Environment Canada¡¯s MESH model is a highly utilized hydrological model. However it fails to take into account terrain slope and terrain aspect, amongst other limitations. For future implementations of MESH to consider these important characteristics it is important to have efficient numerical methods and the ability to take advantage of current©generation, multiprocessor computer systems.

Native prairie is critical to the survival of avian grassland specialists. This internship will determine the extent to which recent natural gas development on native grasslands in Southwestern Saskatchewan influences grassland songbird abundance. Natural gas activity may negatively affect bird abundance via habitat degradation (well density, noise pollution, human disturbance, exotic species, soil compaction, gas wells etc.) and loss.

Frequent small‐scale oil discharges are the largest source of marine oil pollution resulting from vessel operations. Because of their frequency they are often referred to as chronic oil pollution and they are considered a constant threat to marine and coastal environments. Evidence of illegal spilling of oil in the Pacific Region has been gathered by the National Aeriel Surveillance Program (NASP); primary tool for monitoring and enforcement of pollution regulations within Canadian waters.

Droughts are among Canada’s costliest natural disasters, having major impacts on a wide range of sectors including agriculture, forestry, industry, municipalities, recreation and aquatic ecosystems. The 1999 – 2005 Canadian Prairie drought was the worst drought in at least 100 years in parts of the region and caused considerable environmental and economic hardship. Although much is known about droughts, there is still no complete understanding of why they occur.