Thomas A. Clair

Research Scientist - Effects of atmospheric stressors on aquatic ecosystems

Water Science and Technology Directorate (Dartmouth, NS)

CURRENT S&T / RESEARCH - Reducing risks to Canadians, their health and their environment from air pollutants and greenhouse gas emissions

• Designing research programs to study the interactions of atmospheric stressors such as acidification, metals and UVB with freshwater and wetland ecosystems
• Aquatic geochemistry interactions and modeling
• Understanding the role of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) in the chemistry of freshwaters as well as the effect of landscape factors in determining the chemistry of drainage waters
• Mitigation and restoration of aquatic ecosystems from acidification

PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITIES / INTERESTS

Environment Canada Representative and North American co-chair of the Working Group on Effects of the UN Economic Community of Europe Long-range transport of air pollutants (Geneva)

Canadian co-chair of Ecosystem effects chapter to NARSTO air pollution workgroup report, Washington, DC, Oct 2006 - present

Government of Canada Lead, UNECE Task Force on Reactive Nitrogen - ongoing from 2008

Member, American Society for Limnology and Oceanography; Past member of Finance Committee; Canadian Society of Limnology; American Geophysical Union; Reviewer for numerous scientific journals

KEY PUBLICATIONS

Clair, T.A., I. F. Dennis , R. Vet,- H. Laudon. 2008. Long-term trends in catchment organic carbon and nitrogen exports from three acidified catchments in Nova Scotia. Canada. Biogeochemistry. 87: 83-97.

Clair, T. A., I.F. Dennis, D.A. Scruton and M. Gilliss. 2007. Acidification of freshwaters in Atlantic Canada: a review of data and the published literature. Environmental Reviews. 15: 153-167.

Clair, T.A., J. Aherne, I.F. Dennis, M. Gilliss, S. Couture, D. McNicol, R. Weeber, P.J. Dillon, W. Keller, D.S. Jeffries, S. Page, K. Timoffee and B.J. Cosby. 2007. Past and future changes to acidified eastern Canadian lakes: a geochemical modeling approach. Applied Geochem. 22:1189-1195.

Clair, T.A. and A. Hindar. 2005. Liming to mitigate the effects of acid rain on freshwaters: a review of recent results. Environmental Reviews. 13:91-128.

Dennis, I.F., T.A. Clair, C.T. Driscoll, N.C. Kamman, A. Chalmers, J.B. Shanley, S.A. Norton and J.S. Kahl. 2005. Patterns of surface water mercury distribution in northeastern North America. Ecotoxicology. 14: 113-123.

Clair, T.A., I.F. Dennis, P. Amiro and B.J. Cosby. 2004. Past and future chemistry changes in acidified Nova Scotian Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) rivers: A dynamic modeling approach. Can. Jour. Fish. Aquat. Sci. 61:1965-1975.

Clair, T.A., J. Ehrman, I. Kaczmarska, G. Maillet, K.E. Day and A. Locke. 2001. Does UV-B affect summer zooplankton populations of temperate acid, humic and clearwater lakes? Hydrobiologia. 462: 75-89.