Using the snow-day fraction to measure climatic change in southern Ontario (Canada): historical trends in winter season precipitation phase.

Global temperatures are increasing, and regional precipitation patterns are changing. Snow is an excellent indicator of regional climate change; 50 years of temperature and precipitation data were analysed from weather stations located within the five most populated cities of Ontario (Canada). Recorded measurements for temperature and precipitation were converted into binary values to indicate the frequency of rain days, snow days, wet days (when total precipitation is greater than 0.

Enabling Nature-Based Solutions to Build Back Better-An Environmental Regulatory Impact Analysis of Green Infrastructure in Ontario, Canada.

The application of green infrastructure in the built environment delivers a nature-based solution to address the impacts of climate change. This study presents a qualitative evidence synthesis that evaluates policy instruments which enable the use and implementation of green infrastructure, using Ontario, Canada as a case study. Unpacking the elements of the policy landscape that govern green infrastructure through environmental regulatory impact analysis can inform effective implementation of this nature-based solution and support decision-making in public policy.

Ecological Risk Assessment of Trace Metal in Pacific Sector of Arctic Ocean and Bering Strait Surface Sediments.

The arctic region is a remote area with relatively few anthropogenic inputs, but there is increasing concern over toxic trace metal contamination in the Arctic Ocean. In this study, distribution characteristics of eight trace metals in the surface sediment of the Pacific Sector of the Arctic Ocean and Bering Strait are analyzed. The geochemical baseline value of each metal element is explored using the relative cumulative frequency curve method; the enrichment factor (), geo-accumulation index () and potential ecological risk index () are applied to assess the ecological risk level of the trace metals.

Comparing future climatic suitability to shoreline loss for recreational beach use: a case study of five Japanese beaches.

Unlabelled: Coastal tourism is impacted by regional environmental change, including sea-level rise and climatic change. A case study at five Japanese beaches was conducted to determine the relative difference in coastal and climatic changes that are important for recreational beach tourism. Future climate conditions and projections of shoreline changes due to sea-level rise were estimated using ensembles of 14 and 21 Global Circulation Models (GCMs), respectively.

Development and validation of the Climate Model Confidence Index (CMCI): measuring ability to reproduce historical climate conditions.

This study further develops and finally validates the Climate Model Confidence Index (CMCI) as a simple and effective metric for evaluating and ranking the ability of climate models to reproduce historical climate conditions. Modelled daily climate data outputs from two different statistical downscaling techniques (PCIC: Pacific Climate Impacts Consortium; SDSM: Statistical Down-Scaling Model) are compared with observational data recorded by Environment Canada weather stations located in Kelowna, BC (Canada), for the period from 1969 to 2005. Using daily data ( > 13,000), Student's -tests determined if there were statistically significant differences between the modelled and observed means while ANOVA -tests identified differences between variances.

Nature-Based Equity: An Assessment of the Public Health Impacts of Green Infrastructure in Ontario Canada.

The built environment is a physical determinant of health essential to the planning and development of a more equitable society. Communities face growing challenges due to environmental stressors such as climate change, with vulnerable communities experiencing a disproportionate burden of adverse health outcomes. The interdependencies between urban planning and public health outcomes are inextricable, with respect to improving access to healthier built environments for vulnerable and marginalized groups.

Persistence and spatial-temporal variability of drought severity in Iran.

Drought is a natural hazard that can inflict significant damage to agriculture, society, economy, and ecosystems. The assessment of the persistence of drought severity (PDS) assists in understanding the characteristics of droughts better and enables the development of associated prediction tools and models. This work explores the persistence and spatial-temporal variability of drought severity (DS) in the diverse dryland of Iran.

Nature-based cooling potential: a multi-type green infrastructure evaluation in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

The application of green infrastructure presents an opportunity to mitigate rising temperatures using a multi-faceted ecosystems-based approach. A controlled field study in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, evaluates the impact of nature-based solutions on near surface air temperature regulation focusing on different applications of green infrastructure. A field campaign was undertaken over the course of two summers to measure the impact of green roofs, green walls, urban vegetation and forestry systems, and urban agriculture systems on near surface air temperature.

Inter- and intraspecific variation in leaf economic traits in wheat and maize.

Leaf Economics Spectrum (LES) trait variation underpins multiple agroecological processes and many prominent crop yield models. While there are numerous independent studies assessing trait variation in crops, to date there have been no comprehensive assessments of intraspecific trait variation (ITV) in LES traits for wheat and maize: the world's most widespread crops. Using trait databases and peer-reviewed literature, we compiled over 700 records of specific leaf area (SLA), maximum photosynthetic rates () and leaf nitrogen (N) concentrations, for wheat and maize.

Differences in the importance of weather and weather-based decisions among campers in Ontario parks (Canada).

Parks and protected areas represent an important resource for tourism in Canada, in which camping is a common recreational activity. The important relationship between weather and climate with recreation and tourism has been widely acknowledged within the academic literature. Howbeit, the need for activity-specific assessments has been identified as an on-going need for future research in the field of tourism climatology.

Weather sensitivity for zoo visitation in Toronto, Canada: a quantitative analysis of historical data.

Based on a case study of the Toronto Zoo (Canada), multivariate regression analysis, involving both climatic and social variables, was employed to assess the relationship between daily weather and visitation. Zoo visitation was most sensitive to weather variability during the shoulder season, followed by the off-season and, then, the peak season. Temperature was the most influential weather variable in relation to zoo visitation, followed by precipitation and, then, wind speed.

A Bayesian modelling framework for tornado occurrences in North America.

Tornadoes represent one of nature's most hazardous phenomena that have been responsible for significant destruction and devastating fatalities. Here we present a Bayesian modelling approach for elucidating the spatiotemporal patterns of tornado activity in North America. Our analysis shows a significant increase in the Canadian Prairies and the Northern Great Plains during the summer, indicating a clear transition of tornado activity from the United States to Canada.

Use of traditional environmental knowledge to assess the impact of climate change on subsistence fishing in the James Bay Region of Northern Ontario, Canada.

Introduction: In Canada, unique food security challenges are being faced by Aboriginal people living in remote-northern communities due to the impacts of climate change on subsistence harvesting. This study used traditional environmental knowledge (TEK) to investigate whether there was a temporal relationship between extreme climatic events in the summer of 2005, and fish die-offs in the Albany River, northern Ontario, Canada. Also, TEK was utilized to examine a potential shift in subsistence fish species distribution due to climate change.