Living Shorelines

Living shorelines represent a natural defense against coastal flooding and erosion. A growing number of resources are available to help landowners and communities stabilize shorelines using nature-based strategies. Read more »

Find Regional Climate Data Online

Climate research, reports, tools and resources from around the Gulf can be found in the NExUS database.

Quarterly Climate Outlook

The Climate Network has helped launch a new bulletin offering recent Gulf-wide climate data and seasonal projections. See the latest edition and sign up to receive it.
More »

Climate Adaptation Strategies around the Gulf

The Climate Network has a study on the status and needs of climate adaptation in municipalities bordering the Bay of Fundy. Read more »

Climate Network Dashboard

A new dashboard offers recent and real-time climate data for the northeast US and Atlantic Canada. Read more »

Extreme Precipitation in the Gulf of Maine Region

Extreme precipitation events are a growing regional concern. To learn more about challenges and responses. Read more »

‹ ›

Climate Initiatives: New Brunswick

Identifying Flooding Vulnerabilities in Charlotte County

Five New Brunswick communities—St. Stephen, St. Andrews, St. George, Blacks Harbour and Grand Manan—are actively preparing for sea-level rise and storm surge. With facilitation help from the St Croix Estuary Project and Eastern Charlotte Waterways, working groups of community members have identified which regions and members of their community are most vulnerable to flooding.

Over several months, each community held five facilitated sessions focused on infrastructure, socio-economics, environment, governance and options. “Our climate change meetings were a combination of excellent, science-based presentations on the town’s sea level rise and storm water issues, coupled with citizen engagement, discussion and recommendations,” observes Stan Choptiany, Mayor of Saint Andrews.

St-Andrews-NB---SCEP
Photo: St. Croix Estuary Project

The communities employed LIDAR-based digital-elevation mapping, and planning tools such as the Community Vulnerability Assessment Tool (CVAT, first developed by NOAA and used in both the US and Canada) and the Vulnerability-to-Resilience (V2R) tool (adapted for use in the Atlantic region). “Seeing the dramatic ramifications on our historic district is helping our Town Council shape mitigation strategies, identify priorities for action, and more fully engage citizens,” Choptiany adds. “The Charlotte County community vulnerability assessment project was an exceptional and effective process.”

Support for the project came from Environment Canada (through its Atlantic Ecosystem and Science Horizons Initiatives); the Province of New Brunswick’s Environmental Trust Fund; and the Intact Foundation.

Precipitation from extreme events in the GOM region has increased 74 percent since 1958 (NOAA).
Extreme weather already poses economic and ecological challenges, and these events are expected to grow more frequent in coming decades, with precipitation increasing 5-9 percent (IPCC 2013).

Credit: Sherry Godlewski

By 2050, climate scientists project a more rapid increase of 2.5 to 3.5°C (4.5 to 6.3° F) in regional air temperature (IPCC 2013).
Temperatures in the Gulf of Maine have risen much more in recent decades than many other coastal waters around the world, and a 2012 "heat wave" in sea surface temperatures had damaging economic impacts.

Projected Temperature Changes in the Gulf of Maine Region by the 2050s (°C.), reflecting the most recent IPCC models (Credit: Adam Fenech, UPEI Climate Lab)

What’s Climate Change and What’s Just the Weather?

This one-minute animation by Ole Christoffer Haga, produced by Teddy TV for the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation, clearly and humorously illustrates the difference between long-term climate trends and variable weather patterns.