Jacqui Dockray, Research Project Officer - Natural Sciences
Email: jacqueline.dockray@unbc.ca
Phone: 250-960-6357
or
Sharleen Balogh, Research Project Officer - Social Sciences and Humanities
Email: sharleen.balogh@unbc.ca
Phone: 250-960-5629
Contact accessibility@unbc.ca.
Jacqui Dockray, Research Project Officer - Natural Sciences
Email: jacqueline.dockray@unbc.ca
Phone: 250-960-6357
or
Mostafa Sabzevari, Research Project Officer - Applied Sciences and Engineering
seyedmostafa.sabzevari@unbc.ca
Phone: 250-960-5616
Jacqui Dockray, Research Project Officer - Natural Sciences
Email: jacqueline.dockray@unbc.ca
Phone: 250-960-6357
or
Mostafa Sabzevari, Research Project Officer - Applied Sciences and Engineering
seyedmostafa.sabzevari@unbc.ca
Phone: 250-960-5616
Graduate Administration in the Office of the Registrar,
University of Northern British Columbia
E-mail: grad-office@unbc.ca
Sharleen Balogh, Research Project Officer - Social Sciences and Humanities
Email: sharleen.balogh@unbc.ca
Phone: 250-960-5629
You are encouraged to attend the defence. The details of the defence and how to attend are included below:
DATE: 24 June 2024
TIME: 10:00 AM (PT)
DEFENCE MODE: HYBRID - In-person and Remotely via Zoom
In-Person Attendance: Senate Chambers, UNBC Prince George Campus
Virtual Attendance: Zoom
Please contact the Office of Graduate Administration for information regarding remote/online attendance.
To ensure the defence proceeds with no interruptions, please mute your audio and video on entry and do not inadvertently share your screen. The meeting will be locked to entry 5 minutes after it begins: ensure you are on time.
THESIS ENTITLED: MINERAL PRECIPITATION PREDICTION AND PREVENTION DURING GEOTHERMAL BRINE PRODUCTION IN CLARKE LAKE FIELD IN BRITISH COLUMBIA
ABSTRACT: Mineral precipitation is a common issue encountered in geothermal power facilities. Such scale formation is typically a result of variations in the geothermal fluid such as temperature, pressure, and ion composition. The precipitation of minerals can impede fluid flow leading to diminished plant efficiency and escalated maintenance expenses.
The thesis aims to investigate brine production in the Clarke Lake Field in British Columbia for geothermal purposes, focusing on studying scaling phenomena. Additionally, the study explores the integration of completion flowback water as a sustainable water resource for geothermal wells in the Clarke Lake Field. The primary objective is to identify the types of scale that might form when flowback water is used in the geothermal system.
Using a geochemical numerical tool PHREEQC (pH-REdox-EQuilibrium), the potential scale formation resulting from the mixing of formation water and two type of flowback waters are predicted. Through comprehensive laboratory experiments and analyses such as static bottle tests, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) with energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS or EDX), X-Ray diffraction analysis (XRD), and inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES), an in-depth insight into the scaling tendencies and behaviors of different minerals are gained.
In the final stage of the thesis, the efficiency of a chemical inhibitor (Diethylene Triamine Penta) in preventing scaling was evaluated. Chemical inhibitors reduce the formation and growth of scaling deposits. Through rigorous testing, an assessment of the inhibitor's effectiveness in preventing scaling was conducted at both room temperature and elevated temperatures.
COMMITTEE MEMBERSHIP:
Chair: Dr. Catharine Schiller, University of Northern British Columbia
Examining Committee Members:
Supervisor: Dr. Wenbo Zheng, University of Northern British Columbia
Committee Member: Dr. Jianbing Li, University of Northern British Columbia
Committee Member: Dr. Hossein Kazemian, University of Northern British Columbia
External Examiner: Dr. Biao Li, Concordia University
Graduate Administration in the Office of the Registrar,
University of Northern British Columbia
Email: grad-office@unbc.ca
You are encouraged to attend the defence. The details of the defence and how to attend are included below:
DATE: 02 July 2024
TIME: 10 AM (PT)
DEFENCE MODE: Remote
Virtual Attendance: Zoom
Please contact the Office of Graduate Administration for information regarding remote/online defences.
To ensure the defence proceeds with no interruptions, please mute your audio and video on entry and do not inadvertently share your screen. The meeting will be locked to entry 5 minutes after it begins: ensure you are on time.
THESIS ENTITLED: THE TAXONOMIC AND FUNCTIONAL DIVERSITY OF GROUND ARTHROPODS IN A MID-SIZED BRITISH COLUMBIA CITY WITH A SPECIAL FOCUS ON PHORIDS
ABSTRACT: Urban environments can host diverse arthropod communities that provide critical ecosystem services. Yet cities are complex, heterogenous habitats with many different land management practices at small spatial scales, often with variable effects on arthropods. Arthropods should be considered during urban development, which often involves habitat destruction or modification that threatens or alters arthropod biodiversity and the services they provide, such as pollination and pestcontrol. In this study, I investigated how urban land use types impact the taxonomic and functional diversity of ground arthropods. I compared arthropod communities from industrial, greenbelt, and residential land use types across twelve sites (n=4 per land use type) in Prince George, a mid-sized British Columbia city, sampled in 2015. I also focused on phorids (Diptera: Phoridae) in chapter two, which represent one of the most taxonomically rich and abundant insect groups in urban spaces. I sampled phorids from 30 sites during the summer of 2022. For ground arthropods, neither functional nor taxonomic diversity differed significantly between land use types. Composition of communities, however, was distinct and urbanized land use types favoured herbivorous taxa. For the 2022 data, 99 operational taxonomic units were detected with DNA barcoding, with greenbelt, edge, and residential areas harbouring the most diverse and abundant fly communities. Overall, Prince George hosts species-rich, functionally diverse arthropod communities, even in its most urbanized land use types. This work provides a foundation for management and preservation of biodiversity and ecosystem services in similar urban habitats
COMMITTEE MEMBERSHIP:
Chair: Dr. Ranjana Bird, University of Northern British Columbia
Examining Committee Members:
Supervisor: Dr. Dezene Huber, University of Northern British Columbia
Committee Member: Dr. Felix Sperling, University of Alberta
Committee Member: Dr. Che Elkin, University of Northern British Columbia
External Examiner: Dr. Carly Ziter, Concordia University
Jacqui Dockray, Research Project Officer - Natural Sciences
Email: jacqueline.dockray@unbc.ca
Phone: 250-960-6357
or
Mostafa Sabzevari, Research Project Officer - Applied Sciences and Engineering
seyedmostafa.sabzevari@unbc.ca
Phone: 250-960-5616
Jacqui Dockray, Research Project Officer - Natural Sciences
Email: jacqueline.dockray@unbc.ca
Phone: 250-960-6357
or
Mostafa Sabzevari, Research Project Officer - Applied Sciences and Engineering
seyedmostafa.sabzevari@unbc.ca
Phone: 250-960-5616
Sharleen Balogh, Research Project Officer - Social Sciences and Humanities
Email: sharleen.balogh@unbc.ca
Phone: 250-960-5629
or
Jacqui Dockray, Research Project Officer - Natural Sciences
Email: jacqueline.dockray@unbc.ca
Phone: 250-960-6357