AndreaBozzo/ceres-open-data-index huggingface dataset:
Temporal changes in human pressures and wetland response in the St. Lawrence River

Temporal changes (1970–2016) in St. Lawrence River wetlands were assessed between Cornwall and Québec to assess wetland response to cumulative anthropogenic pressures in the watershed. Emergent wetlands area and biomass of submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV) were contrasted among five regions subjected to sharply different water level/discharge regime (stabilized, semi-natural, tidal), nutrient concentrations and shoreline use (rural to urbanized). Between 1970 and 2016, over the growing season, St. Lawrence River mean water level have dropped and mean water temperature increased. Reductions in phosphorus concentrations were observed over time both in water and in SAV tissues, in phase with improvements of urban wastewater treatment and phosphorus reduction in upstream Lake Ontario. Nitrate concentrations in water increased and SAV biomass decreased between the 1970s and 2008 in the downstream regions of Lake Saint-Pierre and fluvial corridor subjected to the cumulative impacts from urban centers and intensively farmed watersheds. Over the 1970–2010 period, dropping water levels yielded slightly increasing wetland areas, owing to the downslope colonization of emergent and submerged plants. In urbanized regions, emergent wetlands shifted towards drier assemblages dominated by invasive reed species. Encroachment of wetlands by agriculture accounted for most wetland losses in rural Lake Saint-Pierre, which holds the single largest area of continuous wetland habitat of the entire watershed. The results highlight the strong response of riverine wetlands to a wide range of human pressures, including dropping water levels, changing nutrient concentrations, rising population and intensifying agriculture.


Supplemental Information


The St. Lawrence Action Plan (SLAP) 2011 to 2026 (see https://www.planstlaurent.qc.ca/en/) is the latest Canada-Quebec Agreement on the St. Lawrence and builds on the four previous agreements implemented since 1988.


For more information on SLAP, please visit https://www.canada.ca/en/environment-climate-change/services/environmental-funding/ecosystem-initiatives/st-lawrence-action-plan.html


Supporting Projects: 

St. Lawrence Action Plan (SLAP)

Organization: Environment and Climate Change Canada | Environnement et Changement climatique Canada
Terraview and Willowfield Stormwater Pond Sediment and Water Quality

Stormwater ponds have been widely used to control increased volumes and rates of surface runoff resulting from urbanization. Stormwater ponds have also been designed to provide multiple other benefits; including protection of downstream waters, sediment and habitat (land/aquatic) quality, provision of educational, recreational use as well as aesthetic amenities. Stormwater ponds create unique opportunities for enhancing community benefits, but they also cause ecological concerns with respect to the quality of the newly created habitat. Stormwater ponds receive untreated runoff from urban areas and transportation corridors, and such runoff transports sediment and pollutants from urban sources into the stormwater facilities.


Built in the mid 1990s the Terraview and Willowfield stormwater ponds currently receive water and sediment runoff from 9 hectares of a 16-lane freeway and runoff from 30 hectares of residential lands. 


This dataset contains stormwater data from two stormwater ponds (Terraview and Willowfield) located within the Toronto and Region Area of concern (AOC). The data are water and sediment chemistry, and are used to evaluate the effectiveness of the two-stormwater ponds in providing a suitable habitat for aquatic species and wildlife species over a two-year period (2007 and 2008). Water and sediment samples were analyzed for trace metals such as calcium, nickel, and lead as well as 16 priority polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs).


Supplemental Information


Funding for this study was provided in part by the Government of Canada’s Great Lakes Sustainability Fund (GLSF) in conjunction with the Government of Canada’s Great Lakes Action Plan (GLAP) in support to Toronto and Region Area of Concern.


In 1987 under the revised Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement, 43 areas of concern (AOC), 12 of which are located in Canada, were identified as having severely impaired beneficial uses and water quality. As funded by the Great Lakes Action Plan, a Remedial Action Plan was formed for each area of concern bringing together experts from government, industry, municipalities and environmental non-government organizations to address these impacts. Today over 900 restoration projects have been successfully completed by Environment and Climate Change Canada and partners including Wastewater Treatment Plant upgrades, fish and wildlife habitat restoration, and water quality improvements. Today Wheatley Harbour (Lake Erie), Collingwood Harbour and Severn Sound (Georgian Bay) have been de-listed as an area of concern. Spanish Harbour and Jackfish Bay (Lake Superior) are now areas in recovery. Today scientific monitoring and research is continuing in the remaining AOCs to measure response of remedial efforts. 


For more information please visit: https://www.canada.ca/en/environment-climate-change/services/great-lakes-protection/areas-concern.html


Supporting Projects: Great Lakes Action Plan (GLAP)

Canada’s Great Lakes Sustainability Fund (GLSF)

Organization: Environment and Climate Change Canada | Environnement et Changement climatique Canada
St. Marys AOC Sediment Exposure to Fathead Minnow

This dataset contains the growth and survival data for Fathead minnow (Pimephales promelas) exposed to sediment from eleven sites within the St. Marys Area of Concern, as well as reference sediment (a mixture of sediment from two reference sites within Lake Erie, Long Point Marsh and Long Point Bay). The embryo-larval Fathead minnow exposure occurred over a three week period. Exposure was done from the egg stage (which lasted 5 days) to 9 and 16 days post hatch.


Supplemental Information


Funding for this study was provided in part by the Government of Canada’s Great Lakes Action Plan (GLAP) and in support of St. Marys Area of Concern. 


In 1987 under the revised Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement, 43 areas of concern (AOC), 12 of which are located in Canada, were identified as having severely impaired beneficial uses and water quality. As funded by the Great Lakes Action Plan, a Remedial Action Plan was formed for each area of concern bringing together experts from government, industry, municipalities and environmental non-government organizations to address these impacts. Today over 900 restoration projects have been successfully completed by Environment and Climate Change Canada and partners including Wastewater Treatment Plant upgrades, fish and wildlife habitat restoration, and water quality improvements. 


For more information on the St. Marys Area of Concern visit: https://www.canada.ca/en/environment-climate-change/services/great-lakes-protection/areas-concern/st-marys-river.html


Supporting Projects: Great Lakes Action Plan (GLAP) 

Great Lakes Sustainability Fund 

St. Marys River Remedial Action Plan

Organization: Environment and Climate Change Canada | Environnement et Changement climatique Canada
Monitoring of contaminants in ringed seals from the Canadian Arctic and Labrador

Ringed seals (Phoca hispida) are harvested annually in Arviat and Resolute (Nunavut), Sachs Harbour (Northwest Territories) and Nain (Labrador) with the help of the communities in the context of an environmental monitoring program. Samples of meat, blubber, liver and kidney are collected for inorganic elements and organic contaminants analyses along with a variety of biological/life history parameters measurements such as age, length, weight, body condition, stable isotopes of nitrogen and carbon, blubber thickness, and lipid content. Data have been collected since 1991, but mostly since 2004, and this project is ongoing.


Supplemental Information


The Northern Contaminants Program (NCP, https://www.science.gc.ca/eic/site/063.nsf/eng/h_7A463DBA.html) was established in 1991 in response to concerns about human exposure to elevated levels of contaminants in wildlife species that are important to the traditional diets of northern Aboriginal peoples. Early studies found a wide variety of substances, many of which had no Arctic or Canadian sources, but which were, nevertheless, reaching unexpectedly high levels in the Arctic ecosystem. 


The Canadian Cryospheric Information Network (CCIN, https://www.ccin.ca/) and the Polar Data Catalogue (PDC, https://polardata.ca/) have been developed over the past two decades through collaborative partnerships between the University of Waterloo and numerous government, university, and private organizations to provide the data and information management infrastructure for the Canadian cryospheric community. The PDC is one of Canada’s primary online sources for data and information about the Arctic and is Canada's National Antarctica Data Centre.


Polar Data Catalogue Canadian Cryospheric Information Network Metadata Record: https://www.polardata.ca/pdcsearch/PDCSearch.jsp?doi_id=10780


Supporting Projects: 

Northern Contaminants Program (NCP)

Organization: Environment and Climate Change Canada | Environnement et Changement climatique Canada
Remote Sensing and Modelling, Satellite-based Nitrogen Dioxide, Oil Sands Region

In the oil sands air monitoring component, nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and sulphur dioxide (SO2) levels are monitored by ground-based instruments, satellites and other measurements. Monitoring of air pollutants from satellites is becoming an alternative to surface and aircraft measurements, and allows for better understanding of the global distribution, sources and trends of pollutants.

Using satellite data for the oil sands region, high-resolution air pollutant maps show distinct concentrations of NO2 (Figure 1a) and SO2 (Figure 1b) over an area (roughly 30 km x 50 km, or 19 miles x 31 miles) of intensive oil sands surface mining. The map shows that NO2 concentrations are significant and are comparable to measurements made over large, individual sources such as coal-burning power plants. NO2 concentrations in the oil sand region are smaller than the signal observed by large metropolitan areas in Canada and significantly smaller that the signal observed elsewhere in North America (Figures 1c and 1d). The SO2 concentrations are also significant and are comparable to those from individual industrial emissions sources, including large base-smelting operations in Manitoba and Ontario. The Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment (CCME) has begun work to develop Canadian Ambient Air Quality Standards for NO2 and SO2. The satellite data may be considered for the development of these standards and will be helpful to understanding the impact of the response to any future standards. (See document for figures - Satellite Figures-EngFr.pdf )

Organization: Environment and Climate Change Canada | Environnement et Changement climatique Canada
Cylinder Requalifiers - Registered per Standard CSA B339

Facilities meeting the requirements to requalify cylinders and tubes set out in clause 24 of the Canadian Standards Association, Standard CSA B339 are given a Certificate of Registration. Upon registration, an identifying mark is issued to each requalifier. This mark must be stamped or affixed, depending on the container specification, on the cylinder or tube each time it is requalified. A Certificate of Registration is valid for a period of five years.

Organization: Transport Canada | Transports Canada
Great Blue Heron Species at Risk, British Columbia

Designated as a Species of Special Concern in 2008, the entire range and potential area of occupancy for the Great Blue Heron is defined as terrestrial areas within the Coastal Douglas Fir and Coastal Western Hemlock Biogeoclimatic zones that are less than 10 km from a potential foraging area (potential foraging areas are defined as the entire coastline and major river systems). The distribution of the Pacific Great Blue Heron is confined to the coast from Prince William Sound, Alaska south to Puget Sound, Washington. The major factors currently limiting the persistence of heron populations are nesting failure and reduced nesting productivity arising from eagle predation, human disturbance and habitat declines from development.

 Refer to the, "COSEWIC Assessment and Update Status Report on the Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias fannini) in Canada," for more information.

Organization: Environment and Climate Change Canada | Environnement et Changement climatique Canada
Canadian Research and Development Classification (CRDC) 2020 Version 2.0 

This classification system was developed conjointly by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC), the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC), the Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI), the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), and Statistics Canada which is the custodian. This shared standard classification, inspired by the Frascati Model 2015 of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), will be used by the federal granting agencies and Statistics Canada to collect, and disseminate data related to research and development in Canada. The Canadian Research and Development Classification (CRDC) first official version was the 2020 Version 1.0, now being replaced by CRDC Version 2.0. The CRDC is revised within 2 years for minor changes, and every five years for major revisions. CRDC 2020 Version 2.0 is composed of 3 main pieces: the type of activity or TOA (with 3 categories), the field of research or FOR (with 1,671 fields at the lowest level) and socioeconomic objective or SEO (with 85 main groups at the lowest level).			

This dataset is made available under the Statistics Canada Open Licence agreement (https://www.statcan.gc.ca/eng/reference/licence).			


Organization: Statistics Canada | Statistique Canada
St. Clair River Area of Concern

An Area of Concern (AOC) is a location where environmental quality is degraded compared to other areas in the Great Lake Basin resulting in the impairment of beneficial uses. A total of 43 AOCs were identified as a result of Annex 2 of the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement (GLWQA).The Canada-United States GLWQA identifies 14 beneficial uses that must be restored in order to remove the designation as an Area of Concern. A beneficial use is defined as the ability of living organisms (including humans) to use the Great Lakes Basin Ecosystem without adverse consequences. A Beneficial Use Impairment (BUI) is a condition that interferes with the enjoyment of a water use. Each BUI has a set of locally-defined delisting criteria that are specific, measurable, achievable, and scientifically-defensible.

 The Remedial Action Plan (RAP) is administered locally in accordance with the Canada-U.S. Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement (GLWQA) and the Canada-Ontario Agreement (COA). The RAP is an ongoing collaborative effort implemented by federal, provincial, and local governments as well as industry and public partners. There are 3 key stages of the RAP: Stage 1 is a detailed description of the environmental problem; Stage 2 identifies remedial actions and options; Stage 3 is the final document providing evidence that the beneficial uses have been restored and the AOC can be “delisted”.

 The St. Clair River, a key shipping channel in the Great Lakes Seaway system, flows 64 kilometers from Lake Huron to Lake St. Clair. The St. Clair River is one of five binational AOCs under the Canada – United States Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement (1987). Approximately 170 000 people live in the AOC, particularly in the urban centers of Sarnia, Ontario and Port Huron, Michigan. The St. Clair River has greatly contributed to Ontario's and Michigan's industrial, commercial, and municipal development, and as a result it has been severely degraded due to the improper wastewater management, frequent dredging, and both point and non-point sources of contamination. For more information, visit: https://www.friendsofstclair.ca/www/rap/index.html

Organization: Environment and Climate Change Canada | Environnement et Changement climatique Canada
AMAP SLCF model datasets

This database contains model output files that were used in the 2021 Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Programme (AMAP) Assessment Report on Short-lived Climate Forcers (SLCFs) and subsequent journal publications. The datasets are stored here: https://crd-data-donnees-rdc.ec.gc.ca/CCCMA/products/AMAP/ 

Type0 model files are basic historical simulations. Types 1 and 2 are model sensitivity simulations with regionally perturbed emissions and type 3 are future simulations under varying emission scenarios. Please see the file "AMAPdatabaseREADME.xlxs" at the data location for further explanation.

Organization: Environment and Climate Change Canada | Environnement et Changement climatique Canada
Canadian Homogenized Monthly Precipitation (CanHoPmly)

This first version of the dataset (CanHoPmlyV1) contains homogenized time series of monthly total precipitation for 425 long-term stations in Canada. As detailed in Wang et al. (2023), it is based on the quality-controlled version 2020 of the Adjusted Daily Rainfall and Snowfall (AdjDlyRS) dataset (Wang et al. 2017; available at https://open.canada.ca/data/en/dataset/d8616c52-a812-44ad-8754-7bcc0d8de305), and on daily total precipitation data from automated gauges (including Belfort, Fisher & Porter, Nipher, Geonor, and Pluvio), with some records from neighbouring stations being joined to form long-term data series. Version 1 of ANUSPLIN surfaces of the adjusted monthly precipitation (MacDonald et al. 2021, available at https://open.canada.ca/data/en/dataset/779ea77a-0ad1-42f2-853e-833e1cbb9a13) was used to infill temporal data gaps in the 425 data series. A comprehensive semi-automatic data homogenization procedure was used to homogenize the data series. The aforementioned ANUSPLIN data and the Twentieth Century Reanalysis 20CRv3 ensemble-mean series of monthly precipitation (Slivinski et al., 2021) were used as reference in the homogeneity tests (Wang et al., 2023). The homogenized dataset provides more realistic trend estimates and shows better spatial consistency of trends than does the raw dataset (Wang et al. 2023).


References:

Wang, X.L, Y. Feng, V. Y. S. Cheng, H. Xu, 2023: Observed precipitation trends inferred from Canada’s homogenized monthly precipitation dataset, J. Clim., in press. DOI: 10.1175/JCLI-D-23-0193.1. 

Wang, X. L., H. Xu, B. Qian, Y. Feng, E. Mekis, 2017: The adjusted daily rainfall and snowfall data for Canada. Atmosphere-Ocean, 55:3, 155-168, DOI:10.1080/07055900.2017.1342163.

MacDonald, H., D. W. McKenney, X. L. Wang, J. Pedlar, P. Papadopol, K. Lawrence, M. F. Hutchinson, 2021: Spatial Models of adjusted precipitation for Canada at varying time scales. J. Appl. Meteor. And Climatol., 60, 291-304. DOI: 10.1175/JAMC-D-20-0041.1.

Slivinski, L. and coauthors, 2019: Towards a more reliable historical reanalysis: Improvements for version 3 of the Twentieth Century Reanalysis system. Q. J. R. Meteor. Soc., 2876-2908, https://doi.org/10.1002/qj.3598.

Organization: Environment and Climate Change Canada | Environnement et Changement climatique Canada
Chemicals Management Plan Wastewater Monitoring Program

In 2006, the Government of Canada initiated the Chemicals Management Plan (CMP), which takes action regarding chemicals that are harmful to human health or the environment. One element of the CMP is Monitoring and Surveillance, which generates data on the presence and levels of chemical substances in environmental matrices. These data are used to make decisions regarding the best approach to protect Canadians and their environment from risks these substances might pose. 

In support of the CMP, a wastewater monitoring program was initiated in 2009 to generate data on priority substances that may be released to the environment. The wastewater sector has been identified as an important release point to the environment for certain CMP substances. The purpose of the wastewater monitoring program is to gather information from representative municipal wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) across Canada to determine the levels of selected chemical substances entering WWTPs, the fate of these substances through typical wastewater and sludge treatment processes (primary treatment, activated sludge treatment, lagoon treatment, etc.) at warm and cold process temperatures, and the levels of these substances being discharged in WWTP effluents and solids residuals. The participation of various WWTPs in this program is done on a voluntary and anonymous basis, and sampling commences once a Collaboration Arrangement has been signed by the Municipality and Environment and Climate Change Canada. The results from this monitoring project are used to improve our understanding of the fate of chemical substances during wastewater treatment and to determine if control measures are needed to prevent these substances from entering municipal wastewater systems.

Organization: Environment and Climate Change Canada | Environnement et Changement climatique Canada
Groundwater Quality - Oil Sands Region

Shallow groundwater and the interaction of these waters with surface water in the mineable area of the Athabasca oil sands region are being examined to assess the role and importance of groundwater in the regional river ecosystems.

 Groundwater quality chemistry data is available from 182 shallow groundwater samples collected below the Athabasca, Ells, Muskeg and Steepbank rivers and 2 monitoring wells near an existing tailings impoundment. Additionally 5 surface water samples were also collected for comparative purposes. All samples were collected between 2009 and 2011 and include analyses for up to 60 parameters, including electrical conductivity, pH, temperature, and dissolved oxygen concentration, major ions, trace metals, total concentrations of naphthenic acids, fluorescence intensity using synchronous fluorescence spectroscopy (SFS) and others. Statistical analyses indicate that shallow riparian groundwater proximate to a tailings pond and groundwater collected away from the any tailings pond were indistinguishable for nearly all parameters assessed with a few exceptions. The analyses also identified a small subset of groundwater samples that have some chemical similarities to OSPW (Oil Sands Process-Affected Water). Further investigations may be required to evaluate the nature and ecological significance of groundwater at these locations.

 Further context, interpretation and discussion of this data may be found in “Profiling oil sands mixtures from industrial developments and natural groundwaters for source identification,” which was published in Vol. 48 (5), pp. 2660–2670, January 2014 in the journal Environmental Science and Technology and “Assessing risks of shallow riparian groundwater quality near an oil sands tailings pond” published in 2016 in the journal Groundwater (Vol. 54, No. 4, pp. 545-558).

Supplemental Information

Supporting Projects: Canada-Alberta Oil Sands Environmental Monitoring

Organization: Environment and Climate Change Canada | Environnement et Changement climatique Canada