One of the defining characteristics of Western Canada’s geography is
the subject of a new research network based at the University of
Northern British Columbia (UNBC). The five-year study announced today
will help increase understanding of how glaciers will react to future
climate change.
Glaciers cover 100,000 square kilometres in BC – 10% of the province’s
land mass. They serve as frozen reservoirs of water that nourish lakes
and rivers during the late summer and fall when runoff from seasonal
snow cover is depleted. Glaciers are also important to people living in
western Canada since approximately 90% of BC’s electricity is generated
from melting snow and ice. Glaciers attract thousands of visitors to BC
and Alberta mountain parks every year.
“The University of Northern British Columbia is the ideal institution
to study how glaciers will continue to shape Canada’s environment and
economy in the future,” said the Hon. Jay Hill, Member of Parliament
for Prince George-Peace River. "I am proud of the important
research undertaken by UNBC with the support of the Federal
Government."
“There is an urgent need for this research,” says Brian Menounos, a
faculty member at UNBC. “Over the last 150 years, western Canada has
warmed more than anywhere else in the globe outside of the very high
latitudes.” Dr. Menounos is leading the Western Canadian Cryospheric
Network (WC2N), a new research network that is receiving $2.1 million
in funding from the
Canadian Foundation for Climate and Atmospheric
Sciences (CFCAS). Other participating institutions include the
University of British Columbia, Simon Fraser University, University of
Alberta, University of Calgary, University of Victoria, University of
Washington, federal and provincial governments, BC Hydro, Natural Resources Canada, and the
Columbia Basin Trust.
By working together over the next five years, WC2N aims to understand
the links between climate variability and glacier fluctuations in
British Columbia and western Alberta. Research will be conducted on
glaciers in the Coast, Columbia, Selkirk, Cariboo, and Rocky Mountain
ranges to detail how glacier extent has changed over the past 400
years. This information will be used to better understand climate
variability and how glaciers will respond to projected climate change
over the next 50 to 150 years.
