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Our group works on three overarching research goals:
- Contribute to the basic understanding of flow and turbulence in complex canopies (urban, forest). Specifically, develop methods to spatially sample, quantify, visualize and model flow and turbulent exchange in those canopies.
- Develop experimental sampling methods, analysis strategies, and models to quantify greenhouse gas emissions and uptake in urban and other managed ecosystems.
- Develop models that describe and predict energy and water exchange in urban ecosystems with the aim to promote more sustainable design and management practices for cities.
 EPiCC - Environmental Prediction in Canadian Cities
In this network researchers from Universities and government institutions develop and incorporate an urban surface parameterization scheme in Canada's numerical weather forecasting system. As part of this effort, we run a validation field experiment in Vancouver (2007-2010) and focus on the role of irrigation in the urban water, energy and carbon balance.
funded by the Canadian Foundation for Climate and Atmospheric Sciences (CFCAS) - 2007 to 2012. Selected collaborators: Environment Canada, McGill University, King's College London, Univeristy of Western Ontario.
 A spectroscopy system for measuring isotopic carbon-dioxide fluxes in the urban atmosphere.
The urban carbon cycle is distinct from most other terrestrial ecosystems due to the interaction between spatially and temporally highly variable sources and sinks and complex anthropogenic, biologic, and climatic controls. This infrastructure grant funds a tunable diode laser absorption spectroscopy system that will allow us to develop methods for a partitioning of urban carbon-dioxide exchange based on a stable isotope apporach. Read more...
funded by the Canadian Foundation for Innovation (CFI), the British Columbia Knowledge Development Fund and UBC - 2009 - 2014.
 TerreWEB: Terrestrial Research on Ecosystems & World-wide Education & Broadcast
This NSERC CREATE network will establish novel graduate student education at UBC that will focus on global change science
and bring together the fields of natural sciences research, behavioral decision research and science communication.
TerreWEB aims to answer questions and find solutions to why there has been so little change in public behavior and
government policy despite the challenges presented by global climate change. Students will learn to develop strategies
for communicating global change science and solutions.
. Read more...
funded by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) - 2011 to 2016.
Co-Applicants: S. Simard, S. Aitken, A. Black, G. Bradfield, A. Christen, M. Johnson, M. Krzic, D. McKinney, C. E. Prescott, T.T. Satterfield, R. Talalay.
Former research projects
 A LIDAR-based urban metabolism approach to neighbourhood scale energy and carbon emissions modelling
A interdisciplinary team of UBC faculty from Geography, Architecture and Landscape Arcitecture, and Forestry develops an urban metabolism approach to neighbourhood-scale energy and carbon modelling driven by an innovative combination of remote sensing observations, building energy models, transportation modelling and a verficiation against flux tower data.
A research contract with Natural Resources Canada - 2010.
Co-Applicants: R. Kellett, N. Coops
 Impact of the mountain pine beetle outbreak on the carbon and water balances of lodgepole pine stands in the BC interior
This research project brings together atmospheric scientists, ecologists from Universities and the BC Ministry of Forestry to assess the impact of different forest management strategies following Mountain Pine Beetle attacks. Our component will assess changes in the wind, turbulence and radiation climate relevant for carbon uptake and release at the stand level. This is needed to model growth conditions and as a basis for assessing the impact of the different management strategies on the carbon cycle. Read more...
funded by a Strategic Grant of the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) - 2009 to 2011.
Co-Applicants: A. Black, P. Burton, A. Christen, N. Coops, A. Fredeen, D. Spittlehouse, J. Trofymow.
 Turbulence at rough and porous land-atmosphere interfaces
In this program we completed a series of field experiments to improve and foster theoretical understanding of turbulence and turbulent exchange processes at and above rough and partially porous surface-atmosphere interfaces (vegetation canopies, cities) using an array of ultrasonic-anemometers. Further we develop new approaches to track organized structures using thermography. Read more about some selected experiments...
funded by a Discovery Grant and a Research Tools and Instruments Grant of the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) - 2007 to 2012.
 HX 06
In this field experiment we investigated turbulence and trace-gas exchange in the trunk space of a forest. We probed the in-canopy flow with a planar array of ultrasonic-anemometers and gas-analyzers to determine selected spatial statistics of the flow in the deep canopy layer.
A project at TU Berlin in collaboration with Universities of Basel, Freiburg and Padova - 2006
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