‘Detachment’ of icefield outlet glaciers – catastrophic thinning and retreat of the Columbia Glacier (Canada)

We present an investigation of changes taking place on the Columbia Glacier – a lake-terminating outlet of the Columbia Icefield in the Canadian Rockies. The Columbia Icefield is the largest, and one of the most important, ice bodies in the Canadian Rockies. Like other ice masses, it stores water as snow and ice during the winter and releases it during warmer summer months, sustaining river flows and the ecosystems that rely on them. However, the Columbia Glacier and Icefield is shrinking. We use Landsat and Sentinel-2 imagery to show that the Columbia Glacier has retreated increasingly rapidly in recent years, and suggest that this looks set to continue. Importantly, we identify a previously undocumented process that appears to be playing an important role in the retreat of this glacier. This process involves the ‘detachment’ of the glacier tongue from its accumulation area in the Columbia Icefield. This process is important because the tongue is cut off from the accumulation area and there is no replenishment of ice that melts in the glacier's ablation area by flow from upglacier. As a consequence, for a given rate of ablation, the ice in the tongue will disappear much faster than it would if the local mass loss by melting/calving was partly offset by mass input by glacier flow. Such a change would alter the relationship between rates of surface melting and rates of glacier frontal retreat. We provide evidence that detachment has already occurred elsewhere on the Columbia Icefield and that it is likely to affect other outlet glaciers in the future. Modelling studies forecast this detachment activity, which ultimately results in a smaller ‘perched’ icefield without active outlets

Detoxification of oil refining effluents by oxidation of naphthenic acids using TAML catalysts

The environmental problem stemming from toxic and recalcitrant naphthenic acids (NAs) present in effluents from the oil industry is well characterized. However, despite the numerous technologies evaluated for their destruction, their up-scaling potential remains low due to high implementation and running costs. Catalysts can help cutting costs by achieving more efficient reactions with shorter operating times and lower reagent requirements. Therefore, we have performed a laboratory investigation to assess iron-TAML (tetra-amido macrocyclic ligand) activators to catalyze the oxidation of NAs by activating hydrogen peroxide — considered environmentally friendly because it releases only water as by-product — under ultra-dilute conditions. We tested Fe-TAML/H2O2 systems on (i) model NAs and (ii) a complex mixture of NAs in oil refining wastewater (RWW) obtained from a refining site in Colombia. Given the need for cost-effective solutions, this preliminary study explores sub-stoichiometric H2O2 concentrations for NA mineralization in batch mode and, remarkably, delivers substantial removal of the starting NAs. Additionally, a 72-h semi-batch process in which Fe-TAML activators and hydrogen peroxide were added every 8 h achieved 90–95% removal when applied to model NAs (50 mg L−1) and a 4-fold reduction in toxicity towards Aliivibrio fischeri when applied to RWW. Chemical characterization of treated RWW showed that Fe-TAML/H2O2 treatment (i) reduced the concentration of the highly toxic O2 NAs, (ii) decreased cyclized constituents in the mixture, and (iii) preferentially degraded higher molecular weight species that are typically resistant to biodegradation. The experimental findings, together with the recent development of new TAML catalysts that are far more effective than the TAML catalysts deployed herein, constitute a foundation for cost-effective treatment of NA-contaminated wastewater.COLCIENCIAS (National Department of Science, Technology, and Innovation of Colombia)

Spruce Grove: social service needs assessment

The Spruce Grove Social Service Needs Project was undertaken to assist the Town in preparing its Social Development Plan. The objectives of the project were to identify a) the social service needs and priorities of Spruce Grove, b) present social services, c) plans for future social service provision by current providers, d) gaps in services, and e) potential social service providers and funders

Emotion-focused therapy for anxiety and depression in women with breast cancer

Emerging evidence supports the efficacy of transdiagnostic approaches in the treatment of comorbid conditions. Given that both depression and anxiety disorders have been consistently noted as the most common psychological presentation across site and stage of illness in patients with cancer, psycho-oncology as a specialty may benefit from approaches that implement transdiagnostic approaches to treatment. This paper presents an adaptation of emotion-focused therapy for comorbid anxiety and depression in women with breast cancer. It describes the activation of chronic problematic emotion schemes triggered by the experience of cancer and its medical treatment as well as their transformation through a sequence of emotional processing steps. Observed nuances in this specific case included existential triggers to emotional experience and mourning disenfranchised losses as part of grieving and letting go. A process of change occurs through overcoming emotional avoidance and demoralization, increasing distress tolerance, differentiation of core painful feelings, articulation of unmet needs; and generation of adaptive emotions such as boundary setting anger and self-compassion. Implications for practice in a cancer context are discussed in terms of case conceptualisation and therapeutic strategy. Further investment in the clinical development and research of emotion-focused therapy in psycho-oncology may prove informative and supportive in efforts to widen the evidence base and the choice of clinical treatment available to patients with cancer and comorbid anxiety and depressive disorders