MacLeod:  In the past and at present, aviation weather forecasts for airports (TAFs) were/are produced manually by meteorologists, using the same models and data as are used for public and other types of forecasts.  In 2009, Scotia Weather Services Inc. (SWSI) began to automate this for its private aviation clients using its in-house Weather Forecast and Research (WRF) model. Under a federal government program for product commercialization, SWSI implemented a test version of their system to use the outputs of the WRF configured in ultra- fine scale over an airport to produce automated TAF products. This test version was used to produce automated aviation forecasts for several DND airports.

Hannah: The World Class Tanker Safety Initiative is a major program of the Government of Canada to improve the overall regime under which oil tankers operate in Canada. Oceanography plays a small but vital role in this initiative. This presentation will provide an overview of the oceanographic program for the North Coast of British Columbia. This includes results from deployments of a new low-cost satellite-tracked surface drifter, current meter moorings, observation of flow over a shallow sill, and the development of a high resolution circulation model for the fjord system of the North Coast of BC.

Lewkowicz:  Broad patterns of permafrost distribution across latitudinal and elevational gradients in the mountains of western and eastern Canada can be described using empirical-statistical modeling based on climate data derived from networks of simple air and ground temperature monitoring stations. Finer scale determinations within the region require physical modeling but are limited by a lack of baseline information on substrate characteristics, snow and the surface organic layer. New techniques, such as the use of electrical resistivity tomography and low level aerial imaging using an unmanned aerial vehicle (drone) have proved critical to site-level investigations. Field observations of permafrost using these new techniques will be discussed.

Watson-Wright:  The need for the management of our links to the ocean, including both how we benefit from the ocean and impact on it, requires ocean-related research, observations and monitoring, including data management, ocean and earth system forecasting, and the development of information for societal benefit. This information comes in the form of services, as well as in a longer term building of a knowledge base and from scientific assessments.   The role of the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) of UNESCO in each of these, as well as some of the current global initiatives in which the IOC is involved, will be discussed.

Ianson:  As the oceans absorb anthropogenic CO   2  they become more acidic, a problem termed ocean acidification (OA). This increase in CO  2  is occurring rapidly, and so may have significant negative implications for marine ecosystems. The body of scientific literature concerning OA is also growing rapidly. However, if one looks carefully at specific geographic regions, there are significant `knowledge gaps'. In many coastal zones the mean present day level of acidity is unknown. These regions tend to be highly variable and so it is unlikely that reported global means, commonly assumed in OA experiments, apply. Furthermore, many marine organisms, especially those that are of economic and cultural importance (like salmon), live or spend part of their life in nearshore regions where the carbonate system may be more difficult to measure. Finally, as trophic level increases, less is known about the impact of OA in general. I explore all of these issues in the context of the Canadian west coast and its present day fisheries, as well as the potential for local contributions (such as sewage) to acidity in the region.
 

Hains & Youngblut:  In the summer of 2014, members of a multi-disciplinary team continued the multi-year search for HMS Erebus and HMS Terror, the lost ships of Sir John Franklin's expedition, which were beset and later abandoned in the ice of Victoria Strait in 1848, west of King William Island.  The team discovered HMS Erebus in southern Queen Maud Gulf, generating extensive interest around the world.

Like many pivotal moments in discoveries, it was luck and generosity that set off a chain of historical events that led to the discovery of Captain Franklin's lead ship, starting with the simple act of a CHS hydrographer offering extra helicopter space to a team of Nunavut archeologists, and ending with a marine survey by the Canadian Hydrographic Service to produce stunning three-dimensional images of the located wreck, images that ultimately enabled Park Canada's marine archeologists to confirm the identity of HMS Erebus.

This is the story of how the Canadian Hydrographic Service set out to collect high definition bathymetric data showing highly detailed images of the seabed in order to make better marine navigation charts and ended up helping to make history.

Jackson: The Canadian Ice Service (CIS) has been the unique Canadian government organization providing timely and accurate ice information for over 50 years. From its origins as the provider of ice information solely to the Canadian Navy's Arctic patrols in the 1950s to its current role as a provider of ice information and services to a myriad of different clients, CIS has undergone dramatic changes.  These changes have occurred over the years in dramatic leaps and bounds as a result of technological changes and improvements as well as an augmentation of CIS capacity, such as its new role in monitoring Canada's navigable waterways for oil pollution. The coming years will see more changes spurred on by a number of stimuli including establishment of five new METAREAS in the Arctic; the Tanker Safety Panel recommendations both south and north of 60 degrees N; the Audit on Marine Transportation in the Arctic by the Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development (CESD) within the Office of the Auditor General; two new Arctic Council international Pan-Arctic treaties; and the implementation of the IMO Mandatory Polar Code.

The next 10 years will see a revolution in the development and maturity of CIS. In this presentation, you will experience CIS' past, its present and its future.