Climate Change Research : By Theme

The effects of climate change are becoming evident in Northern Canada. Communities are faced with challenges such as coastal erosion, sea-ice cover decline, infrastructure stability, sea-level rise, water supply issues, and increases in the frequency and severity of storm events.

Innovation, knowledge transfer, and capacity building will be required in order to maintain the resiliency of Canadian human settlements to climate change and implement effective adaptation actions.

Research activities investigate past changes in climate, present coastal conditions, and make future climate projections to assess the resilience of Canada’s coasts to changes in climate.

A changing climate will have profound effects on Canada’s freshwater resources including changes in flow, evaporation rates, and the timing and amount of meltwater discharge.

Technological advances allow us to view the world in new and different ways, providing a wealth of information about climate and its effects on the biosphere. Using satellite sensors, imagery is created that maps climate indicators such as temperature, productivity, and water-related processes, providing national to local scale information about Canada’s climate.

The dynamic nature of the Earth’s climate allows scientists to use past climate changes as indicators as to what may be expected under future climate scenarios.