Sediment cores and past glacial conditions can provide clues to future warming
What: The history of water and glaciers in the Western Interior
Who: Brandon D. Beierle, SNC-Lavalin vice-president
When: Thursday, December 3, 2 p.m.
Where: SCI 337, Sciences Building, UBC’s Okanagan campus, Kelowna
Water is becoming increasingly scarce on the Canadian Prairies and whether it’s because of increased industrial and municipal use, or the melting glaciers and decreased precipitation, it’s a concern for many. Scientists are now taking a look back in time to determine if predicted future water scarcity on the prairies, will be as drastic as previous droughts thousands of years ago.
Using sediment cores from lakes in the Canadian Rocky Mountains and foothills, as well as other lines of evidence, past glacial, hydrological and climatic conditions of the Canadian Prairies have been reconstructed by scientists. This analysis reveals that there was a period of much warmer and drier conditions than currently experienced during the early Holocene period — about 10,000 years ago.
On Thursday, December 3, at 2 p.m. SNC-Lavalin vice-president Brandon Beierle will be at UBC’s Okanagan campus to discuss how these previous changes in glacial and lacustrine hydrology can help determine potential future changes. In turn, this research may help scientists and policy makers to create new and informed policy for mitigation planning.
Beierle’s talk, the History of Water and Glaciers in the Western Interior, is presented by UBC Okanagan’s Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences and the Geography department, with the Irving K. Barber School of Arts and Sciences. The discussion, a free event that is open to the public, takes place in SCI 331, Sciences Building. Pay parking is available on campus.
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