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  🔥 Median Land Surface Temperature in Calgary: Summer 2026 🛰️ Midday records show consistent thermal clustering across Calgary: 🔹 Cool zones (≤20–25 °C): Bow River, Glenmore Reservoir, deep ravines (stable thermal baseline). 🔹 Thermal buffering (30–35 °C): Mature tree canopy zones; direct shading & evapotranspiration mitigate heating. 🔹 Hot zones & heat cores (≥45–50 °C): Industrial sectors, warehouses, open rooftops/parking of malls (CF Chinook Centre, CF Market Mall) and transit...

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  🔥 Biophysical Cooling Threshold in Calgary: Confirmation of Invariance (Summer 2025 vs Summer 2026) 🛰️ Despite the interannual shift in the temperature baseline and weather differences between the two seasons, the critical threshold for the onset of evapotranspirative cooling based on NDVI demonstrated high stability. Around values of approximately 0.35, a trend inflection and the onset of effective radiative cooling across the urban area are observed. ☝️ What this means from the perspective of...

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  📢 Open Science in Action: 62,000+ Views on Applied Hydrogeochemical Modeling ☝️ Tracking research reach on Zenodo: drafts of my technical monograph on hydrogeochemical modeling of hyper-saline mine water infiltration (Svystunova Gully impoundment, Kryvyi Rih Iron Ore Basin) have crossed: 🔹 62,300+ views across all versions 🔹 2,500+ full-text downloads (accounting for over 34 GB of data traffic) ☝️ In the specialized domain of aqueous geochemistry and non-linear transport modeling, these metrics...

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  ❓ Does hydrodynamic dilution always mean reduced environmental toxicity? Not necessarily. 💻 10+ years of empirical monitoring of high-TDS mine water plumes (Svystunova Gully) + thermodynamic speciation in PHREEQC reveal a striking evolution in Cadmium mobility: 🔹 Near the source (dilution 0.00–0.30): Extreme chloride ionic strength sequesters Cd into neutral/anionic chloro-complexes (CdCl₂, CdCl₃⁻), keeping free Cd²⁺ near zero and enabling unretarded transport. 🔹 Migration path (dilution 0.30–...

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  🌳 Where data meets sustainability - my success story with Calgary Open Data Portal. How one geospatial expert turned maps, numbers, and curiosity into insights for a greener Calgary. https://www.calgary.ca/research/open-data/articles/where-data-meets-sustainability.html #GIS #RemoteSensing #EarthObservation #Calgary #SpatialDataScience #LandCover #MachineLearning #Geoscience #GreennessOfCalgary #OpenData

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  Catchment Areas of Mine Subsidence and Collapse Zones in Kryvbas The highlighted polygons delineate localized surface runoff catchments where precipitation directly infiltrates into underground mine workings and dewatering systems via collapse sinkholes and heavily fractured rock mass—completely bypassing the natural river network. The spatial modeling is based on the Copernicus DEM (GLO-30), applying true-sink preservation workflows (True Sinks / Internal Drainage Modeling). 🛠️ Stack: R (terra...

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  🧪 Aquatic zinc speciation modeling across the Inhulets River (September 2025) highlights why total metal concentrations fail to reflect true ecotoxicity: ☝️ Key Hydrogeochemical Trends: 🔹 Free aqua-ion (Zn²⁺): Dominates at most stations (57–64%). This fraction is the most bioavailable and drives aquatic toxicity. 🔹 Carbonate complex (ZnCO₃⁰): Secondary background form (18–24%), facilitating conservative transit migration. 🔹 Sulfate complex (ZnSO₄⁰): Consistently 6–11% due to elevated background...

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  🔥 The draft PDF of my hydrogeochemical modeling monograph on Zenodo (CERN/OpenAIRE) just surpassed 50,000 views and 2,550+ downloads (over 33 GB of bandwidth). ☝️ This proves that dense, rigorous technical analysis easily transcends language barriers. Even with the manuscript written in Ukrainian, the detailed geochemical speciation charts, balance tables, and spatial maps speak a universal engineering language. Verifiable methodologies and clear analytical visuals always find their audience. 👇...

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  🛰️ On September 28, I will be presenting at Data for Good (Calgary) on “Satellite Remote Sensing & Open Data: From Earth Observation to Measurable Public Impact in Calgary”. 💻 The talk will focus on the technical workflow: ingesting and processing multi-sensor Sentinel and Landsat imagery using Google Earth Engine and R, machine learning for land cover classification, and modeling neighborhood-scale land surface temperature (LST) patterns across the city. 🌳 We will also discuss the role...

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  🧪 Bridging Hydrochemistry, Thermodynamic Modeling & GIS: A Relational Schema 🗂️ Hydrogeochemical workflows are often fragmented across spreadsheets, standalone PHREEQC runs, and GIS layers, creating transfer errors and scaling friction. ⚙️ To build a reproducible pipeline, I structured a relational schema connecting raw chemistry, thermodynamic speciation, and spatial topology: 🔑 Relational Keys: Linked via Solution ID and Sampling Location to preserve data integrity across all stages. ⚛️...

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  Thermodynamic Modeling & Policy Relevance As regulatory discussions and technical feasibility studies for the Svystunova Gully mine-water retention system (2026–2027 period) get underway, integrating rigorous thermodynamic modeling into the engineering baseline is critical. Simple dilution metrics do not account for mass-balance limits, bedrock dissolution, concrete leaching, or secondary mineral precipitation along the waterway. Following today’s session of the government interdepartm...

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  🔥 ECCO Recycling Landfill Fire (Calgary): A View from Space 🛰️ Sentinel-2 (MSI) satellite imagery from September 9, 2026. Visualized using a 12-4-2 band combination (SWIR-2 – Red – Blue): 🔹 Thermal zone (~400 × 400 m): A bright red hotspot at the Recycling facility. The shortwave infrared band (B12, 2.19 µm) captures a strong thermal radiance response: open combustion hotspots, excavated smoldering waste layers, and fresh hot ash. Due to the high sensitivity of the SWIR band to high-temperature...

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  🧪 Two-stage eutectic freeze crystallization of Kryvbas mine waters (EFC) 💻 Modeling with PHREEQC and FREZCHEM model. ☝️ The process is divided into two stages with inter-stage separation at -20 °C: 🔹 Stage 1 (0 to -20 °C): Freezing of fresh ice (up to ~890 g per 1 kg of feed water). Selective precipitation of mirabilite (Na₂SO₄·10H₂O), which is completely separated on the filter (~4.6 g). 🔹 Stage 2 (-20.5 to -35 °C): Deep eutectic crystallization of hydrohalite (NaCl·2H₂O) after sulfate remova...

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  🧪 Continuing my computational experiments on Kryvbas high-mineralized mine water management. ☝️ This time, I took available water chemical analyses covering a 10+ year period (2012-2023) - a total of 40 water samples from the storage pond in the Svystunova gully. Freeze crystallization is modeled in two stages: the first stage ends at -20℃ and involves removing the formed mirabilite to prevent further dissolution during the hydrohalite precipitation stage. 📈 The graph shows the averaged results...

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  🌳 Coming up soon: I’ll be speaking on how municipal open data, remote sensing, and spatial data science can be combined to investigate on-the-ground environmental conditions across Calgary’s neighborhoods. 🔗 Event link: https://meetu.ps/e/QgbbR/ZtysN/i #GIS #RemoteSensing #EarthObservation #Calgary #SpatialDataScience #LandCover #MachineLearning #Geoscience #GreennessOfCalgary

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  🥾 Between 2023 and 2026, I surveyed 555 km across Calgary (278 km walking and 277 km cycling) to provide direct ground truth for satellite remote sensing and machine learning models. 📢 Today evening, I’ll be presenting the results and microclimatic insights from these field surveys at the Data for Good YYC meetup at Platform Calgary. 🔗 Free RSVP link: https://meetu.ps/e/QgbbR/ZtysN/i #GIS #RemoteSensing #EarthObservation #Calgary #SpatialDataScience #LandCover #MachineLearning #Geoscience #Gr...

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  🍁 Fall foliage at Nose Hill Park: nature’s annual stress-test for remote sensing ML models. 🍂 As chlorophyll degrades, the NIR reflectance drops sharply, completely reshaping the NDVI signature of aspen stands and native fescue grasslands. Supervised classifiers (like Random Forest) trained solely on peak-summer composites quickly stumble when seasonal phenology drifts, often misclassifying senescent canopy as sparse ground or bare soil. 🛰️ Nothing beats on-the-ground validation to remind you w...

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  🔥 Did Calgary Get Hotter in the Summer of 2026? A Satellite View of Our City 🛰️ Following pre-processing of satellite time series, I evaluated the Land Surface Temperature (LST) across a random spatial sample of 15,000 valid pixels within city boundaries for the summers of 2025 and 2026. What the Distribution Statistics Reveal: 🔹 Median Shift: During clear-sky midday hours, Calgary's median land surface temperature rose from 33.5 °C in 2025 to 36.5 °C in 2026. A 3.0°C shift in baseline in...

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  💻 Continuing the visualization of the obtained dataset of thermodynamic calculations for 40 samples of hypersaline mine water from the Kryvyi Rih iron ore basin (modeling in PHREEQC, FREZCHEM database). ❗ The calculation of cascade eutectic freeze crystallization reveals a fundamentally picture: 🔹 Stage 1 (0 … −20°C): down to −6.5…−9.5°C, only pure ice freezes out (freezing point depression zone). Then, the precipitation of mirabilite (Na₂SO₄·10H₂O) begins. 🔹 Interstage buffer (−20.0 … −22.5°C,...

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  🔥 Relative Land Surface Temperature Shift in Calgary (Summer 2026 vs 2025) 🛰️ The map illustrates the spatial difference in Land Surface Temperature based on clear-sky seasonal median composites. The citywide baseline trend (+2.48 °C) was removed from the calculations. ☝️ Spatial Distribution Facts: 🔹 White (−1 °C to +1 °C): 50% of the city’s area (interquartile range, IQR) shifted in strict synchrony with the citywide baseline. 🔹 Blue (−1 °C to ≤ −6 °C): Areas where relative warming lagged behi...

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  🧪 Differential material balance of cascade EFC: from flowsheet to FEED 💻 Thermodynamic modeling of eutectic freeze crystallization for hypersaline mine waters (Kryvyi Rih Iron Ore Basin, n = 40 samples, PHREEQC + FREZCHEM): 🔹 Mirabilite (Na₂SO₄·10H₂O): Depletes before −20.0 °C as free SO₄²⁻ is exhausted; residual trace sulfates are bound by gypsum. 🔹 Purity buffer (−20.0 … −22.5 °C): Zero salt yield almoust (0.00 g). Pure ice generation prevents cross-contamination during crystallization swings...

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  📝 У роботі представлено термодинамічне обґрунтування технології двостадійного каскадного евтектичного виморожування (Eutectic Freeze Crystallization, EFC) для очищення та комплексної переробки розсолів зі ставка-накопичувача у балці Свистунова. ☝️ Доведено, що проведення процесу в дві стадії з міжстадійною сепарацією при -20,0°C формує температурний буфер у 2,5°C до початку осадження хлоридів і дозволяє селективно розділити сульфатну та хлоридну фракції. 🧪 Загальний вихід опрісненої води (льоду)...

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  ⚙️ My latest preprint presents a thermodynamic rationale for a two-stage cascade Eutectic Freeze Crystallization (EFC) process, developed for the treatment and resource recovery of hypersaline mine water from the Svystunova Gully impoundment (published in Ukrainian). ☝️ Key highlights: 🔹 Selective phase separation: Conducting the process in two stages with inter-stage solids separation at -20.0°C provides a 2.5°C operating buffer before chloride salts begin to precipitate, ensuring clean separati...

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  ☝️ What happens when you treat terrain morphometry like satellite bands? ⚙️ An experimental RGB composite of an industrial micro-catchment in Kryvyi Rih, synthesized directly from DEM hydro-conditioned derivatives: 🔹 Red: Channel Network Distance (hydraulic connectivity) 🔹 Green: Total Catchment Area / Flow Accumulation (upscale contributing mass) 🔹 Blue: LS-Factor / Slope Length-Steepness (RUSLE physical erosion capacity). ⚙️ The color mixing immediately separates the basin into physical domains...

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  ⚠️ Why standard GIS routing (D8, Sink Fill) fails in complex mining regions: 300m open pits become fake "lakes", and underground river tunnels are completely ignored. To map surface drainage across central Kryvyi Rih, I built a custom DEM hydro-conditioning pipeline: 🔹 Selective sink filtering (true pits vs DEM noise) 🔹 Subsurface conduit burn-in (diversion tunnels) 🔹 Closed micro-catchment delineation Crucial for geochemical transport & geotechnical risks. 🛠️ #RStats (#terra, #Rs...

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  🛠 What does an end-to-end open-source stack look like for an independent hydrogeochemical monograph? Doing full-cycle research—from thermodynamic calculations to print-ready LaTeX typesetting—requires a synchronized toolkit. Here is the exact stack: 🧪 Thermodynamics & Analytics: • #PHREEQC 3.7.3 for aqueous speciation&equilibrium modeling. • #Rstats Stack: RedModRphree, ggtern, sf/terra, tidyverse (ETL). 🗺 GIS & Literature Search: • #QGIS for spatial alignment & cartography....

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  🔥 Dear colleagues! I present to you the new version (0.80) of my monograph dedicated to the hydrogeochemical (thermodynamic) modeling of the contamination plume around the storage pond in the Svystunova Gully (in Ukrainian). I have significantly expanded the theoretical and practical sections, adding a description of the hydrodynamic properties and behavior of highly mineralized plumes. The comprehensive concept of the gradual advancement of the contamination plume and the resulting technogenic...

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  A methodological audit of regional hydrogeochemical literature reveals a systemic gap. Legacy environmental assessments for the Kryvyi Rih Iron Ore Basin rely on frameworks designed for fresh water, which fail when applied to highly mineralized mine waters. Standard equilibrium algorithms are inadequate for environments with extreme ionic strength. This limitation extends to mass transport: conventional modeling overlooks density-driven convection and gravitational settling of heavy brines, lea...

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  🔥 It looks like it's time to lock in the current version of the machine learning model (LULC v.6.0). Validation results on an independent test dataset (Confusion Matrix) demonstrate the excellent predictive power of the algorithm: 🔹 Overall Accuracy: 98.29% (95% CI: 98.16% – 98.41%) with a No Information Rate = 60.28% (p-value < 2.2e-16). 🔹 Cohen’s Kappa: 0.9691, confirming high classification reliability even with severe class imbalance. The model shows a very low error rate for...

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  📉 Comparing the Solid-to-Tree Ratio with the Land Surface Temperature (LST) data obtained in the previous phase of the study allows for a visual assessment of the relationship between surface sealing and summer surface heating across Calgary’s residential communities. 🔥 The plot reveals a strong pattern for the vast majority of communities: a sharp increase in temperature occurs within the ratio range of 0 to 5. The Downtown Commercial Core stands out as a distinct outlier, where low LST values...