This product provides information on Precipitation at Selected Alberta Weather Stations, over a five-year period. Average 1961-2014; and 2014 as a Percent(%) of 1961-2014 Average are included.

This product provides information on Precipitation at Selected Alberta Weather Stations, over a five-year period. Average 1961-2014; and 2014 as a Percent(%) of 1961-2014 Average are included.

The report summarizes observed climatic changes across Canada and Alberta. It briefly discusses the causes of climate change and the methodology for the detection and causal attribution of long-term trends and changes in the frequency or intensity of extreme events. The report summarizes observed and projected changes for more than 30 climate indicators, from the temperature of the coldest day of the year to average precipitation during the growing season. Future simulations are generated using a set of global climate models from the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project version 5 (CMIP5), under higher (RCP8.5) and lower (RCP4.5) emissions scenarios, statistically downscaled to a high-resolution grid covering the entire province, and to 21 weather stations in Alberta. Local changes in the climate indicators are scaled to global mean temperature increases of +1, +1.5, and +2, +3 and +4OC.

The report summarizes observed climatic changes across Canada and Alberta. It briefly discusses the causes of climate change and the methodology for the detection and causal attribution of long-term trends and changes in the frequency or intensity of extreme events. The report summarizes observed and projected changes for more than 30 climate indicators, from the temperature of the coldest day of the year to average precipitation during the growing season. Future simulations are generated using a set of global climate models from the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project version 5 (CMIP5), under higher (RCP8.5) and lower (RCP4.5) emissions scenarios, statistically downscaled to a high-resolution grid covering the entire province, and to 21 weather stations in Alberta. Local changes in the climate indicators are scaled to global mean temperature increases of +1, +1.5, and +2, +3 and +4OC.

This map of Alberta indicates the location of weather stations in the province. It includes locations of wildfire lookouts, lightning sensors, automatic stations and other agency's weather stations. The map also shows weather forecast zone boundaries.

The data represents the annual total precipitation in Alberta over the 30-year period from 1971 to 2000. A 30-year period is used to describe the present climate since it is enough time to filter our short-term fluctuations but is not dominated by any long-term trend in the climate. Annual total precipitation refers to rain, snow and other forms of moisture such as hail. Annual precipitation is greatest in the mountains and decreases at lower elevations. In the agricultural areas of the province, 50 to60 percent of annual precipitation generally occurs during the growing season, mostly as rain.Precipitation in any month can be extremely variable with the variability of precipitation being greater in southern Alberta than in the Peace River Region and central Alberta. However, long-term (30-year) data provides a reliable indication of what to expect in any given location. Climate information is used as a long-term planning tool, in selecting a location for a farm or planning a cropping program. Crop producers generally look at the most likely weather conditions rather than the extremes because the key inputs and decisions are made well in advance of achieving results. By combining knowledge of the agricultural operation with knowledge of what is likely to happen (climate), the producer can then decide on the acceptable level of risk due to adverse conditions. This resource was created using ArcGIS

This product provides information on Precipitation at Selected Alberta Weather Stations, over a five-year period. Average 1961-2014; and 2014 as a Percent(%) of 1961-2014 Average are included.

The Alberta Hail Project Meteorological and Barge-Humphries Radar Archive Webpage

Precipitation Change at Stavely, Alberta, Canada

Latitude and longitude of weather stations available in Alberta with the information we have required

location of major cities

This report examines recent studies on trends and changes in extreme weather events in Canada and assesses these studies in the context of global warming. The assessment suggests that extreme weather events (hot spells, extreme precipitation events, thunderstorm/tornadoes and ice storms) do not show an increasing trend anywhere in Canada, or over the Canadian prairies at this point in time. On the Canadian prairies, extreme cold spells and winter blizzards are definitely on the decline during the past 40 years.

Thunderstorms, heavy rain, hail, high winds, blowing snow, blizzards, and ice storms can develop quickly and threaten life and property. This fact sheet provides information about how to be prepared when severe weather strikes.

The data represents the annual solar radiation in Alberta over the 30-year period from 1971 to 2000. A 30-year period is use to describe the present climate since it is enough time to filter out short-term fluctuation by is not dominated by any long-term trend in the climate. Daily total incoming solar radiation is measured in megajoules per square metre (MJ/m2). Southern Alberta receives the greatest amount of annual global solar radiation with the amount gradually decreasing as you move farther north. However, cropping is successful in the northern (Peace River) area of Alberta because the longer summer day length helps compensate for the less intense solar radiation. Cloud cover in the mountains will reduce the amount of solar radiation received there.The amount of solar radiation received at the earth's surface varies with two factors that depend on latitude: the angle of the sun's rays and the hours of daylight. The distance from the equator, and therefore the intensity of the sun's radiation has the greatest effect on climate. Canada's position in the northern portion of the earth's northern hemisphere means that it receives less solar radiation compared to countries near the equator. The northward decrease in solar radiation is also noticeable within Alberta. Temperatures are generally higher in southern Alberta in comparison to northern Alberta because the south receives more solar radiation. This resource was created using ArcGIS.

No description is available. Visit https://dataone.org/datasets/%7B2F1D5C7B-3905-4EDC-A01B-AABB954FA2D8%7D for complete metadata about this dataset.

No description is available. Visit https://dataone.org/datasets/%7B606C489A-77E7-4270-8863-2981081C891D%7D for complete metadata about this dataset.

This dataset contains tracked hailstorm events based on radar-derived maximum vertically integrated liquid (max_VIL). The dataset provides key storm parameters such as latitude, longitude, timestamp, and storm intensity. The dataset was generated as part of the study "Modulation of Severe Hailstorms in Alberta by Large-Scale Climate Teleconnections."

Describes how to interpret a fire forecast map. This includes describing map features and symbols.

Climate-informed conservation priorities in British Columbia (Version 1.1)

Territorial acknowledgement:

We respectfully acknowledge that we live and work across diverse unceded territories and treaty lands and pay our respects to the First Nations, Inuit and Métis ancestors of these places. We honour our connections to these lands and waters and reaffirm our relationships with one another.

Suggested citation:

Stolar, J., D. Stralberg, I. Naujokaitis-Lewis, S.E. Nielsen, and G. Kehm. 2024. Spatial priorities for climate-change refugia and connectivity for British Columbia (Version 1.1). Place of publication: University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada. doi: 10.5281/zenodo.10603162

Corresponding author: stolar@ualberta.ca

Summary:

The purpose of this project is to identify spatial locations of (a) vulnerabilities within British Columbia’s current network of protected areas and (b) priorities for conservation and management of natural landscapes within British Columbia under a range of future climate-change scenarios. This involved adaptation and implementation of existing continental- and provincial-scale frameworks for identifying areas that have potential to serve as refugia from climate change or corridors for species migration.

Outcomes of this work include the provision of practical guidance for protected areas network design and vulnerabilities identification under climate change, with application to other regions and jurisdictions. Project results, in the form of multiple spatial prioritization scenarios, may be used to evaluate the resilience of the existing protected area network and other conservation designations to better understand the risks to British Columbia’s biodiversity in our changing climate.

Description:

These raster layers represent different scenarios of Zonation rankings of conservation priorities for climate resilience and connectivity between current and 2080s conditions for a provincial-scale analysis. Input conservation features included metrics of macrorefugia (forward and backward climate velocity (km/year), overlapping future and current habitat suitability for ~900 rare species in BC), microrefugia (presence of old growth ecosystems, drought refugia, glaciers/cool slopes/wetlands, and geodiversity), and connectivity. Please see details in the accompanying report.

File nomenclature:

.zip folder (Stolar_et_al_2024_CiCP_Zenodo_upload_Version_1.1.zip):
Contains the files listed below.

Macrorefugia (2080s_macrorefugia.tif):
Scenarios for each taxonomic group (equal weightings for all species) (Core-area Zonation Function)
Climate-type velocity + species scenarios from above (Core-area Zonation; equal weightings)

Microrefugia (microrefugia.tif):
Scenario with old growth forest habitat, landscape geodiversity, wetlands/cool slopes/glaciers, drought refugia (Core-area Zonation; equal weightings)

Overall scenario (2080s_macro_micro_connectivity.tif):
Inputs from above (with equal weightings) + connectivity metrics (each weighted at 0.1) (Additive Benefit Function Zonation)

Conservation priorities (Conservation_priorities_2080s.tif):
Overall scenario from above extracted to regions of low human footprint.

Restoration priorities (Restoration_priorities_2080s.tif):
Overall scenario from above extracted to regions of high human footprint.

Accompanying report (Stolar_et_al_2024_CiCP_Zenodo_upload_Version_1.1.pdf):
Documentation of rationale, methods and interpretation.

READ_ME file (READ_ME_PLEASE.txt):
Metadata.

Legend interpretation:

Ranked Zonation priorities increase from 0 (lowest) to 1 (highest).

Raster information:

Columns and Rows: 1597, 1368
Number of Bands: 1
Cell Size (X, Y): 1000, 1000
Format: TIFF
Pixel Type: floating point
Compression: LZW

Spatial reference:

XY Coordinate System: NAD_1983_Albers
Linear Unit: Meter (1.000000)
Angular Unit: Degree (0.0174532925199433)
false_easting: 1000000
false_northing: 0
central_meridian: -126
standard_parallel_1: 50
standard_parallel_2: 58.5
latitude_of_origin: 45
Datum: D_North_American_1983

Extent:

West -139.061502 East -110.430823
North 60.605550 South 47.680823

Disclaimer:

The University of Alberta (UofA) is furnishing this deliverable "as is". UofA does not provide any warranty of the contents of the deliverable whatsoever, whether express, implied, or statutory, including, but not limited to, any warranty of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose or any warranty that the contents of the deliverable will be error-free.

Funding:

We gratefully acknowledge the financial support of Environment and Climate Change Canada, the Province of British Columbia through the Ministry of Water, Land and Resource Stewardship) and the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change Strategy, the BC Parks Living Lab for Climate Change and Conservation, and the Wilburforce Foundation.

The frequency and severity of extreme weather events such as heat waves are increasing globally, revealing ecological responses that provide valuable insights towards the conservation of species in a changing climate. In this study, we utilized data from two populations of GPS-collared female wood bison (Bison bison athabascae) in the boreal forest of northwestern Canada to investigate their movement behaviours in response to the 2021 Western North American Heat Wave. Using generalized additive mixed effect models and a model selection framework, we identified a behavioural temperature threshold for wood bison at 21°C. Above this threshold movement rates decreased from ~100 m/hr at 21°C to a low of ~25 m/hr at 39°C (150% decrease; -9%/°C). Extreme heat also contributed to changes in diurnal movement patterns, reducing wood bison movement rates and shifting the timing of peak activity from midday to early morning. These findings highlight the behavioural adaptations of female wood bison and underscore the need to understand the behavioural and physiological responses of cold-adapted mammals to extreme weather events. Subsequent effects of thermoregulatory behaviour may impact individual fitness and population viability, particularly at high latitudes where cold-adapted species are increasingly exposed to severe weather resulting from anthropogenic climate change. Methods Study system We used movement data from females of two bison populations in northwestern Canada: the Aishihik population (n = 1,951; 95% CI = 1,688 - 2,295; Jung et al. 2023a) found in southwestern Yukon (~61.4°, -137.3°) and the Ronald Lake population (n = 272; T. Hegel, Alberta Environment and Parks, pers. comm. 2021) located in northeastern Alberta (~57.9°, -111.7°). The populations are approximately 1,500 km apart. The Aishihik population occupied an 8,000 km2 area east of Kluane National Park and was primarily within the Traditional Territories of the Champagne and Aishihik First Nations and Little Salmon/Carmacks First Nation (Fig. 1; Jung et al. 2015a; Clark et al. 2016). The range of the Aishihik population had a cold and semi-arid climate, with snow cover extending from October to May (Jung 2020). Their range was mainly above treeline (~950 m above sea level [ASL]) and characterized by a mountainous landscape with several peaks ≥1,600 m ASL and alpine plateaus bisected by large river valleys and lakes (Jung 2020). Lowlands consisted of open-canopy boreal forest, wet sedge meadows, and relict boreal grasslands (Jung 2020). The Aishihik population was free ranging with unrestricted movements (Jung 2017), and experienced ecological and evolutionary processes such as competition (Jung et al. 2015a, 2015b, 2018) and predation (Jung 2011; Jung et al. 2023b). Anecdotal observations from field surveys indicate that calving for the Aishihik bison population typically occurs between early May and late June. Rarely, newborn calves have been observed as early as April and as late as December (Jung et al. 2019). The rut occurs in late summer (Jung 2020). Major summer diet components of the Aishihik bison population included sedges (Carex spp.), rushes (Juncus spp., and Eriophorum spp.), and grasses (Calamagrostis purpurea and Poa spp.) (Jung et al. 2015b). The population is subject to predation by wolves (Canis lupus) and brown bears (Ursus arctos); however, these events are rare (Jung et al. 2023b). The Ronald Lake wood bison population was located in northeastern Alberta, immediately south of Wood Buffalo National Park, and occupied a range of ~4,500 km2 within the Traditional Territory of Treaty 8 First Nations (Fig. 1; Tan et al. 2014; DeMars et al. 2020). The Ronald Lake population experienced short, warm summers with a mean daily temperature above 15°C and long, cold winters with a mean daily temperature below 10°C (Downing and Pettapiece 2006). Their home range was characterized by a mixture of upland deciduous, coniferous, and mixedwood forests and a network of lowland marshes, bogs, and other peatlands across undulating terrain (240 to 300 m ASL; Downing and Pettapiece 2006). Calving in this population typically occurred between 3 May and 28 June, and the rut occurred in late summer as is typical of wood bison (Komers et al. 1993; Hecker et al. 2020). Major summer diet components for this population included prickly rose (Rosa acicularis), fireweed (Chamerion angustifolium), currants (Ribes spp.) and willows (Salix spp.; Hecker et al. 2021b). Scat analyses indicated that bison constituted a relatively small portion of the summer diet of wolves (Dewart et al. 2020). Temperature data The 2021 Western North American Heat Wave occurred between late June and early July throughout western Canada (Overland 2021; Cotlier and Jimenez 2022). In northern Alberta, record highs were recorded between 29 June and 2 July 2021, including a high of 40.3°C in Fort McMurray (Environment and Climate Change Canada 2021a), at the southern edge of the range of the Ronald Lake population. In Whitehorse, southeast of the Aishihik population’s range, the heatwave peaked at 30.3°C on 28 June (Environment and Climate Change Canada 2021b). Given the short intensity of the heat wave experienced by both populations, we were interested in observing and comparing potential variation in bison movement rates before, during, and after the heat wave. Thus, we defined our study period as one month starting 15 June and ending 15 July 2021. We acquired temperature data for the Aishihik population from Braeburn, Carmacks, Champagne, and Haines Junction weather stations (Fig 1; Government of Yukon 2023). We acquired temperature data for the Ronald Lake population from the Birch Mountain and the Mildred Lake weather stations (Fig 1; Alberta Agriculture and Forestry 2020). For all stations, we downloaded hourly average, maximum, and minimum temperatures (℃). Because fine-resolution temperature data were not available in our remote study regions, we averaged temperatures across stations for each population to capture potential regional variability. Animal location data and daily movement rates We used location data obtained from 34 adult female wood bison wearing GPS collars during summer 2021 to calculate movement metrics, including 21 and 13 adult females from the Aishihik and Ronald Lake populations, respectively. Adult female bison were chosen due to their importance in population dynamics and tendency to aggregate in large groups representative of a large portion of the population, particularly at this time of year (Gaillard et al. 2000). Moreover, we did not have data from male bison because deployment success rates for this age-sex class were dismal (Jung and Kuba 2015; Jung et al. 2018) and collaring operations were challenging (Jung and Larter 2021). However, we acknowledge that movement metrics for bison differ among sexes. Aishihik bison wore Lotek LiteTrack Iridium GPS collars (Lotek, Newmarket, Ontario, Canada), while those from the Ronald Lake population wore Vectronic Vertex Plus GPS collars (Vectronic Aerospace, Berlin, Germany). Bison were handled in accordance with approved protocols and procedures of the Alberta Wildlife Animal Care Committee and in accordance with the Yukon Wildlife Act. GPS collars for the Aishihik and Ronald Lake populations were programmed to provide a location at 60 min and 120 min fix intervals, respectively. Thus, we rarified locations from the Aishihik population to match the fix rate of the Ronald Lake population due to the influence of fix interval on the calculation of movement metrics (e.g., movement rate) for highly mobile animals (Prichard et al. 2014). Our analysis included 5,193 locations from 21 GPS-collared bison from the Aishihik population and 1,407 locations from 13 GPS-collared bison from the Ronald Lake population. We filtered location data to align with the heat wave period, which conveniently corresponded to the time between calving and rut for bison, helping to minimize potential confounding effects of behavior (Melton et al. 1989; Komers et al. 1993; Jung et al. 2019; Hecker et al. 2020). Prior to analyses, we removed records with no coordinate information or low fix accuracy with a dilution of precision (DOP) value greater than 10 m (Bjørneraas et al. 2010), and manually reviewed and removed erroneous movements (i.e., movements far exceeding the maximum speed of bison). No bison were collared <2.5 months prior to our analyses so there was no need to censor data for capture effects on movement rates (Jung et al. 2019b). Fix rate success and location precision for GPS-collared bison in our region are typically >90% (Jung and Kuba 2015; Jung et al. 2018). For each bison, we calculated movement rate (vi) in m/hr as: vi = li/ti where li is the step length between location i and location i + 1 and ti is the time between location i and location i + 1 (Johnson et al. 2002; Sheppard et al. 2021). Modelling variation in movement rates across temporal scales We created three sets of generalized additive mixed effect models (GAMMs) to assess non-linear associations between bison movement rates and temperature during the 2021 Western North American Heat Wave. We created a model set for each population to compare and assess heat wave responses between populations. Additionally, we made models combining both populations to generalize associations between bison movement and temperature. We used the R package “mgcv” (Wood 2022) in R version 1.3.1093 (R Core Team 2022) to assess the predictive power of temperature, time of day, and their interaction, related to movements. We included a temperature covariate to investigate the biological response of bison to heat, and time of day and to quantify diurnal variation in movement rates. We fit cubic splines to avoid discontinuous movement rates throughout a 24-hour period (Wood 2006; Schmidt et al. 2016), and the interaction between temperature and time of day was fit