Research projects and publications

This project allowed to draw up a portrait of the climate from 1986 to 2005, in part using a method for estimating missing values developed by Ouranos. The bases of the optimal network determined by analyzing temperature data will have to be decided upon with confirmation from data on various climatic parameters.

New modeling tools to assist in the integrated management of the dams of the Ottawa River basin will be proposed, especially in light of the increasing constraints in dam management.

This project, in co-operation with government agencies, committees of watershed management councils and farmers, allowed to develop strategies for adapting to climate change, with the goal of improving the quality of bodies of water and ecosystems' recovery capacity.

The "Climate teconstruction at Ouranos for Quebec" CROQ project has created a complete and consistent database for several weather variables of interest to users for recent climate in Québec. For example, CROQ precipitation data is being used for the interpolation of IDF curves in a project with Hydro-Québec, and for post-processing extremes as part of an INFO-Crue project.

This methodological approach is applicable in different climates and for different reclamation methods. Mining industry stakeholders have a method to assess the resilience of present or future reclamation facilities in the face of climate change. 

Under Thrust 5 of the 2020-2025 Action Plan for Responsible and Sustainable Tourism, Quebec’s Ministry of Tourism (MTO) is interested in acquiring and sharing knowledge on climate change mitigation, supporting partners in testing innovative solutions, and stimulating the mobilization of regional and sectoral players for a tourism industry that is resilient to climate change.

The results of this project will enable indigenous communities, regional organizations, and provincial and federal governments to consider a future where food security is assured.

The use of the Raven framework will help building several semi-distributed models appropriate to the watersheds of southern Quebec. It will allow the exploration of the different algorithms to simulate snow melting and evapotranspiration.

This study responds to a need expressed by mining companies and the provincial government to review mining waste management measures by considering climate change and its impacts on the industry in order to ensure the long-term sustainability and safety of tailings structures.

This project puts forward a technique for parametric post-treatment of extreme precipitation in climate models by operationalizing work already underway at Ouranos and Polytechnique Montréal.

Thermal refugia in rivers are critical habitats during a heat wave for some coldwater fish populations. This project determines the distribution and typology of refugia, in addition to defining the impacts of global warming on these refugia.

This project aims to assess the main issues related to floodplain mapping as well as to support the application of knowledge, facilitate widespread understanding and use of the mapping carried out by INFO-Crue.

This study aims to measure the impact of climate change on the budgetary items of Quebec's municipal organizations.

This project will improve the consideration of water resources in the context of regional adaptation to climate change in rural areas through the identification of hazards in the area and the assessment of municipalities’ adaptive capacity.

This project examined the relationship between summer weather and the health of workers in five Canadian provinces. It has generated new knowledge that can guide decision-makers and prevention stakeholders.

This project profiles the vulnerability of Quebec's alpine ski system to climate change, and identifies the sensitivities and levers for action that need to be addressed to strengthen the sector's resilience.

The data from the project sheds light on the early symptoms of heat effects. It can be used by health and community workers during home visits to adapt care.

This project facilitates, among other things, the identification of sources of uncertainty associated with traditional water surface profile measurements using real-time kinematic positioning (GNSS-RTK).

This projet will help refining the development of meteorological thresholds for health alerts for several situations of extreme importance for health-related climate change adaptation, for Québec and Canada.

This project examines the inequality issues associated with climate change adaptation solutions. The resulting recommendations will make it possible to establish an impact and vulnerability analysis framework that is adapted to Quebec.

This project will, among other things, determine benchmarks for the implementation of spatialized flood hazard education in high school curricula in Quebec.

The results of this project will produce a better estimate of flood risks and, consequently, better mapping of flood zones for regions where water levels in the receiving environment have a significant impact on flood risks. 

Tools and activities were developed specifically for this industry in order to raise awareness and encourage the assimilation of current knowledge on climate change. Ultimately, they will be used in informed decision-making and the promotion of innovative action on climate change adaptation.  

Comprehensive knowledge of an area will be made available to the people and organizations concerned, allowing them to plan emergency measures and land use with a view to adapting to climate change.

The results of the research project will be used by the hydrologic expertise unit to improve the estimation of river flows in Quebec. 

The application and adaptation of the HYDROTEL model to the boreal environment in Quebec will allow Hydro-Québec to better understand past and future hydrological behaviours in these watersheds, and improve the management of hydroelectric production.

This project provided one of the first forums for discussing the analysis of vulnerabilities and opportunities under climate change for forest ecosystem management in Quebec. In particular, we were able to pinpoint the vulnerabilities to consider when using FEM management, and produce a decision-making tool to help managers assess the costs of protecting allowable cut against fire activity, which will increase under climate change.

The results of this study have contributed to an improved understanding of the adaptive capacity of black spruce under climate change, which will help optimize the future management of this species; approaches to forest management that will help reduce climate change impacts on this species; and beginning the development of a tool for predicting the mechanical properties of wood based on the input of environmental data in order to test the impact of climate change on wood formation.

The research suggests that it would be wise to maintain a mix of species, given that they have different responses to the uncertainties in the water balance resulting from climate change. New forest productivity models for calculating timber volumes for harvesting would better capture the relationships between climate, location and growth.

One of the benefits for adaptation from this project is the better knowledge of the CC response and adaptive capacity of balsam fir and black spruce will lead to a deeper understanding of forests and their future productivity (and therefore the amount of wood available), which will guide the management of forest resource harvesting.

The project showed that some coastal communities are already feeling impacts associated with environmental changes. The documentation of some traditional Inuit knowledge was made possible as well as increasing community awareness of climate change issues; and the development of awareness activities for community youth.

The project documented the geomorphic response of the St. Lawrence tributaries to different hydrological conditions ranging from very low flows, to winter floods and very high floods.

This study made it possible to contribute to the reflections of various governmental and non-governmental stakeholders whose role is to encourage the incorporation of climate change adaptation to integrated watershed management in Québec.

This project made it possible to produce information to integrate the influence of climate change into the plans of reconstruction or construction of new power plants the ensure the safety of the equipment; plan for probable changes in extreme flood events in order to benefit from the probable increase in hydroelectric production; evaluate various post-processing methods for climate data, which are essential to various studies leading to adaptation.

The project will provide access to advanced-level climate information that is not available to date, from a regional perspective, for the North.

This project aims to reduce snow-related uncertainty in pan-Canadian projections by leveraging the latest-generation CMIP6 GCM projection data. The research involves the use of a weighting method called ClimWIP to reduce the uncertainty of CMIP6 GCMs based on their performance, with a particular focus on accurately reproducing the annual maximum of the water equivalent of snow.

This project has increased knowledge of the components of Great Lakes water supply based on observations of their variability and associated uncertainties.

The overall objective of this project is to develop an operational framework for climate projection for hydrological applications, in cold regions.

This synthesis will provide a scientific foundation and food for thought for adaptation experts and practitioners for whom climate change is an important issue in their mandates and activities. This knowledge is the starting point for supporting adaptation decisions and taking action to make Quebec more resilient to current and future climate change.

This project will facilitate access to historic and future snow cover data across Quebec at a resolution in the order of 10 km. Users and decision-makers from a multitude of sectors will enjoy a broader range of climate information to integrate into their adaptation plans.

The results of this project provide a more complete and precise regional climatic and hydrological portrait in current and future climates to support decision-making on the identification of impacts and adaptation solutions to be planned and implemented for transportation.

This project is documenting, analyzing and projecting the consequences of water scarcity in terms of their cascading effects on the well-being of human populations and ecosystems.

This project will design ecofiscal measures and study their potential effects in order to document the issues to be anticipated if they are implemented. It will assess the utility of ecofiscal measures in supporting adaptation to climate change and the protection of species at risk.

Data collected in a participatory manner can be fed into models in order to define the flood zones and the alert levels for populations and infrastructure, in particular for the rivers where more traditional data collection is not possible.