Book of Abstracts_pcag 2014

Transcription

38TH ANNUAL CONFERENCE OF THE PRAIRIE DIVISION
OF THE CANADIAN ASSOCIATION OF GEOGRAPHERS
Department of Geography, Brandon University
Elkhorn Resort outside of Riding Mountain National Park, MB
September 26-28, 2014
PROGRAM AND ABSTRACTS
SPONSORS
PCAG 2014 Conference
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ORGANIZING COMMITTEE
Co-Chairs:
Johannes Koch, Geography, Brandon University
Christopher Malcolm, Geography, Brandon University
Members:
Derrek Eberts, Geography, Brandon University
Kim Lemky, Geography, Brandon University
Doug Ramsey, Rural Development, Brandon University
Wenonah VanHeyst, Geography, Brandon University
Pete Whittington, Geography, Brandon University
Dion Wiseman, Geography, Brandon University
Student volunteers, Brandon University Geographical Society
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Welcome ......................................................................................................................................... 5 Schedule of Events.......................................................................................................................... 7 Session Schedules ........................................................................................................................... 8 Poster Session ............................................................................................................................... 10 Field Trips ..................................................................................................................................... 11 Keynote Address ........................................................................................................................... 12 Abstracts ....................................................................................................................................... 13 PCAG 2014 Conference
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5
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SCHEDULE OF EVENTS
Time
Event
Location
Friday, September 26
18:00-20:00
18:30-23:00
Elk bugling field trip into Riding Mountain National Park meet outside
Elkhorn
Resort
Welcome Reception/Ice Breaker
Salon ABC
TBA
PCAG Executive meeting
Private Dining
Room
Saturday, September 27
08:15-10:00
10:00-10:30
10:30-12:15
12:15-13:30
13:30-17:00
Paper Sessions 1-3
Coffee Break/Poster session*
Paper Sessions 4-6
Lunch (bagged lunches provided in Lobby)
Field trips
Salon ABC
Lobby
Salon ABC
Resort
18:00-23:00
Banquet (incl. keynote address and slide competition)
Salon ABC
meet outside
Elkhorn
Sunday, September 28
09:30-11:00
Annual Business Meeting
Salon BC
* If you are presenting your research as a poster, you can hang your poster in Salon ABC next to
the Lobby of the Elkhorn Resort starting Friday evening at 18:30.
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SESSION SCHEDULES
Time
Event
Session 1: Environmental
Chair: Joni Storie, University of Winnipeg
08:15-08:35
08:35-08:55
08:55-09:15
09:15-09:35
09:35-09:55
08:35-08:55
08:55-09:15
09:15-09:35
09:35-09:55
08:35-08:55
08:55-09:15
09:15-09:35
09:35-09:55
Salon B (Aspen)
Gina Sylvestre and Georgia MacDonald
Aging and food insecurity: Re-evaluating the urban context of food access.
Marc Vachon
A research and methodological survey of food desert and accessibility in Canada.
Dylan McNaughton, Dion J. Wiseman, Derrek Eberts, Erin May, and Nancy
McPherson
Determining food deserts in Brandon, Manitoba using GIS.
Jordan Steingass
Food desert mapping: A preliminary study of food security in Thunder Bay, 2006.
Douglas C. Munski and Laura B. Munski
Reflecting upon the Victory Gardens of World War I and World War II as symbolic
vernacular landscapes in North Dakota.
Session 3: Tourism and Resources
Chair: Kim Lemky, Brandon University
08:15-08:35
Salon A (Pine)
Razak Abu
Coping and adapting to long-term ecological change in the Saskatchewan River Delta.
Patricia Fitzpatrick and Alan P. Diduck
Promoting adaptive management in follow-up: the case of two Manitoba Hydro
Environmental Assessments.
Victoria Jonatanson, Andrew Curtis, and Joni Storie
Field methods for mapping coastal vegetation using object-based classification of
Landsat data near Churchill, Manitoba.
Julia Lawler and Ryan Bullock
What can bibliometrics tell us about community forestry research trends in Canada?
Christopher Malcolm, Tim Sallows, Tim
Town, Kendelle Fawcett, and Randi Thomas
Habitat connectivity as a measure of ecological integrity in northern pike populations in
Riding Mountain National Park, Manitoba.
Session 2: Food
Chair: Dion Wiseman, Brandon University
08:15-08:35
Location
Salon C (Spruce)
Jordan Poitras and Ian Mauro
Fractured perspectives: The wicked problem of hydraulic fracturing and its implications
for people and place.
Kaela-Mae Hlushko and Jonathan Peyton
Bakken North: Framing fracking perspectives in southwestern Manitoba.
Alec Paul
Bakken oil trains on the Northern Plains.
Hillary Beattie
“How to live to be 100 with Manitoba’s help”: Tourism and anti-modernism in post-war
Manitoba.
Kim Lemky
International perspectives on measuring economic indicators and assessing the economic
impact of Geoparks.
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SESSION SCHEDULES
Time
Event
Session 4: Water
Chair: Bob Patrick, University of Saskatchewan
10:30-10:50
10:50-11:10
11:10-11:30
11:30-11:50
11:50-12:10
10:50-11:10
11:10-11:30
11:30-11:50
11:50-12:10
10:50-11:10
11:10-11:30
11:30-11:50
11:50-12:10
Salon B (Aspen)
R.A. McGinn
Ice-shoved hills and related glaciotectonic features in the Glacial Lake Proven basin,
Riding Mountain Uplands, Manitoba.
Seth Dueck
Improving Canada's contribution to the remote sensing of atmospheric species related to
climate change.
Janelle Laing and Jacqueline Binyamin
Climate change effect on winter temperature and precipitation of Yellowknife,
Northwest Territories, Canada from 1943 to 2011.
Ryan Smith and Danny Blair
The Climate Atlas of Manitoba Project.
Johannes Koch
Alpine treeline fluctuations in Garibaldi Provincial Park, southern Coast Mountains,
British Columbia, since AD 1553.
Session 6: Human
Chair: Derrek Eberts, Brandon University
10:30-10:50
Salon A (Pine)
Jacqueline Binyamin and R. Yerubandi
Modelling surface temperature and mixing layer depth for Lake Winnipeg.
Rebecca Wilks and Bill Buhay
Sourcing the origin of excess sulphate (SO42-) concentrations in Dead Horse Creek,
Manitoba, Canada.
Stephanie C. Kane
Time and Socio-Topography of Flood Response in Winnipeg.
Robert J. Patrick
Source water protection planning at Muskowekwan First Nation, Saskatchewan.
Karlee M. McLaughlin and Lalita Bharadwaj
The risks of potable water trucked to cisterns in Beardy’s Okemasis First Nation,
Saskatchewan.
Session 5: Physical
Chair: Joe Piwowar, University of Regina
10:30-10:50
Location
Salon C (Spruce)
Joel Outtes and Thiago Mauer
From Garden-Cities to the city as a provider of social welfare: The Geography of the
International Federation for Housing and Planning (1913-1968).
Jaime Orr
The Manitoba Museum: A public educator and producer of heritage discourses.
Leslie Sarapu and Christopher D. Storie
Urban green space and society: A remote sensing and GIS analysis of major cities in
Western Canada.
Andrew Kaufman
The divided Prairie City: exploring neighbourhood types in Winnipeg and Edmonton.
Mya Wheeler Wiens
Place-based inquiry using modified focus groups to create opportunities for participation
in Kenora, Ontario.
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POSTER SESSION
Time
10:00-10:30
Event
Poster session*
Location
Salon ABC
* If you are presenting your research as a poster, you can hang your poster in Salon ABC next to the
Lobby of the Elkhorn Resort starting Friday evening at 18:30.
Morgan Burke, Lisa Pimentel, Danielle Prelip, Andrew Larson, and Douglas C. Munski
A preliminary investigation of using repeat photography as a technique of landscape interpretation for
heritage tourism in the Red River Valley of the North.
U. Hardenbicker, M. Watanabe, and R. Kotowitch
Product index as an indicator of weathering within an alluvial fan profile.
Cenwei Liu, David A. Lobb, Sheng Li, Philip N. Owens, and ZouZou A. Kuzyk
Spatial and temporal variation in particle size of sediment in the Tobacco Creek Watershed.
Laura B. Munski and Douglas C. Munski
Using heritage tourism to remember and celebrate the Victory Garden as a vernacular landscape.
J. Suchan and K.R. Hodder
Varved sediments, spatial variability and the single core challenge!
R.J. Thalacker and G.S. Vandeberg
Mapping techniques for soil erosion: modeling of stream power index in eastern North Dakota using
LiDAR data.
Pete Whittington
The hydrology of a “spontaneously” re-vegetated vacuum harvested peatland, eastern Manitoba.
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FIELD TRIPS
Time
Friday, 18:00-20:00
Event
Elk bugling
Location
Meet outside Elkhorn Resort
We will leave from the venue before dusk to be in Riding Mountain National Park at the sites
around dusk. Chance to see and hear wildlife in the Park, and hopefully enjoy the stars without
light pollution. Cap for this trip is 25 and registration is on a first come, first served basis. The
trip will be led by Jennifer Gustafson, head naturalist of the Park.
Time
Event
Saturday, 13:30-17:30
Afternoon field trips
Location
Meet outside Elkhorn Resort
The two Saturday field trips are concurrent.
Field Trip #1 - South-central Riding Mountain National Park including Lake Audy
Led by Jennifer Gustafson, Johannes Koch, and Chris Malcolm
Spend the afternoon with Riding Mountain National Park Head Naturalist Jennifer Gustafson,
along with Johannes Koch and Christopher Malcolm, exploring the west-central portion of the
park. Highlights of the trip will include observation of bison in their native fescue grassland
and the efforts to conserve the habitat, a prescribed burn site, Lake Audy, the site of some
connectivity research between aquatic habitats, as well as some historical and socio-economic
aspects of the area. The trip will end with some free time in the town of Wasagaming.
Field Trip #2 - Ice-shoved hills and related glaciotectonic features in the Glacial Lake Proven
basin
Led by Rod McGinn and Dion Wiseman
This trip will be approximately 2 -3 hours long and includes a scenic tour of the physical
geography between Elkhorn Ranch and Minnedosa, Manitoba with stops showcasing the
unique ice-shoved glaciotectonic features, Minnedosa Museum and Heritage Village, and
Chipperfield Coffee Company.
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KEYNOTE ADDRESS
Time
Saturday, following the banquet dinner
Location
Salon ABC
The keynote speaker at this year’s banquet is Dr. Dave A. Duffus, Whale Research Lab,
Department of Geography, University of Victoria.
Black, White, and Grey Matter
Over the past 18 months a documentary film, entitled Blackfish, exposed the dark side of
keeping killer whales in captivity. The film focused on deaths and serious injuries caused by
whales breaking through their training (taming) and killing people. It is, however, only the end
point of a 20 year odyssey by a whale researcher from the geography department at the
University of Victoria. In 1991 a junior apprentice trainer was killed in a small ocean pen killer
whale display in Victoria, BC. The ensuing Coroner’s Inquest struck a jury which I chaired, to
analyze the situation. Twenty years later another high profile death of a trainer in Seaworld,
Orlando caused the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, an American federal
agency to end up in a federal courtroom in Florida, with their case pinned to the “expert”
opinion and testimony of that very same geographer from the University of Victoria. In a
milieu of corporate lawyers, news camera, and animals rights picket lines the clear and simple
nature of the killer whale (Orcinus orca) became fodder for a Judge, and subsequently a
documentary filmmaker, to bring the topic into the broader public eye. Herein, I will present
how first principles of evolution, those very same axioms we teach in junior level biogeography
(term after term), and reason fared against corporate profit and a permissive circus-like
atmosphere that the aquaria have cultivated.
Short biography
Dave Duffus completed graduate work in geography at the Universities of Regina and Victoria
and went on to establish the Whale Research Lab at Victoria in 1992. The cross disciplinary
nature of the past decades of work have involved students with a wide range of backgrounds
from animal rights activists to a Hereditary First Nation Chief. While maintaining his focus on
whale ecosystem dynamics, the nature of being a whale geographer has drawn Dr. Duffus into
some interesting corners; programming field marine biology education programs for blind and
visually impaired students, training Russian scientists to monitor whale foraging dynamics on
an Exxon exploration lease, and facing off with corporate lawyers as an expert witness in US
federal courtrooms. For all of this Dr. Duffus lays the blame squarely at the feet of his cadre of
excellent graduate students and the intellectually rigorous but topically permissive nature of
modern Canadian geography.
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ABSTRACTS
Abstracts of papers presented at the
38th Annual Meeting of PCAG
Elkhorn Resort, Manitoba
September 26-28, 2014
Abstracts are listed alphabetically.
13
“HOW TO LIVE TO BE 100 WITH MANITOBA’S HELP”: TOURISM AND ANTIMODERNISM IN POST-WAR MANITOBA
HILLARY BEATTIE, Department of Geography, University of Winnipeg
In 1945, the Manitoba Travel and Publicity Bureau was established with the aim of developing
and promoting a local tourist industry. During the post-war period, both the province and the
federal government believed the expansion of tourism would help secure economic growth and
prosperity, and promoted the rustic countryside and Manitoba’s wilderness areas as tourist
sites. In this paper I take a closer look at what influenced the early development of tourism in
the province, particularly the role played by anti-modern sentiment - a belief that cites and
technology had made life empty and meaningless. But as tourism promoters sought out farm
and wilderness spaces where people could recuperate from modernity, they also constructed
’nature’ as a very modern tourist experience. This presentation will elaborate on these ideas and
explore how anti-modern sentiments were incorporated into representations of Manitoba in
materials produced by the bureau. In particular, the presentation will examine films,
photographs, and pamphlets which were distributed across North America, including “How to
Live to be 100 with Manitoba’s Help” and “Inside the Rim of Adventure,” offering a research
prospectus for my honours thesis on tourism and anti-modernism in post-war Manitoba.
MODELLING SURFACE TEMPERATURE AND MIXING LAYER DEPTH FOR LAKE
WINNIPEG
J. BINYAMIN, University of Winnipeg, Department of Geography, Winnipeg MB
R. YERUBANDI, National Water Research Institute, Burlington ON
Boundary layer measurements are used to calculate hourly and daily net radiation, sensible and
latent heat exchanges, heat content, daily mean surface temperature and mixing layer depth for
Lake Winnipeg. Surface net radiation is derived from the component fluxes of the radiation
balance. Global, direct beam and diffuse irradiances are calculated using radiative transfer
equations which accounts for absorption due to water vapor, transmission after ozone
absorption, Rayleigh scattering, and aerosol and cloud extinction. Latent and sensible heat
fluxes are calculated by the aerodynamic method, which uses experimentally derived drag
coefficients and measurements of temperature, vapor pressure and wind speed at two levels.
Lake heat storage is determined as a residual of the surface energy balance components. The
daily mixing layer depth is determined from the surface energy balance and measured water
temperature profiles by iteration. Input data include hourly cloud data, atmospheric pressure,
air temperature and dew point temperature measured at the regional meteorological station.
Comparisons of surface energy balance components are made both for daily totals and for
monthly averaged at the three main sites: Lake Winnipeg South Basin, Lake Winnipeg Narrows,
and Lake Winnipeg North Basin. The agreement between modelled and observed daily mean
lake temperature is within 2°C on average.
14
A PRELIMINARY INVESTIGATION OF USING REPEAT PHOTOGRAPHY AS A
TECHNIQUE OF LANDSCAPE INTERPRETATION FOR HERITAGE TOURISM IN THE
RED RIVER VALLEY OF THE NORTH
MORGAN BURKE, LISA PIMENTEL, DANIELLE PRELIP, ANDREW LARSON, & DOUGLAS
C. MUNSKI, Geography Department, University of North Dakota, Grand Forks, ND
Repeat photography is an increasingly important technique of interpreting landscape change
through time. Its value for providing the historical geography context of natural environments
and built-environments is well-recognized in a variety of disciplines outside of geography, but
it especially is a technique that is useful in heritage tourism. By showing the “before” (oldest
photo) of a place as compared to, if possible, various stages of the “between” (newer but not
latest image) for that location and then eventually to the “after” (the most current photo),
tourists can gain insights into what was transformed through time for a particular location. As
part of the overlap of several courses at the University of North Dakota’s Department of
Geography, a team of graduate students and one faculty member started a research project to
look at using repeat photography to help “tell the story” of different parts of Grand Forks,
North Dakota, and East Grand Forks, Minnesota. The initial efforts focused upon the campus
historic district using the institution’s archival photography collection. The results of this
preliminary investigation and future elements of the larger study are presented in order to
obtain constructive criticisms before moving into the next phase of the research project.
IMPROVING CANADA'S CONTRIBUTION TO THE REMOTE
ATMOSPHERIC SPECIES RELATED TO CLIMATE CHANGE
SENSING
OF
SETH DUECK, Department of Physics, University of Saskatchewan
Understanding the mixing behaviour of atmospheric species such as ozone, aerosol, and
nitrogen dioxide is critical to accurate prediction of the outcomes of anthropogenic climate
change. High-altitude ozone depletion observed since the late twentieth century is attributed to
ground-level anthropogenic emission of CFCs and other gases involved in ozone chemistry. The
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change reports the radiative forcing effect of atmospheric
aerosol from ground-based sources as the largest unknown in the understanding of
anthropogenic climate change. Yet understanding of complex vertical transport mechanisms in
the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere remains elusive.
Remote sensing of the vertical distribution of atmospheric species is possible using
measurements of scattered sunlight. This allows atmospheric chemistry to be accurately
monitored and the mechanisms governing transport to be inferred. Retrieval of vertical
distributions from such radiance measurements is difficult, however, due to the complex
multiple scattering interaction that couples outgoing radiance between different parts of the
atmosphere.
This paper will give a brief overview of Canada's OSIRIS limb imager on-board satellite Odin. I
will describe recent improvements to atmospheric radiative transfer simulation techniques that
will improve the quality of atmospheric species profiles retrieved from measurements of
scattered sunlight.
15
PROMOTING ADAPTIVE MANAGEMENT IN FOLLOW-UP: THE CASE OF TWO
MANITOBA HYDRO ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENTS
PATRICIA FITZPATRICK, Department of Geography, University of Winnipeg, Winnipeg, MB
ALAN P. DIDUCK, Department of Environmental Studies and Sciences, University of Winnipeg,
Winnipeg, MB
What are the best practice solutions to manage environmental uncertainties in large-scale
resource development projects? This question was considered in the context of two recent
hearings surrounding hydro-electric developments in Manitoba.
The purpose of this
presentation is to introduce a framework for evaluating the capacity of plans to implement
adaptive management (AM) in project implementation and follow-up.
Our experience shows that AM principles, while clear in the academic and practitioner
literature, must be clearly articulated for the general public. Further, while follow-up programs
submitted for review reflect AM principles in the planning stages, they become less clear during
the subsequent stages (implementation- evaluation –learning). As a consequence, strong
recommendations, implemented through conditions established in environmental licenses can
serve to strengthen the implementation of AM in resource development in Manitoba.
PRODUCT INDEX AS AN INDICATOR OF WEATHERING WITHIN AN ALLUVIAL FAN
PROFILE
U. HARDENBICKER, Department of Geography and Environmental Studies, University of Regina,
Regina, SK
M. WATANABE, Department of Geography, Graduate School of Urban Environmental Sciences, Tokyo
Metropolitan University, Japan
R. KOTOWITCH, Department of Geography and Environmental Studies, University of Regina, Regina,
SK
Alluvial fan sediments contain valuable information for reconstructing regional histories of
watersheds. As such alluvial fan sediments act as an archive of landscape development. The fan
sediments are deposited in layers through time so that a relative chronology of sediments can
be determined. An alluvial fan chronology of depositional events within a fan was established
by combining lithostratigraphy and radiometric data of soils and sediments from a borehole
core of a Holocene alluvial fan located in the Qu’Appelle Valley.
In order to establish a more detailed relative chronology, three weathering indexes (the Parker
Index, the CaO/ZrO2 molar ratio, the Product Index) were applied to detect weathering
intensity in the sediments of this alluvial fan. As with soil development, weathering implies
prolonged landscape stability within an alluvial fan. To quantify the degree of weathering
within the sediment and soil samples the three indexes of weathering were calculated using the
proportions of elements measure by Energy Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy. First results show
that CaO/ZrO2 molar ratio index is the best indicator of weathering within the profile.
16
BAKKEN NORTH: FRAMING FRACKING PERSPECTIVES IN SOUTHWESTERN
MANITOBA
KAELA-MAE HLUSHKO & JONATHAN PEYTON, Department of Geography, University of
Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB
Hydraulic fracturing or “fracking” has dramatically shifted the way contemporary fossil fuel
extraction is conducted. New technologies combining hydraulic fracturing with horizontal
drilling have opened up access to deep underground shale deposits, exponentially increasing
the amount of available oil in southwestern Manitoba. While the industry refers to hydraulic
fracturing as the technical act of high pressure drilling, I propose that the term fracking
intertwines technical realities with social and political relationships of those living and working
amid the oil boom. I examine fracking from three different epistemological viewpoints. I
interrogate fracking as a technical experience, as an environmental experiment, and as a lived
experience, to reveal that people living amidst the oil boom have a much more complicated
understanding of fracking than the strictly economic terms used by fossil fuel authorities.
Potential socioeconomic and environmental problems remain opaque and are not addressed
through existing legal and regulatory frameworks designed to facilitate potential extraction. By
drawing on two case studies- community complaints of air quality regarding the 8-8 oil battery
in Tilston in the early 1990’s, and concerns over water use and contamination identified in the
2012 West Souris Integrated Watershed Management Plan- I will unravel the gaps in policy and
regulation to showcase the current inadequacies and elisions in Manitoba’s oil and gas
legislation.
FIELD METHODS FOR MAPPING COASTAL VEGETATION USING OBJECT-BASED
CLASSIFICATION OF LANDSAT DATA NEAR CHURCHILL, MANITOBA
VICTORIA JONATANSON, Department of Geography, University of Winnipeg, Winnipeg, MB
ANDREW CURTIS, Department of Geography, University of Winnipeg, Winnipeg, MB
JONI STORIE, Department of Geography, University of Winnipeg, Winnipeg, MB
Improving the classification accuracy of heterogeneous vegetation along coastal Hudson Bay is
needed to monitor changes in vegetation, to identify habitat for polar bears and assist with
shoreline mapping projects. Conventional pixel-based image classification techniques can
classify homogeneous vegetation well but result in poor classification accuracy of
heterogeneous features, including vegetation. This is because per-pixel classifiers rely solely on
reflectance values to discriminate vegetation classes, values which are not unique or have
overlap between classes. An alternative is object-based image analysis (OBIA) which
incorporates spatial, spectral, and textural properties to improve classification of heterogeneous
vegetation. The overall goal of this project is to improve the classification accuracy of coastal
vegetation along the shores of Hudson Bay. The study site near Bird Cove just east of Churchill,
Manitoba includes four transects with willows, shrubs, moss and lichens, and grasses and
sedges. The first objective of this project, and the focus of this paper, was to collect spatial,
spectral and textural in situ data that would improve vegetation mapping. This data will also be
used to assess the accuracy of OBIA classification. Data collected in the summer of 2014
included plant area index (PAI), perimeters of vegetation feature to calculate area and length;
and vegetation height as an indicator of texture. It is expected that results will show significant
differences in these variables between vegetation classes. The statistical characteristics of these
variables per vegetation class will also provide the rules for spatial, spectral and texture input
into OBIA classification.
17
TIME AND THE SOCIO-TOPOGRAPHY OF FLOOD RESPONSE IN WINNIPEG
STEPHANIE C KANE., Richardson College of the Environment, University of Winnipeg, Winnipeg,
MB
From the perspective of contemporary city dwellers, floods are spatiotemporal events
configured by rivers, rains, soil and winds moving in dynamic relation in and across specific
topographies. One’s situation and knowledge key perceptions, interpretations of and responses
to critical events that define personal and urban histories. Together, in time, city-dwellers enact
the socio-topography of floods, living within nature’s changing form as it unfolds in multiple
temporal dimensions: the eons between the Ice Age and the Anthropocene happen
simultaneously with the digitized flow data being collected even now in the box at James
Avenue. Arrayed around the Forks, Winnipeg is vulnerable to all the waters draining from the
west, south and east towards Hudson Bay. But despite the perils of inundation, the city has a
distinct temporal advantage over places like Calgary and Grand Forks: Winnipeg will learn of
dramatic riverine rise in time to prepare. The measured gap between triggering event and local
event is an opportunity for decision making and action. E.g., sandbagging, as a collaborative,
anticipatory social response, can only happen in the time frame defined by the difference
between elsewhere and home. This paper will explore the implications of socio-topography and
time drawing from ongoing ethnographic research.
THE DIVIDED PRAIRIE CITY: EXPLORING NEIGHBOURHOOD TYPES IN WINNIPEG
AND EDMONTON
ANDREW KAUFMAN, Graduate Student, Department of Environment and Geography, University of
Manitoba, Winnipeg, Mb
Since the 1980s, income inequality and income polarization have intensified within and between
Canadian cities. This growing income gap manifests in the places people live, creating distinct
spatial orderings of countries, provinces, cities, and neighbourhoods. The Neighbourhood
Change Research Partnership (NCRP) scrutinizes the socio-spatial polarization of incomes at
the neighbourhood scale in six Canadian metropolitan areas. Using 2006 Census Data from
Statistics Canada, one research piece to emerge out of the NCRP is a principal component
analysis and cluster analysis of eight Canadian Cities’ neighbourhoods. This paper created a
comparative typological classification of neighbourhoods in those cities. These research findings
however, fall short in reflecting Winnipeg’s socio-spatial particularities while misclassifying a
number of neighbourhoods. Two of Canada’s three lowest income postal codes are located in
Winnipeg with similar patterning evident in Edmonton. There is a need for a greater specificity
in understanding the distinct socio-demographic trends of central Canadian
neighbourhoods. In this paper, I build on perceived research gaps to develop a typology of
thirteen neighbourhoods in Winnipeg and Edmonton while applying substantive theory to
describe shared trajectories. In fulfilling these objectives, this paper asks to what extent sociospatial polarization can be understood through a neighbourhood cluster analysis while arguing
for the importance in recognizing scale in a joint analysis.
18
ALPINE TREELINE FLUCTUATIONS IN GARIBALDI PROVINCIAL PARK, SOUTHERN
COAST MOUNTAINS, BRITISH COLUMBIA, SINCE AD1553
JOHANNES KOCH, Department of Geography, Brandon University, Brandon, MB
Treeline fluctuations and meadow invasions in the subalpine region in Garibaldi Provincial
Park in the southern Coast Mountains have been reconstructed using dendroecologic methods.
Establishment of two subalpine species (Tsuga mertensiana and Abies lasiocarpa) was successful
during distinct periods: 1590-1620, 1765-1805, 1850-1885, 1930-1950, and since 1980.
Establishment outside of these periods was limited to a few individuals. This data is
supplemented with detailed reconstructions of glacier fluctuations in the southern Coast
Mountains, which indicate glaciers fluctuating around near-maxima until the early 20th century,
and retreating significantly since then. The combined record shows synchronous albeit opposite
behaviour of subalpine vegetation and glaciers: subalpine tree establishment ceases when
glaciers advance, but tree establishment succeeds when glaciers retreat. While both records
correspond with changes in the Pacific Decadal Oscillation, they also are synchronous with
global glacier and treeline fluctuations, suggesting important global forcing.
CLIMATE CHANGE EFFECT ON WINTER TEMPERATURE AND PRECIPITATION OF
YELLOWKNIFE, NORTHWEST TERRITORIES, CANADA FROM 1943 TO 2011
JANELLE LAING & JACQUELINE BINYAMIN, University of Winnipeg, Department of
Geography, Winnipeg MB
The correlation of the Southern Oscillation Index (SOI), Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO),
Pacific North American Oscillation (PNA), Arctic Oscillation (AO), and Scandinavia (SCAND)
indices with winter (DJF) temperature and precipitation for the period of 1943 to 2011 was
analyzed to study climate change and variability of Yellowknife, NWT. SOI correlated
negatively with both temperature (r=-0.14) and precipitation (r=-0.06) causing colder, drier
conditions during La Nina and warmer, wetter conditions during El Nino. PDO was shown to
have a strong positive correlation with both temperature (r=0.60) and precipitation (r=0.33)
causing warmer, wetter weather in the positive phase and colder, drier weather in the negative
phase. PNA showed the strongest positive correlation for both temperature (r=0.69) and
precipitation (r=0.37) causing very warm and wet conditions in the positive phase and very cold
and dry conditions during the negative phase. AO correlated negatively with temperature (r=0.04) and positively with precipitation (r=0.24) causing colder, wetter conditions in the positive
phase and warmer, drier conditions in the negative phase. Finally SCAND was shown to have a
weak negative correlation with both temperature (r=-0.10) and precipitation (r=-0.18).
Yellowknife’s average annual temperature and precipitation has increased by 2.5°C and 120
mm, respectively throughout the past 69 years.
19
INTERNATIONAL PERSPECTIVES ON MEASURING ECONOMIC INDICATORS AND
ASSESSING THE ECONOMIC IMPACT OF GEOPARKS
KIM LEMKY, Department of Geography, Brandon University, Brandon, MB
Geopark designations are expected to provide positive economic benefits to local businesses,
communities and urban areas. In order for a region to retain its International Geopark
designation, the coordinators for the geopark, must demonstrate that the geopark is promoting
positive economic benefits to the region. Given, however, that geoparks are often ungated, with
geographical boundaries on a map rather than on the ground, and the fact that unique
geological sites are promoted rather than a location within a gated area, this leads to challenges
on how to actually measure these forecasted benefits. Further to this, the geopark does not have
site managers, instead businesses are encouraged to provide activities at various sites that
geopark enthusiasts can pay to experience. This paper provides an over view of the current
state of measurement for the geoparks based on a review of the literature and an international
workshop on “Assessing Social and Economic Impacts of Geoparks” held in September 2014, in
Saint John, New Brunswick.
SEDIMENT IN THE TOBACCO CREEK WATERSHED
CENWEI LIU, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB
DAVID A. LOBB, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB
SHENG LI, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Fredericton, NB
PHILIP N.OWENS, University of Northern British Columbia, Prince George, BC
ZOUZOU A. KUZY, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB
Particle size characteristics of suspended sediment are important in modeling and
understanding the sediment transport and deposition processes. Particle size of sediment also
plays a significant role in tracing sediment sources and conveyance. A better understanding of
soil erosion and sedimentation processes is required for enhancing the knowledge of the
dynamics of particle size of sediment. In this study, suspended sediment and channel bed
sediment were collected two times per year in snowmelt event (May-June) and rainfall event
(July-November) in the Tobacco Creek Watershed, Manitoba. Three potential sediment sources
were identified according to the field observations, included the topsoil from cultivated field,
topsoil from riparian area and streambank material. The spatial and temporal variations in
particle size of these samples were analyzed using laser diffraction method and the correlation
between the potential source materials and the suspended sediment was conducted. Across the
spatial scales, the particle size of suspended sediment was generally coarser in the upper
reaches (above the Manitoba Escarpment) than that in the lower reaches (below the Manitoba
Escarpment). Across the temporal scales, particle size distribution of suspended sediment
showed a significant seasonal variation between snowmelt and rainfall events. Compared the
particle size of suspended sediment with that of potential source materials, the potential source
materials were seen to be coarser than that of suspended sediment. At most of the sampling
sites, over 60 % of the suspended sediment was predominant in fine particles (< 63 µm). These
findings reflect the occurrence of practice size selectivity during the sediment transport and
deposition.
20
HABITAT CONNECTIVITY AS A MEASURE OF ECOLOGICAL INTEGRITY IN
NORTHERN PIKE POPULATIONS IN RIDING MOUNTAIN NATIONAL PARK,
MANITOBA
CHRISTOPHER MALCOLM, KENDELLE FAWCETT, & RANDI THOMAS Department of
Geography, Brandon University, Brandon, MB
TIM SALLOWS & TIM TOWN, Parks Canada, Riding Mountain Field Unit, Wasagaming, MB
Parks Canada's official mandate is to manage for ecological integrity in its parks, which is
defined as the ability of an ecological system to support and maintain a community of
organisms that has species composition, diversity, and functional organization comparable to
those natural habitats within a region (Parish et al. 2003). An important indicator of ecological
integrity is the demographic integrity of the parks' constituent wildlife populations. In Riding
Mountain National Park, we have monitored northern pike populations with respect to
connectivity between habitats where anthropogenic activities may have created disjunct
populations. We used VHF telemetry to examine movements of northern pike at three locations
in the park to determine the level of connectivity between rivers and lakes where weirs have
been built, as well as to establish whether northern pike move through a seasonally temporary
corridor to access spawning habitat. This presentation provides a summary of these projects
and their associated management recommendations for sustainable northern pike populations
in the park.
ICE-SHOVED HILLS AND RELATED GLACIOTECTONIC FEATURES IN THE GLACIAL
LAKE PROVEN BASIN, RIDING MOUNTAIN UPLANDS, MANITOBA
R.A. MCGINN, Department of Geography, Brandon University. Brandon MB
This paper examines and describes the physical characteristics, mode of origin and stratigraphic
position of the glaciotectonic features mapped in the Glacial Lake Proven Basin. Five to six iceshoved hills and a small composite linear ridge represent the suite of glaciotectonic features
mapped. The ice-shoved hills appear to be associated with small depression lakes located
approximately 2.0 km - 4.0 km upstream of a NE ice flow (40°-50°). The Odanah Shale member
of the Pierre formation forms the core of each ice-shoved hill and approximately 1.0 m of Zelena
till overlies the shale core. Pebble clast fabric analysis from the till supports the hill-hole
hypothesis.
The small composite linear ridge is described as a broken series of hills 8 km long, 2 km wide
and 15-20 m high. The ridge is relatively straight and has a NNW-SSE orientation (335°). The
gaps appear to be generated by a combination of ice stagnation drainage and Holocene fluvial
erosion. About 2.0 m of till overlies a deformation diamict or distorted sands and gravels
Glacial Lake Proven sediments surround the constructional glaciotectonic landforms suggesting
that they were formed during the Falconer Advance of the Lostwood Glaciation.
21
THE RISKS TO POTABLE WATER TRUCKED TO CISTERNS IN BEARDY’S OKEMASIS
FIRST NATION, SASKATCHEWAN
KARLEE M. MCLAUGHLIN, University of Saskatchewan, Department of Geography and Planning,
Saskatoon, SK
LALITA BHARADWAJ, University of Saskatchewan, School of Medicine, Department of Public
Health, Saskatoon, SK
The provision of safe drinking water (SDW) is a key driver of public health, yet access to this
valuable resource is a perennial problem in First Nations communities across Canada.
Additionally, waterborne infections are an alarming 26 times higher in First Nations. Inequality
in access to SDW is linked to historical discriminatory governmental policies that have
disadvantaged Canada’s First Nations. As of June-2013, the Federal Government transferred
SDW responsibility and legal liability to First Nation communities by passing of Bill-S-8 ─ The
SDW for First Nations Act. The community of Beardy’s Okemasis First Nation is one
community affected by this change, where half of the community is dependent on cistern
infrastructure. Additionally, cisterns are known as the “prairie problem” due to frequent
contamination issues and limited attention in terms of government initiatives and academic
research. In partnership with this community, research will identify the potential risks to water
quality through the supply chain of trucked water delivery to cistern. Water trucks and selected
residential cisterns will be analyzed for potable water quality, deterioration and point source
contamination from the period of July-October 2014. The data gathered will advance guidelines
on management, monitoring, and strengthen governmental policy change for SDW for First
Nations across Canada.
DETERMINING FOOD DESERTS IN BRANDON, MANITOBA USING GIS
DYLAN MCNAUGHTON, DION WISEMAN & DERREK EBERTS, Department of Geography,
Brandon University, Brandon, MB
ERIN MAY, Brandon Neighbourhood Renewal Corporation, Brandon, MB
NANCY MCPHERSON, Department of Health Studies, Brandon University, Brandon, MB
Food deserts are considered areas where a large proportion of people have a low income and
are not within an acceptable walking or bus distance to major supermarkets. The objectives of
this project were to conduct an analysis of Brandon, Manitoba to determine resident’s
accessibility to healthy, affordable food. The project was done in cooperation with the Brandon
Neighbourhood Renewal Corporation and Healthy Brandon, which are groups committed to
promoting public health. The results showed high risk areas in the downtown core and adjacent
to Brandon University, both of which are low income areas and are not within walking or
busing distance to grocery stores. These areas are relatively small due to the fact that bus routes
penetrate high risk areas and reduce risk. Future research should consider evaluating the
healthiness and price of food available in the grocery stores studied, as these are considered
important variables in the identification of food deserts.
22
REFLECTING UPON THE VICTORY GARDENS OF WORLD WAR I AND WORLD WAR
II AS SYMBOLIC VERNACULAR LANDSCAPES IN NORTH DAKOTA
DOUGLAS C. MUNSKI, Geography Department, University of North Dakota, Grand Forks, ND
LAURA B. MUNSKI, Dakota Science Center, Grand Forks, ND
Since Biblical times, food has been a weapon of war. Failure to keep troops well-fed on the war
front and/or the inability to satisfy the hunger of people on the home front could have
disastrous consequences for a government attempting to win a war. During World War I,
civilians in North Dakota specifically grew gardens to supplement local food consumption and
food self-sufficiency when general agricultural productivity was being directed toward feeding
the American and Allied armed forces and providing food relief for European civilians. The
symbolism of food as a weapon of war was well-portrayed in propaganda posters of that era.
Even more attention was given to such supplemental gardens during World War II by North
Dakotans as part of the national war effort to achieve victory over the Axis. Elaborate efforts
were undertaken successfully between 1942-1945 for planning, planting, maintaining,
harvesting, and canning the fruits and vegetables of these gardens to further the American war
effort. Indeed, the theme of food as a weapon supporting the Americans and the Allies again is
emphasized in propaganda posters. Thus, the home front became an integral partner to the war
front which in turn was symbolized by North Dakota’s victory gardens.
USING HERITAGE TOURISM TO REMEMBER AND CELEBRATE THE VICTORY
GARDEN AS A VERNACULAR LANDSCAPE
LAURA B. MUNSKI, Dakota Science Center, Grand Forks, ND
DOUGLAS C. MUNSKI, Department of Geography, University of North Dakota, Grand Forks, ND
Heritage tourism takes many forms as a component of recreational geography and historical
geography. A longstanding element of such activity is the historic garden tour and visiting
culturally significant horticultural places, e.g., a living history farm. Yet, some gardens
and related tours can be developed along a thematic line to highlight a particular period of
national, if not international, significance. Such is the case with the growing of a replica World
War II Victory Garden at East Grand Forks (MN) Heritage Village. It specifically was included
on the Grand Forks County (ND) Horticultural Society’s 2014 summer garden tour and being
featured during the Heritage Days festival in that same summer. These two events resulted in
an opportunity to provide visitors with insights into a unique aspect of the vernacular
landscape which can be traced to the World War I-era war gardens, liberty gardens, and
victory gardens. By blending academic-oriented information with non-academic accounts from
the periods of World War I and World War II within a homespun approach to presenting the
site to tourists, the visitors obtained a sense of this type of past cultural landscape’s importance
to local contributions in handling food needs for the home front and the war front.
23
THE MANITOBA MUSEUM: A PUBLIC EDUCATOR AND PRODUCER OF HERITAGE
DISCOURSES
JAIME ORR, Department of Geography, University of Winnipeg, Winnipeg, MB
Museums and heritage sites operate for a variety of reasons, including the preservation,
research and representation of the past. As one of the largest non-for-profit heritage sites in the
province, the Manitoba Museum (formerly known as The Museum of Man and Nature) plays
an important role in narrating history -- visitors to the site travel from 450 million years ago to
present day Manitoba, through various galleries dedicated to particular regions and time
periods. This presentation will explore the role of the Manitoba Museum as a public educator
and producer of heritage discourses. I focus on the ‘material geography’ visitors encounter in
object collections including artifacts, mobiles, wax figurines and re-creation scenery in a gallery
setting, and also explore the way vision and sight operate inside the museum to construct
narratives of the past. Offering a prospectus for future research, I will also touch on the history
of museums as institutions, and the perceived role of museums as a site of enrichment for the
public.
FROM GARDEN-CITIES TO THE CITY AS A PROVIDER OF SOCIAL WELFARE: THE
GEOGRAPHY OF THE INTERNATIONAL FEDERATION FOR HOUSING AND
PLANNING (1913-1968).
JOEL OUTTES & THIAGO MAUER, GEST- Group for the Study of Societies and Territories,
UFRGS- Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre-RS, Brazil.
The research investigates the historical process and the development of new ways of thinking
about the city and territory by the IFHP - International Federation for Housing and Planning –
from its foundation in 1913 to 1968. The IFHP was founded as International Garden-Cities
Association and changed its name several times to adapt to new necessities of the institution
and the abandonment of the garden-city ideal until its re-birth more recently. The focus of the
IFHP changed from garden-cities in the 1910s, town and regional planning in the 1920s (when
the name of the institution became International Federation for Town & Country Planning and
Garden Cities in 1924, and International Federation for Housing and Town Planning in 1926),
the reconstruction of cities devastated by the two world wars; and housing in general from the
late 20s to 1960 (when the institution acquired its current name). Traffic begun to appear as a
subject in 1925 and reappeared in 1962; the economic development of the third world and the
city as a provider of social welfare in the 1960s and especially in 1968.
24
SOURCE WATER PROTECTION PLANNING AT MUSKOWEKWAN FIRST NATION,
SASKATCHEWAN
ROBERT J. PATRICK, Department of Geography and Planning, University of Saskatchewan,
Saskatoon, SK
Access to safe drinking water for First Nations remains a serious problem in Canada. For
example, boil water advisories for First Nation communities are 2.5 times more frequent than
for non-First Nation communities. As well, approximately 30% of First Nation community
water systems are classified as high risk systems and the number of water borne infections in
First Nation communities is an alarming 26 times higher than the Canadian national average.
This paper explores the potential for source water protection as a means of improving drinking
water quality for First Nations. Source water protection aims to eliminate, or reduce, risks to
source water supply through land use planning and management practices. This paper reports
the results of several source water protection pilot projects undertaken with First Nations in
Alberta and Saskatchewan. The results show multiple benefits from source water protection
planning that include local empowerment, collaboration between stakeholders, identification
and prioritization of management actions to reduce risks, and opportunity to affirm water as
central to traditional knowledge. Challenges include institutional support for source water
protection, access to funding to support plan implementation as well as workload priorities and
local capacity limitations facing many First Nations.
BAKKEN OIL TRAINS ON THE NORTHERN PLAINS
ALEC PAUL, Department of Geography, University of Regina, Regina, SK
The geography of Bakken oil trains on the prairies and U.S. Great Plains is changing a lot more
rapidly than are the safety regulations for moving this commodity. In a few short years the
field has been staked out by a number of shortline railways alongside the mega-companies
BNSF (Burlington Northern Santa Fe) and Canadian Pacific (CP)).But now the two ‘big guys’
appear to be jumping back in to collect a lion’s share of the business from areas that were
originally seen as peripheral. Shortlines such as Yellowstone Valley Railroad and Dakota
Missouri Valley & Western on the American side and Stewart Southern Railway and Long
Creek Railway in Canada are totally dependent on either CP or BNSF to forward their trains to
the major markets for oil in heartland or coastal refineries of North America, The future is also
clouded by the impact of new regulations on the handling of the traffic, one likely consequence
being the requirement for all hazmat trains to be crewed by at least two qualified workers –
perhaps even with one of these to be placed in the reinstated caboose.
25
FRACTURED PERSPECTIVES: THE WICKED PROBLEM OF HYDRAULIC FRACTURING
AND ITS IMPLICATIONS FOR PEOPLE AND PLACE
JORDAN POITRAS & IAN MAURO, Department of Geography, University of Winnipeg, Winnipeg,
MB
Hydraulic fracturing (HF) is a process increasingly used to extract unconventional oil and gas
from shale deposits. While industry sees HF as a ‘game changer’, communities have expressed
concerns about this technology and its social and ecological impacts. Using social science
methodologies, this study documents public perspectives regarding risks associated with HF,
and is linked to an expert panel in Nova Scotia and a larger North American research study on
this topic. From the expert panel, 238 unique submissions from stakeholders were analyzed and
risks identified in order of importance included: water, community and infrastructure,
economy, waste and cleanup, human health, climate change, policy and regulation, other
environmental issues, industry deception, and inadequacy of science. Ongoing research in
Colorado and New Brunswick explores the scientific and indigenous ways of viewing HF and
its potential impact on water, place and people. This research suggests the unique geographies –
both human and physical – of a place must be considered in any assessment of HF given it is a
“wicked problem” facing society.
COPING AND ADAPTING TO LONG-TERM ECOLOGICAL CHANGE IN THE
SASKATCHEWAN RIVER DELTA
ABU RAZAK, School of Environment and Sustainability, University of Saskatchewan
Changes in river flow and flood regimes caused by upstream developments have implications
for downstream environments and resource users. Since the 1960s, the Saskatchewan River
Delta has witnessed hydro-ecological changes resulting from upstream developments and
varied climate regimes. Two major upstream dams, the E. B. Campbell dam (in 1963) and the
Gardiner dam (in 1967), for instance, have had significant impacts on the hydrology of the delta.
Consequently, the Cree and Métis people of Cumberland House, downstream of the delta, who
have long lived and relied on local resources for their livelihood, continue to experience
ecological changes to this day. This study explores the coping mechanisms and adaptive
strategies of this community to deal with ecological system change. I draw on the idea of coping
mechanisms as the bundle of short-term responses to changes in land-based activities, and
adaptive strategies as the long-term culturally ingrained mechanisms. The study uses
community-based approach to research inquiry, where the researcher and local people
interacted to define important questions and identify relevant evidence through living in the
community and participating in land-based activities. In all, 32 hunters, trappers, fishermen,
and gatherers were interviewed over a period of six months. Eight Elders were also interviewed
on long-term changes in the social-ecological system. Examples of coping mechanisms include
switching among species, changing harvest locations and expending more effort in harvesting,
buying from the store to compensate for less harvest, and seeking wage employment.
Adaptations, on the other hand, include changes in seasonal harvest patterns, reduce networks
and the ‘how’ of sharing food, and intercommunity trade.
26
URBAN GREEN SPACE AND SOCIETY: A REMOTE SENSING AND GIS ANALYSIS OF
MAJOR CITIES IN WESTERN CANADA
LESLIE SARAPU & CHRISTOPHER D STORIE, Department of Geography, University of Winnipeg,
Winnipeg, MB
Urban green spaces provide a variety of benefits to the wider community. However, urban
green space is not evenly distributed across the urban system. Additionally not all green space
is created equally. Some are built such as Assiniboine Park, while others are more naturalized
such as the Assiniboine Forest both of which are in Winnipeg. Focusing on the study areas of
Winnipeg, Saskatoon, Regina, Calgary, Edmonton, Vancouver and Victoria, this research seeks
to develop a remote sensing and GIS approach to detect and categorize urban green space.
Secondarily, this research will examine each of the study cities policies with regards to urban
green space development and distribution to gain a better understanding of why parks within
each of the communities is where it is and why it is the type of park it is. Thirdly, this research
seeks to examine whether or not there is a relationship between a neighborhood’s socioeconomic status and the size, type, and variety of green space within it.
THE CLIMATE ATLAS OF MANITOBA PROJECT
RYAN SMITH & DANNY BLAIR, Department of Geography, University of Winnipeg, Winnipeg, MB
It’s a cliché, but it’s also true: a picture is worth a kilobyte of words. This is why atlases are so
useful. Here we present preliminary results of a climate atlas for Manitoba being developed at
the University of Winnipeg’s Richardson College for the Environment with funding provided
by the Province of Manitoba’s Climate and Green Initiatives Branch. The Climate Atlas of
Manitoba will be a digital storehouse containing thousands of climate maps depicting averages,
trends and future conditions for a wide variety of variables, including max/min/mean
temperatures, frost-free periods, degree-days, frequency of heavy precipitation and extreme
temperature events, and corn heat units. The Atlas uses NRCan’s 10-km gridded daily
meteorological data for 1950-2012. For future (2011-2100) conditions, the project has to date
only used regional climate model output from the Canadian Centre for Climate Modelling and
Analysis, for the RCP8.5 ‘worst-case’ emissions scenario.
FOOD DESERT MAPPING: A PRELIMINARY STUDY OF FOOD SECURITY IN
THUNDER BAY, 2006
JORDAN STEINGASS, Geography and the Environment, Lakehead University, Thunder Bay, ON
The purpose of this study is to map food deserts to assist in the exploration of the state of food
security in Thunder Bay, Ontario. Food deserts are mapped in this study by first creating a
food security indicator using socio-economic census data from 2006 to identify neighbourhoods
that are at a greater risk of experiencing inequalities with access to food. Secondly, food retail
locations are also mapped. Using 500- and 1000-metre walking-distance zone buffers from the
food outlets it is possible to evaluate which, if any, of the impoverished areas are located
outside of these limits, indicating a food desert. A comparison between walking distance zone
buffers and straight-line distance buffers is also performed to evaluate the accuracy of each
method. High-risk areas and food deserts are found to exist across the city at both the 500- and
1000-metre walking distance scales. It is determined that walking distance zone buffers are
more accurate than straight-line distance buffers in areas where streets have a regular grid
pattern. Straight-line distance buffers, on the other hand, may be more accurate in
neighbourhoods with an irregular street pattern and they may take in to account walking paths
and shortcuts.
27
“VARVED SEDIMENTS,
CHALLENGE”
SPATIAL
VARIABILITY
AND
THE
SINGLE
CORE
J. SUCHAN & K.R. HODDER, Prairie Environmental Process Laboratory, University of Regina,
Regina, SK
Varved sedimentary sequences from glacier-fed lakes in the Canadian Cordillera are rich
archives of Holocene environmental change, and are known to record variability in climatic,
hydrologic and geomorphic conditions. Geochronologies derived from varved sediments are
particularly useful in alpine environments where sediment transfer can be episodic and
hydroclimatic monitoring records are sparse and/or discontinuous. Environmental
reconstructions based on varve chronologies are often based on one, or a small number, of
sediment cores. Lateral variability in varve thickness is rarely assessed, and the extrapolation of
sedimentation rates derived from one, or few, core samples can contribute to a potentially large
source of error in estimations of lake-wide accumulation and catchment sediment yield. This
study uses 81 collected cores to assess the spatial patterns in contemporary varve thickness
throughout glacier-fed Mud Lake, British Columbia (since ~1940 AD). Interim results
demonstrate:


Local events can cause “varve-like structures” to appear in varying strength throughout the
lake, often times being easily mistakable for true varves;
Between two cores ~1.4 kilometers apart, varve thickness in the year 1985 showed 202.79%
difference, while in the year 1983 there was only 10.43% variation in thickness.
Varve thickness thus varies not only (a) temporally, which is the basis for geochronologies, but
also (b) spatially, as a result of variations in sediment deposition. The effect of spatial variations
in varve thickness on hydroclimatic reconstruction, which are clearly lurking as consequences
flowing from this research, remain to be explored.
AGING AND FOOD INSECURITY: RE-EVALUATING THE URBAN CONTEXT OF FOOD
ACCESS
GINA SYLVESTRE & GEORGIA MACDONALD, Department of Geography, University of
Winnipeg, Winnipeg, MB
Food insecurity for the aging population is viewed primarily from the lens of nutritional risk
with insufficient caloric intake attributed to a range of factors including physical, social, and
economic decrements in the elder individual. Questions are now emerging about the salience of
the community context for seniors; specifically research is focusing on the impact of spatial
proximity to grocery stores. Studies identifying older adults’ physical access to food have
emphasized a rural scope and there appears to be limited attention on pursuing understanding
of urban food security issues for this critical age segment. This presentation seeks to explore
those elements of neighbourhoods that impact food security and ultimately the quality of life of
urban seniors. Using a sample of older movers (n=149) to subsidized senior housing in
Winnipeg, Manitoba, binomial level analysis was developed to determine the association of
wellbeing and access to food security. Though original interest focused on distance data to
grocery stories, the results point to the importance of other community and individual
resources including social and mobility supports, as well as access to meal programs. The
findings highlight new definitions of food security for the elderly to more accurately inform
both research and policy development.
28
MAPPING TECHNIQUES FOR SOIL EROSION: MODELING OF STREAM POWER
INDEX IN EASTERN NORTH DAKOTA USING LIDAR DATA
R.J. THALACKER & G.S. VANDEBERG, Department of Geography, University of North Dakota,
Grand Forks, North Dakota
Soil erosion is a worldwide problem that can negatively affect surface water through the
introduction of sediment, nutrients (eg. nitrogen, phosphorus), pesticides, and other chemicals.
Soil erosion is often exacerbated by agricultural and other types of land use. The objective of
this study was to identify gully locations in agricultural fields adjacent to the Turtle and Forest
rivers in eastern North Dakota that accumulate surface flow resulting in areas of critical surface
erosion in a GIS using the Stream Power Index (SPI). A field survey was conducted to verify
the accuracy of the terrain analysis at identifying 391 gully and inlet locations. Sediment
samples were collected from 44 inlets/gully locations and analyzed for soil texture, pH and
conductivity to characterize the material being eroded and transported. The pH levels for the
soil samples ranged from neutral to moderately alkaline and the EC values represented soils
that were either non-saline or slightly saline. Sand was the dominant separate for both study
areas. This study found that SPI signatures at or above critical erosion levels can be used to
target precision conservation in individual fields adjacent to the Turtle and Forest rivers.
A RESEARCH AND METHODOLOGICAL
ACCESSIBILITY IN CANADA.
SURVEY
OF
FOOD
DESERT
AND
MARC VACHON, Department of Geography, Principal Editor, Canadian Journal of Urban Research,
University of Winnipeg, Winnipeg, MB
The objective of this presentation is to survey the Canadian literature regarding food
accessibility and desert. Specifically, the focus is on city planners and geographers research
within the last ten (10) years. The objectives are threefold. First, the presentation consists of a
critical overview of the result of various studies on food desert and accessibility. In other
words, where was the studies conducted (cities and scale); what method was use (buffer or
other); what concept guided the study, and what were the results. Second, we are examining
the concept of food desert versus food accessibility. The analysis incorporates an overview of
the origin of these concepts, their critical acceptance or rejection. Third, a critical overview of
the methods used for the research, its advantages and disadvantages. Our conclusion will aim
to posit possible research agenda and methodology.
PLACE-BASED INQUIRY USING MODIFIED FOCUS GROUPS
OPPORTUNITIES FOR PARTICIPATION IN KENORA, ONTARIO
TO
CREATE
MYA WHEELER WIENS, Department of Geography, University of Winnipeg, Winnipeg, MB
Participation in resources management decision-making process is considered an important
aspect to fostering a person’s ability to care for place. Sense of place literature suggests that care
of place encourages enhanced wellbeing and could further participation in shared place
decision-making. The Rat Portage Common Ground Conservation Organization is a unique
partnership attempting to improve cross-cultural relationships through co-ownership of a piece
of land known as the Common Ground Land (CGL) in the northwestern Ontario municipality
of Kenora. The CGL was the focus of a study in 2010, which drew on an Indigenous research
paradigm and made use of sharing circle methodology by collecting data through modified
focus groups (3) and semi-structured interviews (27). Data analysis suggested that these
methods were useful in building relationships, hearing a diversity of perspectives on the CGL,
and creating a safe avenue for participation.
29
THE HYDROLOGY OF A “SPONTANEOUSLY” RE-VEGETATED VACUUM HARVESTED
PEATLAND, EASTERN MANITOBA
PETE WHITTINGTON, Department of Geography, Brandon University, Brandon, MB
Peatlands cover over 38% of Manitoba’s land area and represent an important component of the
natural landscape such as flood mitigation and sinks for terrestrial runoff and anthropogenic
nutrient loading. Nearly 13% of Canada’s horticultural peat is produced in Manitoba, mainly in
the southeastern portion of the province, however, Manitoba horticultural peat producers are
attempting to expand into the province’s Interlake region but because of the potential impacts
on nutrient loading to Lake Winnipeg, the province of Manitoba has put a moratorium on new
peat harvesting operations.
Vacuum harvesting requires the complete removal of all surficial vegetation and ditches to
drain the peatland. A consequence of this method is that vacuumed harvested sites do not revegetate themselves naturally; active restoration efforts in eastern Quebec have been largely
successful, though with considerable trial and error to get the ecological and hydrological
processes correct.
The Moss Spur peatland is Manitoba’s oldest peat harvesting location and was abandoned in
the early 1990s, however, with little intervention, the natural re-vegetation of the site has been
remarkable. Understanding the hydrology of why the (mostly unassisted) Moss Spur
regeneration worked so well is an important first step to restoring other Manitoba peatlands.
SOURCING THE ORIGIN OF EXCESS SULFATE (SO42-) CONCENTRATIONS IN DEAD
HORSE CREEK, MANITOBA, CANADA
REBECCA WILKS & BILL BUHAY, Department of Geography, University of Winnipeg, Winnipeg,
MB
Naturally occurring dissolved sulphate (SO42-) is a common component of surface waters that
can degrade water quality at higher concentrations. Dissolved SO42- in freshwaters originates
from both natural (groundwater input, atmospheric deposition, sulphide oxidation) and
anthropogenic (artificial fertilizer runoff, sewage effluent discharge) sources. The average
dissolved SO42- concentration in Dead Horse Creek (DHC), Manitoba, between 2011 and 2012
was 484 (mg/L) which is significantly higher than the 1988-2013 average for southern Manitoba
rivers and streams (183 mg/L). Isotopic compositions (sulfur and oxygen) for all potential SO42inputs to DHC have been determined through sampling and estimation of possible sources. In
this study a dual-isotope approach was employed in combination with Bayesian probability
analysis to estimate the contributions of all potential SO42- sources to DHC. The Winkler sewage
lagoons were found to be the primary SO42- contributor, an outcome which is directly related to
the disposal of concentrated SO42- waste from the Winkler water treatment plant (which
provides potable water for the City of Winkler) into the sewage lagoons. In addition, runoff of
sulphate-based fertilizers (through culverts) into DHC may also be a significant contributor to
the excess sulphate found in DHC when lagoon effluent is not being released.
30
NOTES
31
NOTES
32

Book of Abstracts_pcag 2014

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