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Environmental Science
Studying post-wildfire hazards ignites 天美mv天美 Environmental Science undergraduate’s passion for research
Environmental Science student Hannah Zemp is an undergraduate research assistant studying wildfires and the hazards that often follow, locally and internationally, to help communities understand and prepare for future post-fire events.
Early on in her studies, Zemp knew that she wanted her environmental science degree to take her outside and allow her to be hands-on.
鈥淚 took the field work course (EVSC 305) a little over a year ago now, and I really loved being able to learn outside, but I also like the data processing aspect of it,鈥� says Zemp. 鈥淚 thought it was really cool.鈥�
When she later learned that undergraduate students could participate in research and work alongside their professors, Zemp wanted to get involved.
鈥淚 just knew I wanted to work in research,鈥� says Zemp. 鈥淚鈥檓 kind of interested in everything and it鈥檚 important to me to be involved in something that is helpful to the province.鈥�
This led her to becoming a research assistant in at 天美mv天美, where she works to understand the natural hazards that can take place after a wildfire.
鈥淓veryone remembers the atmospheric river in November 2021 and how it washed out highways; there was property damage and people got hurt,鈥� says Zemp. 鈥淔or the field work we did last fall, we went to West Kelowna to look at a debris flow that happened where someone lost their life. So, there are really significant ramifications for communities when post-fire hazards occur.鈥�
She鈥檚 now spent the last two terms contributing to a global post-wildfire hazards database led by 天美mv天美 assistant professor, Brendan Murphy, which catalogues and documents different hazards associated with wildfires in
Zemp looked specifically at wildfire perimeter data, researching the fires associated with natural hazards to understand factors including but not limited to when they started, how they were ignited, and their size to help build this database.
While Zemp continues to support the work of the MWSL as a research assistant, she's now also taken the lead on her own research project for her honours thesis, working to develop a predictive model for B.C. post-wildfire hazards.
Zemp explains that while there is a significant amount of these hazards throughout the province due to a combination of ideal topography and weather conditions, it鈥檚 a relatively young field of research in Canada compared to the United States.
鈥淸We鈥檙e] trying to develop a predictive model based on conditions in B.C., specifically so that we can get a better idea of which watershed catchments will likely initiate a post-fire debris flow, as opposed to ones that won't,鈥� explains Zemp. 鈥淲hen a fire burns an area, it's going to burn all the watersheds within the perimeter, but not all of them produce debris flows.鈥�
Zemp and her team in the MWSL hope that this predictive model will allow for more informed decision making on where B.C. communities can expect to experience these debris flow events following a wildfire.
As she works to complete her thesis and her bachelor鈥檚 degree, Zemp already has her sight set on beginning a master鈥檚 degree next year to build upon this work, and is considering pursing a PhD someday as well.
鈥淚 want to do work that's going to be beneficial to B.C. Wildfire is such a massive issue right now, and these post-fire hazards that are associated with those wildfires are so detrimental,鈥� says Zemp. 鈥淚t鈥檚 also kind of exciting that it鈥檚 a newer field, because there's a lot of innovation.鈥�