Field measurement and numerical modeling are the most popular and fundamental approaches for studying mixing pattern in rivers and coastal waters. Due to the limitations associated with both of these methods they should be used together to verify each other. Extensive field measurement was conducted on the effluent plume from the outfall of the Capital Region waste water treatment plant in the North Saskatchewan River. Tracer was injected at the outfall location and the mixing pattern was investigated by tracking the tracer concentration over a 83 km reach of the river. Flow velocity and depth were also measured simultaneously using an acoustic Doppler current profiler. An integrated in situ fluorometer-GPS measurement technique was introduced and used for field tracer studies in meandering rivers. The full transverse mixing length for the river was estimated to be 130 km. A stream-tube orthogonal curvilinear mesh generation algorithm was also developed for numerical modeling of meandering rivers. The method eliminates the effect of transverse velocity field using the stream-tube concept. The field measured velocity data were used for calculating the stream tube width in each cross-sectional strip. The stream-tube grid was used to develop a practical and efficient coupled field-numerical model for estimating the transverse mixing coefficient in meandering rivers. In this model the computational costs associated with solving the hydrodynamic sub-model is reduced by generating the velocity field from measured data. Using the calibrated model, the average transverse mixing coefficient was calculated for the surveyed reach. Extensive field study was also conducted on the near-field and far-field of a thermal plume discharged by the Ras Laffan Industrial City in Qatar. Three-dimensional perspective of the plume behavior was obtained using field measured temperature and velocity data. Different characteristics of the observed plume including the extent of different zones of the plume, plume thickness, detachment depth and variation of the minimum dilution were investigated and compared with available theories. The contribution of each effective mixing mechanism was also calculated using the field measured data. Vertical confinement was found to be the main effective parameter on the near-field mixing rate which reduced the minimum dilution rate up to 80%. An innovative remote sensing technique was introduced to investigate the near-field mixing of thermal surface plumes. The method generates a calibrated thermal image of the plume using LandSat thermal infrared (TIR) satellite images. Using a combination of remote sensing and numerical modeling, the near-field dynamics of the plume was found to be influenced by the wind action. It was also observed that the previous classification for determining the effect of wind on the plume dynamics did not successfully predict the plume behavior in shallow water. Two non-dimensional parameters, WI1=Uwl/U0 (ratio of the long-shore wind speed (Uwl) to the discharge velocity (Uo) and WI2= Uwc/U0 (ratio of the cross-shore wind (Uwc) to the discharge velocity), were introduced to quantify the effect of wind on the plume dilution and deflection. The plume trajectory was found to be sensitive to a longshore wind greater than 2 m/s, which is half of the reported value for deep water conditions. The surveyed coastal outfall was also modeled using a nested coupled hydrodynamic-wave approach. Validation of the model with field measured and remote sensing data showed that the employed approach can be used for engineering applications such as designing outfall systems and environmental impact assessment purposes. The calibrated model was used to investigate the effect of various effective factors on the mixing process such as lateral confinement, wave-flow interaction, wave dissipation factors and turbulence models. Lateral confinement was found to reduce the mixing potential of the outfall by 50% at the end of the near-field.

This thesis compares the impact of immigration on the political cultures of the town of High River, Alberta, and the city of Brooks, Alberta, from 1996 until 2012. High River and Brooks are located in southern Alberta, and are home to large meat processing facilities. Both municipalities experienced population growth from 1996 until 2012, but while the immigrant and non-permanent resident population of High River increased by 108.82% from 1996 until 2011, the immigrant and non- permanent resident population of Brooks increased by 368.38% in the same period. Two indicators of political engagement are used, including voting results from provincial elections held in 1997, 2001, 2004, and 2008. In addition, local newspaper publications are reviewed; the High River Times and The Brooks Bulletin are examined for two months preceding a provincial election, during the month of an election, and for one month following an election. Cette thèse fait une comparaison de l'impact de l'immigration sur les cultures politiques de High River, Alberta, et de Brooks, Alberta, entre 1996 et 2012 . High River et Brooks sont situés dans le sud de l'Alberta, et il y a des usines de transformation de la viande dans les deux villes. La population des deux municipalités a augmenté entre 1996 et 2012, mais bien que la population immigrante et de résidents non-permanents de High River ont augmenté de 108,82% entre 1996 et 2011, cette population de Brooks a augmenté de 368,38% dans le même période. Deux indicateurs d'engagement politique sont utilisés, y compris les résultats des élections provinciales tenues en 1997, 2001, 2004, et 2008. En outre, les publications des journaux locaux, le High River Times et The Brooks Bulletin, sont examines deux mois avant une élection provinciale, au cours du mois d'une élection, et pendant un mois après.

Ice plays an important role in hydraulic processes of rivers in cold regions such as Canada. The formation, progression, recession and breakup of river ice cover known as river ice processes affect river hydraulics, sediment transport characteristics as well as river morphology. Ice jamming and break up are responsible of winter flash floods, river bed modification and bank scour. River ice cover monitoring using terrestrial images from cameras installed on the shores can help monitor and understand river ice processes. In this study, the benefits of terrestrial monitoring of river ice using a camera installed on the shore are evaluated. A time-lapse camera system was installed during three consecutive winters at two locations on the shores of the Lower Nelson River, in Northern Manitoba and programmed to take an image of the river ice cover approximatively every hour. An image analysis algorithm was then developed to automatically extract quantitative characteristics of the river ice cover from the captured images. The developed algorithm consists of four main steps: preprocessing, image registration, georectification and river ice detection. The contributions of this thesis include the development of a novel approach for performing georectification while accounting for a fluctuating water surface elevation, and the use of categorization approach and a locally adaptive image thresholding technique for target detection. The developed algorithm was able to detect and quantify important river ice cover characteristics such as the area covered by ice, border ice progression and ablation rate, and river ice break up processes with an acceptable accuracy.

The slow rate of development in some of the regions of Ghana, and in fact of the developing countries, is partly-due to the lack of adequate and efficient transportation services. The provision of such services is greatly hindered by the excessive competition between transportation modes and the inexpedient allocation of capital resources for transport development. The utilization of the Volta Lake for the purposes of transportation will probably constitute a source of competition to existing modes of transportation, particularly roads. In order to make possible the use of this economical means of transport, ways must be found to integrate lake transport with existing systems, since water transport cannot function efficiently as a separate system. It is hypothesized that an integrated system of road, rail and lake transport can be used as a means of achieving the economic, physical and social objectives for the balanced regional development of the Volta Basin. In order to evaluate the potential development of transport integration and the possibilities of utilizing integrated transport facilities as a tool for achieving regional development, the concepts of transport integration and transport coordination are defined and reviewed. It is demonstrated that transport integration is concerned with the employment of each mode of transportation in the economic circumstances best suited to its characteristics. The concept of the region and the process of regional planning and development are also reviewed. The regional unit appropriate to planning in the developing countries is the 'uniform region', which is described in terms of its similar problem characteristics. Regional planning and development have evolved as a means of solving these problems and of ordering the natural and human resources in order to ensure balanced growth. The Volta Basin regional planning unit is determined to be viable for the purposes of development; however, for this study, the region is extended to include the Tamale Area in the north and the Accra-Tema Area in the southeast, because of the tremendous flow of traffic between the two areas. In order to investigate how Volta Lake transport could be integrated with road and railway systems, the case study approach is used. The principles of integrated transport development utilized in the U.S.S.R., and in the Tennessee Valley Region and the New York-New Jersey Metropolitan Area of the U.S.A. are reviewed. It is observed that an efficient transportation system is considered to be a means of achieving economic, physical and social development in these countries. The principles of transport integration in the U.S.S.R. include joint traffic scheduling, distribution of traffic among the various modes of transportation, rate structuring and a centralized system of control. A major limitation is the high-cost of transshipment. In the Tennessee Valley Region and in the New York-New Jersey Metropolitan Area of the U.S.A., transport integration is based on the principles of joint rate structuring and containership operations respectively. The use of containers eliminates the problem of transshipment; however, the basence of a coordinating body is a major drawback to transport integration in the Tennessee Valley Region. On the basis of these principles, a method for integrating Volta Lake transport with road and railway systems is proposed. The sources of potential traffic for Volta Lake transport are examined and it is concluded that there is a demand for a Volta Lake transportation system. The principles of integrated transport development employed in the U.S.S.R., the Tennessee Valley Region and the New York-New Jersey Metropolitan Area of the U.S.A. are considered to be relevant for application in the Volta Basin. The establishment of a Lake Transport Authority to implement integrated transport policies is recommended. It is concluded that an integrated transportation system will contribute both directly and indirectly to the regional objectives of economic development, the provision of better employment opportunities, a higher level of living, provision of community facilities and services and the rational distribution of settlements. / Applied Science, Faculty of / Community and Regional Planning (SCARP), School of / Graduate

Distress over pollution of natural water courses by industrial and domestic wastes is causing national concern. However, wastes must be disposed of by some method and these natural water courses have been and still are obvious sources for disposal. By careful study of the natural capacity of rivers and streams for assimilation of wastes, they can be used for disposal as long as this capacity is not exceeded. One method of determining this capacity without destroying the water course is by modeling the system mathematically to determine limits of pollution. This thesis contains the results of a preliminary study on the effect of the new Annacis Island Treatment Plant on coliform concentrations in the Fraser Estuary from Barnston Island to Garry Point. Mathematical formulas predicting coliform concentrations were used to computer simulate coliform profiles on the river. These results were then compared to present measured concentrations in the Estuary. Once a correlation between measured and simulated concentrations was established the effect of future discharges to the system could be simulated on the computer. / Applied Science, Faculty of / Civil Engineering, Department of / Graduate

This thesis is an investigation of the economic potential for use of 15,000 acres of land in the Kootenay River floodplain at Creston, British Columbia. The Kootenay River flows north into Canada through this floodplain and enters Kootenay Lake 20 miles north of the International Border. The total area of the floodplain between Kootenay Lake and the Border is approximately 36,000 acres, of which 20,000 acres have been reclaimed for agriculture. This study is concerned with 15,000 acres which remain undeveloped, 10,000 acres being provincial Crown land, and 5,000 being Indian Reserve. At present this land is inundated annually by the freshet of the Kootenay River. It provides an important link in the habitat requirements of migratory waterfowl, is used lightly by hunters and fishermen, and provides limited grazing for beef cattle before and after the freshet. The impending completion of Libby Dam, upstream on the Kootenay River at Libby, Montana, will reduce the extent of annual flooding and the costs associated with more intensive use of the land. Consequently, there is considerable interest in intensive development of this land, either for agriculture as with the rest of the floodplain, or as a wildlife management area for the production of wildlife and use in outdoor recreation. Resource managers face the problem of determining which of these alternatives represents the optimum land use. This is a difficult problem, and its solution requires that the benefits and costs associated with each alternative be reduced to a common basis for comparison. This study attempts to make such comparisons on a rigorous basis through the use of benefit-cost analysis. The feasibility of each land use alternative is assessed, and comparisons made on the basis of the net present worth of benefits minus costs. The principles of benefit-cost analysis are well developed, and its application is not difficult when project costs and benefits are adequately reflected in factor prices. Difficulties are encountered in the present study, however, where the output from development for wildlife and outdoor recreation is not marketed and there are no prices to reflect the values created. In analysing the wildlife-recreation alternative, values are imputed to the recreational opportunities using recently developed concepts in evaluating non-priced resource uses. While values are established for direct recreational use, other important aspects of the output under this development are not valued (the production of wildlife independent of recreational use, the preservation of rare species, the fulfillment of international obligations regarding migratory birds). The analysis of this alternative is thus restricted to a comparison between the full costs and only those benefits which are expressed in monetary terms. A further important issue is that the relevant measure of benefits and costs may differ, depending on the 'referent group' from whose point of view the analysis is conducted. To demonstrate the importance of this matter the analysis in this study is conducted from the point of view of three referent groups, the local Creston economy, the province of British Columbia, and Canada as a whole. The outcome of a benefit-cost analysis may also be sensitive to the discount rate adopted, and the sensitivity is tested in this study using rates of six, eight and 10 per cent. Despite the difficulties of expressing all costs and benefits in monetary terms, a rigorous analysis is undertaken and provides the basis for a clear choice of the optimum form of land use. Analysis of agricultural reclamation reveals it to be feasible, with net present values of primary and secondary benefits ranging from $2.4 million from the local perspective to $2.2 million from the provincial and national points of view. Offset against these tangible net benefits are the intangible costs associated with the destruction of existing wildlife habitat and wildlife species. Analysis of the wildlife-recreation development produces widely varying results, depending on the referent group adopted. The net present value of primary and secondary benefits is estimated at $2.1 million from the local viewpoint, $4.6 million provincially, and $7.3 million from the point of view of Canada as a whole. In addition to these quantified values, this development will produce important unmeasurable benefits. In comparing the two, the net benefits estimated for agricultural development can be interpreted as maximum values, ignoring as they do some of the costs associated with wildlife losses. The net benefits estimated from the wildlife-recreation development are regarded as minimum values, since important additional values associated with wildlife production are not quantified.. Viewed in this light the choice between alternatives favors the wildlife-recreation development from both provincial and national perspectives, but is less clear at the local level. Since a basic premise of the study is that the provincial viewpoint is appropriate for decision making, it is concluded that the wildlife-recreation development represents the optimum land use. / Arts, Faculty of / Vancouver School of Economics / Graduate

Assessments of the mesoscale variability of the insolation over the lower Fraser Valley have been hampered by the inadequate spatial resolution of the available pyranometric data. At present, the establishment of a dense ground-based observing network is economically infeasible. The adaptation of geostationary satellite data for estimating insolation is an attractive alternative. The ability of a simple physically-based model (Gautier et al., 1980) to resolve the hourly mesoscale insolation variability is evaluated. The satellite-based estimates are shown to be more coherent than the observed insolation. Discrepancies are attributed to the spatial averaging inherent in the satellite methodology. The estimates are found to be insensitive to spatial averaging down to a 3 x 3 pixel (about 13 km₂ ) scale. The effects of spatial averaging are believed to occur at smaller spatial scales. The satellite-based estimates generally display a good correspondence with the observed insolation. Maps of the mean hourly estimated insolation are obtained with a high degree of accuracy due to small systematic modelling errors. The inability of the model to distinguish between snow and cloud, and its sensitivity to variations in surface albedo introduce artifacts in maps of the clear sky insolation. On the other hand, the mesoscale variability of individual hourly fields cannot be resolved using 'the satellite-based approach. Errors for these estimates are so large that they obscure the variability of the insolation field. The usefulness of the mapping procedure appears to be limited to assessments of the average insolation. / Arts, Faculty of / Geography, Department of / Graduate

Knowledge of reproduction in the river otter, Lutra canadensis, and of the factors which control the reproductive cycle, is limited. The reproductive biology of river otters in the marine environment of British Columbia, and some of the factors which may influence their reproductive cycle, in particular, the effect of photoperiod, were examined. The changes that occurred in the anatomy, histology and endocrinology of the annual reproductive cycle were determined in wild (226 male, 146 female) and captive (9 male, 5 female) otters. Reproductive cycles were similar in both groups. As in the fresh-water environment, coastal otters are seasonal breeders with a prolonged, obligatory period of embryonic diapause prior to implantation. Changes were similar to those reported in other mustelids. In males, development of the seminiferous tubules was divided into a series of nine distinct phases used to quantify the degree of reproductive activity present. Testosterone concentrations were highly correlated to changes in testicular activity, and fell into the low end of the range of concentrations seen in mustelids. Vaginal smear types were found to identify correctly the reproductive state of female otters. Estradiol concentrations of captive otters were highly variable, but the values obtained and the pattern of secretion were similar to those of other carnivores. Although estradiol levels of captive otters were reduced in the final two years of the study, normal ovarian development occurred. During pregnancy, progesterone concentrations corresponded to changes observed in luteal cell cytology. I present evidence suggesting that female otters are monestrous, induced ovulators. The timing of reproductive events of otters in the marine environment was similar to those of otters inhabiting fresh water at comparable latitudes. Reproductive activity of males began in the late autumn and adults were capable of breeding from late January through mid-May. Females exhibited estrus from late February through mid-May, with the majority of matings probably occurring during March and April. After a nine to eleven month period of embryonic diapause, implantation occurred the subsequent February. Births occurred after an estimated two month gestation and parturient 1 otters mated during lactation. Male otters were sexually mature at the end of their second year. Only 55% of females bred at age class 2 and sexual maturity was delayed until the following year in the remainder of the females. Pregnancy rates were high among females over 3 years of age and ovulation rates were similar to those of other studies. To determine the influence of photoperiod on the timing of reproductive events, captive otters were exposed to increased photoperiods. With one exception, spermatogenesis and estrus occurred earlier under experimental conditions. My results suggest that the termination of embryonic diapause is also under photoperiodic control. Variations in temperature or food were not associated with changes in reproductive condition. This study suggests that photoperiod probably controls the timing of the reproductive cycle of otters in British Columbia. / Science, Faculty of / Zoology, Department of / Graduate

This thesis examines the influence of different degrees of serial correlation in the streamflow records on optimal operation of a hydroelectric reservoir. This thesis also investigates the practical aspects of choosing different decision variables, considering effects on ease of implementation, total benefit, and actual use for real-time operations. Stochastic dynamic programming was used to optimize the long-term operation of a hydroelectric project with a single reservoir. Reservoir inflows were analyzed using monthly flow record for 58 years with the assumption that monthly inflows are either perfectly correlated, uncorrelated, or partially correlated. Reservoir level change and powerhouse discharge were considered as alternative decision variables for each of the three cases of inflow serial correlation. The optimization results were then examined and compared to determine the significance of the choice of decision variables and to explore the effects of inflow serial correlation on practical operating decisions which might be based on the results of the optimization. It was found that (1) Case 2 in which inflows were assumed perfectly correlated and Case 3 with partially correlated inflows produce, respectively, highest and lowest total expected return, (2) the difference in total expected return between cases depends largely upon the physical characteristics of the system, (3) the reservoir level change decision case produces more conservative results than the discharge decision case, (4) the results from the reservoir level change decision are easier to use for realtime operation than those from the discharge decision case, (5) different results will be produced with different choice of decision variables. / Applied Science, Faculty of / Civil Engineering, Department of / Graduate

This study investigates channel bed scour and fill as a result of individual flood events in a gravel-bed channel. Given the complexity of interactions between hydraulic force, the texture and arrangement of bed material, and input of sediment to a particular point of the channel bed, study objectives were pursued with the view that bed material movement is a stochastic phenomenon. A two-year field program was conducted in Carnation Creek, a small gravel-bed stream draining 11 km2 on the west coast of Vancouver Island, British Columbia. In the 900 m study reach, an array of measurement techniques, including scour indicators, magnetically-tagged stones, and conventional survey, yielded information about the fluctuations of the channel bed elevation and movement of scoured material for individual flooding periods. Frequency distributions of scour and fill depths associated with individual flooding periods are adequately modeled by negative exponential functions over the range of flood peak magnitudes observed in Carnation Creek. Analysis of scour depths measured in streams on the Queen Charlotte Islands demonstrates the applicability of the exponential model to flooding periods and flood seasons. Further, exploratory analysis suggests that a regional scour depth model is possible. Power functions relating mean depths of scour and fill to flood peak discharge show that depth increases with an increase in peak magnitude. Observed maximum scour depths in flooding periods are linked, in general, to streambed conditions influenced by antecedent flow conditions. These patterns in scour and fill exist within an overall pattern of increasing variability in depths of scour and fill as peak discharge increases. Evaluation of a heuristic model for mean travel distance as a function of particle size proposed by Church and Hassan (1992) provides convincing evidence for its general merit. Mean travel distance decreases inversely with particle size as size increases beyond the median diameter of subsurface sediment. This trend is consistent in both individual flooding periods as well as flood seasons. The majority of material finer than the median diameter of surface sediment is supplied from subsurface material, which influences the travel distances of these finer fractions because of burial. Computation of volumetric transport rates of bed material, based on the active scour depth and width of the channel bed, the virtual velocity of particle movement, and sediment porosity, suggests the potential for building scale correlations with streamflow, which have usually been defined by bedload sampling during floods. Error analysis indicates that determination of active width contributes most significantly to the imprecision of transport rate estimates. Results underscore the stochastic nature of sediment transport in gravel-bed channels. / Arts, Faculty of / Geography, Department of / Graduate