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Global Water Futures Observatories

@gwfobservatories.bsky.social
766 followers 1.2K following 137 posts

🌍 Canada’s premier national freshwater research facility 📈 Open-access water research data 💧 Instrumented water observing sites, laboratories, and deployable systems. gwfo.ca

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Global Water Futures Observatories @gwfobservatories.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Freshwater Stewardship: Water holds more than data. This Sept 30 we reflect on the responsibility as scientists, researchers, knowledge holders, technicians, practitioners, and students to listen, learn, and broaden the ways we understand water. #OrangeShirtDay #NationalDayforTruthandReconciliation
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Global Water Futures Observatories @gwfobservatories.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
We are looking forward to next week's launch of our webinar series #GWFOExpertBriefs. Join us on Monday to hear stories of impact from @water.usask.ca's @andrewireson.bsky.social! Register now! usask-ca.zoom.us/meeting/regi... #DataDrivenScience #Water 💧
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Global Water Futures Observatories @gwfobservatories.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
Shared water. Shared science. Shared security. On #IntlDayOfPeace we celebrate science bringing people together. When challenges are shared, science & solutions should be too. The #DecadeOfActionForCryosphericSciences calls on cooperation to protect societies facing cryosphere loss lnkd.in/gRaVsjeN
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Global Water Futures Observatories @gwfobservatories.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
Congratulations to GWFO director, Dr. John Pomeroy, on winning @src-rsc.bsky.social's Bancroft Award in recognition of his pioneering contributions to the science and modelling of snow processes! 🏆 ❄️ news.usask.ca/articles/res...
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Global Water Futures Observatories @gwfobservatories.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
Join us on Monday September 28th at 1PM CST as Andrew Ireson from Global Institute for Water Security (GIWS) shares his experiences from GWFO's freshwater observatories in Canada's breadbasket region🌾🚜 Register for the webinar: usask-ca.zoom.us/meeting/regi...
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Global Water Futures Observatories @gwfobservatories.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
Webinar series incoming!🌊 Across Canada, scientists collect water data through GWFO's observatories in lakes, rivers, wetlands, glaciers, & drainage basins. Join us to hear from researchers behind the data on what their work means for Canada's freshwater future. Details & registration next week ➡️
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Global Water Futures Observatories @gwfobservatories.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
GWFO Director John Pomeroy talks about Canadian experience with melting glaciers www.ctvnews.ca/video/2026/0...
ctvnews.ca
30 Canadians missing in Nepal after deadly glacier-triggered floods
Thirty Canadians remain missing in Nepal a week after catastrophic flash floods killed at least 1,100 people. Kathy Le reports.
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Global Water Futures Observatories @gwfobservatories.bsky.social · 26/08/2026
GWFO partner repository @datastream.org is looking for a French and English speaking Environmental Data Services Manager to be based in Canada. See the job post here: datastream.org/en-ca/articl...
datastream.org
Job Posting: Environmental Data Services Manager - Article - DataStreamJob Posting: Environmental Data Services Manager - Article - DataStream
The Gordon Foundation is seeking a Data Services Manager to join DataStream at an exciting time as our community of data contributors and users grows across Canada.
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Global Water Futures Observatories @gwfobservatories.bsky.social · 13/08/2026
Explained: "Researchers needed somewhere to put data and a common way to describe it in order to unlock opportunities for more impactful science. It was known at the time that the scale of water data, the demands on computing, and the need to work across disciplinary boundaries would all grow."
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NOBEL - Nibi (Water) Observatory @nobel-water.bsky.social · 06/08/2026
A great @gwfobservatories.bsky.social tour of the NOBEL today!
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Global Water Futures Observatories @gwfobservatories.bsky.social · 31/07/2026
Peatlands store vast amounts of carbon, but winter matters for the carbon budget. Using GWFO data, @uw-ecohydrology.bsky.social researchers found non-growing season CO₂ emissions can offset 33% to 256% of growing season uptake. www.frontiersin.org/journals/env...
frontiersin.org
Frontiers | Comparing modeled and measured carbon dioxide data at five canadian peatlands revealed highly variable non-growing season fluxes
Peatlands hold up to one-third of the global organic carbon (C) stock and are considered a critical C sink. Climate models project that the rate of warming i...
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Global Water Futures Observatories @gwfobservatories.bsky.social · 30/07/2026
www.sierraclub.org/sierra/zombi...
sierraclub.org
Zombie Fires Are Taking Over the North
How overwintering fires are changing the landscape in boreal Alaska and the Northwest Territories of Canada
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Global Water Futures Observatories @gwfobservatories.bsky.social · 30/07/2026
Professor @Jenn Baltzer GWFO lead @wilfridlaurieruni.bsky.social @crrc-wlu.bsky.social shares experience from the Fire Ecology Network www.castanet.net/news/Canada/...
castanet.net
This is Ontario's worst wildfire season, early estimates suggest. It's not over yet.
Wildfires across northern Ontario have torched more of the province's forest than during any previous year on record, early estimates suggest, with a recent burst of fast-moving wildfires responsible ...
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Global Water Futures Observatories @gwfobservatories.bsky.social · 21/07/2026
thepointer.com/article/2026...
thepointer.com
‘Wildfires are now a crisis’: Indigenous communities knew how to care for the land; then the rest of us arrived
‘Wildfires are now a crisis’: Indigenous communities knew how to care for the land; then the rest of us arrived.
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Reposted by Global Water Futures Observatories
François-Nicolas Robinne @fnrobinne.bsky.social · 21/07/2026
@firebobbc.bsky.social looks like those drinking water catchments may be in for a hard time...
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Global Water Futures Observatories @gwfobservatories.bsky.social · 21/07/2026
Professor Marguerite Xenopoulos, GWFO Facility Lead, Water Quality Centre @trentuniversity.bsky.social, and colleague Paul Frost share their knowledge of algal blooms in this recent @theconversation.com article about Washington DC's Reflecting Pool theconversation.com/what-science...
theconversation.com
What science tells us about the algae bloom in the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool
Algal blooms are not maintenance failures requiring paint or treatment with hydrogen peroxide and nanobubbles. They are ecological warning signs.
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Global Water Futures Observatories @gwfobservatories.bsky.social · 21/07/2026
GWFO Director Professor John Pomeroy spoke to The Atlantic about wildfire conditions in Canada www.theatlantic.com/science/2026...
theatlantic.com
Canada’s Forests Will Burn and Burn
Once a wildfire starts, it can spread to an area too massive to control.
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Reposted by Global Water Futures Observatories
UNBC’s Department of Geography, Earth & Environmental Sciences @unbcgeographyensc.bsky.social · 05/03/2026
The Department of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences is excited to announce a new Minor in Watershed Science and Management starting in Sept 2026. This minor is accessible to students in all UNBC Faculties and has options to select from a wide range of required and elective courses.
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Global Water Futures Observatories @gwfobservatories.bsky.social · 25/06/2026
"Farmers are key to future solutions" From the Global Institute for Water Security - research with Global Water Futures graduate Yohanne Gavasso Rita - farmers' adaptation know-how is crucial to help scientists, governments, and industry address climate realities in food production bit.ly/4oJWvh2
water.usask.ca
Understanding Climate Impacts on Canola Through Farmers’ Eyes - Global Institute for Water Security
Drawing on farmer insights, new research highlights how climate variability is affecting canola production and the strategies producers are using to respond.
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Global Water Futures Observatories @gwfobservatories.bsky.social · 25/06/2026
We're losing it all right before our eyes. With 39 monitoring stations at high elevations near glaciers across the Canadian Rockies, a new Parks Canada report outlines the impacts of warming temperatures on glacial melt and how this affects popular spots near Banff. parks.canada.ca/pn-np/ab/ban...
Sask Glacier as seen from Parker Ridge in Banff National Park in 2023 (Greg Colgan/CBC)
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Global Water Futures Observatories @gwfobservatories.bsky.social · 19/06/2026
"The New Normal": GWFO Director John Pomeroy talks about changing weather extremes www.cjme.com/2026/06/17/t...
cjme.com
The Evan Bray Show – Wednesday, June 17
Evan welcomes Saskatchewan Health Minister Jeremy Cockrill to take your calls and questions, gets the latest update on construction in the province and looks ahead to the weather a developing El Niño ...
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Global Water Futures Observatories @gwfobservatories.bsky.social · 12/06/2026
GWFO will be at #CWRA2026 representing the growing network of water scientists in Canada's premier freshwater research facility providing long-term water monitoring, informing decision makers with up-to-date science, and supporting regional drought, flood, and wildfire forecasting.
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Global Water Futures Observatories @gwfobservatories.bsky.social · 11/06/2026
www.discovermoosejaw.com/articles/abo...
discovermoosejaw.com
Above-average Alberta snowpack expected to ease drought concerns in Saskatchewan
Higher-than-normal mountain snowpack in Alberta is expected to bring relief to Saskatchewan following years of drought-like conditions in some areas. John Pomeroy, a professor at the University of Sas...
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Global Water Futures Observatories @gwfobservatories.bsky.social · 10/06/2026
uwaterloo.ca/ecohydrology... @uw-ecohydrology.bsky.social
uwaterloo.ca
Bhaleka attends the Canadian Polar Data Workshop VI | Ecohydrology Research Group | University of Waterloo
Bhaleka Persaud, Research Data Management Specialist with the Global Water Futures Observatories (GWFO) and ERG, presented research at the Canadian Polar Data Workshop VI in Waterloo, Ontario.
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Global Water Futures Observatories @gwfobservatories.bsky.social · 08/06/2026
Forests catch a lot of snowfall, but how that snow is stored, lost, or melts varies widely by climate. GWFO observation sites Marmot Creek and Fortress Mountain provided data for improving models that help to better predict water supply and climate impacts. onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1...
Diagram in colour: conceptual representation of the mass balance of intercepted snow in a needleleaf forest canopy. The colours of the arrows correspond to the water phase: Solid (purple), liquid (blue) and vapour (light green).
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Global Water Futures Observatories @gwfobservatories.bsky.social · 08/06/2026
Work carried out by GWF and GWFO team members @uwaterloo.ca found that understanding how winter peatland emissions reduce their carbon‑storage capacity is crucial for improving climate predictions and managing a major global carbon sink uwaterloo.ca/ecohydrology... @uw-ecohydrology.bsky.social
uwaterloo.ca
New publication Compares Modeled and Measured Carbon Dioxide Data in Canadian Peatlands During the Non-growing Season | Ecohydrology Research Group | University of Waterloo
New research highlights the critical role of the non-growing season in shaping Peatland carbon budgets.
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Global Water Futures Observatories @gwfobservatories.bsky.social · 08/06/2026
www.ckom.com/2026/06/07/h...
ckom.com
High river flows may signal end to multi-year Saskatchewan drought
A U of S water expert says a record Rocky Mountains snowpack could mark a turning point after years of drought, while captain of Saskatoon riverboat Prairie Lily hopes higher flows clear built-up sand...
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Global Water Futures Observatories @gwfobservatories.bsky.social · 05/06/2026
globalnews.ca/news/1189138...
globalnews.ca
Incoming high-water levels to raise Saskatoon waterline by over half a meter | Globalnews.ca
With high waters coming to the South Sask. River, some water sport groups are being forced to make a change while others benefit from the rise. Officials warn it may be dangerous.
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Global Water Futures Observatories @gwfobservatories.bsky.social · 04/06/2026
www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...
cbc.ca
Saskatoon has gotten used to low water levels, but Alberta's melting snowpack is coming | CBC News
Saskatoon's water-loving residents have grown used to paddling, swimming, wading and rowing in low levels on the South Saskatchewan River, but a record amount of snow melting in the Rocky Mountains is...
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Global Water Futures Observatories @gwfobservatories.bsky.social · 03/06/2026
www.rmoutlook.com/banff/bow-ri...
rmoutlook.com
Bow River no longer rising in Banff
The Town of Banff will assess trail closures as water recedes.
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Global Water Futures Observatories @gwfobservatories.bsky.social · 02/06/2026
www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...
cbc.ca
Flood watches remain in place as rainfall continues in Alberta | CBC News
Environment and Climate Change Canada's heavy rainfall advisory for Calgary has been lifted. But rain continues pouring, with up to 10 millimetres expected Tuesday and possibly continuing into Wednesd...
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Global Water Futures Observatories @gwfobservatories.bsky.social · 02/06/2026
Report of the Standing Committee on Environment and Sustainable Development to Canada's Parliament: addressing Canada's seven per cent renewable supply of the world's freshwater www.ourcommons.ca/Content/Comm...
Cover of the report of the May 2026 Standing Committee on Environment and Sustainable Development, Sustaining Canada's Freshwater for Today and Tomorrow, with background photo of an interior of the Canadian Parliament buildings
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Global Water Futures Observatories @gwfobservatories.bsky.social · 02/06/2026
www.ctvnews.ca/calgary/arti...
ctvnews.ca
Some streets are flooding in Canmore, but it’s nothing like 2013: experts
While water is spilling onto streets in downtown Canmore, experts say the mountain town isn’t expecting flooding similar to what it saw in 2013.
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Global Water Futures Observatories @gwfobservatories.bsky.social · 01/06/2026
www.rmoutlook.com/banff/river-...
rmoutlook.com
River flooding causes Bow Valley campground closure
“With conditions changing rapidly, and with a lot of rainfall and fast-moving water, embankments can be unpredictable”
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Global Water Futures Observatories @gwfobservatories.bsky.social · 01/06/2026
www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...
cbc.ca
Heavy rainfall pummels Calgary as river levels rise in Alberta | CBC News
An Environment and Climate Change Canada weather advisory issued Monday says Calgary can expect anywhere from 50 to 100 millimetres of rain.
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Global Water Futures Observatories @gwfobservatories.bsky.social · 01/06/2026
www.cbc.ca/player/play/...
cbc.ca
Hydrologist gets us up to speed on river levels as rain slams Alberta
John Pomeroy joins us from Canmore as he monitors the river and stream levels in real time. He's with the University of Saskatchewan's Centre for Hydrology.
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Global Water Futures Observatories @gwfobservatories.bsky.social · 31/05/2026
www.ctvnews.ca/video/2026/0...
ctvnews.ca
Lake Louise, surrounding region of Alberta prepare for potential flooding
John Pomeroy, director of the Global Water Futures Programme, says rainfall and snow melt are two of the major contributing factors for potential flooding.
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Global Water Futures Observatories @gwfobservatories.bsky.social · 30/05/2026
www.ctvnews.ca/calgary/vide...
ctvnews.ca
Banff and Canmore on alert for flooding
The towns of Banff and Canmore are on alert as melting snowpack raises river levels, but water levels aren't expected to be as bad as the 2013 floods.
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Global Water Futures Observatories @gwfobservatories.bsky.social · 30/05/2026
GWFO observatories in Canada's Rocky Mountains are monitoring Spring freshwater flows that are affecting downstream conditions www.msn.com/en-ca/public...
A trail path along the northern shore of the Bow River, flooded by the river's widening flow is shown in this handout photo in Banff, Alta., on Friday, May 29, 2026. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Handout - Town of Banff (Mandatory Credit)
© The Canadian Press
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Global Water Futures Observatories @gwfobservatories.bsky.social · 30/05/2026
www.ctvnews.ca/calgary/arti...
ctvnews.ca
Banff and Canmore preparing for flood conditions
The towns of Banff and Canmore have experienced hot weather at the end of May, but that’s turning to days of rain in the forecast, and that has emergency services in both towns preparing for flooding.
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Global Water Futures Observatories @gwfobservatories.bsky.social · 30/05/2026
www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...
cbc.ca
Banff, Calgary urge caution along Bow River as water levels rise | CBC News
It is set to be a wet weekend across southern Alberta, with warnings about high water levels in the Bow River and the potential for flooding in Banff National Park.
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Global Water Futures Observatories @gwfobservatories.bsky.social · 29/05/2026
This week at the CGU meeting in Halifax NS, Professor Sean Carey, GWFO Facility Lead for Tombstone Water Observatory and Wolf Creek Research Basin sites, was awarded the J. Tuzo Wilson Medal for outstanding contributions to the advancement of knowledge of Canadian geophysics @cgu-ugc.bsky.social
Professor John Pomeroy with award winners Sean Carey and Zoe Johnson (LtR) in CGU banquet tent in Halifax, NB, 27 May 2026
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Global Water Futures Observatories @gwfobservatories.bsky.social · 28/05/2026
smallearth.org.np/activities/j...
smallearth.org.np
Open Forum on Science, Prediction, and Response to Global Decline in Mountain Snow and Ice
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Global Water Futures Observatories @gwfobservatories.bsky.social · 21/05/2026
McMaster University Professor Sean Carey, GWFO Facility Lead for Yukon Tombstone and Wolf Creek observatories, worked with collegues to show that thawing permafrost is rapidly transforming dozens of Arctic streams into acidic, metal-laden waterways news.usask.ca/articles/res...
news.usask.ca
Rapidly 'rusting' subarctic rivers at heart of cross-Canada research project - News
Rivers are rapidly turning orange in the North – and the cause is metal pollution linked to ongoing climate change.
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Global Water Futures Observatories @gwfobservatories.bsky.social · 21/05/2026
Rewired Watersheds and Toxic Blooms in Northern Lakes 📅 Wednesday, May 27, 2026, Irena Creed, GWFO Facility Lead at the UTSC Aquatic Chemistry Laboratory Traces Centre and UTSC Harmful Algae Analytical Unit ow.ly/mzfS50Z1AZN @cdnsciencepub.com @scas-scsa.bsky.social
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Global Water Futures Observatories @gwfobservatories.bsky.social · 14/05/2026
Professor Jennifer Baltzer, facility lead at Wilfrid Laurier University for the Global Water Futures observatory Fire Ecology Network, collects vital data about lingering underground fires www.begiant.ca/stories/plac... @wilfridlaurieruni.bsky.social
begiant.ca
Zombie fires are coming back from the dead – and they're multiplying
Smouldering secretly underground in winter, holdover or overwintering fires trigger new spring fires. Satellite detection may be the answer
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Global Water Futures Observatories @gwfobservatories.bsky.social · 14/05/2026
A study of Global Water Futures Observatory site Sibbald Fen shows that sudden warming events like chinooks can trigger bursts of CO₂ from mountain peatlands—even in winter. As winters warm, this hidden carbon loss could grow. www.nature.com/articles/s41... @envwaterloo.bsky.social @water.usask.ca
Map of Sibbald Fen in the Rocky Mountains of Alberta, Canada, with a detailed view of the eddy covariance tower footprint processed for January to October 2021. Maps were produced in R [55] using the ggplot2 [56], sf [57], ggspatial [58], and rnaturalearth [59] packages. Elevation data were retrieved via the elevatr package [60]. Vegetation cover  was derived from a supervised classification of UAV-acquired RGB imagery, acquired on 29 August 2021. From 10.1038/s41598-026-50725-6
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Reposted by Global Water Futures Observatories
World Meteorological Organization @wmo-global.bsky.social · 09/05/2026
We will never see this glacier again. Colombia's Institute of Hydrology, Meteorology & Environmental Studies has confirmed the extinction of the Cerros de la Plaza glacier in the Andes. Rising temperatures, reduced snowfall & its low altitude contributed to the acceleration of its retreat.
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Global Water Futures Observatories @gwfobservatories.bsky.social · 07/05/2026
As dozens of communities across the prairies are experiencing spring flooding, GWFO explains the effects of excess water & what we might see as the snow continues to melt. GWFO is Canada's national freshwater research facility of observation sites & laboratories www.cbc.ca/player/play/... gwfo.ca
cbc.ca
‘It’s not finished yet’: Hydrologist on spring flooding in Saskatchewan
Hydrologist John Pomeroy breaks down the flooding affecting communities in the province and what we might see in the coming weeks as the snow pack continues to melt.
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