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Media Release 23 May 2006
UNBC TO LEAD NEW WESTERN CANADA GLACIER RESEARCH NETWORK
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 will help understand 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, 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.
CONTACT:
Rob van Adrichem, Director of Media and Public Relations, UNBC – 250.960.5622
www.unbc.ca/releases
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