Mike Waddington 🇨🇦

Is this the moment Canada gets serious about science and the economy? The federal budget includes $1.7-billion to attract international researchers and support Canadian R&D and IP protections

Fund the scientists who are already here. Fund basic science.
Fund the scientists who are already here. Fund basic science.
Fund the scientists who are already here. Fund basic science.
Fund the scientists who are already here. Fund basic science.

www.theglobeandmail.com/business/art...

I’m still figuring out bluesky… but with the goal of more easily finding information I’m interested in, I started a feed and associated starter pack for Hydrological Processes as well as Hydrological Extremes. Please let me know if you want to be added to the starter pack! bsky.app/profile/did:...

Happy Halloween!

Our latest #PeatPaper published in Hydrological Processes and led by MSc student Maia Moore!

“Ecohydrological Controls on Post-Fire Sphagnum Moss Recovery in Boreal Shield Peatlands”

onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...

The Conversation article that @avnimalh0tra.bsky.social and I wrote about the PeatPic Project and the power of harnessing people, community science and the importance of research networks is now online too

theconversation.com/harnessing-t...

#Peatlands #PeatColour

🚨New Paper 🚨
The PeatPic Project: Predicting plot-scale green leaf #phenology across #peatlands

So happy to see this paper online — one of my favourite projects!

We explored how to capture how peatlands change colour using smartphones and community science!

iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1...

Congratulations Paul! Well deserved. It seems like yesterday when you were here in the MAC Ecohydro Lab (2010).

For over 15 years the McMaster Ecohydro Lab has awarded the #NobelPeatPrize to the authors of the best peatland or peat paper of the year.

It’s that time of year again where we review papers and finalize a list of nominees.

Do you have a fave paper for 2025 you would like us to consider?

Back from a visit to 🇸🇪 🇫🇮 & 🇪🇪!

Enjoyed meeting ecology, biogeochem, and hydrology researchers to talk about #peatland wildfire, restoration, and resilience.

Sweden’s two #NobelPeatPrize laureates (Gustaf Granath, Betty Ehnvall) were in the audience of my Uppsala Uni seminar.

New #PeatPaper by Lees et al. in #HydrologicalProcesses

"The Sponge Analogy Problem: Moving Towards Clearer Communication of Peatland Hydrological Processes"

#peatlands #hydrology #scicomm

onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...

Interested in canoeing, Canadian Wilderness, the barren lands, the North? I can only warmly recommend this fascinating book by my friend and hydrology colleague Jim McNamara @jpmboise.bsky.social. You can SEE the landscape and hear the clicking of the caribou

I started working at MAC 30 years ago this week teaching courses for two geography legends: hydrology (M-k. Woo) and biogeography (G. MacDonald). That experience and mentoring from Profs Woo and Rouse helped shape a research career in the emerging (at that time) field of ecohydrology. #BestJobEver

And a little more organized now

Well, well, well (and a few piezometers too).

A peatland ecohydrologist’s backyard!

Those who know, know.

Our latest paper!

Regional Wildfire Smoke Reduces Boreal Forest Carbon Uptake

Van Huizen et al.

Smoke-related inhibition of photosynthesis via reduced light availability should be considered when quantifying the net impacts of boreal wildfires on net radiative forcing & carbon balance

Cumulative Net Ecosystem Exchange (NEE) observed at the eddy covariance tower for DOY 128–168 in years 2009–2011. Note the large decrease around DOY 138 in 2011 due to wildfire smoke.

New paper out - Regional wildfire smoke reduces boreal forest
carbon uptake

iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1...

Wildfires are a source of carbon and they can reduce the carbon sink from the forest. Cumulative Net Ecosystem Exchange (NEE) shows a big drop in 2011 Day 138 due to wildfire smoke.

Mer Bleue Bog 'filled with bombs' according to new drone scans | CBC News A recent project by Carleton University graduate students used drones to search for magnetic signals linked to unexploded bombs in the Mer Bleue Bog, which was used as a practice bombing range in the ...

There is the peatland carbon bomb and then there are bombs in the peatland!

www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...

Canadian wildfire numbers and status https://www.ciffc.ca/

Map of Canada showing location and status of wildfires https://www.ciffc.ca/

Canada now has over 500 out of control (OC) wildfires (299 Monitored and 208 Actioned =507 OC fires). These numbers are similar to the 2023 record smashing season except this year only half the country is on fire.

Q: How does a peat scientist that enjoys adventure spend the #WorldBogDay weekend?

A: 180+ km of trekking, paddling, MTB, and orienteering across the peaty northern Ontario landscape at the Wilderness Traverse 24 hour Adventure Race.

Completed the full course again!

📷: L. Moreira, M. Ashmore

🌿 New in IJWF:

Belcher et al. explore seasonal changes in flammability across UK heathlands, showing that live fuel moisture dynamics drive shifts in fire behaviour. Their fuel modelling reveals up to 4× differences in fire spread based on phenology.
👉 doi.org/10.1071/WF24...

#IJWildlandFire

Canadian wetlands are treasures that deserve protection Canada is home to a quarter of the world’s remaining wetlands. Despite decades of efforts, wetlands continue to be under threat around the world.

COP15 of the Ramsar Convention starts today. Here in Canada we have the privilege of being home to a quarter of the world's remaining wetlands. Let's not forget what a treasure they are.
theconversation.com/canadian-wet...

Check out our new paper "Ecohydrological drivers of Boreal Shield peatland fire refugia" in Ecohydrology.

Authors: Alex Tekatch, Chantel Markle, Sophie Wilkinson, Paul Moore, @mercury-ecohydro.bsky.social, @peatofmind.bsky.social

onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...

Carbon emissions from Canada's wildfires are spiking. But that's not counting our vast peatlands | CBC News A new government model to estimate peatland emissions and their impact on climate change could provide a new perspective on the problem — and spark new discussions about solutions.

CBC getting the word out there on peatland wildfire emissions, an increasingly important topic as fire seasons keep getting worse in Canada.
www.cbc.ca/news/science...

CBC story on Canadian peatlands and wildfire featuring @gregverkaik.bsky.social @olefeldt.bsky.social @wetland-ghg.bsky.social

Great day for bays!
Hole-in-the-Wall, Big Sound, Georgian Bay.

Hydrology Paper of the Day @gregverkaik.bsky.social @micaheckert.bsky.social @peatofmind.bsky.social on how changes to drainage and spatial burn patterns affected biogeochemical cycles and vegetation cover in a peatland: depth of burn, carbon loss, and burn severity in context of a fuel load model.

Map of Canada showing locations of fires and their status as of july 12, 2025

Area burned in Canada for 2025 is now at 5.6 M ha exceeding the total for the entire 2024 fire season. This fire season is not as bad as 2023 that had 9.37 M ha burned by July 12, 2023. However, 2025 is a very active year with 365 fires out of control and 2 months still left in the fire season.

Digging deep: Fieldwork helping Canada prepare for a hotter, drier future Greg Verkaik's research aims to better understand how peatlands influence wildfire behaviour - and how we can reduce the risk of wildfires.

As Canada braces for another intense wildfire season, Greg Verkaik is digging into how drying peatlands are fuelling deep-burning fires. His fieldwork is providing critical insight in a warming world.

More: brighterworld.mcmaster.ca/articles/fie...

#Wildfires #Peatlands #McMasterExperts