Digital Commons Network^™

Changing Snowmelt Conditions In The Western Canadian Arctic, Matthew Y. T. Tsui

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Multidecadal Changes in Spring Snowmelt in the Western Canadian Arctic

This study investigates the changes in key aspects of snowmelt in the western Canadian Arctic. Specifically, we will look at changes in the onset of snowmelt and the duration of snowmelt between 1999 and 2019, and extended air temperature between 1957 and 2019. In addition, we will look at changes in eight meteorological variables during the melt period. It was found that the onset of snowmelt occurred 14 days earlier, while the melt period ends 20 days earlier than 20 years ago. As a result, the duration of melt period …

Alpine Shrub Tundra Water Storage And Runoff Dynamics In The Mackenzie Mountains, Sahtú Territory, Nt, Geoffrey Kershaw

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Alpine regions receive large volumes of precipitation and are important to local and regional water balances, particularly during baseflow periods of winter cold and summer drought when the larger basin area is frozen and/or water limited. Alpine headwaters in western Canada are expected to warm and receive more precipitation during the coming decades, with implications for groundwater recharge and streamflow generation within these systems and the regional river networks to which they contribute. Throughout the North, thawing peat plateaus and other ice-rich permafrost features are resulting in an increased extent of thermokarst and wetland land cover. This transition places infrastructure …

Coastal Landform Change Influences On Endangered Five-Lined Skink Distribution At Northwest Beach, Point Pelee National Park, Canada, Evan Fortushniok

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

As park visitation increased to Point Pelee National Park up until its peak in 1963, the installation of infrastructure for the purpose of supporting the recreational interest grew with it. At Northwest Beach, large parking lots were built into the coastal landscape and by the 1970s large areas of sand dunes continued to be heavily impacted by the installation of visitor associated infrastructure. The infrastructure resulted in the stabilization of sand on the beach side of the parking lot, resulting in an artificially stabilized and heavily vegetated dune. Over the last few decades, the park slowly reduced the size and …

Changes In Lake Drainage In The Western Canadian Arctic, Dilshan Kariyawasam, Philip Marsh Dr

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Nearly half of all Pan-Arctic lakes are situated in the Canadian Arctic, with many of these lakes being of thermokarst origin. Thermokarst lakes are sensitive to changes in the surrounding environment, making them useful indicators to examine the condition of hydrological systems in response to rapid climate warming, a trend which has been well observed in the Canadian Western Arctic. In this study, we use aerial photography to quantify lake area and count changes for lakes in the Inuvik-Tuktoyaktuk region, between 1950 and 2004. A combination of aerial photography and Landsat imagery were used in identifying drained thermokarst lake basins …

Political Culture: An Unexplored Factor In Climate Change Diplomacy, Alexander Suen

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

As climate change continues to ravage the world, mitigation efforts continue to be insufficient to rise to the challenge. Inaction on climate change has been traditionally explained by economic incentives, but some of the variability in climate policies cannot be explained by economics alone. Some variations could be accounted for by the deeply rooted national political culture of Anglo-settler colonies. This political culture may inhibit the willingness of such states to cooperate on climate change. In this dissertation, I describe the political philosophy of the Anglo-settler colony, and the histories of domination of its white settlers over the indigenous peoples …

Does Air Pollution Cause Residents Of New Delhi, India To Migrate Internationally?, Snigdha Basu

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Delhi, India, and the surrounding cities of Noida, Gurugram, Faridabad, and Ghaziabad consistently rank among the world's most polluted cities. For many parts of the year, air pollution levels are so high as to cause significant harm to human health, economy and the environment. Despite overwhelming evidence of the severity and consequences of air pollution, institutional measures to control it remain insufficient.

There is growing evidence that environmental degradation has the potential to generate migration of people out of affected areas. However, the links between environmental factors and migration are complex, with migration often being a result of interactions between …

The Goose Picks: Race, Colonization, And Environment, Anita Girvan, Julien Defraeye, Alec Follett, David Huebert, Jordan Kinder, Rina Garcia Chua, Siobhan Angus

The Goose

Reading recommendations by The Goose team on race, colonization, and the environment.

This Red Line Goes Straight To Your Heart By Madhur Anand, Rita Kaur Dhamoon

The Goose

Review of Madhur Anand's This Red Line Goes Straight to Your Heart

Motherism, African Women And Ecological Advocacy In Aminata Sow Fall’S L’Ex-Père De La Nation And Douceurs Du Bercail, Olubunmi O. Ashaolu

The Goose

The literary discourse of francophone Africa, has been indicted for ecocritical passivity. Yet many literary texts emanating from francophone Africa are replete with portraits of the environment. Even though Aminata Sow Fall, the Senegalese socio-realist falls within the category of authors who seek equilibrium in their treatment of African postcolonial issues, most of her works are laden with ecocritical concerns. Hidden within the literary portraits of postcolonial and environmental chaos of Africa lies Sow Fall’s projection of African problems and their alternative solution via her characters’ sensitization of ecological consciousness in readers. Through the theoretical framework of Catherine O. Acholonu’s …

Introducing Interconnections, Christine Daigle, Russell J A Kilbourn

English and Film Studies Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

No. 48: Covid-19 And Emergency Food Security Policies In Urban China, Taiyang Zhong, Jonathan Crush, Zhenzhong Si, Steffanie Scott

Hungry Cities Partnership

The COVID-19 pandemic has continued to spread worldwide, threatening people’s health as well as their food security. Yet, empirical research investigating its impacts on food security is scant. Limited attention has been paid to the local food security management implications of an infectious disease pandemic. To narrow these gaps, this study investigated the development of emergency food policies in Wuhan and Nanjing in China and households’ food security, based on a combination of online surveys of household food security and policy document analysis. This study shows that COVID-19 and associated quarantine measures caused many households to experience food insecurity. There …

Implementing Connectivity Conservation In Canada, Christopher J. Lemieux, Aerin L. Jacob, Paul A. Gray

Geography and Environmental Studies Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Park Agency Social Media Communication During The Covid-19 Crisis, Raluca Oprean

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

The COVID-19 pandemic has affected all industries and organizations, including park agencies. There is a lack of research on how park agencies utilize Twitter during times of crisis, specifically during the COVID-19 pandemic. How park agencies communicate with the public and how they use their social media has not been extensively studied. In addition, the coronavirus pandemic is a novel management issue for these agencies, and there has been no empirical analysis in the ways in which information is being communicated to the public or how that information is being perceived.

This study aims to better understand park agency response …

A Spatial Perspective On Decarbonization Efforts: A Comparative Analysis Of Japan And Singapore’S Decarbonization Strategies, Michelle Rio Yoshida

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Exploring how spatiality influences public policies and local behaviors towards achieving the goal of a low carbon society could demonstrate the significance of regional knowledge. This research used Tobler’s first law of geography as the conceptual framework to analyze and find similarities in Japan and Singapore’s historical emissions and geographic limitations to achieve their carbon reduction goals. The study collected and compared Japan and Singapore’s historical emissions data, energy consumption trends, and emission trajectory by sector. The research used a mixed-methods approach to identify common practices, relevant public policy frameworks, large-scale emissions reduction projects, and environmental and socioeconomic ground realities …

Change Detection And Landscape Similarity Comparison Using Computer Vision Methods, Karim Malik Wilfrid Laurier University

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Human-induced disturbances of terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems continue at alarming rates. With the advent of both raw sensor and analysis-ready datasets, the need to monitor ecosystem disturbances is now more imperative than ever; yet the task is becoming increasingly complex with increasing sources and varieties of earth observation data. In this research, computer vision methods and tools are interrogated to understand their capability for comparing spatial patterns. A critical survey of literature provides evidence that computer vision methods are relatively robust to scale and highlights issues involved in parameterization of computer vision models for characterizing significant pattern information in a …

Drivers And Consequences Of Alnus Alnobetula (Green Alder) Distribution At The Taiga-Tundra Ecotone Of The Northwest Territories, Cory Wallace

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Climate warming in the Arctic is occurring considerably faster than the global average. One of the most widespread biological responses to this warming in terrestrial systems has been a marked increase in the productivity of shrubby vegetation. Increased shrub growth and reproduction has the potential to alter both local and global aspects of ecosystem function, making understanding its drivers and environmental impact an important research priority. In this context, considerable research has focused on characterizing relationships between shrub cover, abiotic conditions, and understory communities. However, fewer studies have co-located measurements of these components simultaneously in undisturbed tundra shrub patches to …

Enhancing Harvester Safety And Traditional Food Access Through Participatory Mapping With The Ka’A’Gee Tu First Nation Of Kakisa, Northwest Territories, Neomi Jayaratne

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Northern Canada has struggled with various systemic challenges based on Eurocentric ideologies, policies, and practices. A major challenge Indigenous communities face North of the 60^th parallel is their food security and sovereignty. Inuit, First Nation and Métis populations across the North experience 5 to 6 times higher levels of food insecurity compared to the National average (Food Secure Canada, 2020). These communities face concentrated levels of food system issues, which connect to other factors, such as, health and wellness, the supply chain of market foods, governance, a shift away from traditional foods, and the impacts of climate change. Climate …

The Politics Of The Visible/Invisible Border: Canada's Responses And (In)Actions Towards Refugee Claimants' Protection, Monica Romero

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

This thesis explores Canadian responses towards unexpected arrivals of asylum seekers at their borders. Grounded in critical and feminist geopolitics, it aims to unveil hidden and concealed policies that are implemented behind a narrative of humanitarianism. In particular, it takes the land border crossings from the US to Canada that occurred after the implementation of restrictive asylum policies in the US in 2017 and following years. Although migratory movements can be attributed to several factors, this displacement was triggered by Trump’s anti-immigrant narratives and policies aimed to decrease refugee and immigrant arrivals to their territory.

The dissertation’s central argument is …

Containment & Covid-19 In The Settler State: Indigenous Incarceration And Immigration Detention In Canada And Australia, Kate Motluk

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Canada and Australia each have long histories of containing Indigenous peoples and migrants. The overincarceration of Indigenous peoples continues to worsen in both countries, despite targeted reforms. Migrant detention is on the rise worldwide, with Canada and Australia’s systems understood as among the harshest. This thesis explores why Canada and Australia contain these populations by examining these practices through the lens of contemporary settler colonialism. Like most everything, containment by states has undergone rapid changes as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. This study aims to understand how COVID-19 impacted those within carceral institutions, and contextualize that treatment within the …

Collaboration, Knowledge-Sharing And Natural Hazard Risk Management In The Greater Pinery Provincial Park Region, Madeline Mcfadden

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

In Canada, parks and other forms of protected areas are visited by tens of millions of people annually. By their very nature, parks and protected areas present various risks that must be mitigated. Risk management is an area of research that is receiving increased attention because in recent years, natural hazards (e.g. effects the environment) and disasters (e.g. effects the environment and humans) have exacted significant economic, social, health, cultural, and environmental impacts on persons and communities across Canada. Natural hazards, which pose significant risks to the natural environment and those individuals who inhabit or visit them, are expected to …

Developing Population Control Strategies For Wild Boar Management In Canada, Amanda Wong

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Abstract

DEVELOPING POPULATION CONTROL STRATEGIES FOR WILD BOAR MANAGEMENT IN CANADA

Amanda Wong Advisor: Scott Slocombe

Wilfrid Laurier University 2020

Canada’s landscape faces major threats from the growing wild boar (Sus scrofa) population, whose current presence predominantly threatens the Prairie provinces. Globally it has become apparent that wild boars are robust animals with high reproductive rates and destructive behaviours in both their native and non-native ranges. This paper analyzes wild boar management strategies that have been conducted around the world to identify the most effective tools, and those that were unsuccessful. The wild boars in Canada are hybridized …

Strategies For Reducing Greenhouse Gases From Liquid Dairy Manure, Vera Sokolov

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Livestock production, including the storage, handling, and spreading of manure, are among the largest contributors to greenhouse gas emissions from the agricultural sector. Liquid dairy manure storages are hot spots of methane (CH₄), nitrous oxide (N₂O) and ammonia (NH₃). Both CH₄ and N₂O are greenhouse gases (GHG) which contribute to global warming, while NH₃ is an indirect source of N₂O and a risk to human health. Reducing emissions from manure storages is important not only for protection of environment and humans, but also for conserving the nutrients in …

Characterizing Boreal Shield Lakes And Catchments To Predict Dissolved Organic Carbon Concentration And Composition In Relation To Safe Drinking Water Sources With Minimal Disinfection By-Products, Jordyn Atkins

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Many Canadians rely on surface water sources for drinking water, most of which is disinfected with chlorine. Dissolved organic carbon (DOC) can react with chlorine to form potentially carcinogenic disinfection by-products (DBPs). The concentration and composition of DOC influences the type and amount of DBP formed.

Lake water varies widely in DOC concentration and composition as a result of the surrounding landscape that influences the terrestrial load of DOC to lakes and the extent of in-lake processing of DOC. Twenty-seven lakes of similar lake size but with varying catchment sizes over several orders of magnitude created a unique opportunity to …

Evaluating Employees’ Experiences In Implementing Covid-19 Safety Protocols In Ontario Parks, Jessica Kaatz

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

The COVID-19 pandemic has created a wide range of public health challenges for park management and staff in Ontario. Green spaces have become a source of resilience during the spread of the virus, partly due to their proven positive impacts on social, mental and physical well-being. With the introduction of social distancing protocols, utilization of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), and standardizing constant sanitation efforts, park employees are more responsible than ever for the daily implementation of rules governing park safety and security. At the same time, increased visitor numbers and continually changing government protocols that varied between regional jurisdictions have …

Characterization Of Micronutrient Dependent Growth By Several Temperate Freshwater Phytoplankton, Purnank Shah

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Harmful algal blooms (HABs) are a growing problem in many freshwater waterbodies in Canada and around the world. HABs have wide-ranging impacts to ecosystems and economies. Since the 1970s, the primary focus of policies with respect to curbing HABs has been to lowering the inputs of P into waters. However, reports of HABs continue to increase even with all these P-removing policies in place. Some jurisdictions have chosen to focus on N-removal instead or in conjunction with P-removal to help with HABs. However, because some cyanobacteria have the ability to fix atmospheric N₂,N-removal might only lead to the …

From Beowulf Through Virginia Woolf To The Coastal Wolves Of British Columbia: Animals, Interdisciplinarity And The Environmental Humanities, Pamela Banting

The Goose

Researching and teaching literary works about wild animals within the university system can present productive challenges both within and across disciplinary structures and conventions.

Carbon Footprints As Cultural-Ecological Metaphors By Anita Girvan, Alexandra Simpson

The Goose

Review of Anita Girvan’s Carbon Footprints as Cultural-Ecological Metaphors.

Issue 18: Disaster Displacement: Examining The Post-Dorian Experience On Eleuthera, Kearney Coupland

International Migration Research Centre

In September, 2019, Hurricane Dorian made landfall on the island of Abaco, its surrounding cays, and on Grand Bahama in The Bahamas. As a result of the storm, an estimated 12,000 homes were damaged or destroyed. Marsh Harbour, the commercial hub of Abaco, and the surrounding cays, the small, low-lying islands off the coast of Abaco, received the majority of the damage. In addition to housing some of the most expensive resorts in The Bahamas, Marsh Harbour had two large shantytowns, the Mudd and the Peas, which were largely home to Haitian migrants who worked at the resorts and private …

When Environmental Obligations Collide With State Sovereignty: An International And Sharia Law Perspective, Seyed Masoud Noori, Soheila Ebrahimi Louyeh

Consensus

This article critically reviews the notion of State sovereignty under international law and argues that to achieve eco-justice as well as sustainable development goals, a restrictive and ecological approach needs to be taken toward the principle of states’ permanent sovereignty over natural resources. Environmental sustainability requires states’ environmental obligations to be identified as erga omnes so they can be addressed toward the international community as a whole and fall within the scope of article 48 of the ILC Articles on States Responsibility. Interestingly, in complete alignment with this progressive interpretation, sustainable utilization of natural resources has a longstanding foundation in …

The Figure Of The Animal In Modern And Contemporary Poetry By Michael Malay, Brian Bartlett

The Goose

Review of Michael Malay's The Figure of the Animal in Modern and Contemporary Poetry