Salmonier Nature Park and TERRAMONSalmonier Nature Park and TERRAMON
The acronym "TERRAMON" is used to represent the Newfoundland Environmental Monitoring Program, a network of organizations and agencies concerned with long-term monitoring and research on environmental change in Newfoundland and Labrador. This program was initiated in 1993. The operating agent for TERRAMON is the Centre for Earth Resources Research, Memorial University of Newfoundland.
TERRAMON has identified the Salmonier River drainage basin, and Salmonier Nature Park as a site where long-term co-ordinated research can occur involving scientists from the university and government sectors. The Salmonier basin was selected over a number of other drainage basins for various reasons: it has a variety of land uses in discrete pockets, varying from recreational use to protected areas (the Nature Park). It is therefore suited to comparative studies of different land uses and their effects on the local ecosystems. It’s proximity to St. John’s also makes it attractively inexpensive for monitoring studies which require regular access to the area
The following project is the latest in the ongoing TERRAMON initiative:
Climatology, Hydrology and Geochemistry Data Collection at Salmonier Nature Park
Commencing in fall of 1999, scientists from Memorial University’s Department of Earth Sciences and Department of Geography, in conjunction with other agencies, will be collecting baseline data on site at Salmonier Nature Park as part of a long-term environmental monitoring study.
The following information has been reprinted from the proposal document Climatology, Hydrology and Geochemistry of a Boreal Watershed in Newfoundland (M. Wadleigh, J. Jacobs, C. Banfield, J. Gale and E. Burden, 1999):
The primary objective of this study is to assist in the development of a predictive understanding of the effects of changes in climate, atmospheric composition, and land use on this Boreal Shield ecosystem.
Salmonier Nature Park and its associated watershed represent the Newfoundland Boreal Forest in the national Ecological Monitoring and Assessment Network (EMAN). The goal of EMAN is to provide a national perspective on how the health of Canadian ecosystems are being affected by environmental changes; and an early warning system that identifies new ecosystem changes as they emerge and reports on their distribution
Climatological Observations: Upgrade of Salmonier Nature Park climate to an hourly automated station and development of a detailed climatology of the Salmonier watershed area. A collaborative effort with Atmospheric Environment Service (AES).
Acid Precipitation Monitoring: Reactivation of precipitation collector. Collaborative effort with Provincial Environment and Wildlife.
Surface Water Chemistry: Continuation of the 1998-99 extensive watershed sampling program for water chemistry (major ions, metals) as part of long-term monitoring for environmental change.
Lake Sediment Studies. Sampling and analysis of the topmost sediments to establish changes in chemical deposition over the past 200 years.
Intensive Sub-basin Study: Detailed hydrology, mass and energy balance at a small sub-basin within the Nature Park. Instruments to be installed and maintained by Terramon group.
Integrated Database: Continued development of TERRAMON’s comprehensive environmental database and GIS for the basin. A combined effort of TERRAMON members.
Modeling of Water and Chemical Flows: development of hydrogeochemical models, chemical budgets and flows for the basin.
