Danielle Loiselle

In September 2017, I joined the Watershed Science and Modeling Laboratory as a Master of Science student. My research involves creating a hydrological model of the southern Alberta Elbow River watershed in order to gain a better understanding of water and nutrient cycling in this region. The Elbow River water resource originates in the Rocky Mountains, and is under high demand as it provides approximately half of Calgary’s drinking water along with water for irrigation and recreational use, therefore it is important to understand the impacts of human activity and climate change on the watershed. In order to accomplish this, I created a comprehensive hydrological model of the Elbow River watershed using Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) software. The model simulates surface and groundwater interactions based on factors such as topography, various land uses, soil types, vegetation cover and decades of climate data. SWAT also simulates sediment transport and nutrient cycling. The focus of this study is the transport of organic carbon within the watershed and analyzing the potential impacts of wildfires, climate change and land use change on water quality.

Email: ddloiselle@ualberta.ca