Marlow Pellatt spent time on Vancouver Island, taking samples of soil from deep underground and wading through water to understand the biodiversity in the area. To an onlooker, it may seem like he’s playing in mud, but he’s actually researching how important coastal ecosystems are in Canada’s fight against climate change. Pellatt, a coastal ecologist with Parks Canada, led a team that was part of an international effort to study and preserve coastal systems this year. The joint initiative involves Canada, the U.S. and Mexico to study "blue carbon" -- the carbon stored in marine ecosystems.
Climate change causing lakes in Canadian Rockies to lose their famous turquoise lustre, says ecologist
New research from the University of Alberta says the Canadian Rockies may be losing one of their most iconic features — those brilliant turquoise alpine lakes. "This summer the heat domes in Western Canada really have accelerated the rate of melting of the glaciers in the … Rockies," said professor of aquatic ecology Rolf Vinebrooke on CBC Radio's Daybreak South Tuesday. Vinebrooke explained that the lakes contain glacial flour, a sediment from rocks that slowly makes its way into the water through erosion. But as the glaciers melt at faster rates than ever before, less of the meltwater contains the rock flour, which intercepts sunlight and gives the lakes their milky turquoise luster.