RI_623
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The surveys are conducted along the sandspit and within a 96 ha lagoon that encompasses mudflats, eelgrass beds, and saltmarsh at the northwest end of Sidney Island, located in the Strait of Georgia, British Columbia. The survey counts numerate two species, Western Sandpiper (Calidris mauri) and Least Sandpiper (Calidris minutilla), during a portion of the southern migration period (July, August, and early September), and have been conducted intermittently since 1990. Sidney Island (48°37’39’N, 123°19’30”W) is located within the Salish Sea (Strait of Georgia), 4 km off the coast of Vancouver Island in southwestern British Columbia, Canada. Southbound Western and Least Sandpipers stop over within Sidney Spit Marine Park (part of the Gulf Islands National Park Reserve), roosting and feeding along the sandspit and within a 96 ha lagoon that encompasses mudflats, eelgrass beds, and saltmarsh at the northwest end of the island. These species are the most numerous shorebird species using the area during southern migration. Adults precede juveniles, arriving at the end of June and throughout July. Juveniles reach the site in early August, with their numbers trailing off in early September. As a result, the site experiences a transition from purely adult to purely juvenile flocks over the course of the season. Daily counts, beginning in early July and ending in early September, were conducted in 1990 and from 1992-2001 (no counts occurred in 1991). Effort was reduced to weekly surveys between 2002 and 2013. Over the entire monitoring period median survey effort was 9 counts annually. All counts were conducted at the low tide of the day, when shorebirds were feeding in the exposed mudflat of the lagoon. Observers walked along the shore of the lagoon stopping periodically at vantage points to look for birds. For ease of data recording and to keep track of individual flocks, the survey area was divided into separate units demarcated by prominent geographical features. Counts were made with the unaided eye, through binoculars, and with a 20 – 60x zoom spotting scope, depending on the proximity of the birds. All individuals in small flocks were counted and individuals in large flocks were estimated by counting in groups of 5, 10, 50 or 100 according to flock size in each successive field of view across a scan of the entire flock. Between 1990 and 2001, when daily counts were conducted, birds were occasionally counted more than once in a day. The largest count value obtained was used as the daily estimate for these days. For smaller flocks, we were able to identify all individual birds to species and age-class. Sub-samples from larger flocks were also aged (adult or juvenile) and identified to species. Birds were aged by plumage characteristics. Adult Western Sandpipers are distinguished from juveniles by the dark chevron markings present along the sides and breast. Juvenile Least Sandpipers have a buffy breast compared to the distinct, darker one of the adult, and juveniles have bright rufous scapulars compared to the drab feather-edges of the adults. In both species, juvenile plumage appears brighter and cleaner than adult plumage, which is more worn and tattered.
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Description: Seasonal climatologies of the Canadian Pacific Exclusive Economic Zone (CPEEZ) were computed from a numerical simulation of the British Columbia continental margin (BCCM) model for the 1981 to 2010 period, which can be considered as a representation of the climatological state of the region. Methods: The BCCM model is an ocean circulation-biogeochemical model implementation of the Regional Ocean Modelling System (ROMS version 3.5). The horizontal resolution is eddy-resolving at 3 km and the vertical discretization is based on a terrain-following coordinate system with 42 depth levels of increasing resolution near the surface. A detailed description of the BCCM model is given in Peña et al. (2019). 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 raster layers of seasonal climatology of temperature, salinity, current speed, nitrate, oxygen, total alkalinity, dissolved inorganic carbon, pH, aragonite saturation state, phytoplankton, and primary production. The data include 47 vertical levels (surface, bottom, and 45 more selected depths), except for total phytoplankton (surface values only) and primary production (depth-integrated values). A layer giving the bottom depth in metres at the centre of each grid point is also provided. Model grids were set to NaN values in regions where the model output is highly uncertain, such as inlets, nearshore areas, and the Strait of Georgia. Uncertainties: Model results have been compared against tide gauge data, altimetry, CTD and nutrient profiles, observed geostrophic currents, and seasonal temperature and salinity climatologies over the 1981 to 2010 period. The model is successful in reproducing the main features of the region including salient features of the seasonal cycle and the vertical structure of density and nutrients.
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The Indicator of Risk of Water Contamination by nitrogen (IROWC-N) estimates the risk of water contamination by nitrogen leaching on agricultural lands in Canada from 1981 to 2021. High nitrate level ( > 10 mg N/L) in drinking water may lead to various health impacts including methemoglobinemia (blue baby syndrome) and non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. High nitrate levels in surface waters can also contribute to algal growth and eutrophication.
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Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) has been conducting surface water trawl surveys since 1992 in the coastal waters of British Columbia, Washington, Oregon and Alaska and in the high seas of the Gulf of Alaska. These surveys initially focused on determining the migratory patterns (1992-2002) and on the growth and physiology (2003-2016) of juvenile Pacific Salmon. Since 2016, the focus has been expanded to include all components of the pelagic ecosystem while retaining a strong focus on juvenile Pacific Salmon. Given the change in research priorities, there are differences between years in location and timing. The survey series are provided based on large marine ecosystems, so data will vary in availability. These survey data contain fishing and catch information along with biological information recorded. Surveys available here have published reports that outline overall operations and any oceanographic data, zooplankton and additional samples collected.
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Bay Scale Assessment of Nearshore Habitat Bras dOr Lake - Malagawash 2007 2008 data is part of the publication Bay Scale Assessment of Nearshore Habitat Bras d'Or Lakes. A history of nearshore benthic surveys of Bras d’Or Lake from 2005 – 2011 is presented. Early work utilized drop camera and fixed mount sidescan. The next phase was one of towfish development, where camera and sidescan were placed on one platform with transponder-based positioning. From 2009 to 2011 the new towfish was used to ground truth an echosounder. The surveys were performed primarily in the northern half of the lake; from 10 m depth right into the shallows at less than 1 m. Different shorelines could be distinguished from others based upon the relative proportions of substrate types and macrophyte canopy. The vast majority of macrophytes occurred within the first 3 m of depth. This zone was dominated by a thin but consistent cover of eelgrass (Zostera marina L.) on almost all shores with a current or wave regime conducive to the growth of this plant. However, the eelgrass beds were frequently in poor shape and the negative impacts of commonly occurring water column turbidity, siltation, or possible localized eutrophication, are suspected. All survey data were placed into a Geographic Information System, and this document is a guide to that package. The Geographic Information System could be used to answer management questions such as the placement and character of habitat compensation projects, the selection of nearshore protected areas or as a baseline to determine long term changes. Vandermeulen, H. 2016. Video-sidescan and echosounder surveys of nearshore Bras d’Or Lake. Can. Tech. Rep. Fish. Aquat. Sci. 3183: viii + 39 p. Cite this data as: Vandermeulen H. Bay Scale Assessment of Nearshore Habitat Bras d'Or Lake - Malagawash 2007 - 2008. Published May 2022. Coastal Ecosystems Science Division, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Dartmouth, N.S.
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GeoAI are buildings, hydrography, forests, and roads automatically extracted using Deep Learning models applied to a source dataset, typically aerial or satellite images. The primary aim of GeoAI is to increase Canada's availability of high-resolution foundational geospatial data for both spatial and temporal coverage. The infrastructure and expertise put in place by NRCan enables a rapid, efficient, and scalable data creation process through the use of leading-edge technology and Artificial Intelligence models. Published datasets for a given source can be revisited at a later date as more accurate models are developed and put into production. For now, only static files are available, but as the series develops, new products and services will be added.
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Multi-model ensembles of surface wind speed based on projections from twenty-nine Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 5 (CMIP5) global climate models are available for 1900-2100. Specifically, the 5th, 25th, 50th, 75th and 95th percentiles of the monthly, seasonal and annual ensembles of surface wind speed (m/s) are available for the historical time period, 1900-2005, and for emission scenarios, RCP2.6, RCP4.5 and RCP8.5, for 2006-2100. Note: Projections among climate models can vary because of differences in their underlying representation of earth system processes. Thus, the use of a multi-model ensemble approach has been demonstrated in recent scientific literature to likely provide better-projected climate change information.
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Precipitation (moisture availability) establishes the economic yield potential and product quality of field crops. Both dry and wet precipitation extremes have the ability to inhibit proper crop growth. The maximum daily precipitation index covers the risk of excessive precipitation in the short term, while the other indices pertain to longer term moisture availability. Agriculture is an important primary production sector in Canada. Agricultural production, profitability, sustainability and food security depend on many agrometeorological factors. Extreme weather events in Canada, such as drought, floods, heat waves, frosts and high intensity storms, have the ability to significantly impact field crop production. Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) and Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) have together developed a suite of extreme agrometeorological indices based on four main categories of weather factors: temperature, precipitation, heat, and wind. The extreme weather indices are intended as short-term prediction tools and generated using ECCC’s medium range forecasts to create a weekly index product on a daily basis.
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The Canadian Wildlife Service - Ontario Region Biodiversity Atlas represents the Canadian Wildlife Service biodiversity portfolio across the Ontario portions of the Boreal Hardwood Shield (Bird Conservation Region 12) and Mixedwood Plains (Bird Conservation Region 13) ecozones. These data are the derived product from an extensive landscape assessment that assessed the Canadian Wildlife Service biodiversity portfolio (Species at Risk, migratory birds, habitat) at various resolutions. Biodiversity is mapped by forest, grassland (open country) and wetland quality and quantity, and then progressively combined to identify local High Value Biodiversity Areas. At the finest resolution, scores were applied to each unit of analysis (5 hectare hexagon in Bird Conservation Region 12; 2 hectare hexagon in Bird Conservation Region 13), based on over 30 criteria for landscape habitat condition, Species at Risk and migratory birds. Habitat condition scores were derived from guidance in Environment and Climate Change Canada's existing How Much Habitat is Enough? and in Bird Conservation Region 12, where the landscape is less fragmented, habitat was also based on draft guidance in How Much Disturbance is too Much? Individual scores were summed and various combinations (e.g. top 25% of forest scores + top 25% of Species at Risk (SAR) scores) were calculated to identify areas with multiple conservation value. For each habitat type (forest, grassland and wetland), study units with more than one conservation value were aggregated into High Value Habitat which were subsequently aggregated into High Value Biodiversity Areas (HVBA). The results are areas on the landscape that have high value from a Canadian Wildlife Service specific lens; that is, they are high quality habitats that are important for Species at Risk and/or migratory birds. High value habitats are those forests, grasslands and wetlands with potential high conservation value (PHCV). They contain at least 1 of a possible 3 potential high conservation values: top 25% of overall habitat scores, top 25% of Species at Risk (SAR) scores, and/or top 25% of relevant migratory bird scores. High value forest, grassland and wetland were derived by combining landscape, Species at Risk (SAR) and migratory bird elements (see Table 1). Overall habitat scores were assigned to each study unit based on the combined scores for each forest, grassland and wetland. These overall habitat scores were divided into quartiles, and the top 25% of each total score (overall forest, overall grassland and overall wetland) are considered to be potential high conservation value. Similarly, SAR scores were assigned for each study unit, totalled and broken into quartiles. The top 25% of SAR scores that intersect each of forest, grassland and wetland are considered to be the highest quality habitats important to SAR and have potential high conservation value. Finally, relevant migratory bird scores were totalled within each study unit, divided into quartiles and the top 25% of migratory bird scores that intersect each of forest, grassland and wetland are considered to be the highest quality habitats important to migratory birds and have potential high conservation value. Study units with a PHCV greater than 0 (i.e., contains at least 1 of the possible 3 potential high conservation values) were aggregated together by 750 m to create High Value Habitats. High value biodiversity areas (HVBAs) are those study units that contain multiple high value habitats (high value forest and/or high value grassland and/or high value wetland). High value biodiversity areas (HVBA) were derived by aggregating high value forest, grassland and wetland. Study units with a potential high conservation value greater than 1 were aggregated together by 750 m. Biodiversity sites are areas greater than 20 ha, and secondary biodiversity sites are areas less than 20 ha in area.
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The’ Qu'Appelle Valley Lakes system – Topography and Imagery’ series consists of topographic and imagery data for lakes within the Qu'Appelle River Valley in central Saskatchewan. This data was collected in the fall of 2008 and consists of contour lines, shorelines, spot heights, tile index, and imagery
Arctic SDI catalogue