Positions
Education
Languages spoken
- French
Teaching Areas
Undergraduate Programs
- Biology
- Biology and Chemistry
- Environmental Science
- Geography and Geology
- Chemistry
Graduate Studies
- Environmental Science/Studies, MESc/MES
Graduate Supervision
Accepting Students for Supervision
Guidelines or Expectations for Prospective Students
I currently supervise undergraduate students in Geography and Environmental Sciences and graduate students in the Masters of Environmental Science program at Nipissing University. My research group focuses on studies of watershed hydrology, water quality and in-lake processes in Precambrian Shield watersheds.
Supervised Theses / Projects
- W. MacKenzie. 2026. Examining the impact of a highway on Northern Ontario water quality using high frequency specific conductivity measurements. Thesis. Master of Environmental Sciences, Nipissing University.
- F. Eebo. 2025. Estimating the Fraction of Young Water in Streamflow in Mesoscale Precambrian Shield Catchments in Northeastern, ON, CA. Thesis. Master of Environmental Sciences, Nipissing University.
- R. Snider. 2024. Examining Total Phosphorus Concentrations in The Whitson River Watershed, Sudbury, Ontario, Canada. Major Research Paper. Master of Environmental Science, Nipissing University.
- Y. Yang, 2022. Application of High Frequency Surrogate Modeling of Instream Chloride to Improve Understanding of Cl Mobilization in Cottage Country, ON, CA. Thesis. Master of Environmental Sciences, Nipissing University.
- A. Tafvizi, 2023. Using Stable Water Isotopes and Isotope-enabled Hydrological Modelling to Quantify Water in Central and Northeastern Ontario. PhD Dissertation, Boreal Ecology. Laurentian University.
- K Montgomery. 2023. Evaluating Source Water Contributions to Streamflow in a Mixed Landuse Precambrian Shield Watershed in the Sudbury Region. Thesis. Master of Environmental Science, Nipissing University.
- R. Jones. 2020. Internal Phosphorus Loading and Anoxia in the Polymictic Embayment, Callander Bay, Lake Nipissing. Thesis. Master of Environmental Science, Nipissing University.
- J. White, 2020. Effects of Antecedent Moisture Conditions and Seasonality on Phosphorus Concentration and Loading in an Agricultural Boreal Shield Watershed. Thesis. Master of Environmental Sciences, Nipissing University.
Research
Research Interests
Impacts of environmental change on water cycling in Precambrian Boreal Shield watersheds and lakes; studies of water quality and quantity in Boreal Shield watersheds
Current Research Projects / Labs
- The Watershed Hydrology Lab supports field, laboratory and modeling research activities in watershed hydrology, in-lake and weather monitoring.
- Laboratory facilities include:
a L2120-i Picarro isotope liquid water analyzer for analyses of water samples (liquid and vapor) for stable isotope ratios of 18O/16O, and D/H.
a Millipore DI water purification system and cold storage for additional off-site analyses (e.g. cation, anion, trace element, TOC). - Field research equipment includes HOBO meteorological stations, streamflow monitoring packages (Isco auto-sampler, raingage, pressure transducer, YSI EC/Temperature probe), a flowtraker Aquacalc 5000, groundwater recording equipment (water level meter, capacitance rods) and sampling instrumentation (peristaltic pump), soil moisture monitoring probes, a field-portable constant head permeameter, and soil auger kit.
- In-lake monitoring equipment include two Fondriest CB-405S Data Buoys equipped with thermistor chains, EXO2 Sonde and sensors (EC, T, pH, total algae, turbidity), CSI data loggers, and on-buoy weather instrumentation (wind speed/direction, RH, rain). Field projects are also supported by a field truck and a 24 ft research vessel.
Grants & Funding
- NORAD military legacies: Making visible the compounded historical and present-day effects of PFAS on our shared land, water, and food resources. SSHRC - Insight. 2026-2031.
- Scaling Hydrologic Processes In Mixed Land Use Precambrian Shield Catchments: Mapping Variability in Young Water Fraction, Storage and Chloride Mobilization. NSERC Discovery. 2024-2029.
Open to Media Inquiries
Publications
Yao et al. 2025. Spatiotemporal changes of atmospheric depositions over 43 years in south-central Ontario. Atm. Env., 351, 121096.
Montgomery et al. 2024. Constraining seasonal and spatial ambient and urban groundwater contributions to streamflow across a mixed land-use regional-scale Precambrian Shield watershed. J Hydrol. v644, Nov. 2024, 1322048.
Tafvizi et al. 2024. Evaluating the Significance of Wetland Representation in Isotope-Enabled Distributed Hydrological Modeling in Mesoscale Precambrian Shield Watersheds. J Hydrol. v637, June 2024, 131377.
Snider et al. 2022. Chloride and Total Phosphorus Budgets for Lake Nipissing and the French River Tributary of Georgian Bay, Lake Huron, Ontario, Canada. J Great Lakes Res. Doi.org/10.1016/j.jglr.2022.05.015.
Tafvizi et al. 2022. Investigating hydrologic controls on 26 Precambrian Shield catchments using landscape, isotope tracer and flow metrics. Hydrol. Proc., DOI: 10.1002/hyp.14528.