Research Activities
Our research focuses on physical hydrology at the watershed scale including all aspects of water balance dynamics, particularly streamflow analysis. We employ geographical information systems, remote sensing (including drones), and hydrological models, are interested in historical and future analyses, and work at watershed and provincial scales. We are interested in understanding physical hydrologic systems, potential change in those systems, and possible impacts on water resources and terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. Results of our research are used to support more informed decisions on the use of water resources. This includes the integration of new knowledge into policy or the use of methods and tools to directly support the implementation of resource management programs. We conduct field research throughout the province but have a more concentrated field effort in the Petawawa River watershed which drains a significant portion of Algonquin Provincial Park.
The Hydrologic Cycle - Our fundamental conceptual model
Current research activities
Assessing change in flow alteration for Ontario's State of Ontario's Biodiversity Reporting.
We are updating the 'Alterations to streamflow' indicator for the State of Ontario's Biodiversity Report. We are investigating streamflow regimes across Ontario by utilizing Modified Mann-Kendall and Pettitt homogeneity tests to detect alterations in streamflow indicators, identifying monotonic trends and shifts in central tendency, respectively. To assess temporal variability and the nature of the most recent trends (monotonic or oscillatory), trends within the recent climatological standard normal (CLINO) period (1991–2020) were compared against both the entire period of record (1970–2020) and earlier CLINO intervals (1971–2000 and 1981–2010). Seven streamflow indicators were analyzed: 3DMax (three-day maximum flow), 3DMaxT (timing of 3DMax), 7DMin (seven-day minimum flow), 7DMinT (timing of 7DMin), CV (coefficient of variation), RBI (Richard-Baker Index), and MAF (mean annual flow). A likelihood-based approach was implemented to quantify confidence in detected changes and prioritise alterations with practical hydrological relevance.
Using water balance dynamics to identify vulnerabilities to climate change
Vulnerabilities to climate change include the degree to which physical systems respond to climate forcing. With respect to water, it relates to changes we might expect to see in the hydrological cycle of a watershed which we quantify using a water balance/budget. In this project we are characterising water balance components for watersheds across the Great Lakes Basin, assessing historical trends and future scenarios, studying water balance processes in an experimental watershed, and refining a monthly water balance model.
A series of lakes throughout the province have been instrumented to characterise natural water level regimes and to identify ecologically important components of those regimes. Originally established as part of a PhD study to understand better the impact of water level alteration on littoral benthic macroinvertebrate community structure, the network has been maintained to establish long-term time series of water level regimes in natural lakes.
