Qaujikkaut : an on-line advanced foresight tool of extreme meteorological events and natural hazards in Nunavik
Note : the full title of this project as submitted is "Qaujikkaut : an on-line advanced foresight tool of extreme meteorological events and natural hazards in Nunavik using real-time access to the SILA network of climate and environmental observatories"
Principal investigators
Richard Fortier, Thierry Badard
Co-investigators
François Laviolette, Jean-Michel Lemieux, Daniel Nadeau, Jacynthe Pouliot
Collaborators
Collaborators outside U. Laval
Ellen Avard (Nunavik Research Centre), Stéphanie Bleau (Ouranos), Bertrand Denis (ECCC), Jean-Denis Bouchard (MSP), Véronique Gilbert (Kativik Regional Government), Patrick Graillon (Kativik Regional Government), Nathalie La Violette (MELCC), Guy Dufour (Raglan Mine)
Abstract
In collaboration with several partners (Nunavik Parks-KRG, MELCC, MSP, ECCC, Ouranos, Raglan Mine, CRDIG, and CRDM), the CEN proposes to develop an on-line advanced foresight tool of extreme meteorological events and natural hazards in Nunavik called Qaujikkaut (warning in Inuktitut). This tool available on the Web and as a mobile application on smartphone is based on the SILA network of climate and environmental observatories conjointly operated by the CEN and MELCC in Nunavik. Moreover, KRG is currently planning to install 9 other stations in 2019-2020 to improve the accessibility to Nunavik territory. Several stations have satellite communication capabilities for real-time access to data. The meteorological data from these stations and the meteorological forecasts of ECCC can be used to identify and foresight problematic environmental situations such as episodes of strong winds, fog, low pressure, heavy precipitation, storm surge, dry and wet snow avalanches, ice jams and break-up, flooding and erosion, and fast thawing of permafrost affecting accessibility to territory and threatening public safety.
Time-series of environmental data as long as few decades including climate re-analyses are also available for explaining past observed natural hazards in Nunavik. Moreover, Landsat-8 and Sentinel-2 satellite data for multispectral imagery at high resolution will be integrated in the foresight tool for assessing the ice conditions. Using artificial intelligence, big data processing methods, spatio-temporal data analysis capabilities, and predictive modelling, these environmental data will be analyzed not only on site-specific basis but also spatially to diagnose past and future natural hazards and identify critical thresholds of meteorological indicators. As soon as these thresholds will be close to being reached, real-time advanced foresights of extreme meteorological events and natural hazards will be available on-line to raise the situational awareness of any Northerners and northern stakeholders in charge of public safety and emergency in Nunavik to their potential impacts.