Latest news with #InternationalJointCommission
CBC
23-05-2025
- Science
- CBC
As the Great Lakes warm, researchers say more winter science is crucial
The climate is changing. Weather patterns are shifting. The globe is warming — and that includes the Great Lakes. The five interconnected freshwater North American lakes attract significant study in the summer, but they are not such a magnet in the winter — and a group of scientists says that needs to change as air and water temperatures rise, resulting in a shorter winter season. As it stands, almost all monitoring on the lakes is done during the spring, summer and early fall months when there's easier access to research vessels and equipment like buoys. But no matter the season, one researcher says it's been her experience that studying the Great Lakes is treated like a second-class science. "It is a little more complicated to study the Great Lakes because they are so large and they are underfunded compared to the oceans," said Marguerite Xenopoulos, one of the authors of a new report about addressing research gaps and enhancing winter science on the Great Lakes. The report released earlier in May outlines to Canadian and U.S. governments what a group of environmental scientists say needs to happen next for winter research on the Great Lakes. An advisory board within the International Joint Commission (IJC) — a binational organization that helps provide science-based advice to governments over transboundary waterways — penned the document after two years of study. It offers a look at why winter science is needed, and the barriers to it. "Without winter science, we cannot get a complete picture of Great Lakes water quality. Winter data, especially long-term time series data, is necessary to better understand the impacts of changing winter conditions on the health of the Great Lakes," authors note in part of the IJC report. Drew Gronewold is an associate professor with the University of Michigan's school for environment and sustainability. He says winter measurements of the lakes are critical to saving human lives and protecting the ecosystem. There are some resources devoted to the issue currently: satellite information and the use of underwater temperature readers called thermistors anchored to the bottom of lakes. But, he says, more year-round monitoring is needed because of "dramatic" changes from January until the summer months. "A lot of large lakes around the world don't undergo the sort of same seasonal changes in terms of temperature, ice formation, even what we would call heat content — that's like temperature integrated across the depths," said Gronewold. He points to ice cover in the winter and its impact on evaporation that happens in the spring and summer, saying: "That can then affect how much water levels decline in the following fall." Referring to it as a "master variable" of the Great Lakes, Xenopoulos, a professor of biology at Trent University and member of the IJC, says ice cover controls a number of factors, such as oxygen in the water. Less ice can also result in warmer water and the greater chance of low levels of dissolved oxygen, known as hypoxia. "Of course, fish don't like not [having] any oxygen. This is one of the reasons why we need to keep studying winter and connect it to the summer conditions." Warmer winters are not only affecting the amount of ice on the lakes, but they're also impacting the amount of water that's flowing in — bringing in more phosphorus, the most bio-available nutrient, she says. "Although it hasn't been directly linked yet, it could be one reason why we are now seeing more algae blooms on Lake Superior, which is really unexpected," she said. "It's a very pristine lake." New winter science study Xenopoulos says it's expensive to capture the Great Lakes' spatial variability and the lakes require a lot of complicated infrastructure — even more so in the wintertime. "The infrastructure is not necessarily there so we do need ice-breaking capabilities to sample ... It's unsafe, it requires special training." The heightened danger of winter science is another obstacle in the way of expanding surveillance, said Xenopoulos. "Some of the early data that we're looking [at] right now that we're going to hopefully publish soon is showing that there [are] more winter drownings than there are summer drownings. And it's because ice maybe looks safe, but it's not. Ice is a beautiful thing, but it's very dangerous." According to Xenopoulos, over the past five years or so there's also been a surge in winter limnology — the study of lakes and other bodies of fresh water. "For the longest time we actually thought lakes were dormant in the winter. Life was still or sleeping. I think [partly] for that reason, winter was understudied." Tracking lake health, climate variation Mike McKay says winter is the season we know the least about, yet it's the season changing most rapidly. However, the University of Windsor environmental researcher — who also sat on the IJC's advisory panel for winter science — says there are some examples of winter sampling already taking place, including with the utilization of coast guard icebreakers in the Windsor, Ont., area. He says that's been going on since 2009 and gives a glimpse into what the lake may look like in the future. "We get this extreme variability and with those record low ice years which are happening at higher frequency now we're starting to see … a window into what many think will be a future ice-free Lake Erie," McKay told Windsor Morning host Amy Dodge. When lakes such as Erie don't consistently freeze like they used to, Xenopoulos says it can also result in more moisture in the air, resulting in lake-effect snow. "This can cause big ice snowfalls. Especially in areas like Buffalo … so there's that to worry about, too." When lakes freeze over, Gronewold says they also serve as a barrier, protecting the shorelines of coastal communities. "When there is less ice in the wintertime, when these storms come in, it can greatly exacerbate erosion." According to Gronewold, the ice cover can also serve as a stabilizer to protect spawning habitats for whitefish and other organisms. Government science funding Canadians re-elected a Liberal government in the recent federal election, albeit a minority one, though as of yet it's unclear what, if anything, that could mean for Great Lakes research funding. On the U.S. side of the Great Lakes, hundreds of weather forecasters and other National Ocean and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) employees were let go in late February. McKay says the moves make him concerned about other potential science-related cutbacks from the Trump administration. "Unfortunately, monitoring surveillance is often one of the first things to be cut when budgets are tight, especially when there's not a big problem, a crisis, that you're dealing with," McKay said. Gronewold says the science information in the IJC's report largely relies on existing funding through federal agencies. Xenopoulos says she's trying to remain optimistic about future funding and winter monitoring: "We want to do it and we want to collaborate." IJC physical scientist Matthew Child is also holding out hope when it comes to longer term progress on winter science. "Awareness is up," he said. "The project itself is sort of boring, but the intellectual output … Both on the agency and the academic side, the personnel capacity is being developed and I think many of us thought that was quite encouraging."
Cision Canada
22-05-2025
- Politics
- Cision Canada
IJC Spring Semi-Annual Meeting Focuses on Ensuring Healthy, Safe and Prosperous Transboundary Watersheds
WASHINGTON, May 22, 2025 /CNW/ -- The International Joint Commission (IJC) held its spring semi-annual meeting from April 28-May 2, in Washington, D.C. The event convened Commissioners, staff, board and committee members to discuss ongoing work, challenges and opportunities. "In these challenging times, the work that we do to preserve and protect our boundary waters and resolve disputes between Canada and the United States is more important than ever," IJC US Co-Chair Gerald Acker said. During the week-long meeting, the Commissioners met with the many IJC boards and committees. Updates included board expansions and new membership, ongoing and completed computer modeling of hydrological systems, infrastructure work being undertaken by outside agencies and organizations, and work being planned for the coming months. Commissioners also formally met with representatives from the Canadian and US governments, providing updates on current and forecasted conditions across transboundary watersheds. Governments received information on board activities, the IJC's ongoing studies, including the progress of those in the Elk-Kootenai/y River basin, St. Mary and Milk River basin, Lake Ontario and the St. Lawrence River, and the Poplar River basin. Commissioners also updated governments on the IJC's Circle of Experts initiative, which brings together Indigenous experts from across the transboundary region to discuss how the IJC can best work with them on water governance issues to the mutual benefit of these communities and the Commission's duties. Additionally, Commissioners were graciously hosted by the Canadian Embassy for lunch Tuesday, April 29, and were very pleased to welcome guests and interested parties to a reception at the Harry S. Truman Building on April 30. The next semi-annual meeting is scheduled for Fall 2025 in Ottawa, Ontario. Commissioners are looking forward to continuing their cross-border efforts to resolve problems and work together into the future. "We're looking forward to continuing to fulfill the duties of the Boundary Waters Treaty with our colleagues in both Canada and the United States," said Canadian Co-Chair Pierre Baril. Quick Facts
Yahoo
22-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
IJC Spring Semi-Annual Meeting Focuses on Ensuring Healthy, Safe and Prosperous Transboundary Watersheds
WASHINGTON, May 22, 2025 /CNW/ -- The International Joint Commission (IJC) held its spring semi-annual meeting from April 28-May 2, in Washington, D.C. The event convened Commissioners, staff, board and committee members to discuss ongoing work, challenges and opportunities. "In these challenging times, the work that we do to preserve and protect our boundary waters and resolve disputes between Canada and the United States is more important than ever," IJC US Co-Chair Gerald Acker said. During the week-long meeting, the Commissioners met with the many IJC boards and committees. Updates included board expansions and new membership, ongoing and completed computer modeling of hydrological systems, infrastructure work being undertaken by outside agencies and organizations, and work being planned for the coming months. Commissioners also formally met with representatives from the Canadian and US governments, providing updates on current and forecasted conditions across transboundary watersheds. Governments received information on board activities, the IJC's ongoing studies, including the progress of those in the Elk-Kootenai/y River basin, St. Mary and Milk River basin, Lake Ontario and the St. Lawrence River, and the Poplar River basin. Commissioners also updated governments on the IJC's Circle of Experts initiative, which brings together Indigenous experts from across the transboundary region to discuss how the IJC can best work with them on water governance issues to the mutual benefit of these communities and the Commission's duties. Additionally, Commissioners were graciously hosted by the Canadian Embassy for lunch Tuesday, April 29, and were very pleased to welcome guests and interested parties to a reception at the Harry S. Truman Building on April 30. The next semi-annual meeting is scheduled for Fall 2025 in Ottawa, Ontario. Commissioners are looking forward to continuing their cross-border efforts to resolve problems and work together into the future. "We're looking forward to continuing to fulfill the duties of the Boundary Waters Treaty with our colleagues in both Canada and the United States," said Canadian Co-Chair Pierre Baril. Quick Facts Each board has its own responsibilities, public engagement efforts, and opportunities for involvement detailed on their respective websites: The IJC is a binational body established by the Boundary Waters Treaty of 1909 to help the governments of Canada and the United States prevent and resolve disputes over use of the waters shared by the two Cara Prest Canadian Section 613-293-7226Ed Virden US Section 202-372-7990 View original content to download multimedia: SOURCE International Joint Commission View original content to download multimedia:
Winnipeg Free Press
22-05-2025
- Business
- Winnipeg Free Press
A new threat to Lake Winnipeg — from North Dakota
Opinion Massive dairy concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs) being permitted and proposed in North Dakota are a threat to our waterways, including Lake Winnipeg and the groundwater which many people rely upon to drink. More than half of the phosphorus load, the cause of algal blooms in Lake Winnipeg, enters Manitoba's waterways from upstream jurisdictions. Two-thirds of this is from the Red River alone. The International Joint Commission (IJC), under The Boundary Waters Treaty of 1909, established joint nutrient loading targets in October 2022. The Red River nutrient target recommendation for phosphorus was set at 1,400 tonnes per year. But Manitoba's recent report on nutrient levels through 2023 shows that an average 2,500 tonnes of phosphorus per year is coming from the U.S. through the Red River. That is nearly double the phosphorus loading targets set by the IJC. The Canadian Press Netley Creek and the Red River enter Lake Winnipeg just north of Winnipeg. The Red River and Lake Winnipeg are facing new pollution threats from huge new North Dakota corporate dairy operations. Since the 1930s, North Dakota had one of the most progressive anti-corporate farming laws in the U.S., intended to keep North Dakota lands in the hands of working family farmers. This legislation had been gradually weakened over the years. In 2023, then-governor Douglas Burgum, now Trump's secretary of the interior, encouraged changing the law to allow for corporations to become partners in animal agriculture operations. This has opened the door for corporate investment in North Dakota and, in particular, eastern North Dakota within the Red River Valley, now identified as a prime area of interest for the establishment of CAFOs. Riverview LLP, a large dairy/cattle agribusiness based out of Minnesota, is in the process of expanding into North Dakota with two new CAFOs. The Abercrombie Dairy received permits from North Dakota to start construction of a 12,500-head milking cow operation near Wahpeton in January 2025. The Dakota Resource Council and nearby residents filed an appeal of the state permit in February, citing concerns about water quality, but unfortunately the appeal was dismissed on technical grounds. The Herberg Dairy is another proposed 25,000-head milking operation near Hillsboro, N.D., which is in the initial regulatory/permitting stage. Public comments are being accepted until June 2. No permitting decisions regarding Herberg Dairy have yet been made. The size of these massive dairy operations is concerning. Just two new CAFOs will add 37,500 more cows. To put the size of these operations in perspective, at present Manitoba has around 45,000 milk cows, supporting about 240 farms in the entire province. North Dakota currently has around 8,900 milk cows supporting about 24 dairy farms across the state. These two CAFOs will more than quadruple the number of milking cows in North Dakota, and add nearly as many milking cows in the Red River watershed as there are in all of Manitoba. They will also produce massive amounts of animal excrement, comparable to a city with a population of 1.5 million people. To deal with all this manure, these CAFOs will store the manure and wastewater in lagoons the size of 62 American football fields (52 Canadian football fields). Once a year, they pour this manure slurry on agricultural fields as fertilizer. These dairies are within 1.5 miles from the Red River or one of its tributaries. The Red River valley south of the border floods, just like here. Heavy rains, storms in CAFO rich areas like Iowa and North Carolina have caused serious manure releases into neighboring water bodies. Wednesdays A weekly dispatch from the head of the Free Press newsroom. Sound familiar? This is how Manitoba's intensive hog industry manages their waste, and we know where the nutrient hot spots are located within southeastern Manitoba, a.k.a. Hog Alley. What could possibly go wrong? Dr. John Ikerd, professor emeritus of agricultural economics and author of numerous books on sustainable agriculture, said it best: 'piling up too much stuff in one place, causes problems.' Too much manure on the same parcels of land year after year after year leads to the accumulation of nutrients and other contaminants (such as phosphorus, nitrogen, antibiotics, viruses, bacteria, hormones and heavy metals). In sandy to loamy soils, this waste escapes downward to the aquifer, contaminating the groundwater. In clayey soils — a good part of the Red River valley — the excess contaminants run off during wet periods contaminating waterways and contributing to algal blooms in Lake Winnipeg. These huge dairy farms need to be stopped. Canada should refer the issue of these new CAFOs to the IJC to provide recommendations to resolve this transboundary water issue. Governments need to support regenerative agriculture, and phase out industrial factory farming production systems. Small farms that use straw rather than manure slurry pits are better for people, animals, and the planet. James Beddome is the executive director of the Manitoba Eco-Network and was raised on a mixed livestock family farm in the Little Saskatchewan river valley in western Manitoba. Dr. Madeline Luke is a volunteer with the Dakota Resource Council. She is a retired internal medicine doctor from Valley City, North Dakota. Glen Koroluk is the former executive director of the Manitoba Eco-Network, and former spokesperson for Beyond Factory Farming.
Yahoo
01-04-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
Ice on Lake Erie delays American Mariner's transit, boom removal
BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — What seemed like another large ship stranded in the ice on Lake Erie Monday wasn't actually the case. The American Mariner, according to the United States Coast Guard, was stopped as a standard part of the vessel's transit process. The Coast Guard said the vessel is simply waiting for a pre-planned tug to navigate nearly 500 square miles of ice — which is close to three feet thick — still covering the lake. 'They got underway this morning and they were waiting in the basin area for the tug assist to reach them,' said a USCG Sector Eastern Great Lakes spokesperson. The Coast Guard said Monday's situation was different from when the Manitoulin got stuck in January. The vessel can move this time — but it needs help getting to open came in the form of Canadian Coast Guard Ship Griffon and G-tug Oklahoma around 4 p.m. 'In prior years, we hadn't seen a case like this. So, for it to continue into April around this area is out of the norm for what we've seen recently,' said a USCG Sector Eastern Great Lakes spokesperson. The only thing standing in the way of the ice going down the Niagara River is the ice boom. 'The frequency and duration of ice coming down is what the boom is meant to prevent,' said Lou Paonessa from the New York Power Authority. Paonessa said the removal of the ice boom usually marks the change of the season here in Western New York. And while it is spring, the ice boom is here to stay for at least the next couple of weeks. 'The IJC (International Joint Commission) gives us the order of approval to remove the ice boom when there's less than 250 square miles of ice, or April 1, whichever comes first. Unfortunately, this year, April 1 is going to come before there's less than 250 square miles of ice,' said Paonessa. This is the first time since 2019 that the ice boom hasn't been removed by the start of April. Paonessa added that the boom is still damaged, with over 10 pontoons being dislodged this year, compared to an average of two in the past. 'This is one of the worst winters as far as finding loose pontoons and even a break in the boom itself. One of the anchor cables that anchors to the bottom of the lake and spans up top was broken,' said Paonessa. I spoke off camera with West Seneca residents who live on Lexington Green, a street in West Seneca that has had its fair share of floods due to ice jams. They said that despite the conditions, all has been well with very little ice making its way down Buffalo Creek. 'Nothing to be worried about right now,' said Paonessa. Paonessa said that the New York State Power Authority, the Army Corps of Engineers and the International Joint Commission will be meeting again this week to discuss next steps for the boom's removal, but for now its fate is in the hands of Mother Nature. Dillon Morello is a reporter from Pittsburgh who has been part of the News 4 team since September of 2023. See more of his work here and follow him on Twitter. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
