Nora Alsafi

MSc student
Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alberta

BSc University of Guelph

Email: [email protected]

My vision is to help align our collective actions with the protection and restoration of the natural environment. My interest in aquatic science was fostered at the University of Guelph, where I learned about freshwater environments in an environmental, cultural, and economic context. There, I performed research on the sexual selection patterns of marine snails. I also worked on the Georgian Bay as an environmental educator, where I experienced firsthand the beauty and significance of our freshwater resources. In Kingston, ON, I worked in environmental consulting and liaised with indigenous communities to help manage drinking water quality. All these experiences led me to pursue graduate research at the University of Alberta. As the climate warms and anthropogenic pressures on our environment increase, understanding how aquatic systems respond becomes ever more important.

My research focuses on the influence of permafrost thaw on stream biogeochemistry in the subarctic. I study taliks, bodies of unfrozen ground in permafrost areas which result from gradual deepening of the active layer and reduced winter freeze back.  I ask the questions: How does gradual permafrost thaw affect carbon release to streams? Does permafrost carbon differ in composition, and how does this affect in-stream microbial processing and community composition? Lastly, how does this all tie together to influence carbon cycling at the base of aquatic food webs?
 
In my spare time I enjoy watercolour painting, yoga, hiking, going to concerts, and eating Thai food.