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Methane Flux From Drained Northern Peatlands: Effect Of A Persistent Water Table Lowering On Flux, Nigel T. Roulet, Rosemary Ash, William L. Quinton, Tim Moore

Geography and Environmental Studies Faculty Publications

Measurements of CH₄ flux from drained and undrained sites in three northern Ontario peatlands (a treed fen, a forested bog, and a treed bog) were made from the beginning of May to the end of October 1991. In the drained portions, the water table had been lowered between 0.1 and 0.5 m, compared to the water table of the undrained portion of the peatlands. The mean seasonal CH₄ flux from the undrained portions of three peatlands was small, ranging from 0 to 8 mg m^-2d-1, but similar to the CH₄ flux from other …

The Cord Weekly (November 11, 1993)

The Cord

No abstract provided.

The Cord Weekly (March 11, 1993)

The Cord

No abstract provided.

The Cord Weekly (February 25, 1993)

The Cord

No abstract provided.

Agro-Climatic Hazards And The Political Economy Of Food Insecurity In West Africa: A Case Of A Rural Food Economy, Raphael Lawer Djabatey

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Variability and declining food production and accessibility in West Africa have characterised the food system in the region’s rural economy. These phenomenon have contributed to the fluctuation and declining per capita food supply and calorie intake, falling wages of farmers, rising food prices and increasing reliance on food imports and food aid by the governments and people of West Africa. The cause of the problem still remains an illusion and continues to baffle policy makers. Very often the problem is attributed to drought. However, to reduce the problem of household food insecurity to natural forces is to miss the centre …

An Analysis Of Canadian International & Interprovincial Manufacturing Export Flows: 1974-1990, H. Lillian Kucsma

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

This thesis examined the changing internal and external export patterns of Canadian manufactured products in the years 1974, 1979, 1984, and 1990. Hechscher—Ohlin's comparative advantage trade framework was used to guide the analysis. Internally, provincially biased shipping patterns were found over the four time periods analyzed. The percentage of intraprovincial shipments increased, and interprovincial shipments decreased through time. This suggests that the provinces exhibited signs of increasing provincialism. Externally, except for 1990, primary export flow destinations to the USA as a percentage of total exports increased over time while those to the other OECD countries decreased. Secondary export flow destinations, …

The Potential Environmental Consequences Of Utilizing Sewage Sludge As Fertilizer On Agricultural Lands: A Case Study Of The Region Of Waterloo (Ontario), Benjamin C. Mohabir

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

With the advent of increased volumes of liquid sewage sludge being produced in the world annually, means of disposal and recycling have become a serious issue. The disposal of sludge onto agricultural lands has raised concern regarding its environmental implications. The concern stems from the presence of toxic substances often found in sludge which can be harmful to the environment. The sludge utilization programme in the Regional Municipality of Waterloo has shortcomings in the areas of site evaluation and monitoring, and setting an application agenda tied in with a weather forecasting system. These shortcomings combined with the physical characteristics of …

Theoretical And Empirical Examinations Of Spatial Scale And Aggregation Effects On The Principal Axis Factoring Technique When The Observations Are Areal Units, Len Michael Hunt

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Previous assessments of factor analytic invariance to scale and aggregation effects have led to discrepant results. To determine the true effects, this study comprehensively examines the influence of scale and aggregation on factorial ecologies. This investigation is completed for three data sets, four scales, and thirty aggregations at each scale. Of these three data sets, two are artificial. These two data sets differ only by levels of spatial autocorrelations as one data set contains independent areal unit observations while the other set includes modest positive spatial autocorrelations. The third data set consists of variables from the 1986 Saskatoon enumeration areas. …

User Fees For Residential Waste Disposal: Issues, Feasibility And A Case Study Of Decision-Making (Ontario), Pietro Bertollo

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Canadian society generates huge quantities of solid waste, for which disposal is becoming more difficult. Landfill space is becoming scarcer and municipal jurisdictions are having to allocate greater and greater financial resources to this problem. The ultimate solution to the waste problem lies in reducing waste generation. Iii this area, there is considerable disagreement on how to achieve this goal. One school of thought advocates economic instruments such as user fees to induce people and societies to become more sustainable. This thesis examines the user-pay concept as a waste management tool. This thesis consists of a detailed examination of the …

Iceberg Severity Off The Canadian East Coast (An Analysis Of The 1991 Iceberg Season), Jerome Edward Salloum

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

The 1991 iceberg season on the Grand Banks was the second most severe on record. Over a 218-day period, a total of 2002 icebergs traversed latitude 48°N. Percentages of sightings involving medium and large icebergs greatly exceeded normal values. Thus, the season was mxtstanding, not only in terms of flux numbers, but in terms of total ice mass delivered. Assuming that this flux anomaly is the product of more efficient advection and less efficient ablation and notzsome sudden surge in upstream berg production, the study investigates various atmospheric and sea surface conditions as contributing factors to a near record iceberg …

Seasonal Hydrology And Geochemistry Of Two Small High Arctic Catchments, Axel Heiberg Island, Northwest Territories, Julia Boike

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

This study examines hydrological and geochemical processes in a continuous permafrost setting in the Canadian High Arctic on Axel Heiberg Island (79°25 ' N; 90°45 ' W) with the following objective: to identify spatial and seasonal variation in hydrology and geochemistry of the East Inflow (EIF) and West Inflow (WIF) sub basins draining into Colour Lake and relate them to processes operating in the basins. Field work in the catchment was carried out between 20 May to 16 August 1991 and 23 July to 20 August 1992. Surface flow and suprapermafrost groundwater in the active layer were monitored to assess …

Voronoi Diagrams As A Visualization Technique For Spatial Autocorrelation In Point Data Sets, Martin A. Cassel

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

This thesis explores a new way of visualizing spatial autocorrelation in a GIS environment. It explores some relationships between spatial autocorrelation models, spatial interaction models and weighted Voronoi diagrams. Since the weighted Voronoi diagram is equivalent to a form of spatial interaction models, any GIS with the ability to generate a gravity model can be utilized to perform this new technique of exploratory spatial data analysis. This thesis demonstrates how the cross product form of‘ spatial autocorrelation models like the Geary and the Moran statistics is equivalent to the form of a multiplicatively weighted distance utilized in the definition of …

Barriers To Achieving Sustainable Development In North America: Historical Naivety, Media Limitations And Non-Anticipatory Governance, Blair Wayne Feltmate

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

This thesis addresses three critical problems affecting the implementation of “sustainable development”: historical naivety, media limitations, and non-anticipatory governance. Emphasis is placed on North America--primarily the United States complemented with a global perspective towards the latter aspect of the presentation. Foremost (Chapter 2) in the thesis is the focus on contemporary society's lack of appreciation for its environmental past, and the assertion "to be ignorant of history is to repeat it" is corroborated by reviewing many "modern" (circa 1990's) problems of environmental degradation and placing them in a historical North American context. For example, George Perkins Marsh (1801-1882)--the father of …

Organizations And Attitudes In The Local Economic Development Process: A Case Study Of The West Parry Sound Area (Ontario), Darin Gregory Tucci

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

The purpose of this study is to further our understanding of the obstacles and catalysts to the local economic development (LED) process. The central issues under examination deal with multi-community and multi-organization integration at the subregional level. These issues are explored though a case study of West Parry Sound Area (WPSA). The difficulties associated with integration and the differences among member municipalities and organizations were evaluated in two ways. First, the agencies involved in the WSPA LED process were examined to assess the organizational structure resulting from overlapping objectives and representatives. Second, the attitudes of key actors within these agencies …

Pandemic Influenza: An Analysis Of The Spread Of Influenza In Kitchener, October 1918 (Ontario), Niall Phillip Alan Sean Johnson

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Influenza remains one of the major killers in modern society. In addition to the mortality it causes, it exacts a huge medical, social and economic toll. Due to its propensity to undergo change, through antigenic drift and shift, this disease continues to torment humankind. These changes are the driving force that enables influenza to periodically become epidemic and pandemic. The study of past pandemics thus may provide useful insight to comb-it the disease now and in the future. The 1918-19 pandemic is one of the three worst outbreaks of disease in recorded history, with only the Justinian plagues and the …

The Cord Weekly (October 16, 1992)

The Cord

No abstract provided.

The Cord Weekly (October 8, 1992)

The Cord

No abstract provided.

The Cord Weekly (July 14, 1992)

The Cord

No abstract provided.

The Cord Weekly (February 27, 1992)

The Cord

No abstract provided.

The Cord Weekly (February 6, 1992)

The Cord

No abstract provided.

Investigation Of Hydrometeorological Relationships, Pasu Glacier Basin, Northern Pakistan, Bob Boyce

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Records of air temperature, global radiation and discharge from the Pasu Glacier basin in the Upper Indus River Basin have been examined with a view to developing a modest understanding of the simple physically based processes in action within this globally extreme mountainous region. Some glaciological data are also reported but in a preliminary manner. Relationships between air temperature characteristics, global radiation and discharge were investigated using correlation techniques. Daily average air temperatures recorded at the highest meteorological station, Parundas (4200m), provide the strongest degree of association with discharge. The data shows that this highly glacierised Karakoram basin exhibits similar …

The Campus Map: The Case Of Wilfrid Laurier University, Tanya Dykshoorn

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

University campus maps are not generally designed for navigational purposes. However, they are often employed by universities for image-building purposes. A collection of campus maps of universities across Canada have been examined with regards to navigation and image-building. The final focus of this thesis is on the Wilfrid Laurier University campus map.

In order to understand the importance of the navigational process on the campus, it is necessary to examine the professions that depend upon maps to navigate through the environment. Children, orienteers and marine navigators provide us with the basic foundations and some of the finer details of employing …

Multiple Hazard Research In Kananaskis Country, Alberta: A Geographical Information System Approach, Alastair J. Small

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

This research is concerned with the application of Geographical Information System techniques to multiple hazard research in Kananaskis Country Recreation Area, southern Alberta. The study is focused on Peter Lougheed Provincial Park, a high mountain environment in the front range Rockies. Increasing human activity in the area is putting more and more people at risk from natural hazards, thus the need for more efficient land use planning is evident. This research attempts to map and predict avalanche, forest fire, rockslide/rockfall, and flood hazard occurrence, and estimate the degree of risk associated with each. Data relating to the physical characteristics and …

National And Provincial Park Service Responses To Human-Induced Ecological Change In Ontario, Maria Theresia Kothbauer

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

This study examines the human-induced ecological changes occurring in Point Pelee and Pukaskwa National Parks and Rondeau and Lake Superior Provincial Parks as a result of external threats, as well as the methods used by park managers to prevent these changes. The primary objectives were to: examine the types of external threats and their implications to ecosystems in the selected parks; examine the responses of park managers to prevent changes in ecological integrity; determine whether or not the management techniques of park managers are rehabilitating and/or preventing ecological change induced by external threats: and make an initial comparison of national …

The Impact Of The Bruce Nuclear Power Development Planned Workforce Increase On Kincardine, Ontario, Robert Mark Flesch

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

This study investigates the underlying dimensions of public attitudes toward the impact of the Bruce Nuclear Power Development planned workforce increase on Kincardine, Ontario. Kincardine, a small rural community of approximately 5900 inhabitants (Statistics Canada, 1986), is located in the southwestern portion of Bruce County. Much of the current landscape, demographic composition, and industrial structure can directly be attributed to the locality’s function as a residential nucleation for the Bruce Nuclear Power Development workforce and their families (Hecht and Sharpe, 1990; Chalk, 1990). Two propositions form the basis for this study of community response. The first states that the underlying …

The Energy Crisis: The Case Of The Economic Community Of West African States (Ecowas), With Special Reference To Nigeria, Ghana And Burkina Faso, Francis Bliss Lagbo

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

The energy crisis of West African countries has assumed major importance over the past few decades. The oil price increases of the 1970s have posed innumerable problems to these countries. But that is hardly the entire story. The vegetation cover of most places have been stripped so bare that people must walk for hours to find the day's supply of firewood, the traditional energy source. Doing something about the problem involves, first of all, understanding what the situation really is. This study provides an analysis of the spatial, sectoral and social inequalities in energy production and consumption in BCOWAS. Scrutiny …

Rapid Population Growth And Its Impact On Residential Land Use In Ghana: The Case Of Madina-Adenta In The Accra Metropolitan Area, Louis Awanyo

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Rapid population growth rates coupled with low levels of economic development in developing countries have created among others immense obstacles to the provision of adequate housing to the majority of residents. Population growth rates are growing faster than the provision of new housing and housing infrastructure. This has resulted in intensive usage of the existing stock of housing and deterioration of housing environments. Some of the manifestations of housing and residential land use intensification are increasing room occupancy levels, in—situ housing adjustments involving physical changes in housing space and housing space conversions. Intensification of residential land use also has environmental …

The Role Of The Vadose Zone In The Generation Of Runoff From A Headwater Basin In The Canadian Shield, Robert Alex Maclean

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Hydrological processes occurring within the vadose zone, especially in heterogeneous soils and tills typical of the Canadian shield, are not well understood. This research investigates the importance of the vadose zone in a small headwater basin (Harp 4-21) in the Canadian shield with respect to the generation of stream runoff quantity and quality during episodic rainfall and snowmelt events. The study focused specifically on: firstly the effect of variable antecedent moisture conditions on water-table and stream response, secondly, the significance of the stored vadose water in water extracted from a rising water-table, and thirdly the significance of preferential flowpathways in …

River Channel Stability And The Implications For Fish Habitat, John T. Beebe

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

The purpose of this project was to investigate various aspects of river channel stability as they relate to fish habitat. Two headwater creeks of the Credit River system, Black and Silver Creeks, and their confluent stream, the West Credit River in Southern Ontario were used in the study. Thirty-five cross-sections were established and revisited during four flow regimes, summer base flow, fall secondary peak flow, spring melt-high flow and post-spring high flow. Measurements of width, depth and temperature were taken at these times. Water samples were taken for determination of suspended sediment concentration. Channel stability was investigated in relation to …

Ontario's Blue Box As An Agent Of Change, Robert Nathaniel Burgess

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Ontario's blue box has elicited strong arguments from observers on both sides of a debate regarding the recycling programme‘s promotion of social change in the province. Both supporters and critics agree on our eventual need to change from a consumer to a conserver society through the 3Rs of waste management (reduce. reuse. recycle). but they disagree on whether the blue box programme ultimately encourages this change. Disagreement also exists regarding the means to achieving change. With supporters of the blue box approach favouring working within the system whereas critics tend to favour a more radical approach. Practical criticisms concern the …