Cascade is pleased to announce the addition of a new service for our valued current and future clients. We now have the capacity to assess the long term impact of watershed development through the application of paleolimnological methods. This new service provides a rapid assessment of lakes and watersheds that cuts down on the need for long term monitoring of these systems.

Thanks in part to the National Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada’s (NSERC) Engage Grant, Cascade hosted two researchers, Dr. Ian Spooner and Graduate Student Dewey Dunnington from Acadia University during the summer of 2014. Their research focuses on developing methods for the rapid determination of the impact of watershed development and environmental change on small lakes. In Eastern Canada researchers in Dr. Spooner’s lab at Acadia University use paleolimnology methods in combination with innovative tools such as gravity corers, portable XRF and stable isotopes to quickly distinguish between natural lake water quality and conditions influenced by anthropogenic activity.

Building on our partnership with Acadia University, Cascade will be incorporating these paleolimnologial methods into our services. A change to the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act (CEAA) in 2012 now requires that lake assessment studies be completed within a year. Standard limnology services involve collecting water samples and surface sediment samples and monitoring over several years and multiple times per year, the results of which only provide a snap shot of lake conditions at the time of sampling. Cascade, with assistance from Dr. Spooner and his lab, has the ability to efficiently predict climate change and assess the long term impact of watershed development on lakes throughout Canada.