Brian Branfireun

Brian Branfireun is a Canadian environmental scientist. He held a Canada Research Chair (2010-2020) and is a professor at Western University.[1] He studied climate change and directed a laboratory in Western's Biotron for the study of speciated trace metals in the environment such as mercury and arsenic.[2][3][4][5][6]

Brian Branfireun
CitizenshipCanadian
Alma materMcGill University
AwardsCanada Research Chair
Scientific career
Fields
Institutions
ThesisCatchment-scale hydrology and methylmercury biogeochemistry in the low boreal forest zone of the Precambrian Shield (1999)
Doctoral advisorNigel Roulet
Website

Scientific research

Branfireun's research focused on understanding the bidirectional nature of hydrological-ecological interactions at a range of spatial and temporal scales.[7][8][9] His research group directs its efforts toward ecosystems that are particularly sensitive to the impacts of natural and human-induced environmental change.[1][2][4]

Branfireun has been involved in projects studying the hydrology, ecology and biogeochemistry of wetland-dominated environments from the Canadian subarctic to the subtropics of Mexico.[1][2][4]

Current work

Branfireun and colleagues have been conducting field research with the Grassy Narrows First Nation to learn more about how mercury moves through the environment, ultimately ending up in fish which can result in Minamata disease in humans. The English and Wabigoon River system has poisonous levels of mercury pollution from the Reed Paper company's operation in Dryden, which used mercury in their bleaching process for making paper until 1975. As a result, members of the Grassy Narrows First Nation suffering long-term effects from mercury poisoning are now eligible for Ontario Disability Support Program.[10][11][12][13][14]

His research has also been cited by indigenous peoples in legal complaints about environmental pollution.[15]

Career

Since 2010 he has been a professor in the Department of Biology and Centre for Environment & Sustainability (joint appointment) with a graduate cross-appointment in Earth Science and Geography at Western University. From 2009-2010 he was a professor at the University of Toronto Mississauga in the Department of Geography.

Branfireun served as the President for the Hydrology Section of the Canadian Geophysical Union and also served as the Canadian National Correspondent for Water Quality with the International Association of Hydrological Sciences.[2][16]

Branfireun was one of the organizers of the 2011 Mercury Conference in Halifax, Nova Scotia.[17]

His thesis at McGill studied methylmercury biogeochemistry.[18][19]

References
  1. "Canada Research Chair - Brian Branfireun". 2019-05-02.
  2. Brian Branfireun (2017-02-14). When the Arctic isn’t cold. TEDx.
  3. "Brian A. Branfireun's research".
  4. Branfireun, Brian. "Environmental Determinants of Health".
  5. Cole, Amanda S; Steffen, Alexandra; Eckley, Chris S.; Narayan, Julie; Pilote, Martin; Tordon, Rob; Graydon, Jennifer A.; St Louis, Vincent L.; Xu, Xiaohong; Branfireun, Brian A. (2014-09-01). "A Survey of Mercury in Air and Precipitation across Canada: Patterns and Trends". Atmosphere. Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute. 5 (3): 635. Bibcode:2014Atmos...5..635C. doi:10.3390/atmos5030635.
  6. Farrick, Kegan K.; Branfireun, Brian A. (2014-12-01). "Soil water storage, rainfall and runoff relationships in a tropical dry forest catchment". Water Resources Research. 50 (12): 9236–9250. Bibcode:2014WRR....50.9236F. doi:10.1002/2014WR016045. S2CID 129109663.
  7. Morris, Michelle A.; Spencer, Kate L.; Belyea, Lisa R.; Branfireun, Brian A. (2014-12-20). "Temporal and spatial distributions of sediment mercury in restored coastal saltmarshes". Marine Chemistry. Elsevier. 167: 150–159. doi:10.1016/j.marchem.2014.09.010.
  8. Dieleman, Catherine M.; Branfireun, Brian A.; McLaughlin, James W.; Lindo, Zoë (2015-01-01). "Climate change drives a shift in peatland ecosystem plant community: implications for ecosystem function and stability". Global Change Biology. 21 (1): 388–395. Bibcode:2015GCBio..21..388D. doi:10.1111/gcb.12643. PMID 24957384. S2CID 38512438.
  9. Oswald, Claire J.; Branfireun, Brian A. (2014-08-01). "Antecedent moisture conditions control mercury and dissolved organic carbon concentration dynamics in a boreal headwater catchment". Water Resources Research. 50 (8): 6610–6627. Bibcode:2014WRR....50.6610O. doi:10.1002/2013WR014736. S2CID 128940043.
  10. Forbes, Ryan (2018-08-14). "ODSP now covers mercury poisoning".
  11. Loriggio, Paola (2017-02-28). "Chief says mercury still leaking from mill near Grassy Narrows - According to Chief Simon Fobister, a new report suggests there is ongoing contamination from the Dryden, Ont., mill".
  12. Forbes, Ryan (2017-10-25). "Mercury legacy 'frightening,'commissioner".
  13. Beaumont, Hilary (2017-01-13). "Industrial mercury contamination discovered upstream from Grassy Narrows - More than 300 people in the community have mercury poisoning".
  14. Forbes, Ryan (2018-12-18). "Mercury poisoning severely impacting students, report".
  15. Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa v. US EPA (United States District Court for the District of Minnesota 2019-09-10).Text
  16. "Elements, The Newsletter of the Canadian Geophysical Union Volume 32, Number 1" (PDF).
  17. "Mercury 2011 Conference Chairs".
  18. Branfireun, Brian A. (1999). Catchment-scale hydrology and methylmercury biogeochemistry in the low boreal forest zone of the Precambrian Shield (Thesis). McGill University.
  19. Branfireun, Brian A.; Heyes, Andrew; Roulet, Nigel T. (1996-06-01). "The hydrology and methylmercury dynamics of a Precambrian shield headwater peatland". Hydrogeochemistry and Water Chemistry. American Geophysical Union. 32 (6): 1785–1794. Bibcode:1996WRR....32.1785B. doi:10.1029/96WR00790.



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