Research projets and publications

The results of this project have led to a better understanding of the relationship between the surface layer and permafrost processes. They have also benefited local communities by providing an innovative methodology for planning transport infrastructure maintenance on sensitive permafrost in particular.

This project has helped to develop an international-scale pilot project in the field of integrated watershed management in the context of climate change.

In light of the results obtained, the scope of the expected water-level declines will require equally significant adaptation measures.

The results of this project have produced better tools and methods that hydropower companies can use to incorporate the impacts of climate and climate changes on the power production of their installations.

The involvement of the MRCs resulted in a better understanding of the notion of essential systems as well as greater awareness of the impact of climate change on essential systems and the importance of considering their vulnerabilities from an adaptation perspective.

This project made available for practitioners in the assessment of climate change adaptation a list of indicators collected and categorized in a logical structure that can be implemented and adapted according to context and assessment requirements.

This project provides monetary valuations of ecological goods and services that can be used in cost-benefit analyses, assessments of damage, or quantifying compensation for environmental damages using the benefit transfer method. It can serve to guide the choice of the most relevant valuation method for each type of ecological goods and services and analytic situation.

The lessons learned, the choice recommendations and the implementations can be used by other municipalities when incorporating economic tools in the management of their climate change adaptation strategy.

This project has raised the awareness and responsibility of many Quebec municipalities to issues related to climate risks, in particular the impacts on the built environment and the vulnerability of infrastructures.

This study, carried out as part of the Ouranos consortium’s health program and coordinated by the INSPQ, is part of the water quality component. It focuses on the impact of climate change on precipitation and runoff in urban and rural areas and highlights seasonal differences that may arise.

This project assessed snow cover characteristics and snow physical properties within the CRCM4 Canadian Regional Climate Model in northern Quebec, and helped improving albedo in the Canadian LAnd Surface Scheme (CLASS).

This project allowed examination of cyclone tracks over North America, mainly focusing on those over the east coast and on intraseasonal, interannual and decadal timescales. Moreover, cyclone tracks were simulated by CRCM.

This project involved the development and testing of diagnostic programs for the extraction and analysis of climate data in the Ouranos database. Modifications to the existing programs will enable the processing of data from the new CRCM at 15 km simulations and the North American Regional Climate Change Assessment Program simulations.

This project has enabled the optimization of flood and low-water risk management and the development of proactive adaptation strategies.

This project allowed an extensive analysis of extreme precipitation that occurs in the Saint Lawrence River Valley.

The goal of this project is to explore the potential of CMIP5 (Coupled Model Intercomparison Project - Phase 5) data-base for its future use in impact and adaptation studies at Consortium Ouranos.

This project has provided a better understanding of the relationships between atmospheric circulation and the spatial and temporal variability of water inflows in northern Quebec and will thus become a fundamental source for predicting water resources in that area.

Many climate change adaptation and mitigation measures involve changes in land use, including urban planning, agricultural practices, the planting of trees or crops for bioenergy or carbon capture, and the restoration of natural ecosystems.

This project has strengthened collaboration between Quebec and Bavaria in watershed management in a context of climate change.

The project helped to strengthen the tools and knowledge available to support the implementation of adaptation initiatives and build closer linkages between the monitoring and evaluation and adaptation communities practice.

Once completed, this project will provide a robust research tool for investigating various questions related to hydrology and climate change in Quebec. It will also offer a way for the hydrological modelling community in Quebec to work together and discuss new developments in the field.

This project focused on the modeling of climate change impacts on water resources, specifically in Quebec and Bavaria, which is a growing concern for the scientific community working in the field of water resources.

This project has provided an integrated tool for clearly assessing vulnerability to riverbank erosion and identifying important variables in river dynamics. It has also made it possible to localize areas vulnerable to riverbank adjustments by identifying favourable zones for sediment accumulation in the channel.

Air traffic plays an essential role in the functioning of Nunavik communities, whose infrastructures must be maintained in good operating condition. This study provided a technical description of how permafrost degradation affects these infrastructures.

How can we make Quebec's more resilient to climate change? This project identifies the industries to be targeted and offers possible solutions to better understand all the risks, cascading effects and cross-border impacts on the Quebec economy.

The project results are directly applicable by the stakeholders in the road sector. The percentages of the relative service life span can be considered in the design phase of the road structures in order to adapt the pavements to climate change. The methodology for selecting a frost index adapted to in the design phase that takes climate change into account is also directly applicable by practitioners.

Implementing the design measures described in the guide will contribute significantly to reducing the heat island effects of parking lots. This normative guide can serve to accelerate innovation and become a reference tool for municipalities when drafting regulations or call for tender documents.

This project has presented a preliminary map and hierarchy of the vulnerability of this area that can serve as a valuable decision support tool for the region.

This project highlights the importance for water users to prepare for prolonged dry periods during the growing season, which could lead to increased irrigation needs, especially when recharge is already extremely low.

This study provides perspectives for the development of one or more decision support tools that would enable forest communities to identify priority areas of vulnerability so that they can develop a strategy for strengthening the capacity to adapt to climate change.

The findings of the study helped refine the indicators that are used to better assess future forest productivity. The findings help identify sectors where certain species may be affected in the future and may serve as a basis for certain forest management choices.

The results presented in the Atlas will help actors of the forest sector to better understand the links between the expected changes in climate and ecological impacts; to evaluate the opportunities and the risks associated with climate change for this sector; to better focus future projects on forest ecosystems and more generally on terrestrial ecosystems in Quebec in terms of adaptation to climate change.

The results of this study point out that for the salamanders, it may be more important to monitor anthropogenic activities than climate changes. It also allows to illustrate the relevance of a comprehensive approach to land conservation at the local scale.

In the current context of declining caribou populations, the inclusion of climate components in the analysis of space use by the migratory caribou sheds new light on the factors that determine the dynamics of these populations. These factors are being taken into account in the development of management plans.

The approach and the toolbox have been distributed among various major partners in the environmental assessment field, in particular the Commission sur les enjeux des mines uranifères, appointed by the Bureau d’audiences publiques sur l’environnement (BAPE).

The project helped to raise awareness among plant health professionals regarding the potential impacts of climate change on crop pests and their natural enemies.

As a result of this research, Quebec stakeholders in crop protection will have the elements needed to launch a climate change adaptation strategy for the sector based on an analysis of the coherence between the actions identified in Quebec’s 2011-2021 crop health strategy and the priority adaptation measures identified during this project.

Agricultural sector users have now access to summary knowledge on climate change and its potential impacts on the agricultural sector. They can access resource documents validated by experts, including an inventory of the knowledge and tools available for dealing with expected climate changes.

The tool developed in this project describes the levels of freedom space and can serve to integrate this concept into municipal and provincial water management policies. The analyses revealed the important role wetlands play in the proper functioning of rivers, especially in the climate change context, and supports efforts to better protect these essential areas.

This project has allowed to increase awareness through regular meetings of the municipal water withdrawers who share the same finite resource. It will allow improved preparedness for expected low flow periods, through a decision support tool that helps municipal users react more
rapidly and equitably. Moreover, it is an approach to monitoring that can be adapted to circumstances other than low flows.

The results obtained for the Yamaska basin will allow the extension of the studies to other basins and could eventually allow the implementation of the methodology within the forecasting system of the Centre d'expertise hydrique du Québec.

The results of this study reinforce the importance of avoiding disturbance of wetlands, which encourages the establishment of the common reed through seed germination, and revegetating any areas disturbed by work in marshes as quickly as possible.

This project reccomands the reduction of the fragmentation of habitats to encourage the spatial reorganization of species; to expand the network of protected areas and to conceive it based on climate change considerations. Moreover, a better system for monitoring biodiversity in Quebec is needed to detect changes and respond to them in time.

This project has revealed that it is to the advantage of the tourism industry to take a proactive leadership role in raising awareness and training; increased knowledge among participants and encouraged decision-making bodies in the pilot regions to adopt a practical approach to climate change adaptation; and shown the need for a support system and regulatory framework for the tourism industry that will encourage better climate change adaptation.

The project helped raise awareness about the health risks related to ragweed for property owners, managers and residents from neighborhoods in the eastern part of Montréal. It also enabled researchers to test the effectiveness of measures such as information mailings to owners of ragweed-infested land in limiting the impacts of ragweed during the pollen season so as to inform decision makers in terms of efforts to be made for heightening awareness.

This project allowed to determine the relationship between climate and mortality in Quebec, using 1981 and 1999 climate and public health data. Moreover, it enabled to estimate future increases in mortality due to climate change.

This project highlighted an higher pollen concentrations during the 1994-2002 period, forecasting an increase in the incidence of allergic rhinitis over the coming decades. Moreover, pollen proliferation appears to be exacerbated by the increase in CO2 concentration and urban sprawl according to this study.

This project allowed to integrate the issue of adaptation to climate change into the curricula of university courses on urban and land use planning, as well as to assess and validate proposed adaptation measures based on criteria regarding feasibility and social acceptability.

This project allowed to raise awareness among the various levels of government and the institutions involved in the development of adaptation policies and actions to the importance of a linkage between the specific needs at the neighbourhood level and the responses and interventions proposed by the municipality.

Collaboration with other research teams doing similar work but at different scales or from a different perspective (societal and territorial vulnerabilities) leads to a more thorough understanding of the issues and effects of adaptation choices.