• Canada
• Research softwareclose
• Other research productsclose
• Energy Research close

Coastal cities are grappling with how to shift their approach in designing the built environment to respond to global warming and sea level rise. With the potential increase of sea level rise by 1 metre by the year 2100, and climate change projecting more intense and frequent storms to British Columbia’s coasts, Vancouver will need to consider more resilient approaches to address flood risk along its shores. One area that will be exposed to flood risks includes the False Creek Flats, a historic tidal flat converted to rail and industrial hub in the core of the city, and on the cusp of transforming into the city’s next employment hub. At present, it is indiscernible that the False Creek Flats at one time was a historic tidal flat with a rich ecology supporting a variety of plants and wildlife, providing food and sustenance to the Indigenous people whose traditional territory included this land. The emergence of the rail and industry erased this history, the connection to the water, and the dynamic coastal processes that shaped the landscape. With the False Creek Flats undergoing a significant transformation over the next number of years, there is a window of opportunity to reconnect False Creek Flats to the coastal landscape, while also making room for flood waters and shifting perspectives on how we live with and build with water. This practicum seeks to develop a resilient design approach for False Creek Flats through three lenses: robustness, ensuring people are safe; adaptive, making room for the water; and transformative, shifting perspectives through design interventions. Leveraging the opportunity to make False Creek Flats resilient to climate change and flooding will benefit Vancouver by creating opportunities to shift public perspectives on how the city should adapt to sea level rise and climate change, while also bolstering public policy that will make the city and its residents more adaptive and resilient to change.

A number of hands-on activities were developed for the workshop constraints (i.e. delivered in a range of classrooms, needed to be portable, no water required). The activities are described in terms of the design challenge, materials required and practical tips for delivery.

The spring bloom of microalgae within the bottom of sea ice provides a significant contribution to primary production in the Arctic Ocean. The aim of this research was to improve observations of the ice algae bloom using a transmitted irradiance technique to remotely estimate biomass, and to examine the influence of physical processes on biomass throughout the sea ice melt season. Results indicate that bottom ice temperature is highly influential in controlling biomass variability and bloom termination. Snow depth is also significant as it buffers ice temperature from the atmosphere and largely controls transmission of photosynthetically active radiation (PAR). The relationship between snow depth and biomass can change over the spring however, limiting biomass accumulation early on while promoting it later. Brine drainage, under-ice current velocity, and surface PAR in the absence of snow cover are also important factors. Overall this research helps to characterize the spring ice algae bloom in the Arctic by improving in situ biomass estimates and identifying primary factors controlling it.

A CO2 emission analysis and system investigation of a direct fuel cell waste energy recovery and power generation system (DFC-ERG) for pressure letdown stations was undertaken. The hybrid system developed by FuelCell Energy Inc. is an integrated turboexpander and a direct internal reforming molten carbonate fuel cell system in a combined circle. At pressure letdown stations, popularly called city gates, the pressure of natural gas transported on long pipelines is reduced by traditional pressure regulating systems. Energy is lost as a result of pressure reduction. Pressure reduction also results in severe cooling of the gas due to the Joule Thompson effect, thus, requiring preheating of the natural gas using traditional gas fired-burners. The thermal energy generated results in the emission of green house gases. The DFC-ERG system is a novel waste energy recovery and green house gas mitigation system that can replace traditional pressure regulating systems on city gates. A DFC-ERG system has been simulated using UniSim Design process simulation software. A case study using data from Utilities Kingston’s city gate at Glenburnie was analysed. The waste energy recovery system was modelled using the design specifications of the FuelCell Energy Inc’s DFC 300 system and turboexpander design characteristics of Cryostar TG120. The Fuel Cell system sizing was based on the required thermal output, electrical power output, available configuration and cost. The predicted performance of the fuel cell system was simulated at a current density of 140mA/cm2, steam to carbon ratio of 3, fuel utilization of 75% and oxygen utilization of 30%. The power output of the turboexpander was found to strongly depend on the high pressure natural gas flowrate, temperature and pressure. The simulated DFC-ERG system was found to reduce CO2 emissions when the electrical power generated by the DFC-ERG system replaced electrical power generated by a coal fired plant.

Despite some improvements and increasing social pressures, most organizations seem to be stagnating in a superficial implementation of sustainability practices despite the accumulation of climate change consequences. Research on corporate sustainability has shown that external pressures and psychological factors influence managers’ environmental decisions. However, these psychological factors have been undertheorized in the management research field. The concept of psychological distance has shown promising results in studying environmental behaviors. This concept is rooted in the construal level theory and is defined as the subjective experience of feeling that something is close or far away from the self, the here and the now. Therefore, it represents a relevant path for exploration in research on corporate sustainability. The main goals of this integrative review are to explore how the concept of psychological distance has been employed in research on corporate sustainability and to explore related concepts from this research field. Additionally, concepts that are related to the four dimensions of psychological distance (i.e., temporal, spatial, social, and hypothetical) are critically discussed. The links between these concepts and their impacts on sustainability endeavors within organizations are then visually presented through a conceptual map, which forms the main contribution of this review. Further theoretical contributions are presented, the implications for managers are discussed, and future research avenues are proposed.

Rapidly changing environments impact avian populations greatly. Indeed, variable weather affects the timing of crucial resource availability and behaviours of breeding birds. Migratory birds are particularly threatened by advancing springs and must adjust their migration timing to remain synchronized with spring phenology. Environmental factors such as weather variability are known to influence bird timing both during breeding and migratory periods but have rarely been investigated for their impact across migration routes. Once birds are at their breeding locations, how environmental factors influence local timing and movements has also been little examined. In this study, in a declining long-distance migrant, the purple martin (Progne subis), I first investigate how extrinsic (environmental), and intrinsic (morphological, migration destination) factors impact migration timing and rate. Second, I investigate the timing of parental roosting during active parental care, and how environmental and nest conditions influence this behaviour. I found that variation in destination and timing are the main influence on spring arrival date and migration rate, while to a lesser extent favourable weather promotes faster migration. The great influence of spring departure on migration rate and arrival suggests selective pressure on migration timing across routes to match with conditions at the breeding grounds. I also found that summer roosting is prominent in purple martins with colder evenings and increased parental investment increasing the odds of parents remaining at their colony at night. Overall, my findings indicate that the influence of environmental factors on movement behaviour may vary by season, with spring migration being mostly driven by intrinsic factors, while summer roosting may be most influenced by local temperature. Future research on the effects of environmental factors on migratory stopover duration and the seasonality of roosting would further our understanding of these timing behaviours and how they may interact with advancing climate change.

Ice is a prominent characteristic of water bodies in cold regions. For rivers regulated for hydropower operations, the production of ice particles can result in obstructions and subsequent performance issues during energy production. Rough and thickened ice covers resulting from high flow conditions can also lead to substantial hydraulic losses. While ice formations impact hydropower operations, a river’s flow hydrograph also influences ice processes from freeze-up through break-up. Research investigations into the influence of regulation on ice processes benefits not only hydropower practioners, but also those who are impacted by hydropower operations. Further, understanding these cause-and-affect relationships supports design of innovative tools to quantify the impact of ice on river hydraulics. In this study, a detailed characterization of ice processes is presented for the regulated Upper Nelson River region located at the outlet of Lake Winnipeg in Northern Manitoba, Canada. With a focus on freeze-up and mid-winter processes, this characterization informed design of a 2D numerical modelling methodology to simulate ice-affected winter hydraulics. Model development included simulation of both thermal and dynamic ice phenomenon, which relied on derivation of numerous site-specific hydraulic functions. The presence of significant skim ice runs in this region inspired development of a novel treatment to simulate freeze-up jamming of skim ice floes on very mild-sloped rivers. The modelling methodology shows strong performance in simulating both freeze-up and mid-winter hydraulics, which is a signficiant contribution considering the complexity of this lake-outlet system. A quantitative evaluation of the effects of climate change on river ice hydraulics is included, with future projection of shorter and warmer winters leading to greater cumulative discharge from Lake Winnipeg. While discharge increases may lead to increased power production in future years, concurrent projections of increased inter-annual variability may present new operational challenges. Findings from this original research can be applied not only to the Nelson River, but also other regulated regions that are impacted by river ice.

Climate warming will adversely affect Canadian waters and potentially predator-prey interactions in Boreal zone lakes. A series of feeding experiments were conducted at temperatures 18 - 30°C with freshwater macroinvertebrate predators, phantom midge larvae, Chaoborus punctipennis, backswimmer, Buenoa macrotibialis, and zooplankton prey from Swan Lake, Sudbury, Ontario. I wanted to determine the influence of a warming climate on predation rate and composition of predator diets. Unexpectedly, warmer water temperatures did not result in significantly higher predation from macroinvertebrate predators on zooplankton. Electivity calculations showed no general preference or avoidance trends for all species of zooplankton prey from either of the predators. This indicated that prey preference was not a factor in overall predation rate across temperature trials. Principal component analyses revealed that the zooplankton species composition in the diets of C. punctipennis and B. macrotibialis changed with temperature. A comparison of the community composition in the diet with what was available in the environment revealed a strong correlation for both predators. Findings indicate that predators were consuming zooplankton specifically present in their environment. The predators appear to be consuming prey more opportunistically rather than what may be the most energetically profitable for the energy expended to forage and consume prey. This study suggests that in light of climate warming, macroinvertebrate predators, such as the phantom midge larvae and backswimmer, will likely respond to climate-driven changes in zooplankton community composition by switching prey items.

A number of lakes across North America are experiencing a shift from unicellular to colonial species of scaled chrysophytes, which in some cases, is creating water-quality issues. In this study, the timing and the rate of the shift from unicellular Mallomonas taxa to colonial Synura petersenii was assessed in two lakes in the Adirondacks, NY in order to identify potential driver(s) of this shift. Lakes which have been minimally impacted by local disturbances were chosen in order to assess regional stressors such as climate change and acid deposition in driving this shift. Eagles Nest Lake displayed a single shift from unicellular Mallomonas species to colonial S. petersenii which began in the early 1960’s and intensified in the 1980’s, while Copperas Pond displayed two abrupt shifts. The first shift in Copperas Pond was from unicellular Mallomonas to colonial S. curtispina prior to the 1900’s and the second was from S. curtispina to S. petersenii which occurred in the 1990’s. The pre-1990’s shift in Copperas Pond is unusual and warrants further investigation in order to determine if a regional or local driver is at play. The shift in Eagles Nest Lake in the 1980’s and the second shift in Copperas Pond in the 1990’s corresponded with the intensification of the rise in temperatures in the Adirondack region in the 1980’s. However, as multiple regional disturbances are occurring within same time period, it was difficult to completely isolate regional drivers of change. As a result, it is also possible that both recent climate changes and/or oligotrophication resulting from long-term acid deposition played a role in causing the shift towards S. petersenii dominance in the study lakes.