current issue

Coastal Adaptation Options

No active intervention, avoidance/retreat, accommodation, protection

Main challenge for atlantic coast

:increasing frequency of less intense storms
-do not give enough time for sediments to accumulate + rebuilding of small dunes

Canadian Net-Zero Emissions Accountability Act

June 29, 2021
-ensures transparency and accountability as the government works to deliver on its targets
-requires public participation and independent advice to guide government efforts

2030 Emissions Reduction Plan (2022)

provides a roadmap to how Canada will meet its enhanced Paris Agreement target to reduce emissions by 40-45% from 2005 levels by 2030
-Builds on Canada's strengthened climate plan (2020)
-Builds on Pan-Canadian Framework (2016)

Nova scotia shore

Granite

PEI shore

brittle soft sandstone

What are most beaches on the Atlantic Coast made of?

gravel/mixed sand gravel beaches

Southern Gulf Lawrence shore

sand-rich glacial deposits

Shoreline hardening impact

altered coastal circulation patterns + sediment transport

How are milder winters affecting rate of erosion

changes in the timing of ice formation along the coasts and less ice cover with warmer sea surface temperature → more abrasion of coast

How are narrow beaches w/low waves and low energy stabilized

less prone to erosion --\> upland vegetation established --\> further stabilization

Vehicle use + foot traffic impact

compaction, coarsening, steepening

Coastal Community Challenges-Community University Research Alliance (CCC-CURA) goal

develop adaptation plans and attempted to improve the resilience of small coastal communities

Ste.-Flavie and Maria (QC), Ste.-Marie-St.-Raphael and Cocagne-Grande Digue (NB), and Morell (PEI) region storm characteristics

-increasing intensity
-shorter in duration, heavier rainfall + increased erosion
-less sea ice reported in the winter → increased damage during storms in the winter
-Increased rainfall, climatic extremes in summer

Rural communities infrastructure issues

-do not have financial capacity to relocate houses/build protection walls
-Infrastructure in these communities need to be repaired + maintained → expensive, aged communities cannot resolve on their own
\-

governance issues for small rural communities not incorporated in municipalities

-Developing regional emergency management plans requires the provincial government to give its approval, hard for communities w/o financial means
-relocation --\> coastal squeeze
-Most people expecting government to cover costs of infrastructure b/c they cannot afford coastal defenses

Heat Alert + Response System

has 3 alert levels based on factors that characterize an extreme heat event: intensity, duration, and exposure to heat during the night

Indigenous disproportionate climate change impacts

-Greenhouse gas emissions by indigenous are modest (

Canada's partnership w/indigenous actions

Invested \>770 mil to support Indigenous-led projects
Supports adaptation planning, clean energy, health, infrastructure, etc
Created partnership stream of Low-Carbon Economy Fund
Additional support for Indigenous projects reducing ghg emissions
Amended Clean Energy for Rural + Remote Communities program
Now supports capacity building, training, skill development, knowledge dissemination
New commitment to improve Indigenous access to Disaster Mitigation + Adaptation fund

INDIGENOUS CLIMATE LEADERSHIP

-Many Indigenous leaders have reinforced the need to take climate action

Wataynikaneyap Power Project-March 2018

-CA government invested $1.6b into project to connect 16 remote First Nations to provincial power grid in NW Ontario
-Eliminated dependence on diesel for First Nations
Over 40 years, expected to result in \>6.6mil tons of avoided CO2 emissions

A Healthy Environment and a Healthy Economy plan

Plan to support indigenous climate leadership
Involves working closely w/Indigenous to learn from their systems of knowledge, empower their communities + organizations, and supporting their climate priorities

Other things CA government is doing: for indigenous peoples

Investing in transitioning remote, rural, + indigenous communities from diesel to clean energy
Increase net fuel charge proceeds available to indigenous governments
Implement climate risk assessments + solutions into infrastructure management
Improve indigenous food security

5 climate-related damages for canada

Household, business, and infrastructure assets are losing value, Productivity losses and business disruptions are slowing economic growth, Human health is at risk, Impacts on ecosystems generate tangible costs, More government resources will be required to address climate change damages

Household, business, and infrastructure assets are losing value

-Real estate \= 75% of CA's produced wealth, value over $8.5 trillion
-CA's transportation + electric power infrastructure \= \>$400 billion, vital to economy
-infrastructure not designed to withstand climate change
-W/o adaptation, coastal property losses could equal ½ year's GDP growth by mid-century
Permafrost thaw will degrade infrastructure, Will exacerbate inequities Indigenous are facing

Productivity losses and business disruptions are slowing economic growth

Wildfires shuttered oil production, reducing economic value (Fort Mcmurray fire reduced oil production by ~47 million barrels)
Alberta floods left many w/o work, lowering productivity (2013 S Alberta floods left 300,000 people, 14% of Alberta's workforce, unable to work for 2 weeks, 5.1 million hours of lost work)
Recent spring floods impacted small + financially vulnerable businesses
When temps are below/above -18℃-24℃, manufacturing productivity decreases (10% of CA's GDP)

Human health is at risk

Extreme weather events make mental health worse
620-2700 deaths per year b/c of fine particle emissions from wildfire in 2013-2018
Extreme heat causes children to miss school

Impacts on ecosystems generate tangible costs

Fisheries will be disrupted (Warming + acidification of CA's oceans + warming of inland waters → decreased productivity of fisheries, affecting food security + cultural practices of Indigenous communities)
Reduction in size of fisheries → tension between Indigenous + non-indigenous b/c of competition for diminishing resource
Harmful algae blooms wreck beach days and hurt tourism
Wildfire prevention is increasing land management costs
More pests ruin harvestable wood (Decreased harvestable pine by \>50% in 2003-2005 b/c of mountain pine beetle outbreaks)

More government resources will be required to address climate change damages

Costs include:
-Increased capital expenditures (transportation infrastructure, public buildings, underground infrastructure, water treatment facilities)
Increased operation and maintenance costs (disaster response, insurance)
-Fire Management costs are rising
-By the end of the century, total average national fire management costs projected to increase to just under $1 billion a year (60% increase from 2009) under low emissions pathway, $1.4 billion under high emissions pathway
Damage to community infrastructure on the rise

Marine Coasts of Atlantic Provinces:

NB
Nova Scotia
PEI
Newfoundland
Labrador

Marine Coasts of Quebec

To Gulf of St. Lawrence

Canada's East Coast History

Inhabited by aboriginal populations for at least 9000 yrs
European colonization began in early 17th century
current population of region: ~3 million
density lowest @Quebec's North Shore + Coast of Labrador
Region has diverse ecosystems, services contribute to global + regional economic prosperity

strongest climate trend in CA

increasing air temperatures during last century

Average warming in East Coast Region 1990-2010

~0.90℃ (similar/greater than global average warming)

Precipitation trend

no clear historical trend
Expected increase in winter + spring, stable/decrease in summer + fall

1945-2010, increase in air temp led to...

NW Atlantic surface increased 0.32℃
Largest increase in Labrador Sea
-Surface-water temp increase in Gulf of St. Lawrence similar to air temp increases in region

Which directions are storms expected to shift in?

Northward

Global sea level change

vertical change of sea surface relative to Earth's center, averaged for all oceans on planet

Relative sea level change

change in mean sea level relative to solid ground @ any point on coast

IPCC projected range of global sea level rise

26-98 cm by 2100
Collapse of a portion of West Antarctic ice sheet → add up to additional 65 cm rise, could mean rise of \>1.5m by 2100

Storm surge elevation

difference between observed water level during surge + level that tide would normally rise to

CC effect on Bay of fundy

Climate change is expected to increase tidal resonance in Bay of Fundy → greater tidal range + water level extremes (5-20cm)

Avg. annual sea ice cover decrease in E. Coast

0.27%/year since 1968, 1.53% from 1998-2013

When will sea ice will be almost completely absent in most of Gulf of St. Lawrence

2100

Newfoundland + Labrador geomorphology

Mountain + coastal areas

N + E shores of Gulf of St. Lawrence, Bay of Fundy coast of NB, and exposed Atlantic Shores of Nova Scotia + Newfoundland geomorphology

Topographically low to high resistant bedrock cliffs

southern + western shores of Gulf of St. Lawrence geomorphology

Soft erodible cliffs (more dynamic + more sensitive to climate change)

St. Lawrence estuary, western shores of Gulf of St. Lawrence, and Bay of Fundy @ head geomorphology

Unconsolidated, low-lying coasts w/salt marshes, barrier islands, and beaches

What is exposed @ low tide in upper Bay of Fundy?

Flat-grained tidal flats + salt marshes

What happened during last glaciation

large amounts of sediment were deposited offshore b/c sea level was lower than present
-increasing sea levels → sediments reworked to form modern-day beaches, spits, and barrier islands along shorelines of East Coast region

Why is there a chronic sediment deficit in E. Coast other than in Newfoundland + Labrador?

sediment resources contained in continental shelf have mostly been exhausted

Progradation

coasts advancing seaward, happening b/c of erosion along other shores

Where are Erosion rates in NB highest + lowest

beach-dune systems, cliffs
(Coastal landforms like beaches, dunes, or marshes can reestablish after major erosion events, cliffs/buffs only recede)

Direct economic benefits of enhancing + sustaining ecosystem resilience

Fishing
Shellfish harvesting
Tourism

buffers that protect against severe wave + storm activity

Wetlands, coastal dunes, spits, and barrier islands

winter sea ice role in Gulf of St. Lawrence

contributes to water-convection processes
Important driver of primary production by phytoplankton

Sea ice formation role in productivity

causes upwelling

ice + saltmarsh cordgrass

helps w/redistribution/colonization of salt marsh cordgrass seeds + rhizomes

Why is Shellfish aquaculture industry vulnerable to tunicates

they can form colonies on cultivated shells

Groundwater impacts w/saltwater intrusion

NB: many private wells intermittently contaminated by seawater during storm surges in Le Goulet
PEI: particularly vulnerable to saltwater intrusion b/c of geography and almost 100% of population relies on groundwater
Quebec: no documented intrusion but drawdown saltwater cones exist beneath some wells in Iles de la Madeleine
Iles de la Madeleine very vulnerable to overpumping, especially in summer b/c visitor traffic nearly doubles population

What % of fish species of coast of NA shifted northward + deeper in 1968-2007

72%

Landward migration happens through...

Overtopping, Breaching and overwash, Tidal-inlet development, Wind action

Overtopping

when waves gradually add sediment to a beach crest w/o eroding

Breaching and overwash

waves erode beach crest + deposit sediment

Tidal-inlet development

formation of tidal deltas

Wind action

strong offshore wind transporting sand in backdune, marsh, or lagoon

Why do dam/land construction cause more unstable marshes

reduce sediment load

What makes marshes more resilient

areas w/high tidal range + sediment availability

Coastal Squeeze

happens when slopes behind marsh are too steep

How to promote resilience of coastal areas

protection, revegetation, stabilization of dunes
Maintenance of sediment supply
Provision of buffer zones
Setbacks to allow landward migration of coastline

Effect of dikes in Bay of Fundy

Dikes → reduce flooding → change magnitude of tidal discharge → sedimentation/alteration of intertidal morphology of estuary + position of intertidal habitat

Vulnerability

sensitivity to harm, capacity to cope/adapt to changes

Exposure

The presence of people, livelihoods, species, or ecosystems, environmental functions, resources, infrastructure, or economic/social/cultural assets in places that could be adversely affected
-Often associated with amount of wave energy reaching coast

les nordets

most damaging wind/waves from northeast in Northern NB

les suetes

damaging local winds in In western Cape Breton, NS

how are les suetes formed

Created when frontal inversion causes funneling effect
As winds rush down side of highlands, strong gusts develop (\>150 km/h)

Tidal range near Iles de la Madeleine

Tidal range @ Cobequid Bay on Bay of Fundy

\>16m

Why are areas w/large tidal range less likely to experience damaging surge events

B/c storm surges most damaging during high tide level

Most common factors that reduces flow of wave energy

offshore sea ice
shorefast ice
sea-grass beds
foreshore marsh developed seaward of dike structure
Dunes
Beach barriers

Foreshore marshes can reduce __% of incoming wave energy

97%
preservation/encouragement of foreshore-marsh habitat \= adaptation measures to decrease environmental impacts from built infrastructure

Sensitivity

The degree to which a system is affected, either adversely or beneficially, by climate-related changes
-Related to severity of exposure + potential consequences
-also related to degree which hazard impacts areas of environmental, cultural, social, + economic significance.

Why/how were saltwater marshes drained throughout French-Acadian NS

Extensive dikes, for agriculture

A once in 10 years storm surge could...

could overtop 90% of existing dike system + flood 20% of Sackville, NB

Adaptive capacity

the ability of a country, region, community or group to implement adaptation measures
-Change becoming more rapid → adaptive capacity of many communities may be challenged

Atlantic Climate Adaptation Solutions Network

partnership among governments of NB, NS, PEI, Newfoundland, and Labrador working w/Government of CA to help Canadians adapt + prepare for climate change

Ouranos

joint initiative of Government of Quebec, Hydro-Quebec, and Environment Canada

What were vulnerability assessments in PEI, Quebec, and NB focused on?

coastal erosion

What were vulnerability assessments in Newfoundland and Labrador focused on?

flooding

Areas w/o significant vulnerability assessments

E. shore of NS
mid-Fundy shore of NB
Much of Newfoundland and Labrador
Quebec N. Shore

How to address issue of areas w/o vulnerability assessments

increased accessibility of public data
-NB government is making Coastal Erosion Databank public on interactive map

Economic assessment of impacts of erosion on coastal infrastructure in Quebec by 2065

5426 buildings will be exposed to erosion if no adaptation measures are taken, and 294 km of roads + 26 km of railroads ($1.5 billion value)

CLIVE

Coastal Impact Visualization Environment
-Geovisualization tool that allows users to combine data from sources to develop visualizations of coastal erosion + scenarios of potential sea level rise
Used to assess vulnerability of coastal infrastructure on PEI

Potential Opportunity of CC for economy of E. Coast

increased crop production + diversification of agriculture industry as a result of longer growing seasons
-Could be offset by negative impacts (insect outbreaks, disturbances)

How are Changing migration patterns adding stress to lobster industry

mackerel arriving in E Coast region later, no longer overlap w/lobster/crab season
-important bait

most valuable species for aquaculture

Atlantic salmon
Shellfish important in PEI

How will climate change will affect aquaculture

acidification, changes in seawater temp + circulation patterns, extreme events, + sea level rise

Increasing temps benefits + drawbacks to aquaculture

shorter time to market, but increases chance of infection + pathogens

Adaptive solutions

selective breeding programs, genomic research, relocation

Reduction of sea ice in Gulf of St. Lawrence benefit

increased potential for more shipping to Port of Montreal + St. Lawrence seaway