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Snowmelt runoff serves both human needs and ecosystem services and is an important parameter in operational forecasting systems. Sentinel-1 Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) observations can estimate the timing of melt within a snowpack; however, these estimates have not been applied on large spatial scales. We present here a workflow to fuse Sentinel-1 SAR and optical data from Landsat-8 and Sentinel-2 to estimate the onset and duration of snowmelt in the Lajoie Basin, a large watershed in the Southern Coast Mountains of British Columbia. A backscatter threshold is used to infer the point at which snowpack saturation occurs, and the snowpack begins to produce runoff. Multispectral imagery is used to estimate snow free dates across the basin to define the end of the snowmelt period. SAR estimates of snowmelt onset form consistent trends by elevation and aspect on the watershed scale and reflect snowmelt records from continuous SWE observations. SAR estimates of snowpack saturation are most effective on moderate to low slopes (< 30°) in open areas. The accuracy of snowmelt durations is reduced due to persistent cloud cover in optical imagery. Despite these challenges, snowmelt durations agree with trends in snow depths observed in the Lajoie. This approach has high potential for adaptability to other alpine regions and can provide estimates of snowmelt timing in ungauged basins.

Introduction La communication des risques au public demeure un défi pour les professionnels de la santé publique oeuvrant dans le secteur des changements climatiques. Nous avons effectué un examen de la portée de la littérature sur l’évaluation de la communication des risques en présence de phénomènes météorologiques extrêmes et de changements climatiques dans le but de créer des messages en matière de santé publique à l’échelle locale conformes aux exigences des Normes de santé publique de l’Ontario (NSPO). Ces normes ont été mises à jour en 2018 pour inclure la communication efficace de messages sur les changements climatiques et les phénomènes météorologiques extrêmes. Méthodologie Des spécialistes en bibliothéconomie ont établi des stratégies de recherche pour recenser les publications universitaires revues par des pairs et la littérature grise dans plusieurs bases de données bibliographiques (Medline, Embase, Scopus et CINAHL) et dans les moteurs de recherche Google nationaux. Cette stratégie de recherche a été validée lors d’un atelier avec des experts et des intervenants communautaires spécialisés en environnement, en santé, en gestion des urgences et en communication des risques. Résultats Au total, 43 articles ont été retenus. Ces articles traitaient principalement des changements climatiques (n = 22), des inondations (n = 12), des ouragans (n = 5), de la chaleur extrême (n = 2) et des incendies de forêt (n = 2). Les études provenaient principalement des États-Unis (n = 14), de l’Europe (n = 6) et du Canada (n = 5). Conclusion Pour satisfaire aux NSPO de 2018, les professionnels de la santé publique doivent communiquer efficacement les risques afin d’encourager la prise de mesures efficaces à l’échelle locale aptes à atténuer les effets des phénomènes météorologiques extrêmes et des changements climatiques. D’après notre examen de la portée, les efforts de communication des risques durant les phénomènes météorologiques extrêmes de courte durée semblent plus efficaces que les efforts de communication des risques liés aux changements climatiques. Cela pourrait constituer une occasion unique pour les intervenants en santé publique d’appliquer les stratégies couramment utilisées pour les phénomènes météorologiques extrêmes aux changements climatiques.

Throughout the West Bank, 19 camps are home to more than 200,000 Palestinians, more than half of whom are female. The Israeli occupation and attendant poverty cause communities inside West Bank camps to live under stress and violence particularly limiting to women. Although often portrayed as “helpless victims of war,” little research has been done to explore how women understand their contributions to the resilience of refugee communities. Female refugees were interviewed about their household roles and community participation. This inquiry shows how female refugees navigate the impacts of gender on community resilience.

Health care in Canada's north and circumpolar regions faces considerable challenges with the remote and widely dispersed population, harsh environmental conditions, and human resource challenges. Despite per capita expenditures that are among the highest in the world, health outcomes continue to lag behind the rest of Canada, and health disparities between the Indigenous and non-Indigenous populations within the north persist. While improving the health of northerners requires addressing underlying social determinants, transforming the health care system holds promise for health improvements in the short- and medium-term . The evidence required to inform a northern-focused and relevant transformation of health care systems remains to be generated and applied. This seminar set out to identify priority areas for a research initiative that will address systems challenges and engage decision-makers in these jurisdictions. The overarching objectives of the seminar were to explore the priority areas for health systems research in circumpolar regions, and to propose how we might best maximize our current resources, and facilitate partnerships for the advancement of a common agenda. Keywords: health systems; circumpolar; indigenous; research; partnerships (Published: 14 August 2013) Citation: Int J Circumpolar Health 2013, 72 : 21474 - http://dx.doi.org/10.3402/ijch.v72i0.21474