Photo Courtesy: UNBC

By Veronica Beltran

climate change

UNBC celebrates one year anniversary of Research Chair partnership

Jul 1, 2020 | 6:00 AM

PRINCE GEORGE–UNBC is celebrating the one year anniversary of the National Sciences and Engineering Research Council/Rio Tinto Industrial Research Chair on Climate Change and Water Security.

The Industrial Research Chair partnership began on July 1 of last year. The $1.5 million research project aims to better understand how climate change and human activity are impacting water security in the Nechako Watershed. The watershed stretches from the Coast Mountains all the way to Prince George where it meets with the Fraser.

UNBC Environmental Science Professor, Dr. Stephen Déry leads the multi-year project.

“The Nechako Watershed covers a vast area of north-central British Columbia where amplified climate change and human interventions are leading to concerns about its future water security.”–Dr. Stephen Déry, Professor, UNBC Environmental Science

“To that end, this project was initiated in consultation with various stakeholders across the watershed to tackle these complex issues with the prospect of improved water management and decision-making,” adds Déry.

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Rio Tinto manages the upper Nechako Watershed through reservoir operations and a diversion of water to the coastal Kemano watershed to produce clean hydropower in support of an aluminum smelter in Kitimat. “While aluminum smelters in the rest of the world may be using more energy, or using fossil fuels to power their operations, BC Works has just reduced its overall environmental impact by 50 per cent and the Kitimat smelter is one of the lowest carbon footprint smelters in the world,” says Affonso Bizon, Rio Tinto BC Works general manager.

“Our climate and environment are in a rapid state of transition and the IRC program of research is at the forefront of understanding these complex and pervasive issues along with their impacts on ecosystems and communities across the Nechako Watershed.”–Dr. Stephen Déry, Professor, UNBC Environmental Science

Dr. Déry and his team have a busy summer planned, with the addition of more data loggers along the Stuart River system, one of the Nechako River’s primary tributaries. The data will allow researchers to compare the regulated Nechako with the unregulated Stuart. The team will also install a comprehensive weather station at Mount Sweeney, to monitor storms in the upper Nechako Watershed. The station will be equipped with sensors to measure and record temperature, relative humidity, snow depth, wind speed/direction, incoming solar radiation and barometric pressure.