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Climate change poses risks to coastal cities due to sea-level rise and changes in storm surge. Using the contingent valuation method and payment card format, this paper seeks to estimate residents of Halifax Regional Municipality's willingness to pay (WTP) for protection from flooding impacts from storm surge. The contribution of this study is the application of this method in a previously unstudied region, to understand individuals' perception of risk and WTP to avoid damage, in order to inform policy aimed at protecting against damage due to sea-level rise and storm surge. WTP is estimated without and with the expectation of future climate change, and also for public vs. private goods. Data is analyzed and compared using OLS, Heckman two-step and Tobit Interval regression models. Results suggest that on average, WTP is roughly $12 per month per household over a ten-year period without the expectation of climate change, and roughly $13 per month per household assuming climate change will have negative impacts in the region. Individuals are most often willing to pay to protect against damages to public infrastructure, as well as power outages. Income and education do not play a major role in individuals WTP. Vulnerability to flooding and level of concern related to risky events have a statistically significant impact on WTP in all models, and gender and age have an impact on WTP in some models. • Willingness to pay (WTP) for protection from flooding is estimated in Halifax, Canada. • WTP is estimated without and with the expectation of future climate change. • Data is analyzed using OLS, Heckman two-step and Tobit Interval regression models. • WTP is roughly $12–13 per month per household over a ten-year period. • Vulnerability to flooding and concern related to risky events have an impact on WTP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Both climate and land use changes can influence water quality and quantity in different ways. Thus, for predicting future water quality and quantity trends, simulations should ideally account for both projected climate and land use changes. In this paper, land use projections and climate change scenarios were integrated with a hydrological model to estimate the relative impact of climate and land use projections on a suite of water quality and quantity endpoints for a Canadian watershed. Climatic time series representing SRES change scenario A2 were generated by downscaling the outputs of the Canadian Regional Climate Model (version 4.1.1) using a combination of quantile–quantile transformation and nearest neighbor search. The SWAT (Soil and Water Assessment Tool) model was used to simulate streamflow, nitrogen and phosphorus loading under different climate and land use scenarios. Results showed that a) climate change will drive up maximum monthly streamflow, nitrate loads, and organic phosphorus loads, while decreasing organic nitrogen and nitrite loads; and b) land use changes were found to drive the same water quality/quantity variables in the same direction as climate change, except for organic nitrogen loads, for which the effects of the two stressors had a reverse impact on loading. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Coastal fishery systems in the Arctic are undergoing rapid change. This paper examines the ways in which Inuit fishers experience and respond to such change, using a case study from Pangnirtung, Canada. The work is based on over two years of fieldwork, during which semi-structured interviews (n = 62), focus group discussions (n = 6, 31 participants) and key informant interviews (n = 25) were conducted. The changes that most Inuit fishers experience are: changes in sea-ice conditions, Inuit people themselves, the landscape and the seascape, fish-related changes, and changes in weather conditions, markets and fish selling prices. Inuit fishers respond to change individually as well as collectively. Fishers' responses were examined using the characteristics of a resilience-based conceptual framework focusing on place, human agency, collective action and collaboration, institutions, indigenous and local knowledge systems, and learning. Based on results, this paper identified three community-level adaptive strategies, which are diversification, technology use and fisheries governance that employs a co-management approach. Further, this work recognised four place-specific attributes that can shape community adaptations, which are Inuit worldviews, Inuit-owned institutions, a culture of sharing and collaborating, and indigenous and local knowledge systems. An examination of the ways in which Inuit fishers experience and respond to change is essential to better understand adaptations to climate change. This study delivers new insights to communities, scientists, and policymakers to work together to foster community adaptation. • Assesses adaptation to climate change in fisheries communities. • Examines how indigenous fishers experience and respond to change. • Climate change creates multiple changes in Arctic fisheries systems. • Diversification, technology, and co-management are three adaptive strategies. • Worldviews, institutions, culture, and knowledge systems can shape adaptation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Salt marshes in the St. Lawrence Estuary are subjected to strong seasonal variations with sub-arctic winter conditions. The present paper explores sedimentary processes in the Pointe-aux-Épinettes marsh during the ice-free period. Currents, waves, suspended sediment, and sedimentation rates have been measured in June, August and October 2009. Vegetation growth was monitored during one year on a monthly basis to understand the seasonal impact on the marsh. Vegetation attenuates currents and waves, but this attenuation changes over the year as vegetation disappears along winter. Results show that suspended sediment transport and deposition are controlled by vegetation, wave height, currents, distance from the marsh edge and distance from sediment sources. Suspended sediment concentrations and sedimentation rates were significantly correlated to wave height, highlighting the importance of waves for sediment resuspension transport. Transport was lowest in August when vegetation was high and wave occurrence low. However, vegetation growth didn''t change fundamentally sediments dynamic of the marsh. Within one tide, an important part of sediment transport is only local within the marsh, as shown by the maximum sedimentation rates occurring near unvegetated areas of the marsh. Data provide a spatial understanding of summer sedimentology on cold climate marshes. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: A new technique for climate simulations and projections has emerged over the past 15 years that allows to reach unprecedented spatial resolution at an affordable computing cost: regional climate modelling. The technique has matured and several groups around the world are participating in model intercomparison projects and collaborating in coordinated endeavour to produce ensemble climate-change projections at regional scales. The paper describes the formulation of a specific regional climate model (RCM), the Canadian RCM, commenting on the formulation choices and experience gained during the development and validation process of this model. Current issues in regional climate modelling are also reviewed and discussed. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]