrafish and Japanese medaka can tolerate high amounts of the compound.

Wiseman, along with Drs. Markus Brinkmann and Markus Hecker at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Saskatchewan, wanted to know if the compound was toxic to other fish species, too, especially to commercially, culturally and ecologically important fishes.

“We exposed juvenile brook trout, rainbow trout, Arctic char and white sturgeon to varying levels of the chemical,” says Wiseman. “Even small concentrations were fatal to brook and rainbow trout, but none of the Arctic char and white sturgeon died after four days of being exposed to high levels of the compound, similar to concentrations that are found in storm water during a rainfall event. This is the first study to demonstrate acute toxicity of 6PPD-quinone — at environmental-relevant concentrations — to a species other than coho salmon.”

The research team has received funding from Alberta Environment and Parks to investigate concentrations of 6PPD-quinone in storm water in Lethbridge, Calgary and Edmonton. In addition, the team will look at other fishes in the salmon family for their sensitivity to the compound.

The project was partially supported by a financial contribution from Fisheries and Oceans Canada, NSERC, Western Economic Diversification Canada, the Canadian Foundation for Innovation, NSERC’s Banting Postdoctoral Fellowship program, the Canada First Research Excellence Funds and the Canada Research Chairs program.

The Research Support Fund supports a portion of the costs associated with managing the research funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council and Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council, such as salaries for staff who provide administration support, training costs for workplace health and safety, maintenance of libraries and laboratories, and administrative costs associated with obtaining patents for inventions.

Healthy river systems depend on protected headwaters

caroline.zentner — Thu, 07 Apr 2022 21:18:39 +0000

Using measurements collected by the governments of Alberta, Saskatchewan and Canada over the last 20 to 40 years, Dr. Sarah Ellen Johnston, a post-doctoral fellow at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge, and Canada Research Chair Dr. Matthew Bogard have mapped out changes in the flow of carbon through the South Saskatchewan River Basin (SSRB) in a study that was recently published in Geophysical Research Letters.

“What happens in the mountain headwaters has huge implications for us down here in the prairies,” says Johnston. “Our big takeaway from this study was that a lot of the carbon comes from the mountains, so we really need to consider those headwater sources of carbon as the main energy and fuel sources to the food webs in the rest of our watershed. If we don’t want to see big changes in organic carbon, we need to protect the headwaters.”

The organic form of carbon, the focus of this research, is an important indicator of the health of river systems. Too little carbon or a rapid decline in carbon content lowers the ability of a river to sustain life, while too much carbon or a rapid increase has ramifications for drinking water and other important ecosystem services. While some carbon sources come from within a river system itself, such as bacteria and algae, carbon also enters river systems from the landscape, through trees, plants and soils. For rivers in the SSRB, including the Bow, Oldman and Red Deer sub-basins, the typical pattern is a surge in carbon during the spring snow melt.

“An exciting discovery in recent decades is that rivers and lakes intercept an enormous amount of the carbon moving off the land toward the oceans,” says Bogard. “What happens in Canada’s rivers impacts the balance of carbon in our atmosphere. Our study adds new numbers to this, which is like adding a piece to help solve the global carbon budget puzzle. The better we understand the global carbon cycle, the better we can help guide society in terms of cost-effective climate-change mitigation strategies.”

“In general, Alberta is doing quite a good job of protecting the headwaters by having them designated as parkland,” Johnston says. “There’s a push to change that, but maintaining the protection of these headwaters will help to maintain the energy source for the rest of the river systems.”

The SSRB originates in the Rocky Mountains and covers about 146,000 square kilometres of southern Alberta, Montana and Saskatchewan. The region shows large shifts in land cover and development, as well as in water usage and allocation. For example, southern Alberta, with its agricultural base, has high proportions of water withdrawal from its rivers.

“We wanted to determine whether there have been changes over time in the flow of organic carbon through these river systems,” she says. “If humans are causing particular decreases or increases, then that’s really where we start to see issues. So, if we start having things like coal mines, for instance, up in the mountains, then mine waste and disturbances to the pristine watersheds can have cascading effects in the rivers and affect downstream ecosystems.”

Along with Johnston, a U.S. National Science Foundation Earth Sciences-funded post-doctoral research fellow, and Bogard, the research team included graduate student Panditha Gunawardana and professor emeritus Dr. Stewart Rood. They used publicly available measurements of both organic carbon content and the amount of water flowing through the SSRB rivers. Their goal was to model how much carbon moves through these systems and whether those patterns have changed over the years. The data captured the extremes of river conditions, including severe droughts and flooding.

“What we found is that, through time, carbon fluxes, or the movement of carbon, hasn’t really changed directionally,” says Johnston. “Unlike in many other regions of the world, it’s not going up or down. We found that the land cover — whether it’s forested, or prairie or agricultural land — is really what determined how much carbon we saw moving through the rivers.”

In more forested systems, such as in the mountains, a lot more carbon and water were present than in grasslands and agricultural systems. The researchers also examined differences between years and found that climate oscillations, such as El Niño, have a large impact on the flow of carbon through the SSRB.

“We found that climate oscillations are really important in determining how much carbon is moving through our rivers each year,” says Johnston. “It’s linked to larger climate processes, which are getting more erratic with climate change.”

The findings could have implications for understanding mountain-to-grassland transitional ecosystems around the world. The research was funded by the U.S. National Science Foundation, the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council, the Canada Research Chairs program, the U of L and Alberta Innovates.

Health of water resources on Alberta’s Eastern Slopes the focus of new ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge-led project

trevor.kenney — Thu, 31 Mar 2022 15:37:28 +0000

Alberta’s Eastern Slopes are changing, and with land use practices under increasing pressure, it’s imperative policy makers fully understand the relationship between snowpack and downstream river runoff in managing our water resources.

A new project, headed by principal investigator Dr. Chris Hopkinson of the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge and funded by Alberta Innovates, will partner ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ with the public and private sector to develop innovative data and technology workflows to better understand and monitor the conditions of Alberta's Eastern Slopes vegetation and snowpack resources.

The majority of Alberta’s cities draw water from rivers that begin as glacial or snow melt in the Eastern Slopes. PHOTO by Thomas Porter

“Mountains are incredibly valuable to us, not just for their easy access to natural resources or as indicators of environmental change, but also for their recreational and spiritual values,” says Hopkinson, a researcher in the Department of Geography & Environment and the Advanced Resolution Terradynamics Monitoring System Laboratory (ARTEMIS). “More than anything, they are the source of our most critical resource — water.”

The majority of Alberta’s cities draw water from rivers that begin as glacial or snow melt in the Eastern Slopes, hence the need for source water protection of these key areas, often referred to as natural water towers.

“With changes in climate and the many land cover changes that have occurred due to resource extraction, wildfire, insect outbreaks and other successional processes, there is a growing concern that the water resources we have come to rely on over the last century may not be available in the future,” says Hopkinson.

Made possible by an Alberta Innovates investment of $583,000 over four years, the project will marry satellite imaging and airborne lidar data with on-ground monitoring devices to gain a better understanding of historical and future trends in Eastern Slopes landcover, snowpack and water balance. It also highlights a concerted effort by multiple partners, including Alberta Environment and Parks, Parks Canada (Waterton, Banff and Jasper), ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Waterloo, MacHydro Consultants Inc, Fluid Planet, Inside Education and Castle Mountain Resort, to address an issue of public importance.

“We will model changing snowpack and runoff properties across the Eastern Slopes,” says Hopkinson. “Our goal is to develop an integrated snow and vegetation modelling framework to inform future water management and policy in Alberta. This will allow us to understand, forecast and protect our precious water resources.”

Further, the project will support the creation of innovative high tech online resources to support public high school education on Alberta’s Eastern Slopes land and water resources, all while supplying valuable research and training opportunities for ULethbridge graduate students.

“It is exciting to work with talented colleagues across multiple sectors and institutions to construct immersive 3D digital twins of our headwaters,” says Hopkinson. “These new online environments will allow us to share forest, wetland and water resource simulations as educational resources for students and the general public, alike.”

Funding for the project began in January and will run through December 2025.

Science Commons first ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge building to earn LEED Gold status for environmental standards

trevor.kenney — Thu, 20 Jan 2022 20:14:20 +0000

The ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge has struck gold with the new Science Commons building — achieving LEED Gold status for the first time in its history and further solidifying its commitment to employing environmentally sustainable practices in its construction and operation of campus buildings.

The Wintergarden is heated and cooled naturally by fresh air and a glassed, south facing facade.

“During the design and construction phases of Science Commons there was a very intentional and significant emphasis on sustainable planning,” says Gene Lublinkhof, director, Campus Development. “Having previously achieved LEED Silver status on the 1st Choice Savings Centre for Sport and Wellness, the Alberta Water and Environmental Science Building (AWESB) and Markin Hall (Dhillon School of Business and Faculty of Health Sciences), we have consistently incorporated sustainability practices into both the construction and ongoing operation of our new buildings. To now achieve a gold standing with Science Commons is testament to what we have learned over the years and our commitment to leading the way in sustainability efforts.”

Lublinkhof says the design group (KPMB/Stantec Architects) investigated numerous options around energy generation and conservation and ultimately focussed its efforts on how to achieve long-term sustainability during the operational life of the building.

“The question we asked consistently was how can we use the least energy and operational effort possible while still providing our occupants the highest quality and safest interior environmental conditions?”

Some examples of sustainability features and practices incorporated into Science Commons include:

• Double exterior façade and automated opening windows. This natural ventilation strategy allows building operators to program the windows to open and close to respond to exterior conditions, thereby reducing the energy required for mechanical systems to heat or cool air.

• Automated low flow fume hoods

• Heat recovery technology to reuse thermal energy as it leaves the building to pre-heat or cool incoming air (depending on season)

• Waterless washroom fixtures

• Recirculating cooling system that routes coolant to more energy-intensive scientific instrumentation

• Daylight intensity lighting controls

• Construction strategies to select regionally sourced materials, utilization of low emission adhesives and paints, and reduction of composite materials off-gassing

• PCL Construction separated all construction waste into categories and tracked all outgoing debris to either be recycled or disposed of responsibly

• Continued implementation and enhancement of green caretaking and storage and collection of recyclables previously established in LEED silver projects and utilized throughout campus

Lublinkhof notes the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ employed a number of business strategies that, while not mandated by LEED, significantly enhanced the building’s sustainability. One such strategy resulted in an award for Lethbridge’s SMP Engineering.

“We recognized LED lighting technology was advancing quickly and prices were falling,” says Lublinkhof. “Understanding there would be significant time between lighting design and actual fixture installation, we held off on selecting the fixtures until the last possible minute, giving us the most up-to-date lighting technology at the best possible cost.”

In the end, the Lethbridge office of SMP Engineering earned a province-wide honour, the DE Frost Award for Lighting Excellence.

“The integrated sustainable design strategies we conceptualized in 2015 are now paying dividends and Science Commons is a proud achievement for our entire team and our university,” adds Lublinkhof. “Our focus now turns to repurposing ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ Hall. It was built when sustainability wasn’t even a consideration, and as we renovate and restore interior finishes in the vacated laboratory spaces, we have the opportunity to look towards the future and transform an iconic building into an energy efficient and modern facility.”

What is LEED?

LEED refers to Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design and uses 60-plus criteria to gauge the ability of a project to meet rigorous environmental standards established by the Canada Green Building Council in seven major categories. These categories include sustainable sites, water efficiency, energy and atmosphere, materials and resources, indoor environmental quality, innovation in design, and regional priority. Each project must apply for LEED status and, after being judged, is rated on a point scale.

Library LED lighting upgrade enhances light, reduces carbon imprint and saves money

trevor.kenney — Fri, 10 Dec 2021 18:07:53 +0000

A major upgrade to lighting fixtures in the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ Library has significantly brightened the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ’s most utilized research and study spaces, decreased the environmental footprint of the building and enhanced sustainability efforts on campus.

A total of 3,518 dated fixtures were removed as part of the project and replaced with 1,969 new LED fixtures.

“This was a major project we undertook this past summer with the goal of improving the lighting in the building, all the while taking advantage of the latest in LED technology to really make an impact in terms of long-term electrical costs and our environmental footprint,” says Tal Meidinger, manager of the Electrical Department in Facilities. “Now that it’s done, we feel we’ve made a substantial improvement in all those areas.”

A total of 3,518 dated fixtures were removed as part of the project and replaced with 1,969 new LED fixtures — enhancing the lighting in the building an estimated 20 to 25 per cent. An additional 310 fixtures were upgraded, rather than being replaced. In all, Facilities estimates it will save 1.4 million kilowatt hours in lighting costs per year.

“That’s a savings of $155,000 per year on a project investment of $600,000, meaning we will realize a cost savings in just under four years,” says Meidinger. “Over the next 10 years, the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ will save $1.5 million and significantly reduce its carbon imprint.”

The ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ has long made environmental sustainability a central component of projects such as these, including renovations and new building design and construction. A key direction of the current Strategic Plan includes the enhancement of the environmental sustainability of the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ, including a focus in Facilities on environmental stewardship to reduce the consumption of non-renewable energy and water on campus.

“In addition to replacing all the old lighting with energy efficient LED fixtures, the entire project was approached from a sustainability perspective,” adds Meidinger. “All the metal from the removed fixtures was recycled, as well as all the cardboard and Styrofoam packaging from the new fixtures. We also found a way to reuse as many ceiling tiles as we could in other areas of the library.

UNews - Earth Day

Compound found in tires toxic to certain fish

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Healthy river systems depend on protected headwaters

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Health of water resources on Alberta’s Eastern Slopes the focus of new ��Ѹ�����Դ���߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge-led project

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Science Commons first ��Ѹ�����Դ���߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge building to earn LEED Gold status for environmental standards

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Library LED lighting upgrade enhances light, reduces carbon imprint and saves money

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Health of water resources on Alberta’s Eastern Slopes the focus of new ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge-led project

Science Commons first ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge building to earn LEED Gold status for environmental standards