Arctic SDI catalogue
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The Adjusted Precipitation data consist of monthly, seasonal and annual totals of daily adjusted rain, snow and total precipitation (millimetres) for 464 locations in Canada. Adjusted precipitation data incorporate adjustments (derived from comparison of instruments) to the original station data to account for discontinuities from non-climatic factors, such as instrument changes or station relocation. The time periods of the data vary by location, with the oldest data available from the early 1880s at some stations to the most recent update in 2017. Observations at co-located sites were sometimes joined in order to create longer time series. Data availability over most of the Canadian Arctic is restricted to the mid-1940s to present.
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The Homogenized Surface Pressure data consist of monthly, seasonal and annual means of hourly sea level and station pressure (hectopascals) for 626 locations in Canada. Homogenized climate data incorporate adjustments (derived from statistical procedures) to the original station data to account for discontinuities from non-climatic factors, such as instrument changes or station relocation. The time periods of the data vary by location, with the oldest data available from 1953 at some stations to the most recent update in 2014. Data availability over most of the Canadian Arctic is restricted to 1953 to present. The data will continue to be updated every few years (as time permits).
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644 datasets of hourly meteorological data for all of Canada from various periods (1998 to 2020). The values of the records for solar irradiance are primarily based on satellite-derived solar estimates. This dataset has been updated with the most recent changes made in March 2023. The solar values in these files are based on 0.1° x 0.1° (11 km x 11 km grid) for all of Canada. Refer to Data Resources below for additional information on the CWEEDS file format and revision history.
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Monthly, seasonal and annual trends of mean wind speed change (kilometres per hour) based on homogenized station data (AHCCD) are available. Trends are calculated using the Theil-Sen method using the station’s full period of available data. The availability of surface wind speed trends will vary by station; if more than 5 consecutive years are missing data or more than 10% of the data within the time series is missing, a trend was not calculated.
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The Homogenized Surface Wind Speed data consist of monthly, seasonal and annual means of hourly wind speed (kilometres per hour) at standard 10 metre level for 156 locations in Canada. Homogenized climate data incorporate adjustments (derived from statistical procedures) to the original station data to account for discontinuities from non-climatic factors, such as instrument changes or station relocation. The time periods of the data vary by location, with the oldest data available from 1953 at some stations to the most recent update in 2014. Data availability over most of the Canadian Arctic is restricted to 1953 to present. The data will continue to be updated every few years (as time permits).
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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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Version 2 of the Canadian homogenized wind speed (CanHomW V2) datasets contain homogenized monthly and daily mean wind speed data series for the period 1953-2023 for 154 long-term stations in Canada. As detailed in Wang et al. (2025), the monthly dataset (CanHomW mlyV2) was produced using a modified version of the comprehensive semi-automatic changepoint detection procedure developed by Wang et al. (2023), which includes homogeneity testing with and without using a reference series. To produce the homogenized daily wind speed dataset (CanHomW dlyV2), daily wind speed data series were tested to find the most probable day of an artificial change detected in the corresponding monthly data series whenever the exact date of change in the daily series is undocumented. The Twentieth Century Reanalysis 20CRv3 ensemble-mean series of monthly wind speeds (Slivinski et al., 2019), 49 monthly mean geostrophic wind speeds derived from surface pressure data, and up to four nearest stations’ data series were used as reference in the homogeneity tests. However, no reference was used to adjust the data series to diminish the detected inhomogeneities. This is because the density of long-term wind observing stations in Canada is too low to find a representative reference series to use for estimating reliable adjustments to homogenize the data series. A modified version of the quantile matching (QM) adjustment method with no reference (Wang et al. 2010) was used to homogenize the data series. The QM method adjusts the whole distribution of the data in one segment to match another, rather than just adjust the mean. The modifications here include an approach to prevent having unphysical negative values in the homogenized wind speed series (see Wang et al. 2025 for more details). Despite the higher uncertainty arising from applying adjustments estimated without using a reference series, compared to when applying adjustments estimated using a representative reference series (if such a reference were available), this is the best (i.e., most usable for trend assessment) Canadian homogenized wind speeds dataset that has been produced to date. For transparency and traceability, the raw (original/unhomogenized) data series along with the station joining information are included in the CanHomW datasets. Trends in the raw and homogenized data are analyzed and discussed in Wang et al. (2025). References: Wang, X.L., Y. Feng, V. Isaac, F. W. Zwiers, L. A., Vincent, and M. Hartwell, 2025: Observed Surface Wind Speed Trends Inferred from Homogenized in Situ Data and Reanalysis Datasets. Atmosphere-Ocean iFirst article, 2025, 1-17, https://doi.org/10.1080/07055900.2025.2570920. Wang, X.L, Y. Feng, V. Y. S. Cheng, H. Xu, 2023: Observed precipitation trends inferred from Canada’s homogenized monthly precipitation dataset, J. Clim., 36, 7957-7971. DOI: 10.1175/JCLI-D-23-0193.1. Wang, X. L., Chen, H., Wu, Y., Feng, Y., & Pu, Q. (2010). New Techniques for the Detection and Adjustment of Shifts in Daily Precipitation Data Series. Journal of Applied Meteorology and Climatology, 49(12), 2416–2436. https://doi.org/10.1175/2010JAMC2376.1. Slivinski, L. and coauthors, 2019: Towards a more reliable historical reanalysis: Improvements for version 3 of the Twentieth Century Reanalysis system. Q. J. R. Meteor. Soc., 2876-2908, https://doi.org/10.1002/qj.3598.
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The dataset includes timeseries of horizontal current speed and direction, vertical current speed, water depth, and temperature at instrument depth from Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler (ADCP) moorings. Data were collected as part of a multiyear effort lead by Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) to support sustainable aquaculture regulation in the Coast of Bays, an area of the south coast of Newfoundland. This dataset is the third of a series aiming to provide an oceanographic knowledge baseline of the Coast of Bays, Newfoundland. It consists of 73 ADCP timeseries varying in length from about 26 days to 235 days collected between 2009 and 2014. Analyses from this dataset were presented during a Canadian Science Advisory Secretariat (CSAS) meeting which took place in St John’s in March 2015 (http://www.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/csas-sccs/schedule-horraire/2015/03_25-26b-eng.html) and from which a Science Advisory Report (http://www.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/csas-sccs/Publications/SAR-AS/2016/2016_039-eng.html), Proceedings (http://www.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/csas-sccs/Publications/Pro-Cr/2017/2017_043-eng.html) and several research documents were published.
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Monthly, seasonal and annual trends of mean hourly sea level and station pressure change (hectopascals) based on homogenized station data (AHCCD) are available. Trends are calculated using the Theil-Sen method using the station’s full period of available data. The availability of surface pressure trends will vary by station; if more than 5 consecutive years are missing data or more than 10% of the data within the time series is missing, a trend was not calculated.
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Monthly, seasonal and annual trends of daily minimum, mean and maximum surface air temperature change (degrees Celsius) based on homogenized station data (AHCCD) are available. Trends are calculated using the Theil-Sen method using the station’s full period of available data. The availability of temperature trends will vary by station; if more than 5 consecutive years are missing data or more than 10% of the data within the time series is missing, a trend was not calculated.