UNews - water systems

For the love of the North

trevor.kenney — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 22:50:09 +0000

While many are seduced by the big city lights, it was northern lights that called to J. Michael Miltenberger (BASc '75).

Since graduating from the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge in 1975, he has used his political positions to protect the unique people and environment of the Northwest Territories (N.W.T.).

Born in Ottawa but raised in various communities in the N.W.T., Miltenberger served with the Third Battalion Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry before deciding to further his education at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge.

It was a life-changing decision. Not only did he earn a BA (sociology) that paved the way for a career in human services, but he met Jeri, his wife of 37 years, with whom he's raised their daughter Michaela, who now attends the U of L.

J. Michael Miltenberger was honoured as the U of L's 2011 Distinguished Alumnus of the Year at Fall Convocation in October.

After studying at the U of L, Miltenberger pursued graduate studies at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Alberta. "Neither of us liked big-city life in Edmonton, so we bought an old truck, packed up our stuff and headed north to live a simpler life for a while," he says.

The family settled in Fort Smith, N.W.T. – a primarily Aboriginal community of 2,400 people – where Miltenberger built the family's timber-framed house. After a few years as a carpenter, he put his U of L degree to good use while working for the Department of Health and Social Services.

Miltenberger didn't begin his career with political ambitions. But after serving on town council, he was inspired to run for mayor, even though it meant a 50 per cent pay cut.

"The work interested me: the ability to enact laws and help the community develop," he says. In 1987 he completed his first term as mayor. He returned to the Department of Health and Social Services as regional superintendent shortly after that.

In 1995, he ran for MLA – and won – and has represented Fort Smith ever since. Presently, Miltenberger serves in cabinet as deputy premier, government house leader, minister of finance, minister of health and social services and minister of environment and natural resources.

"I've worked hard to make sure the community is well-served by the territorial government," says Miltenberger. He's also a passionate environmental advocate, working to protect at-risk species and water systems.

On the border between the N.W.T. and Alberta, Fort Smith is situated in the middle of the boreal forest and adjacent to the Slave River, best known for its powerful rapids that occasionally attract contentious hydroelectric dam proposals.

As minister of environment and natural resources, Miltenberger has worked closely with Aboriginal communities and other stakeholders to establish a water stewardship strategy for the N.W.T. and has been a significant figure on the international water-policy stage. Earlier this year, he was one of five Canadians on an expert panel at the Seventh Annual Rosenberg Water Policy Forum in Argentina where he delivered a paper on traditional knowledge and water-policy development in the N.W.T.

Water and other environmental issues, negotiating a final devolution agreement with Canada, an upcoming Canada-wide review of health care and a project to implement fibre-optic capability all contributed to Miltenberger's decision to run for office one last time. On Oct. 3, Miltenberger was elected to a fifth term.

"I'm grateful for the continued support of the constituency," says Miltenberger, reflecting on his re-election in an area renowned for its political toughness. "I look forward to spending the next four years working on the issues I'm passionate about. After that, I can pass the torch."

This story first appeared in the Fall 2011 issue of SAM. If you'd like to read the entire issue of SAM in a flipbook format, follow this link.

Collaborating to advance water research

trevor.kenney — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 21:00:29 +0000

By studying water issues locally, ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge water researchers are discovering fundamental principles about water systems and their management that bolster a global body of knowledge.

Lars Brinkmann, a PhD candidate in the Department of Biological Sciences, is the inaugural recipient of a $30,000 fellowship – the largest individual student award endowed at the U of L. The fellowship is made possible by energy company Nexen Inc. and their initial investment of $300,000 which, when matched through the Province of Alberta's Access to the Future Fund, will establish a $600,000 endowment for graduate scholarships and fellowships in water research at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge.

Brinkmann is exploring how mercury concentrations in fish are affected by the food web. He explains that even in seemingly pristine bodies of water, traces of mercury often threaten the health of humans and other animals in the ecosystem.

"Mercury is a serious problem because it's a very potent neurotoxin, and it has very adverse effects in human adults. What's even worse is that at very low concentrations, it still has a very bad effect on developing fetuses," Brinkmann explains.

The heavy metal is a byproduct of some industrial processes. Even water systems nowhere near a point of contamination can contain mercury, as it is transported by rain and wind.

Mercury becomes most concentrated at the top of the food web. Predatory fish can contain very toxic levels of mercury and can be dangerous for humans to consume. However, the concentration is affected by what those fish eat and how they allocate energy to survive (like spawning, movement and growth of the body), which makes concentrations in ecosystems quite variable.

Brinkmann hopes to find out why the food web is causing so much variation by studying the fish in the South Saskatchewan River Basin and determining how their energy budgets relate to mercury concentration. His work suggests that it's not the size of a fish that minimizes concentration, but rather its rate of growth; fish that grow quickly tend to have less mercury in their tissues.

Brinkmann's supervisor, Dr. Joseph Rasmussen, a professor in the U of L's Department of Biological Sciences and a Canada Research Chair (Aquatic Systems), explains that the doctoral student's research is filling an important gap in the literature. Most of the research on mercury toxicology hasn't dealt with food web interactions.

"It treats food web components as generic, but it's hugely variable from one system to another," Rasmussen says.

In recent years, emission controls have limited the amount of mercury that industry produces, but it continues to pose an environmental threat. It's becoming more important to find ways to manage the pollutant once it's in the system, Rasmussen explains.

"It's good to promote practices that reduce emissions, but you can't control it like a tap. However, you can manage the system on the other end and, say, manage our fisheries in such a way that we reduce mercury in fish."

When it comes to Alberta's spring systems – the points at which groundwater comes to the surface – even less is known. That's why a team of U of L researchers and partners is studying the natural springs as a strategy to learn more about groundwater and ensure the resource is used sustainably in the future. But at the moment, scientists don't understand the role springs play in local habitats.

"One might imagine that because springs are relatively scarce, their ecological value might be limited. Conversely, they provide unique environments, and it's likely that there may be some unique organisms that rely on them," explains Dr. Stewart Rood, a U of L Board of Governors Research Chair in Environmental Science and 2008 Killam Research Fellowship recipient.

Rood has been collaborating with Dr. Abe Springer, a professor with Northern Arizona ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ, to better understand the province's springs. The Alberta Springs Project – modelled after Springer's and colleagues' Southwestern U.S. springs studies – was created when Springer visited the U of L as its first Fulbright Scholar in water research in 2007.

The Alberta Springs Project will investigate springs throughout southern Alberta, including those of the Porcupine Hills region, an outcrop of foothills that is not directly linked to the Rocky Mountain zones. In the areas with springs, the topographical conditions allow for groundwater to come to the surface and create a diverse array of springs.

The project is broad. In addition to inventorying the springs, researchers are studying their hydrology, water chemistry and aquatic and riparian ecology. They hope to find out, among other things, how springs are impacted by seasonal and climatic changes, how the type of spring affects the area's biology and how groundwater relates to surface water. The research initiative will also compare the spring systems in Alberta, Arizona and Wisconsin.

Eventually, the information will help Alberta plan for the future.

"As surface water resources become overextended in a region, the next source of water which is typically tapped is groundwater stored in aquifers," Springer says. "Alberta is in a unique position of not yet having significantly tapped the extensive groundwater resources of the province, so there is still time to plan for better management of them and minimize or mitigate any potential future impact to aquifers or springs from groundwater use."

The Alberta Springs Project has secured $200,000 in funding over four years from the Imperial Oil Foundation, and it has attracted researchers from across North America.

"One emphasis of this project is to bring together individuals with shared interests in order to better understand what we know and don't know and to develop a more systematic strategy for studying and inventorying springs," Rood says.

Shedding light on the watershed

trevor.kenney — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 20:57:37 +0000

Though water has become a hot topic in academic circles, the broader community isn't necessarily aware of human impact on water systems.

"Water is one of those quiet, silent things that literally flows through your life unless it's not there. Then everything stops," says filmmaker and ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge alumna Denise Calderwood (MEd '93).

Water – specifically the watershed of Alberta's east slopes – was a natural choice for her sixth documentary, Water Resources: The East Slopes of Alberta. The film, which features researchers, ranchers and environmentalists, examines how the watershed works and is affected by human activity.

A whole range of development activities in the east slopes are gradually diminishing the capacity to deliver the water we depend on, Calderwood says.

Every film is a team effort, and Calderwood says this time she was fortunate to recruit Jeremy Emerson, who was then a fourth year student, through the Faculty of Fine Arts New Media internship program. The program is one of the many ways the U of L partners with the community, in this case to promote education about the environment.

Emerson (BFA – New Media '08), who now works for a Yellowknife film society, says this project provided a hands-on production experience, like camera operation and video editing, and opened his eyes to the complexity of water issues and the importance of research in this area.

"We don't see the effects of what we're doing to our watershed today," he says. "We could be doing horribly bad things and we wouldn't know it for a while – and by then, it could be too late."

Water Resources: The East Slopes of Alberta was screened at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge in November 2008 and is now being used as a resource by the provincial government.

Focused on water

trevor.kenney — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 20:39:13 +0000

Teaching upcoming generations about the environment is critical to ensuring a healthy future for all of us, says long-time educator Dr. Rick Mrazek.

"The bottom line is, you can't have healthy human beings in an unhealthy environment. We have to understand that relationship," he explains.

Mrazek, a veteran professor in the Faculty of Education and Board of Governors Teaching Chair, has been internationally recognized as a leading science, technology and environmental educator and researcher. For decades, he's dedicated his research to helping upcoming generations understand the world around them.

But he says traditional methods are proving to be less effective. His research now explores how to integrate new technologies into classroom learning.

"We know that this generation now thinks differently and uses information differently," he explains.

Mrazek isn't just researching the use of technology in education – he's creating digital resources too. With U of L geography professor Dr. Jim Byrne and George Gallant of Gallant Productions, he helped create the Canadian Wildlife Federation's Water Under Fire website from the Water Under Fire documentary series, which draws upon the knowledge of water scientists from coast-to-coast to create concise public service announcements and webisodes about our water systems and conservation topics.

The short videos provide key information about surface water, ground water, wastewater, and how to use water in a more sustainable way.

Water Under Fire public service announcements run on television networks across Canada to the general public, but the series is meant to also function as a teaching tool for educators, says Mrazek.

"It provides authentic information 'on demand' anywhere, anytime – which is what today's youth prefer," he says.

Mrazek is presently taking part in a national study, funded by the Canadian Wildlife Federation, which is examining levels of adoption of emerging technologies – particularly web applications like YouTube and TeacherTube – by teachers of conservation and environmental education.

"We know that a lot of people are being exposed to (online) information, but now we're trying to figure out how this is being used in classes."

The Water Under Fire webisodes and public service announcements are available online at www.waterunderfire.ca and cwf-fcf.org.

Water centre offers high-tech toolbox for scholars

trevor.kenney — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 21:58:41 +0000

As the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge continues to gain momentum as a leader in water research, it is achieving a critical mass of outstanding scholars.

Dr. Sarah Boon, who came to the U of L a year-and-a-half ago, is one of the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ's newest researchers. She's also part of a diverse group of scholars conducting research at the new Alberta Water and Environmental Science Building (AWESB). Focusing on mountain hydrology, Boon studies snow melt and glacial melt and how they contribute to runoff in mountain systems.

"Right now, my specific research is looking at forest disturbance, like pine beetle or wildfires, and how that changes snow processes in alpine watersheds," says Boon. She's also exploring how these changes affect the timing and magnitude of runoff from the watersheds into downstream systems.

Boon says the new AWESB offers researchers greater opportunities to collaborate.

"I think that's what's going to bring us forward as a place of international excellence, where there's a lot of good research taking place."

The AWESB offers a toolbox to help researchers continue to excel in the field of water research, says Vice-President (Research) Dr. Dennis Fitzpatrick.

"In many ways, it's more than just a building. It's a repository of people and tools that are going to produce profound research," he says.

The $27-million centre is a partnership between the U of L and seven provincial and federal research partners, including Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Health Canada and Alberta Environment.

The 5,500 sq. m. facility opened on Nov. 13, 2008, and it will initially house 20 researchers and up to 150 supporting technicians, graduate students and doctoral candidates from the departments of biological sciences, geography and physics and astronomy. Research at the centre revolves around these key areas: social policy (including how the government is legislating water use); ecology (the relationship of water to flora and fauna); toxicology (the effects of chemical pollutants to the health of water supplies); environmental impacts (including how agriculture and industry impact water); and water-climate interactions (for instance, how rising global temperatures affect water systems).

The AWESB contains many state-of-the-art technologies, offering researchers the chance to expand the breadth and depth of their work.

"The tools you have access to affect the questions you can answer," Fitzpatrick explains, adding that it's rare for a university to possess so many new technologies at once.
"You can usually be up-to-date in one thing – but we're up-to-date on a whole host of tools that will help us answer more questions."

Other significant acquisitions include earth-imaging tools (for geomatics research) and instruments for stable isotope analysis as well as environmental monitoring (a significant acquisition for researchers like Dr. Christopher Hugenholtz and Dr. Mathew Letts).

The basement of the building is home to the Aquatic Research Facility, housing specialized tanks for fish and aquatic organisms, in which environmental conditions can be manipulated. Researchers like Dr. Alice Hontela, who studies water toxicology, use the facility to study responses to environmental stressors like chemical pollutants or rising temperatures.

The facility isn't just a benefit to established scientists. The AWESB will also incubate developing talent, like PhD candidate Lana Miller, who is studying the health of Alberta's lakes and rivers. She is one of more than 100 graduate students who will benefit from both the new infrastructure and the outstanding researchers that the centre is attracting.

"Researchers want to go to places where there's research actually going on," Fitzpatrick says.

For many researchers – including Boon, who's fieldwork often takes her to the Crowsnest Pass – the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ is uniquely situated within the 'living laboratory' that is southern Alberta.

"These things all come together and make the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge a very attractive place to do research," Fitzpatrick says.

UNews - water systems

For the love of the North

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Collaborating to advance water research

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Shedding light on the watershed

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Focused on water

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Water centre offers high-tech toolbox for scholars

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