Ducks Unlimited Canada and Canadian Light Source partnership to shed light on wetlands

Using the power of synchrotron light to better understand and protect Canada's wetlands is the objective of an agreement signed today between Ducks Unlimited Canada (DUC) and the Canadian Light Source (CLS),Canada's national synchrotron facility.

Under the agreement, Native Plants Solutions (NPS), DUC's environmental consulting division, will have access to the CLS's synchrotron science techniques where intense beams of light are created to probe the nature and structure of matter. By using synchrotron technology, NPS can study the constituents within water, soil, biota and air to develop restoration, reclamation and remediation activities.

"Ducks Unlimited Canada is committed to forming partnerships that support sustainable development and focus on scientific data that protect wetland systems and their associated habitats," says Jamie Fortune, acting CEO for DUC. "Through this exciting partnership with Canadian Light Source, we hope to better understand the impacts of chemicals and compounds in wetlands, while also working towards a way to prevent these impacts in the future."

"We are very pleased to be working with Ducks Unlimited Canada, a world leader in wetland conservation and research," says Josef Hormes, Executive Director of the Canadian Light Source. "Canada's synchrotron is an acknowledged leader in using synchrotron light to answer questions related to preserving our environment and aiding the sustainable development of Canada's natural resource sector."

Possible areas of research for the two organizations to team up include projects related to the restoration and protection of healthy wetlands. This includes working with companies in the Canadian energy industry to help mitigate and reduce the impact of their operations in nearby watersheds and waterfowl habitat, by adding synchrotron techniques to the tools available to DUC's environmental researchers. For example, the CLS has been used to track substances found in effluents from mining and milling operations, identifying their chemical forms and assessing how they move through ecosystems – information that was then used by the mining companies to improve their effluent monitoring and treatment practices.

More information:
An example of the wetlands research conducted at the Canadian Light Source is available at: www.lightsource.ca/media/tabs_on_Se.php

Provided by Canadian Light Source, Inc.