Hydro-biogeochemical interactions and contaminant transport in urban ecosystems

点击翻译按钮获取中文摘要

The majority of Canadians live in cities and populations within cities are rising rapidly. As a result of the dense population and proximity of industrial areas within cities, urban streams are highly susceptible to pollution and ecological degradation. The degradation of streams in urban areas represents a threat to the security of drinking water, the health of wildlife, recreation, and efforts to improve the water quality of lakes into which these streams flow. The proposed research program will focus on improving our understanding of the underlying physical, chemical, and biological processes leading to water quality degradation in cities, particularly the contamination of streams by heavy metals. Research programs such as this are lacking in cold regions like Canada, where snow accumulation and melt are important parts of the annual water balance. This program will directly assess this gap. The proposed research program will also investigate the physical, chemical, and biological processes underlying the effectiveness of stormwater management interventions and urban restoration efforts such as wetland creation and stream restoration. Results from this research program will better inform municipalities about the best means by which to protect urban water resources through sustainable urban development. It will also help to improve the economic and environmental value of urban ecological restoration efforts.