Alberta’s Designated River Forecasting Team

By Franco Alo, Alberta Environment and Parks

Alberta is home to the Rocky Mountains as well as some major river systems, including Alberta’s longest river, the Athabasca River, at ~1,300 km. With Alberta rivers being part of the landscape and co-existing with cities and towns, like the North Saskatchewan in Edmonton or the Peace River in Peace River, it is important to monitor these systems in order to keep Albertans safe.

Monitoring rivers in Alberta
“Alberta is unique because we have a dedicated ice team in the River Forecast Center, which means we have a team on call twenty-four seven all winter long,” says Jennifer Nafziger, River Hydraulics and Ice Engineer at Alberta Environment and Parks (AEP).

This team monitors Alberta’s rivers using a variety of equipment both digital (e.g., satellite imagery) and in the field (e.g., drone). Using information from a variety of sources, river forecasters are able to run computer models that can help predict the behavior of rivers due to a heavy rainfall or river ice jam flooding.

With the information gathered and processed in near real-time, it can then be used to inform emergency managers about potential flooding events that may affect a nearby community. Emergency managers play a critical role, making decisions and taking action to mitigate any catastrophic risk to Albertans and their property as a result of a predicted flooding event.

Despite all the science and modern technological advancements today, the biggest challenge with river ice forecasting remains how quickly river ice conditions can change.  

The River Ice Forecasting team send their drone into the air to monitor the movement of ice in the Athabasca River, by Fort McMurray.

How technology has changed the face of river ice forecasting over time
Back when river ice forecasting was a new science, there were no remote gauges, remote cameras, satellite imagery or drones. There were people and paper maps.

It was common to have a cabin upstream of a major river, like the Athabasca, with a person stationed there watching the ice melt. This could last for up to a month, and the specialists observations became the data that was assessed. You can imagine on a cold winter day how that must have felt!

Today, monitoring rivers can be performed more comfortably. It still requires on the ground operations to install technology like remote gauges, and flying a drone to better understand how ice is moving in real time or how a major rainfall is affecting river discharge. Complimentary to the ground operations, river ice forecasters back in their offices use this information to get a better sense of the changes in river movements and patterns.

It is the combination of information acquired from the ground and through digital means that has grown river ice forecasting into the sophisticated machine it is today. One which relies on the expertise of many people: river forecasters, monitoring network service providers, data facilitators and the river hazard team.

April 21, 2022. The AEP River Ice Forecasting team deploy a drone to monitor ice build up by a bridge in Fort McMurray.

Learn More

• Want to see some of the information river ice forecasters have access to?
  Visit: https://rivers.alberta.ca/

Measuring Alberta’s air quality…from space!

By Casandra Brown and Greg Wentworth, Alberta Environment and Parks
January, 2020

Albertans usually experience clean air, but from time to time we all go through bad air quality events caused by things like wildfire smoke or smog. One of the first steps to improving air quality is to understand what pollutants are responsible for poor air quality and where they come from.

Traditionally, air pollutants are measured by monitoring equipment that is stationary and deployed on the ground. However, it’s not feasible to install this equipment everywhere across Alberta, due to factors such as cost, accessibility issues and power requirements. Enter: satellite-based sensors that can measure multiple air pollutants simultaneously across large areas from space.

Image of the satellite that carries the TROPOMI instrument, which measures air pollution from space (image courtesy of the European Space Agency)

Using Satellites to Monitor Air Quality in Alberta

Cristen has led collaborative research using satellites to help address specific air quality issues with other government agencies and universities across Alberta. She holds a Ph.D. in Physics from the University of Toronto and has experience measuring atmospheric pollutants in the Canadian Arctic and Alberta.

Cristen has used satellite data to answer many different questions from large to small scale. For instance, satellite data was used to understand how much air pollution was emitted during the 2016 Horse River wildfire in Fort McMurray (check out this paper to learn more about this work). The team also used satellites as part of an investigation into increased sulphur dioxide concentrations at one monitoring station in Alberta’s oil sands region in recent years.

“Since satellites collect a lot of data over such large areas, they are able to capture events that scientists can’t predict or plan in advance for. For example, the first maps showing the full scale of the Antarctic ozone hole in the 1980s used satellite data,” Cristen explains. “Today, scientists continue to rely on satellite data to find and track air pollution sources, like wildfires and smoke plumes.”

Dr. Cristen Adams, atmospheric scientist, Alberta Environment and Parks

What’s Next?

In the next few years, a new satellite called TEMPO will be launched and held in position over North America. TEMPO will be the first satellite to take measurements of air pollution across North America every hour throughout the day. “Currently, satellites typically take snapshots of air quality about once or twice per day,” says Cristen. “With TEMPO, we will be able to track air pollution throughout the day. This will help us better understand the causes and track the movement of air pollution.” To that end, AEP is continuing to build capacity for using satellites to answer questions that will help us better understand, and ultimately improve, the air Albertans breathe.

“Satellites can help us fill in gaps between traditional on-the-ground stations and estimate amounts of pollutants being emitted. With new satellite instruments, such as TEMPO, coming online, we will be able to do this work with better spatial detail and shorter time periods,” Cristen adds.

Learn More

• Interested in learning about some of the satellites used to monitor air pollutants? See these websites for the TEMPO (http://tempo.si.edu/overview.html) and TROPOMI (http://www.tropomi.eu/) satellite instruments.
• Satellites are often used in tracking wildfire smoke – see this fact sheet to learn more about wildfire smoke monitoring.
• Want to learn more about air monitoring in the province? Go to http://environmentalmonitoring.alberta.ca/activities/air/
• Research paper – Brown, C. 2019. 2017 Status of Air Quality Lower Athabasca Region, Alberta for January 2017 – December 2017. Government of Alberta, Environment and Parks. ISBN 978-1-4601-4092-5. Available at. open.alberta.ca/publications/9781460140925 

Looking Back and Looking Forward: Catching up with Chief Scientist Dr. Fred Wrona

By Jeannine Goehing, Office of the Chief Scientist

Chief Scientists and Chief Science Advisors hold unique roles in federal, provincial or territorial jurisdictions across Canada, serving as trusted authorities on scientific matters. Through broad knowledge networks, these senior specialists act in the public interest and provide the public and elected officials the best available advice on relevant and emerging scientific topics.

In the Canadian context, Alberta has shown leadership in this area since 2016 when Dr. Fred Wrona was appointed Chief Scientist for Alberta Environment and Parks — the first position of its kind in the Ministry. The role of Chief Scientist was established in legislation through amendments to the Environmental Protection and Enhancement Act, representing a commitment to transparent and unbiased scientific reporting on the condition of Alberta’s environment.

Dr. Wrona brings more than 30 years of experience in the scientific community to the role, and the development and implementation of programs to monitor, evaluate and report on the condition of Alberta’s environment. As a champion of science, he promotes evidence-informed decision-making when it comes to the policies, programs and management decisions that impact Alberta’s natural resources.

Dr. Fred Wrona speaking at the Canadian Science Policy Centre (CSPC) conference in Ottawa – November, 2019

Below, the Chief Scientist answers questions about progress made since 2016, and what the future holds for environmental monitoring in Alberta.

What has changed in Alberta’s environmental monitoring programs over the past three years?

FW: We’ve been systematically updating our program designs, targeting specific information needs and objectives while being efficient and effective in light of limited resources. For example, we updated our river monitoring program by reaffirming station placements across various watersheds and expanding monitoring in areas where we had limited information.

We’ve also run our programs through our two independent advisory panels, the Science Advisory Panel and the Indigenous Wisdom Advisory Panel, with national and international experts who are highly recognized authorities in their fields. There’s no textbook written on how to do this, but we’re looking at opportunities to braid and utilize multiple knowledge systems such as conventional western science, Indigenous knowledge and Indigenous wisdom.

We’ve released the Five-Year (2019-2024) Science Strategy – a first for this department – informing the public, internal and external science partners about the collaborative approach, tools, processes and priority areas of Alberta’s environmental science program. As part of the Science Strategy, I’ve been working very hard on fostering partnerships and collaborative opportunities, for example with the major universities in Alberta. I’ve co-located part of our program with the University of Calgary and created a Centre of Excellence in environmental monitoring and cumulative effects assessments.

We are also developing science integrity guidelines for what it means to be a practicing scientist within Alberta Environment and Parks. This highlights the importance of not only science, but what it takes to ensure that we demonstrate credibility and integrity in our science moving forward. I’m quite keen on that.

What has changed, over the past three years, specific to environmental monitoring in the oil sands region?

FW: The Oil Sands Monitoring (OSM) Program is one of the largest environmental monitoring programs in the world, monitoring and reporting on the environmental state of the oil sands region led by the governments of Alberta and Canada.

It’s complex because we’re dealing with air, water, land, biological and ecological resources, and engaging with First Nation and Metis communities in the affected areas. We’re also dealing with public concerns and perceptions both within the region and around the world.

One of the biggest changes in the last several years has been focusing the science design so that the data it yields helps address key questions from stakeholders. We don’t just monitor for monitoring’s sake – the information has to be relevant.

The recognition that Indigenous participation in the design and implementation of the program is also absolutely essential. We created an oversight committee that’s multi-interest and multi-stakeholder, involving governments, First Nation and Métis communities, and industry. Their job is to make sure the program meets approval requirements, and just as importantly, that it addresses whether regulations we have in place are protecting the environment.

As Chief Scientist, how important is connecting scientific information to the public and decision-makers?

FW: A really good medical doctor can make the implications and consequences of a complicated treatment understandable to a patient – even if it’s complex information. Environmental science communication is a similar scenario.

We need solid, proper, peer-reviewed and technically-robust papers and analyses that speak to what the science and data really mean. But when I try to explain those pieces of science to the public – or a tougher critic, my mother – how I convey that information will determine whether I succeed in getting the point across. How we translate information to the public and decision-makers matters.

We’re looking at developing accessible communications products using digital tools that can convey highly technical information in ways that are understandable and digestible. We’re also working on making our data systems more directly accessible outside the Ministry, so people can access them openly and run their own queries. Building trust is about being transparent – providing information to the public, other researchers and stakeholders so they can derive their own conclusions.

A final area is training. How can you be an effective communicator as a scientist? We ran a special workshop on science communication and we’re excited to continue to offer and expand on that to support our science community in more effectively communicating information.

What are you most proud of when you look back over the past three years?

FW: I’m really excited about utilizing what I consider more out of the box thinking for delivering our programs. Being open brings in innovation, creativity and excitement to the people involved in the programs. Networking and engaging with other people that have a passion for knowledge is a win-win for all of us.

I’m also pleased to see that people are curious about the role of the Chief Scientist and how we can help facilitate the way science is being done in the department. We’re getting more phone calls and we’re becoming more visible. Outside organizations are also asking more about working with us. I’m part of a national network working with the federal Chief Scientists and they’re very interested in Alberta.

The way our office was set up under legislation is unique in Canada, and internationally. This office doesn’t just have an advisory function, but a legislated responsibility for reporting. That puts a very different impetus on us. Alberta is leading on this front.

What opportunities and priorities do you see for environmental monitoring in Alberta moving forward?

FW: We’re in a new era of communication, but also of miscommunication and misinformation. We have to play a very important role of sharing good, factual research and ensuring it isn’t open to misinterpretation and distortion.

Timeliness is also critical. Data and data systems without qualified interpretation isn’t helpful, so we need to build rapid processes. For example, some of our new monitoring systems are sensor-based and can get information to the public and stakeholders in real-time. It’s challenging, takes innovative thinking, investment and resources, and we need to look at that.

People are keen to get engaged in the environmental issues and agenda of how we move forward. It requires standards, protocols and procedures to effectively use data we produce out of that kind of relationship and we are working on that.

I’ve worked hard on fostering the importance of knowledge networks, recognizing that we need to build on science and research strengths, both within and outside of government. We will continue integrating internal and external knowledge networks to help achieve our outcomes.