VIMS Events
This calendar presented by
Virginia Institute of Marine Science
[PAST EVENT] Northern development, contaminants, and climate change: multiple stressors and multiple challenges
April 11, 2014
3:30pm - 4:30pm
Background:
Dr. Blais received his PhD in Biology from McGill University in Montreal, Canada, working under Prof. Jacob Kalff, and then a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Alberta under the supervision of Prof. David Schindler. His research is on the sources and fate of pollutants, including trace metals, persistent organic pollutants, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. He is Associate Editor of Environmental Reviews and Director of the Laboratory for Analysis of Natural and Synthetic Environmental Toxicants at the University of Ottawa, a major analytical laboratory for environmental pollutants. For over 20 years, he has been coordinating and participating in research dealing with the behavior and fate of environmental contaminants and their impacts on aquatic environments. He is currently leading research on the effects of warming temperatures and resource extraction on freshwaters in northern and alpine environments. He and his colleagues are also working closely with Health Canada to investigate risks to northern populations by exposure to environmental contaminants from northern traditional diets and contaminated soils.
Abstract:
The Arctic is experiencing a period of rapid environmental change. These changes cover the spectrum of atmospheric circulation patterns, precipitation patterns, sea ice cover and permafrost, hydrological, and biological changes. Compounding these stressors to northern environments are industrial contaminants, several of which have a remarkable capacity to reach high latitudes and accumulate in northern food webs. These contaminants arrive to the Arctic and accumulate in sufficient quantities to place indigenous peoples in the north at risk, but the link between changing climate and contaminant fate is still tenuous and poorly understood. This review will examine recent developments in our understanding of how northern environments have changed, and how these changes affect aquatic environments and contaminants such as mercury, emphasizing changes to the cryosphere, hydrology of surface waters, and contaminant accumulation and transport by migratory species.
Reception beginning at 3 p.m. in Andrews Hall Room 326, VIMS.
Seminar from 3:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. (same location)
Dr. Blais received his PhD in Biology from McGill University in Montreal, Canada, working under Prof. Jacob Kalff, and then a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Alberta under the supervision of Prof. David Schindler. His research is on the sources and fate of pollutants, including trace metals, persistent organic pollutants, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. He is Associate Editor of Environmental Reviews and Director of the Laboratory for Analysis of Natural and Synthetic Environmental Toxicants at the University of Ottawa, a major analytical laboratory for environmental pollutants. For over 20 years, he has been coordinating and participating in research dealing with the behavior and fate of environmental contaminants and their impacts on aquatic environments. He is currently leading research on the effects of warming temperatures and resource extraction on freshwaters in northern and alpine environments. He and his colleagues are also working closely with Health Canada to investigate risks to northern populations by exposure to environmental contaminants from northern traditional diets and contaminated soils.
Abstract:
The Arctic is experiencing a period of rapid environmental change. These changes cover the spectrum of atmospheric circulation patterns, precipitation patterns, sea ice cover and permafrost, hydrological, and biological changes. Compounding these stressors to northern environments are industrial contaminants, several of which have a remarkable capacity to reach high latitudes and accumulate in northern food webs. These contaminants arrive to the Arctic and accumulate in sufficient quantities to place indigenous peoples in the north at risk, but the link between changing climate and contaminant fate is still tenuous and poorly understood. This review will examine recent developments in our understanding of how northern environments have changed, and how these changes affect aquatic environments and contaminants such as mercury, emphasizing changes to the cryosphere, hydrology of surface waters, and contaminant accumulation and transport by migratory species.
Reception beginning at 3 p.m. in Andrews Hall Room 326, VIMS.
Seminar from 3:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. (same location)
Contact
[[v|seitz, Rochelle Seitz]]