The project
You’ve probably already observed a change in the weather as you drove out of town. But how do you explain this phenomenon?
Human activities and the water cycle
Recent studies have highlighted the strong impact of urban heat islands, building density and human activities – anthropogenic emissions of water vapour and aerosols – on the formation and trajectory of precipitation in urban environments. Knowledge of the mechanisms that impact the urban water cycle remains limited, since it is difficult to make representative measurements of the entire territory of large metropolises like Montreal.
With the acceleration of urbanization, it is becoming urgent to find a suitable method to study, understand and predict the impact of these phenomena on our water resources.
Observe the infinitely small
To improve the knowledge in this field, we wish to take advantage of original scientific tools: the natural isotopes of the water molecule.
By visualizing minute differences in the mass of the nuclei of the atoms in the water molecule, isotope analyses provide important information for reconstructing the history of rainwater. We will use them as tracers of rainfall change in urban areas.
By observing the infinitely small, this particularly powerful tool will allow us to better understand the various mechanisms that control the dynamics of urban precipitation. With your help, we will be able to understand how the city impacts rainfall distribution and forces local climate changes (urban environment), at various spatial and temporal scales.
How to contribute?
To carry out this research, we need volunteers to sample the rainfall, which will then be analyzed in our laboratories at Geotop, a research center on Earth system dynamics.
Think you can improve our network coverage?
Your contribution could really make a difference in this project!
Your role will be to set up a small precipitation collection device – the size of a birdhouse – on your property, in your garden or yard, for a full year. We will ask you to place a sample bottle in the equipment for a few hours or days. You will then deposit this bottle at UQAM, for the Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences of UQAM, within a few days following the event.
Our results will then be communicated to you through our website and newsletters. This will help us to show how the climate may have been altered by urbanization in your area, and to improve our knowledge of the urban water cycle. By understanding the extent to which cities disrupt precipitation, we can work together to develop adaptation and management measures for the urban water cycle.
Want to participate in our collection network? Sign up here. Our city needs you!
In the media
