At the end of September 2023, we organized and completed a day in the field with the Aspen researchers and partners. In attendance were representatives from Imperial Oil, Ducks Unlimited Canada, Athabasca University, University of Calgary and the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology.
The purpose of this tour was to review progress in the field and the objectives of the project to partners, and to receive advice and ideas from partners. We started the day with a safety meeting and some early morning stretches to ward off the cooler temperatures.
We then travelled up the road to see some of the transects of wells and piezometers installed by Joseph, and the collars installed by Veronica. We also had a stop at the eddy covariance tower. Scott Ketcheson talked to us about how the road might impact the function of two different types of wetlands: a shrubby fen and a wooded conifer fen. It was a fun walk, especially for some who have never walked in peat before!
After a well deserved lunch and chat, we all drove to the nearby peat stockpile. Bin Xu introduced us to their project, investigating the erosion and hydrology of the stockpiled peat. We were all taken aback by the very strong winds in this wide open area!
We then ended the day and went our separate ways with many new ideas and questions that we will work towards answering in the next few years!
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