Precipitation measurements in the Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) surface network are a necessary component for monitoring weather and climate and are required for flood and water resource forecasting, numerical weather prediction and many other applications that impact the health and safety of Canadians. Beginning in the late 1990s, the ECCC surface network began a transition from manual to automated precipitation measurements. Advantages to increased automation include enhanced capabilities for monitoring in remote locations and higher observation frequency at lower cost. However, transition to automated precipitation gauges has resulted in new challenges to data quality, accuracy, and homogenization. Automated weighing precipitation gauges used in the ECCC operational network, because of their physical profile, tend to measure less precipitation falling as snow because lighter particles (snow) are deflected away from the collector by the wind flow around the gauge orifice. This phenomenon of wind-induced systematic bias is well documented in the literature. The observation requires an adjustment depending on gauge and shield configuration, precipitation phase, temperature, and wind speed. Hourly precipitation, wind speed, and temperature for 397 ECCC automated surface weather stations were retrieved from the ECCC national archive. Climate Research Division (CRD) selected this sub-set of stations because they are critical to the continuity of various climate analysis. The observation period varies by station with the earliest data series beginning in 2001 (with most beginning in 2004). The precipitation data was quality controlled using established techniques to identify and flag outliers, remove spurious observations, and correct for previously identified filtering errors. The resulting hourly precipitation data was adjusted for wind bias using the WMO Solid Precipitation Inter-Comparison Experiment (SPICE) Universal Transfer Function (UTF) equation. A full description of this data set, including the station locations, data format, methodology, and references are included in the repository.

Geospatial Data Repository (GDR) Dépôt de données géospatiales (DDG)

The Point Lepreau Bird Observatory (PLBO), located in Point Lepreau, New Brunswick, was created as a project of the Saint John Naturalists’ Club (SJNC) in late 1995. The SJNC began accumulating data on bird migration through the Bay of Fundy in spring and fall in 1996. Migration data are collected daily using a sampling method with protocols adapted from Hussell and Ralph (1998). Migration counts using the Hussell and Ralph (1998) count protocol involve a four-hour Count Period consisting of a series of 15-minute counts, each followed by a rest period of equal length. Each Count Period consists of eight 15-minute counts, for a total of two hours, and eight 15-minute periods of rest. Observations are conducted from a permanent observatory building from mid-March to mid-May and from mid-September to mid-November. Observers count all birds seen and since Point Lepreau projects southward into the Bay, birds in spring migration are travelling east when passing it while birds in fall are travelling west. Since the year 2000, counts in spring have been under the supervision of a contracted Official Observer, normally assisted by up to three volunteers. The data are split in to a conditions file and an observations file. The conditions data includes information on weather conditions, sea states and times and durations of each count. The observations data includes observations of birds by species, including numbers of individuals observed and direction of flight. Birds travelling in different directions are recorded separately as are birds resting or feeding on the water.

The National Pollutant Release Inventory (NPRI) is Canada's public inventory of pollutant releases (to air, water and land), disposals and transfers for recycling. This file is a geodatabase (GDB) that shows the locations of all facilities that reported to the NPRI in the current reporting year. The data are also available in a virtual globe format : https://open.canada.ca/data/en/dataset/d9be6bec-47e5-4835-8d01-d2875a8d67ff Please consult the following resources to enhance your analysis: - Guide on using and Interpreting NPRI Data: https://www.canada.ca/en/environment-climate-change/services/national-pollutant-release-inventory/using-interpreting-data.html - Access additional data from the NPRI, including datasets and mapping products: https://www.canada.ca/en/environment-climate-change/services/national-pollutant-release-inventory/tools-resources-data/exploredata.html

This dataset includes all ministerial condition (MC) notices published under the authority of the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999 (CEPA). The MC notice may be applied to a new substance or living organisms when Environment and Climate Change Canada and Health Canada suspect that a new substance may meet the criterial for toxic under CEPA. When Ministerial conditions are imposed, the notifier can manufacture or import the substance, subject to restrictions. The notifier and, if specified in the condition, the notifier’s customers are obliged to abide by these conditions and keep records as indicated. Substances subject to ministerial conditions are not eligible for addition to the Domestic Substances List. Therefore, any new notifier who wishes to manufacture or import the same substance must submit a New Substances Notification. This may result in similar conditions being imposed. Information is organized by substance and includes links to relevant Canada Gazette publications. Confidential accession numbers and masked names have been presented for confidential substances. Although great care has been taken to ensure the information herein accurately reflects the requirements prescribed in CEPA, you are advised that, should any inconsistencies be found, the legal documents, published in the Canada Gazette, will prevail.

In 2015 as part of the Canadian Artic Weather Science (CAWS) project, Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) established an enhanced monitoring reference site at Iqaluit, Nunavut (CYFB, 63°45N, 68°33W) in the eastern Canadian Arctic. The site was strategically selected at the loci of synoptic storm tracks and primary transportation corridors. CYFB is also a major aviation hub for the North. It is an operational upper air site with an existing office building and instrument test facility infrastructure with a co-located Double Fence International Reference for solid precipitation measurements. The site was to provide automated and continuous observations of altitude-resolved winds, clouds and aerosols, visibility, radiation fluxes, turbulence, and precipitation. The benefit of integrated measurement systems at the Iqaluit supersite are being investigated to: 1) Recommend the optimal cost-effective observing system for the Canadian Arctic that can complement existing radiosonde observations 2) Provide enhanced meteorological observations during the World Meteorological Organization’s Year of Polar Prediction (WMO YOPP). Instrumentation at Iqaluit includes a Ka-band radar, water vapour lidars (both in-house and commercial versions), multiple Doppler lidars, ceilometers, radiation flux and precipitation sensors, and others. Data collection for a subset of the instruments at Iqaluit began in March 2016.

Ambient air is sampled daily, with a nominal 24-hour sampling period, on a Canadian Air and Precipitation Monitoring Network (CAPMoN) sequential sample head located 10 meters above ground. Air is drawn through a three-stage filter pack consisting of 47-millimeter Teflon, nylon and cellulose filters. Particulate Cl-, NO3-, SO4=, NH4+, Na+, K+, Ca++ and Mg++ are collected on the Teflon filter, gaseous HNO3 and a small amount of SO2 are collected by the nylon filter, and gaseous SO2 and residual HNO3 are collected by the K2CO3-impregnated cellulose filter. Filter loadings determined by laboratory extraction and analysis are blank corrected and divided by calibrated sample air volume to get atmospheric concentration in micrograms per cubic meter at International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) standard temperature and pressure. The sampling and analysis methodology is described in Sirois and Fricke, 1992.

The Whitehorse enhanced meteorological site is located at Erik Nielsen Whitehorse International Airport (CYXY, 60°43N, 135°04W). This scientific observation site aims to provide a better understanding of the region’s weather conditions to help improve local weather forecasts across the Canadian Arctic and sub-Arctic. For instance, new radar technology is being tested at this site to assess its suitability for detecting and analyzing this region’s weather systems. A companion site in Iqaluit NU (CYFB, 63°45N, 68°33W), in the eastern Canadian Arctic, has also been established. It is important to note that Iqaluit is located above the tree line, while Whitehorse is below, resulting in a significantly more humid atmosphere at Whitehorse suggesting different weather monitoring requirements. The Whitehorse site includes an X-band radar, a Doppler lidar, ceilometers, radiation flux and precipitation sensors, and others. Data collection for a subset of instruments at Whitehorse began in January 2018.