Smith:  This presentation will present a new international collaborative initiative called Him-Data that seeks advice and support for equipment installation, volunteer training, and research to ensure the sustainability and impact of climate monitoring efforts in the high altitudes of the Himalaya region, also known as the “Third Pole”. Like high latitude regions of Canada, we will examine the critical need for high alpine weather and climate monitoring in the Himalayas, where the impacts of climate change, such as water insecurity, agricultural disruption, biodiversity loss, and increased extreme events, are increasingly felt. Despite the region’s vulnerability, existing climate monitoring infrastructure is inadequate, and efforts to install Automated Weather Stations (AWS) have often failed due to sustainability challenges. The proposed solution leverages the strategic location of Buddhist monasteries and schools in remote, high-altitude regions, many of which are occupied year-round and can provide secure sites for AWS installation. By engaging and training local monks, nuns, local governments and teachers to maintain these stations, this approach aims to fill critical data gaps, support adaptation strategies for local communities, and contribute to the global understanding of climate change in high-altitude environments. The first two pilot stations will be presented in Nepal. Further the project is working collaboratively to bring existing data sets together in a single data system that are not presently made available.

Carson  Environment and Climate Change Canada's weather and climate monitoring infrastructure is vital to the Meteorological Service of Canada (MSC) in delivering timely, accurate information that supports public safety, economic resilience, and environmental stewardship. However, operating this critical infrastructure is increasingly challenging amid shifting geopolitical, technological, and domestic landscapes.  In this presentation, Neil Carson will share his perspective on how the MSC can adapt to the growing and complex demands for weather and climate data- such as enabling AI-driven weather models and addressing monitoring gaps in Arctic and coastal regions. He will also explore global developments, including changes in the geopolitical environment, emerging monitoring technologies, and the rise of artificial intelligence and machine learning. These trends underscore the need for robust planning, modernized data policies, and trusted collaborations to ensure Canada's monitoring systems remain resilient and future ready.

Shkvorets  For the past two years, the crew of SV Oceanolog has sailed from Canada to Panama collecting high-quality oceanographic data through the citizen-science initiative Sail for Science, endorsed by the UN Ocean Decade.

Using an RBR ConcertoCTD, we measured key Essential Ocean Variables—including temperature, salinity, dissolved oxygen, chlorophyll-a, fDOM, and transmittance—across coastal and island regions that are poorly monitored. Salinity was verified onboard using an RBR Micro-Salinometer calibrated to IAPSO Standard Seawater.

In May 2024, we deployed an Argo float from a sailboat for the first time in the Americas, proving that small vessels can contribute to the Argo global observation network. We also performed CTD-profiling near Saint Lucia during Hurricane Beryl, monitoring its impact on a stratification of the EOVs in the water column.

Our data have been shared via open-access data platform HUB Ocean, partially through NCEI, CIOOS, and with collaborating scientists. In March 2025, our project presented a poster at the International Ocean Data Conference III in Colombia. Through presentations in marinas and anchorages, we have encouraged other sailors to help collect ocean data.

Our project demonstrates that low-cost, low-carbon sailing community-driven oceanographic data collection is both feasible and valuable for scaling ocean observations and filling gaps in oceanographic data.

Maggi  Climate change represents a critical threat to environmental stability and physical health, while also acting as a significant risk multiplier for mental health and psychological wellbeing. The pervasive and escalating nature of its impacts exacerbates mental health risks across diverse populations, establishing it as one of the foremost public health challenges of our time. When examined through an equity-focused lens, it is evident that climate change disproportionately burdens specific societal sectors. This disparity arises from the intersection of climate impacts with key social determinants of health, which compound the severity of its consequences.

This presentation will elucidate the multifaceted pathways through which climate change adversely affects mental health. It will distinguish between acute, clinically diagnosable conditions, such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and major depression, linked to extreme weather events, and the more chronic, insidious psychological effects associated with the all-encompassing ecological crisis. A key focus will be the characterization of eco-anxiety, a complex psychological response stemming from awareness of environmental degradation and concern for the future.

Moving beyond establishing these associations, the presentation will advocate for a solution-oriented framework informed by developmental sciences and positive psychology. It will explore adaptive strategies designed to support psychological flourishing with a particular emphasis on managing eco-anxiety. These strategies include cultivating a deeper connection with oneself, others and the natural world.

Brklacich  Gloom about climate change is all around: dangerous levels of atmospheric GHGs, more frequent and intense extreme events such as droughts and wildfires, the breaching of the 1.5°C warming threshold and the failure to curb global GHG emissions all engender despair.