Research projets and publications

This project provided basic knowledge on trembling aspen and improved our ability to anticipate the impact of global changes on its productivity. This species is important due to its distribution and economic potential.

The results of this project will provide tools to help municipalities better understand the value and means of developing a municipal-level (regional or sometimes local) climate change adaptation plan through a participatory process.

This project gave rise to a better understanding of the dynamics of runoff, water storage and evapotranspiration in a small boreal watershed with a large minerotrophic patterned fen peatland.

An in-depth study of the components of the water balance will fill the knowledge gap on the hydrology of minerotrophic patterned fens and their influence on the production and emission of greenhouse gases.

Upon completion of this project, hydroelectric power resource managers and the authorities concerned with climate change will benefit from a better understanding of the temporal and spatial changes in hydroclimatic conditions, which may facilitate the development of appropriate hydrological scenarios for this climate-sensitive region.

This project allowed a structured reflection to help the Quebec government develop a comprehensive and integrated strategy towards the development of priority actions involved in adapting to climate change rather than scattered initiatives.

This project led to an improved fifth generation Canadian Regional Climate Model (CRCM5) allowing the production of climate change projections to support vulnerabilities, impacts and adaptation projects. This project will improve our understanding of specific processes to be considered for climate change studies.

The success of this project has meant that freezing rain and ice pellets are now among the standard outputs available from the CRCM5 climate projections produced by Ouranos. The development of a more complex microphysics model, adapted to the computational cost of a climate model, is also in the works for the years ahead.

The results of this project will support efforts to reduce air polluants of anthropogenic origin, and target interventions for regions and populations that are at risk from pollution, to maximize adaptation efforts in these locations.

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.

The CANOPEX database can be used as a baseline for climate change and adaptation studies in a coherent framework across Canada

This work shows that the most widespread and harvested species in the boreal forest of eastern Canada, due to its exceptional qualities, shows surprising resistance to treatments simulating medium-term global warming (8 years).

Studying the potential impacts of climate change on northern biodiversity will provide better tools for tracking its spatial and temporal dynamics. The results will help identify areas that meet the goals of the protected areas network and ensure sound biodiversity conservation.

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.

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.

This project strengthened the case for climate change adaptation for both government and civil society.

The results of this project will improve the coverage of the observation network for climate, ice, fresh water and wind. They will provide additional knowledge on large-scale atmospheric and ocean actions/interactions.

This project has led to the development of models that will enable our industrial partners Hydro Québec and Rio Tinto, among others, to better manage their equipment stocks in the face of climate variability and changes.

The knowledge and tools generated by this project may be integrated into plans aimed at managing biodiversity and monitoring natural environments and protected areas. They may also be used for the development of various practices (e.g. prevention, early detection and control of invasive species) and environmental/natural heritage protection policies, as well as various scientific programs seeking an understanding of invasion mechanisms.

The widespread adoption of TBI systems in the south of Quebec could help limit the dependance of farmers to risk management programs. It could also generate substantial savings for the institution that largely finances these programs.

The results show the importance of working in close collaboration with local populations in order to implement political strategies that are appropriate and context-specific.

This project made it possible to formulate principles and guidelines to orient the adaptation of the management of protected areas toward climate change, a process in which Parcs Québec has already embarked. Moreover, it made it possible to reproduce the method for assessing the vulnerability of species to climate change.

This project helped to raise awareness among produce sector stakeholders about the main climate risks and their future evolution in relation to climate change, to identify mitigation measures for these risks in the form of production practices and technological solutions, and to recommend possible ways to guide and assist produce growers in diagnosing climate risks on their farm.

The methodological framework provides the scientific basis upon which to establish a network for monitoring biodiversity and the impacts of climate change in Quebec. Monitoring of biodiversity will provide the opportunity to assess the impacts of human disturbances and development and conservation efforts, as well as changes in biodiversity and ecological services, in the interest of climate change adaptation.

The benefits for adaptation of this project include the confirmation of the importance of the time of application in relation to heavy rainfall events, and also the identification of a potential increase in the contamination of runoff in the near future (2040) for apple scab.

This research made it possible to inform and educate regional stakeholders about the main invasive exotic species posing a risk to soybean crops in Quebec. It also provide more in-depth knowledge of the future establishment risk of three of these species. This will be useful for evaluating the feasibility of implementing adaptation measures (monitoring network, recognition tools for agricultural advisors and producers, documentation on ways to combat the phenomenon, etc.).

This project enabled us to adapt values for dimensions of liquid and solid manure storage structures based on climate change forecasts; and to update the guides created by Joncas et al. (1993) and train designers of open-air liquid and solid manure storage structures to use this new guide.

This projet allows to raise awareness among dairy producers and their agricultural consultant on the impacts of climate change for different styles of farms. Moreover, it will enable government departments to assess the potential impacts of climate change on the profitability and environmental performance of businesses in the dairy sector.

The results of this project will allow to ensure better management of fish stocks in lakes by taking account of future thermal profiles under climate change. It will also permit to assist the government of Québec formulate its strategic orientations and policies with respect to fauna, contributing to the survival of aquatic ecosystems and species in Northern Québec by quantifying the sensitivity of fish to climate change.

The study findings suggest that it is important to put information panels in parks and wooded areas in the Montérégie region to increase the awareness of users about the potential risks and the steps to take to protect themselves.

The hydrodynamic model of the river is now calibrated and ready to be used for low-flow and high-flow simulations of contaminant diffusion and dispersion, allowing hydrologists to adapt infrastructure according to anticipated climate change.

This project allows to improve knowledge about the competitive position of Quebec under climate change for three major agricultural sectors, as well as the identification of adaptation measures that could optimize production costs under climate change.

This project made it possible to raise awareness on the magnitude of climate change impacts and the evolution of agricultural land use on surface water quality in the future (2041-2070); and to improve the model used to evaluate the effectiveness of various combinations of agricultural adaptation options to reduce sediment and nutrient transport towards surface waters.

Taking into account both forest productivity and fire risk, as developed under this project, was used by the committee to study the northern limit for forest attribution in Québec as one of the determining criteria for evaluating a region’s potential for sustainable forest management.

This project enabled local forest stakeholders to identify key vulnerabilities and preferred adaptation approaches, and as much relevant information as possible to initiate a climate change adaptation strategy, and to become aware of the strengths in their governance practices that can serve as a foundation for building a possible climate change adaptation strategy.

These results help Québec maple syrup producers develop a vision and a development strategy for the sector, taking climate change into account. The results also help MAPAQ and the Table filière acéricole better adapt their programs and support measures and improve strategic planning for the maple syrup sector in the face of climate change.

This project made it possible to identify economic sectors influenced positively and negatively by climate change in order to devise and implement compensation measures, which may greatly facilitate the implementation of an adaptation program.