Mapping local climate zones
We are investigating the Local Climate Zones (LCZ) concept, which uses urban characteristics to estimate the magnitude of urban heat islands and other hazards. It is possible to define multiple LCZ classes at the neighborhood scale and link them to air quality, pollen exposure, urban flooding, and other hazards.
Climate change and allergies
One of the goals of CANUE is to advance our understanding of the interactions between climate, CO2, air pollution, and airborne allergens. Ultimately, CANUE-enabled research will establish a stronger evidence-base of the future impacts of climatic conditions and air quality in Canada.
Finding new uses for climate model data
The CANUE Weather & Climate Team will investigate how to use regional climate models to resolve features such as micro-heat islands, including: observations of daily maximum and minimum temperatures and precipitation produced by the Canadian Forest Service and Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC); reanalysis data (a systematic approach to produce data sets for climate monitoring and research) from the Climate Forecast System Reanalysis or the Japanese 55-year Reanalysis; and high resolution observation data that is gridded, such as data for British Columbia from our partners at the Pacific Climate Impacts Consortium (PCIC), or that covers the whole country.