This study is concerned with a 29km long barrier island system along the New Brunswick coast of Kouchibouguac Bay. Over the past 150 years these islands have been retreating shorewards and have been affected by storm wave action. The changes in the island configuration, the characteristics of the island topography and the seasonal variations in the beach profile suggests that these islands are similar to better known ones along the United States coastline. The sediment characteristics of these islands reveal that there is an interplay of wind and wave processes on the sands, an interplay that is constantly mixing beach, dune and lagoon sands. The dominant southwest winds in summer cause most of the beach and dune sands to take on the characteristics of wind affected sands while the fall and spring storms impart characteristics of wave deposition to the beach sands at these times. The sediment characteristics revealed seasonal changes in the islands but simulation modelling of the energy distribution of waves in the bay after wave refraction accounts for most of the long term change in the island configuration. This modelling emphasizes field work which revealed that not all parts of the islands are affected by the same storm waves. Nort-northeast waves have a better chance of affecting the southern part of the bay while more easterly approaching waves will only influence the northern part. Over a period of time form 1894 to 1964, wave refraction modelling also shows that much of the change in the configuration of South Beach can be accounted for by wave refraction over a changing offshore bathymetry. Storm wave action thus accounts for most of the change in island configuration but the change around the inlets is most likely dependent upon the ability of these inlets to maintain stability at all times. Richibucto Inlet has achieved a stable equilibrium between the strength of the tidal currents passing through the inlet and the amount of incoming longshore drift, so that its position has remained static over the last 30 years. It is unlikely that Blacklands Gully or Little Gully have achieved this stability. / Thesis / Master of Science (MS)

Remote sensing imagery has proven useful in studying the coastal geomorphology of les Iles de la Madeleine. Standard panchromatic photography provided the basis for mapping of the island and aided in the interpretation of the evolution of this tombolo system. This study presents a systematic evaluation of five types of remotely sensed data: (1) colour infrared photography, (2) conventional colour photography, (3) panchromatic photography (red and green bands), (4) black and white infrared photography and (5) thermal line scan imagery as applied to the southern portion of les Iles de la Madeleine. The results of this study have shown that beach investigations are enhanced through the use of multisensor imagery, and that colour infrared provides the best single source for data aquisition. / Thesis / Bachelor of Arts (BA)

Mémoire numérisé par la Division de la gestion de documents et des archives de l'Université de Montréal.

The St. Lawrence Seaway and Power Project, built cooperatively between 1954 and 1959 by Canada and the United States, is the largest navigable inland waterway in the world and the largest borderlands project ever undertaken jointly by two countries. This thesis combines diplomatic, political, and environmental history to chart the course of domestic and international negotiations, particularly in the 1945-1954 period, that resulted in the bilateral 1954 agreement to build the seaway. The focus is on the Canadian federal government and to a lesser extent the U.S. federal government, as well as involved state and provincial governments and their public power utilities. These negotiations are extremely revealing in terms of the history of Canadian-American relations, and this thesis also examines issues connected to North American attitudes toward water resources, state-building, high modernism, and technology in the early Cold War period. After a number of failed attempts at a cooperative waterway, in the late 1940s the Liberal government of Louis St. Laurent began to explore the possibility of an all-Canadian seaway, and backed by widespread public support, had adopted this as policy by 1952. The drive for an all-Canadian seaway stemmed from various forms of nationalism which framed the St. Lawrence as an exclusively “Canadian” resource that was intimately tied to Canadian identity. However, the Truman administration and different American interests deemed a unilateral Canadian waterway to be an economic and national security threat to the United States, and delayed the requisite power licenses needed for Canada to undertake the transborder St. Lawrence project. Canada partly contributed to this situation by repeatedly making vague offers to leave the door open for American involvement in the hopes that this would expedite the hydro aspect of the project. The Eisenhower administration also stalled Ottawa’s efforts to “go it alone” until American participation was finally sanctioned by Congress in 1954 and the requisite licenses were granted. The St. Laurent government then reluctantly acquiesced to the American desire for a joint endeavour in order to maintain harmonious Canada-U.S. relations, although Canada did extract key concessions from Washington about the shape and placement of the project.

Fires in buildings ranging in size from small residential houses to large office buildings and sports stadiums pose significant threats to human safety. Many advances have been made in the area of fire behaviour modeling and have lead to much safer, and more efficient fire protection engineering designs, saving countless lives. Fire, however, is still a difficult phenomenon to accurately model and the most important quantity used to describe a fire is the heat (energy) release rate (HRR). Predictions of the fire hazard posed by mattresses, using relatively simple modeling techniques, were investigated in this research work and compared to full-scale experimental results. Specifically, several common methods of predicting the HRR from a mattress fire were examined. Current spatial separation guidelines, which exist in order to mitigate fire spread between buildings, were used to predict radiation heat flux levels emitted by a burning building and compared to experimental results measured in the field. Enclosure ceiling temperatures, predicted using the Alpert temperature correlation, and average hot gas layer temperature predictions were also compared to experimental results. Results from this work indicate that the t-squared fire heat release rate modeling technique combined with the common Alpert ceiling temperature correlation, provide a reasonable prediction of real-life fire temperatures as results within 30% were obtained. The cone calorimeter was also found to be a useful tool in the prediction of full-scale fire behaviour and the guidelines used for spatial separation calculations were found to predict the radiant heat flux emitted by a burning building reasonably well.

The St. Lawrence Seaway and Power Project, built cooperatively between 1954 and 1959 by Canada and the United States, is the largest navigable inland waterway in the world and the largest borderlands project ever undertaken jointly by two countries. This thesis combines diplomatic, political, and environmental history to chart the course of domestic and international negotiations, particularly in the 1945-1954 period, that resulted in the bilateral 1954 agreement to build the seaway. The focus is on the Canadian federal government and to a lesser extent the U.S. federal government, as well as involved state and provincial governments and their public power utilities. These negotiations are extremely revealing in terms of the history of Canadian-American relations, and this thesis also examines issues connected to North American attitudes toward water resources, state-building, high modernism, and technology in the early Cold War period. After a number of failed attempts at a cooperative waterway, in the late 1940s the Liberal government of Louis St. Laurent began to explore the possibility of an all-Canadian seaway, and backed by widespread public support, had adopted this as policy by 1952. The drive for an all-Canadian seaway stemmed from various forms of nationalism which framed the St. Lawrence as an exclusively “Canadian” resource that was intimately tied to Canadian identity. However, the Truman administration and different American interests deemed a unilateral Canadian waterway to be an economic and national security threat to the United States, and delayed the requisite power licenses needed for Canada to undertake the transborder St. Lawrence project. Canada partly contributed to this situation by repeatedly making vague offers to leave the door open for American involvement in the hopes that this would expedite the hydro aspect of the project. The Eisenhower administration also stalled Ottawa’s efforts to “go it alone” until American participation was finally sanctioned by Congress in 1954 and the requisite licenses were granted. The St. Laurent government then reluctantly acquiesced to the American desire for a joint endeavour in order to maintain harmonious Canada-U.S. relations, although Canada did extract key concessions from Washington about the shape and placement of the project.

In contemporary North America, death is contained within a network of cemeteries, crematoria and funeral homes. Death-space and its associative funeral rituals are both sacred and abject resulting in marginalization that adversely affects how the living understand their mortality. Our perception of death influences our place in the world and funeral ritual facilitates our departure from it. In most cities, the funeral home houses this liminal ritual, while also providing the clinical handling and processing of the deceased body. Investigation of the funeral home and its role within the city addresses how architecture can influence cultural views on death. Through the funeral home there is an opportunity to balance the seemingly opposing narratives of the living and the deceased by bringing them together for the funeral. In the City of Toronto, the density of its diverse neighbourhoods is not reflected by a proportionate number of local funeral homes. This thesis proposes a non-denominational space for funeral ritual and cremation within the dense St. Lawrence Neighbourhood. The placement of the Funeral Centre satisfies the practical requirements of this growing community, while the adjacency to the St. Lawrence Market juxtaposes the vibrancy of the ordinary and the solemnity of the sacred. This proposal extends into a network for the scattering of ashes throughout the city aiming to reconnect people to the realities of their existence.

Fires in buildings ranging in size from small residential houses to large office buildings and sports stadiums pose significant threats to human safety. Many advances have been made in the area of fire behaviour modeling and have lead to much safer, and more efficient fire protection engineering designs, saving countless lives. Fire, however, is still a difficult phenomenon to accurately model and the most important quantity used to describe a fire is the heat (energy) release rate (HRR). Predictions of the fire hazard posed by mattresses, using relatively simple modeling techniques, were investigated in this research work and compared to full-scale experimental results. Specifically, several common methods of predicting the HRR from a mattress fire were examined. Current spatial separation guidelines, which exist in order to mitigate fire spread between buildings, were used to predict radiation heat flux levels emitted by a burning building and compared to experimental results measured in the field. Enclosure ceiling temperatures, predicted using the Alpert temperature correlation, and average hot gas layer temperature predictions were also compared to experimental results. Results from this work indicate that the t-squared fire heat release rate modeling technique combined with the common Alpert ceiling temperature correlation, provide a reasonable prediction of real-life fire temperatures as results within 30% were obtained. The cone calorimeter was also found to be a useful tool in the prediction of full-scale fire behaviour and the guidelines used for spatial separation calculations were found to predict the radiant heat flux emitted by a burning building reasonably well.

Mémoire numérisé par la Division de la gestion de documents et des archives de l'Université de Montréal

The St. Lawrence Seaway and Power Project, built cooperatively between 1954 and 1959 by Canada and the United States, is the largest navigable inland waterway in the world and the largest borderlands project ever undertaken jointly by two countries. This thesis combines diplomatic, political, and environmental history to chart the course of domestic and international negotiations, particularly in the 1945-1954 period, that resulted in the bilateral 1954 agreement to build the seaway. The focus is on the Canadian federal government and to a lesser extent the U.S. federal government, as well as involved state and provincial governments and their public power utilities. These negotiations are extremely revealing in terms of the history of Canadian-American relations, and this thesis also examines issues connected to North American attitudes toward water resources, state-building, high modernism, and technology in the early Cold War period. After a number of failed attempts at a cooperative waterway, in the late 1940s the Liberal government of Louis St. Laurent began to explore the possibility of an all-Canadian seaway, and backed by widespread public support, had adopted this as policy by 1952. The drive for an all-Canadian seaway stemmed from various forms of nationalism which framed the St. Lawrence as an exclusively “Canadian” resource that was intimately tied to Canadian identity. However, the Truman administration and different American interests deemed a unilateral Canadian waterway to be an economic and national security threat to the United States, and delayed the requisite power licenses needed for Canada to undertake the transborder St. Lawrence project. Canada partly contributed to this situation by repeatedly making vague offers to leave the door open for American involvement in the hopes that this would expedite the hydro aspect of the project. The Eisenhower administration also stalled Ottawa’s efforts to “go it alone” until American participation was finally sanctioned by Congress in 1954 and the requisite licenses were granted. The St. Laurent government then reluctantly acquiesced to the American desire for a joint endeavour in order to maintain harmonious Canada-U.S. relations, although Canada did extract key concessions from Washington about the shape and placement of the project.