Research projects and publications

The results of this project will be very useful in assisting with the planning of public health measures to prevent human exposure to rabies from foxes in the rapidly changing climate of Nunavik and Labrador.

This project will allow the development of a territorial decision support tool that can eventually be applied to the entire Quebec territory. It will also contribute to increasing the protection and resilience of communities.

This project has advanced our understanding of how hydrological simulations in this type of ensemble must be combined to maximize the information contained in these projections.

By estimating water levels in ungauged areas, virtual stations contribute to the improvement of these essential tools. Based on free, easily accessible images, the approach will provide data on multiple sectors at an almost daily frequency and at little cost.

Once completed, the methodology developed will make it possible to estimate uncertainties in extreme flow values for different return periods for all gauged sites in southern Québec. This knowledge of uncertainty will provide a better understanding of flood events and a better estimation of flood-risk areas.

Public safety officials, hydrological system managers and hydroclimatology researchers will be able to better assess the impacts of climate change on water resources based on changes in vegetation cover.

This project has advanced our understanding of how heterogeneous ensemble simulations should be combined to maximize the information contained in climate projections.

In the short term, improved modelling of evapotranspiration in hydrological models will allow hydropower producers to better manage reservoir water levels, optimizing plant output.

The project will improve efficiency in the production of climate services and in the traceability of results, as well as improve the consideration of climate science needs by bodies that develop international standards.

This project will determine whether assimilating snow in HYDROTEL improves hydrological simulation and forecasting, and if so, under what conditions.

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.

The results of this project will provide decision-makers with a better understanding of the risks related to extreme flood events in both gauged and ungauged areas. Annual peak flow distributions for spring and summer-autumn flood periods will be used to drive the hydraulic models in the flood zone mapping process.

The expected results will enable decision makers on the east coast of North America to better plan future needs for emergency response and equipment in the event of snowstorms.

This recent Arctic regional climate portrait provides decision-makers with climate data for sectors that are not covered by the observation stations generally used.

The project will support the development of predictive mapping adapted to user needs that will help to better equip institutions and organizations involved in flood management to ensure the safety and well-being of the population.

The production of a high-quality gridded meteorological dataset for Québec, and potentially the whole of North America, will open the door to several avenues of research, including measuring the impact of this grid on climate simulation bias correction, long-term hydrological forecasting, and modelling and calibration of hydrological models.

The developed model will allow for the estimation of flood levels corresponding to fixed levels of risk, which will be used by the DEH to draw up a new map of flood zones in southern Québec.

This project is a first step towards the integration of knowledge on climate change adaptation communication in Québec. This work will serve as a springboard for future R&D and to boost this emerging field of expertise.

Contribution to the prioritization of watersheds to be mapped in order to ensure public safety from flooding through the use of the results and the tool.

This study confirms that the use of scaling laws provides a better characterization of extreme precipitation. Their application will allow for better use of available observational data and thus a better characterization of historical climate, particularly at temporal and spatial resolutions not covered by observational data.

The snow cover data simulated by the CRCM5 at a 15 km resolution as part of the CROQ project will enable members of Ouranos to work with finer scale data covering all of Québec, in the knowledge of its limitations thanks to the robustness study of the model and its evaluation with a set of observed data.

The collaborative approach increased awareness and the general uptake of knowledge related to climate change within the tourism sector and provided a better understanding of the perceptions, attitudes and behaviours of tourism stakeholders.

The results could serve as tools in the development of hydroelectric projects in northern Québec. Among other things, they help decision-makers understand and anticipate the temporal and spatial scale and the nature of the climate changes associated with the creation of hydroelectric reservoirs.

Rather than relying on historical PMPs, the use of simulated PMPs for future periods will improve probable maximum flood estimates, enabling the designers of hydraulic structures to better plan their infrastructures.

In the aftermath of the events of Spring 2017, the Government of Quebec approached various players to initiate reflection on how best to manage flooding risks across the province in the context of a changing climate. This brainstorming activity culminated in a number of important realizations, including the need for comprehensive and up-to-date mapping of flood zones throughout Quebec that would foster adequate awareness of the risk inherent in land management decisions and the implementation of adaptation solutions. Following this exercise, the project INFO-Crue was launched.

This project provided an objective method to estimate how future global emissions will affect regional climate changes that does not rely on assumptions about a particular greenhouse gas emissions scenario.

The methodology was developed iteratively with user feedback for a range applications, ensuring the relevance of the climate scenarios for adaptation stakeholders.

Managers now have access to an interactive tool enabling them to better understand the issues and to integrate climate information in their decision-making process.

The published journal article is designed to enlighten researchers and decision-makers working in the areas of vulnerabilities, impacts and adaptation about the role of natural variability in climate evolution, which is preventing climate warming caused by human activities occuring gradually.

A complete state-of-play report on how climate change is included into infrastructure design in Canada.

The future portrait of 81 climate indicators for the territory of Nunavik will drive a variety of climate change impact and adaptation studies, including studies on the food security of Aboriginal populations and fauna/ecosystem modelling. The use of alternative data made it possible to produce finer subdivisions of northern bioclimate, which may serve as a baseline for ecologists.

A notable outcome are the 2013 and 2015 editions of the Hydroclimatic Atlas of Central Québec by Direction de l’Expertise hydrique (MDDELCC) providing profound insight into the future modifications of the hydrology of Québec. This helped decision makers to understand these changes and develop and adapt strategies in order to respond to the new normal.

The profitability of the sector and regional economic activity related to ski stations depend on the industry's response to climate change challenges. Ski stations are at the heart of a tightly knit economic ecosystem. These challenges represent an opportunity for them to explore new business models.

Chronic multiple repeat events of low amplitude may cause more long-term losses than punctual severe disturbances yet are easier to ignore.  Forest industry and governments must prepare for the combined effects of long term effects.  

The approach developed provides decision-makers with a decision-making aid process that summarizes the results of the model. 

The results will enable forest managers to assess the extent to which forestry can be developed in these northern areas and using which practices, taking into account natural disturbances influenced by climate change. In addition, better anticipation of the consequences of climate change will improve the ability to manage the forest in such a way as to maintain productive stands and thereby achieve sustainable forest management.

The project will increase awareness among local forest managers, advisors and owners of current and future global changes and the management of uncertainty in the planning of their forested land.

Updating the database has contributed to improving and validating climate tools and products.

The PAVICS platform provides researchers with more effective access to the climate information they need for projects on climate change vulnerability, impacts and adaptation.

The results of preliminary simulations and theory support the idea that forest management could accelerate the response of forest stands to climate change. Opening the forest canopy accelerates succession by modifying competition interactions within the stand.

Accounting and evaluating diverse interests can be formally integrated in decision aid processes such as MCDA and can be used to help structure and make more informed decisions, especially in the context of limited resources.

Québec’s municipal managers, professionals and planners have a new tool oriented to their needs at their disposal for assessing and mapping population vulnerability to heat waves and hydrometeorological hazards.

Among many economic activities, the production of Maple syrup is one of the most directly related to the climate and particularly to the spring climate. 

The preliminary results of the CBA have supported the adoption of wetlands and water bodies conservation objectives in the COBARIC water master plan update and the development of the Chaudière-Appalaches regional wetlands and water bodies plan (PRMHH).

The methods developed can be applied in other major cities in Québec to support climate change adaptation and health-focused land use planning.

Update of useful resources for characterizing and analyzing communities from the point of view of vulnerabilities to the psychosocial impacts of extreme weather events.

The project raised awareness among water managers about the problem of ice jam flood risk. This initial analysis helped better define the issues and guide the search for relevant adaptation measures.

This project led to a better understanding of different target audiences and their interest in content relating to the fight against climate change.