Tree swallow (Tachycineta bicolor) nest boxes are installed in oil sands area and in reference locations to monitor contaminant levels and impacts on tree swallow nestlings. The exposure to tree swallow nestlings to air-borne oil sands-related contaminants such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) is assessed using passive air samplers. Measures of avian health are examined in relation to location of sampling and contaminants measured.

The ‘Land use allocation to Soils and Landforms by year’ dataset links agricultural land use activities to soils and landscapes within Soil Landscapes of Canada (SLC) polygons. The land use allocations to soils area datasets were generated on an annual time step (1971-2015). Agricultural land use is categorized and allocated based on the following general land use types: Annual cropland, Perennial cropland, Specialty Crops, Improved pasture and Unimproved Pasture.

Dry spell periods are defined as the number of days (April 1 – October 31) where daily precipitation is less than 0.5 mm. This is not an accumulation of precipitation, simply a count of days. Dry spell products are only generated during the Growing Season, April 1 through October 31.

The Agri-Environmental Indicator Agricultural Greenhouse gas Budget datasets provide estimated net greenhouse gas emissions due to agricultural activities per hectare of Soil Landscapes of Canada agricultural areas. Products in this data series present results for predefined areas as defined by the Soil Landscapes of Canada (SLC v.3.2) data series, uniquely identified by SOIL_LANDSCAPE_ID values.

Monitoring activities have collected bulk suspended sediment samples using continuous flow centrifuges and Phillips Tube samplers in the Lower Athabasca River and tributaries respectively. Further, in the absence of pre-development monitoring for this region, high fidelity dated lake sediment cores were used to assess the natural range in contaminant deposition to this region and to obtain a historical perspective of contaminant loadings. All sediments (suspended river and lake cores) have been analyzed in the laboratory for sediment quality variables as per Appendix B in the Integrated Monitoring Plan (cores were also analyzed for paleo indicators of ecosystem health such as diatoms). In addition, as the Lower Athabasca river bed sediments are known to shift and migrate downstream, bathymetric maps of the bed-channel morphology over time was also completed. This will allow for estimates of bed sediment transport downstream for the period of survey, and be useful in calibration/validation of sediment and contaminant numerical transport models.

Water level and discharge data are available from Water Survey of Canada’s Hydrometric Network. The Water Survey of Canada (WSC) is the national authority responsible for the collection, interpretation and dissemination of standardized water resource data and information in Canada. In partnership with the provinces, territories and other agencies, WSC operates over 2500 active hydrometric gauges across the country, maintains an archive of historical information for over 7600 stations and provides access to near real-time (water level and stream flow) provisional data at over 1700 locations in Canada.

The Canadian major and minor crop field trial regions were developed following extensive stakeholder consultation and have been harmonized between the Pest Management Regulatory Agency (PMRA) and the Environmental Protection Agency of the USA. The Canadian major and minor crop field trial regions were delineated, using the geographic information system (GIS) data processing hardware and software facilities in Spatial Analysis and Geomatics Applications (SAGA), Agriculture Division, Statistics Canada. In general, the delineation process involved integration, evaluation and reference to numerous geographic data sources in a GIS to determine the best sources for the delineation. There are seven major and four minor field trial regions. Each of these regions recognizes physical characteristics, such as soils, and crops and climate, that make the region unique within the Canadian agricultural landscape. The subzones address differences within a region, generally reflected in the types of crops grown in that region. The Canadian regions, as much as possible, correspond to the U.S. regions

The “Land Cover for Agricultural Regions of Canada, circa 2000” is a thematic land cover classification representative of Circa 2000 conditions for agricultural regions of Canada. Land cover is derived from Landsat5-TM and/or 7-ETM+ multi-spectral imagery by inputting imagery and ground reference training data into a Decision-Tree or Supervised image classification process. Object segmentation, pixel filtering, and/or post editing is applied as part of the image classification. Mapping is corrected to the GeoBase Data Alignment Layer. National Road Network (1:50,000) features and other select existing land cover products are integrated into the product. UTM Zone mosaics are generated from individual 30 meter resolution classified scenes. A spatial index is available indicating the Landsat imagery scenes and dates input in the classification. This product is published and compiled by Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC), but also integrates products mapped by other provincial and federal agencies; with appropriate legend adaptations. This release includes UTM Zones 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, and 22 for corresponding agricultural regions in Newfoundland, Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Québec, Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta and British Columbia covering approximately 370,000,000 hectares of mapped area. Mapped classes include: Water, Exposed, Built-up, Shrubland, Wetland, Grassland, Annual Crops, Perennial Crops and Pasture, Coniferous, Deciduous and Mixed forests. However, emphasis is placed on accurately delineating agricultural classes, including: annual crops (cropland and specialty crops like vineyards and orchards), perennial crops (including pastures and forages), and grasslands.

Description: Seasonal mean primary production from the British Columbia continental margin model (BCCM) were averaged over the 1981 to 2010 period and depth-integrated to create seasonal mean climatology of the Canadian Pacific Exclusive Economic Zone. Methods: Total primary production is the sum of diatoms and flagellates production. Spring months were defined as April to June, summer months were defined as July to September, fall months were defined as October to December, and winter months were defined as January to March. The data available here contain a raster layer of seasonal depth-integrated primary production climatology for the Canadian Pacific Exclusive Economic Zone at 3 km spatial resolution. Uncertainties: Model results have been extensively evaluated against observations (e.g. altimetry, CTD and nutrient profiles, observed geostrophic currents), which showed the model can reproduce with reasonable accuracy the main oceanographic features of the region including salient features of the seasonal cycle and the vertical and cross-shore gradient of water properties. However, the model resolution is too coarse to allow for an adequate representation of inlets, nearshore areas, and the Strait of Georgia.