Hydro-biogeochemical interactions and contaminant transport in urban ecosystems

大多数加拿大人生活在城市，城市内的人口正在迅速上升。由于城市内人口密集且靠近工业区，城市溪流极易受到污染和生态退化的影响。城市地区溪流的退化对饮用水的安全、野生动物的健康、娱乐和改善溪流流入的湖泊水质的努力构成了威胁。拟议的研究计划将侧重于提高我们对导致城市水质恶化的潜在物理、化学和生物过程的理解，特别是重金属对溪流的污染。在加拿大这样寒冷的地区，这样的研究项目是缺乏的，因为积雪和融化是年度水量平衡的重要组成部分。这一计划将直接评估这一差距。拟议的研究计划还将调查暴雨管理干预措施和城市恢复努力(如湿地创建和溪流恢复)有效性背后的物理、化学和生物过程。这项研究计划的结果将更好地向市政当局通报通过可持续城市发展保护城市水资源的最佳方法。这也将有助于提高城市生态修复的经济和环境价值。

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.