Quantifying Methane Emissions: A Study in Environmental Engineering

In this talk, Lauren will firstly provide an overview of the field of environmental engineering, and then will delve into her Master’s thesis, which focuses on quantifying methane emissions from water bodies. Specifically, her research centers on a lake within the Canadian oil sands industry, notable for being the first of its kind to reintegrate a former oil sands pit into the environment as an artificial lake. Given methane’s role as a potent greenhouse gas with significant implications for climate change, Lauren’s study identifies factors driving methane release by conducting seasonal fieldwork and developing an innovative instrument, which measures differences in pressure to obtain continuous records of methane emissions via bubbling. This understanding of methane emission dynamics is crucial for accurately assessing and mitigating their impact on climate change.

Lauren Ing, a Master of Applied Science student in Civil Engineering, specializes in Environmental Fluid Mechanics. She also works part-time to adapt UBC to increased rainfall due to climate change via low impact development devices. She earned her B.E.Sc in Civil and Environmental Engineering with Distinction from the University of Western Ontario, specializing in Environmental Engineering. Passionate about field methods to better understand our environment, her current research centers on quantifying methane emissions in the Canadian oil sands industry.