The Hudson Bay System Study (BaySys)

Collection launched: 2020

PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATORS
David G. Barber, University of Manitoba, Canada
Kevin Sydor, Manitoba Hydro, Canada

Freshwater entering Hudson Bay is susceptible to modification, both in terms of water quality and quantity, through exchange processes in the watershed, and through climate forcing of the hydrological cycle. A unique aspect of this system is the role that freshwater plays on both dynamic and thermodynamic sea ice processes within Hudson Bay. This freshwater-marine coupling affects all aspects of the physical, biological and biogeochemical systems of Hudson Bay through the control that sea ice has on the exchange of light, heat and momentum in the marine system. As such, the objective of the Hudson Bay System Study (BaySys) is to provide a scientific basis to separate the effects of climate change from those of regulation of freshwater on the physical, biological and biogeochemical processes operating within the Hudson Bay Complex. This objective is addressed through a ‘systems’ perspective, with sub-objectives to examine the climate, marine, and freshwater systems, and to study the cycling of carbon and contaminants.

BaySys was built on a partnership between the University of Manitoba, Manitoba Hydro, Hydro Québec, Ouranos, Environment and Climate Change Canada, as well as other academic institutions across Canada (University of Northern British Columbia, University of Alberta, University of Calgary, University of Guelph, Université de Sherbrooke, Université de Laval, and Université de Québec à Rimouski). In total, a group of 110 investigators devoted six years to understanding the relative contributions of regulation versus climate change on freshwater-marine coupling in the Hudson Bay Complex, done through a combination of field work, process studies and modelling. This Special Feature with Elementa highlights a select subset of the results of BaySys through a variety of topical and integrated articles.

Additional articles under review

View All Articles in this Special Feature Collection