Abstracts: CMOS
Ottawa, 2013-2014
(in
language
given)
Conway:
On April 23-24, top Canadian scientists and agency leaders met in
Ottawa to discuss the impacts and challenges of Extreme Weather-and how
to minimize its often devastating effects. This talk will summarize
some of the highlights and conclusions of the meeting.
The
symposium, which was organized by the Canadian Climate Forum, brought
speakers together from a range of sectors, to: present new ideas on
weather patterns; and insights on the challenges of extreme events on
health, the economy, energy supply, infrastructure and public safety.
Sessions also examined the strengths and weaknesses of current adaptive
measures; and provided practical information on elements needed to
build resilience, and to safeguard Canadians and the economy in the
future.
McElroy:
From the deployment of a Canadian ozone monitoring system during IGY in
1957 through the signing of the Vienna Convention for the Protection of
the Ozone Layer in 1985 and up to the present, Canada has played a
leading role in the measurement of ozone, worldwide. Dr. McElroy
was intimately involved in the ozone issue since 1970. He will
share his viewpoint on the contribution Canada has made to ozone
science and on the influence the development of the Montreal Protocol
in 1987 has had on global environmental discussions since.
Hamm /
Taillefer: Acoustic
propagation modelling came of age in the midst of the Cold War where
many of the "numerical models" were used to assist sonar systems to
predict sound energy levels and propagation paths to assess the posture
of enemy submarines. Today's propagation models exhibit a very
high
degree of fidelity and accuracy, and are now used extensively to combat
the threat of sound to marine life created through anthropogenic
activities. Anthropogenic activities include commercial shipping,
coastal industry, installation of offshore energy platforms, oil
production, and probing the Earth's crust for oil and gas deposits
through seismic exploration. The oil and gas industry are now
fully
dependent on acoustic modelling in order to assess the impacts of their
activities on the marine life, in particular, for marine mammals. The
stakes are high for the oil and gas sector, and for the animals.
A
review of these topics and Maritime Way Scientific's recent
investigations will be presented for non-acousticians.
Jungcurt:
The ocean is undergoing unprecedented change. Pollution,
acidification, over fishing, demand for resources, and climate change
are affecting marine populations and coastal communities. Recognizing
the importance of understanding Canada's capacity to address future
questions of ocean science, the Consortium of Canadian Research
Universities asked the Council of Canadian Academies to undertake an
assessment of Canada's capacity in ocean science. A group of
Canadian and international ocean experts determined 40 priority
research questions for ocean science in Canada, and an Expert Panel on
Canadian Ocean Science assessed Canada's current and future capacity to
address these research questions. It also used the 40 questions to
determine future opportunities and challenges for ocean sciences in
Canada. This presentation will provide an overview of the work
conducted by these groups and will discuss the key findings of their
reports.
Phase 1 report
http://www.scienceadvice.ca/en/assessments/other/ocean_science_phase_one.aspx
Phase 2 (report, executive
summary, report in focus and appendices)
http://www.scienceadvice.ca/en/assessments/completed/oceans.aspx
Bancroft:
Canada's north is a harsh,
austere and at times unforgiving environment. There are numerous
challenges working there; such as vast distances, minimal support
infrastructure, extreme weather, sea ice, and poor
communications.
There are very few organisations capable of operating there
independently, even the Canadian Forces or the Canadian Coast Guard.
High trust partnerships have often proven essential to success. This
presentation will review some of these success stories, and their
impact to date on northern development from a public good perspective,
and underscore some key lessons learned for individuals and
organisations looking north.
Shearer: Russ
Shearer of AANDC has led the Northern Contaminants Program for 20
years. This program, well connected internationally through the
Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Program of the Arctic Council, has
supported Canadian government, academic and community-based science and
led to the development of a strong Arctic research community. The
program was driven by the discovery that worldwide contaminants were
finding their way into the traditional foods of Northerners and into
the people themselves through long range air and water pathways.
Russ will give examples of how the science has driven international
policy to protect our North.
Allen:
What causes the interannual variability in phytoplankton growth and
timing, in nutrient levels and in pH in a coastal ocean? How has that
changed in the past? Can we predict what will happen this year? These
types of questions can be answered by coupled
biological-chemical-physical models provided they contain the physical
oceanography that causes interannual variations and the biology and
chemistry that determine the impacts on phytoplankton and on carbon.
Designed
for deep estuaries, *SOG is such a model. As models go, it is simple: a
one-dimensional, vertical model with all two-dimensional processes
parameterized. In order to constrain and evaluate coupled
bio-chem-physics models, detailed knowledge of the system is needed.
The Strait of Georgia is an excellent test-bed: a deep estuary in
British Columbia that has been observed, studied and modelled over many
years with a large surrounding population interested in its health.
This talk will present the basis of the SOG model and then highlight
two applications: 1) the prediction (and hindcast) of the spring
phytoplankton bloom and 2) the processes driving the seasonal and
interannual variation of pH in the Strait.
*
SOG - Strait of Georgia
Allport:
For nearly 20 years Doug Allport has been
at the forefront of Canadian alerting and situational awareness
developments. Today he wears many hats, including the General Manager
of Canada's Multi-Agency Situational Awareness System (MASAS) and
volunteer Executive Director of the Canadian Association for Public
Alerting and Notification (CAPAN). In his talk, Doug will update us on
recent developments, and provide a look ahead to what he sees coming
next.
Goodison: The
cryosphere (solid precipitation, snow cover, sea ice, lake and river
ice, glaciers, ice caps, ice sheets, permafrost, and seasonally frozen
ground) exists in various forms at all latitudes and in about one
hundred countries. Changes in the cryosphere have major impacts on
health, water supply, agriculture, transportation, freshwater
ecosystems, hydropower production, and cryosphere-related hazards such
as floods, droughts, avalanches, and sea-level rise. Today, it receives
constant coverage by the media, creating a demand for authoritative
information on the past, present, and future state of the world's snow
and ice resources from polar ice to tropical glaciers.
The
International Polar Year (IPY) clearly demonstrated the urgent need for
a sustained, robust, end-to-end cryosphere observing and monitoring
system, not only for polar regions but globally. Canada stepped forward
and proposed to WMO Congress in 2007 that WMO create a Global
Cryosphere Watch to serve as an important component of the IPY legacy.
WMO welcomed the proposal and subsequent widespread consultation
resulted in a GCW Implementation Strategy which was approved by WMO
Congress in 2011.
GCW
will provide authoritative, clear, and useable data, information, and
analyses on the past, current, and future state of the cryosphere to
meet the needs of WMO Members and partners in delivering services to
users, the media, the public, decision and policy makers. It will
include observation, monitoring, assessment, product development,
prediction, and related research.
This
presentation will summarize the development of GCW, its current status,
near-term initiatives and opportunities and challenges which will
require active engagement of WMO, its Members, partners, and
collaborators and will include perspectives on international
collaboration gained by the presenter while working at WMO within the
UN system. Canada has been a leader in GCW's early development, largely
through Environment Canada. But there are many opportunities for other
federal and provincial agencies and universities to make valuable
contributions to GCW nationally and internationally to help ensure this
legacy will be carried forward, while meeting their own needs for
cryosphere information.
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