Overview of the the Climate Related Monitoring Program in BC and how researchers can be involved.

1. CRMP – Collaborative Climate and
Meteorological
Monitoring in British Columbia
Ted.Weick@gov.bc.ca
Environmental and Climate Monitoring Section
Knowledge Management Branch

2. • What, Why, Who (w/history), How
• Challenges
• What can you do?

3. What?
Sustainable climate data to serve the
citizens of British Columbia.
The purpose of the CRMP is to enhance coverage,
completeness and access to climate information
for the Province of British Columbia by leveraging
data and operations of existing operational
meteorological networks within and adjacent to
the Province.

4. Why?

5. Who?
• Ministry of Environment and
Climate Change Strategy (ENV):
– Snow Program (ASWS)
– Air Quality (AQ)
• Ministry of Forests, Lands,
Natural Resource Operations and
Rural Development (FLNRORD):
– BC Wildfire Service (FWx)
– Regional Climatologists (Forest
Ecosystems Research Networks, FERN)
with connections to UNBC
• Ministry of Transportation and
Infrastructure (TRAN):
– Avalanche and Weather Programs
• BC Hydro (BCH)
• Ministry of Agriculture (AGRI):
– Partnership w/ADCON supporting
Farmwest.com
• Rio Tinto (RT)
• Pacific Climate Impacts
Consortium (PCIC)
– Pacific Climate Data Set
• Environment and Climate
Change Canada (ECCC)
• Capital Regional District (CRD)
• Metro Vancouver Regional
District (MVRD)
– Parks and Planning
– Water Services

6. Pre 2010 – BC Hydro Met Committee
• Ministry of Environment and
Climate Change Strategy (ENV):
– Snow Program (ASWS)
– Air Quality (AQ)
• Ministry of Forests, Lands,
Natural Resource Operations and
Rural Development (FLNRORD):
– BC Wildfire Service (FWx)
– Regional Climatologists (Forest
Ecosystems Research Networks, FERN)
with connections to UNBC
• Ministry of Transportation and
Infrastructure (TRAN):
– Avalanche and Weather Programs
• BC Hydro (BCH)
• Ministry of Agriculture (AGRI):
– Adcon Partnership supporting
Farmwest.com
• Rio Tinto (RT)
• Pacific Climate Impacts
Consortium (PCIC)
– Pacific Climate Data Set
• Environment and Climate
Change Canada (ECCC)
• Capital Regional District (CRD)
• Metro Vancouver Regional
District (MVRD)
– Parks and Planning
– Water Services

7. CRMP Agreement I (2010-2018)
• Ministry of Environment and
Climate Change Strategy (ENV):
– Snow Program (ASWS)
– Air Quality (AQ)
• Ministry of Forests, Lands,
Natural Resource Operations and
Rural Development (FLNRORD):
– BC Wildfire Service (FWx)
– Regional Climatologists (Forest
Ecosystems Research Networks, FERN)
with connections to UNBC
• Ministry of Transportation and
Infrastructure (TRAN):
– Avalanche and Weather Programs
• BC Hydro (BCH)
• Ministry of Agriculture (AGRI):
– Partnership w/ADCON supporting
Farmwest.com
• Rio Tinto (RT)
• Pacific Climate Impacts
Consortium (PCIC)
– Pacific Climate Data Set
• Environment and Climate
Change Canada (ECCC)
• Capital Regional District (CRD)
• Metro Vancouver Regional
District (MVRD)
– Parks and Planning
– Water Services

8. CRMP Agreement II (2018-2025)
• Ministry of Environment and
Climate Change Strategy (ENV):
– Snow Program (ASWS)
– Air Quality (AQ)
• Ministry of Forests, Lands,
Natural Resource Operations and
Rural Development (FLNRORD):
– BC Wildfire Service (FWx)
– Regional Climatologists (Forest
Ecosystems Research Networks, FERN)
with connections to UNBC
• Ministry of Transportation and
Infrastructure (TRAN):
– Avalanche and Weather Programs
• BC Hydro (BCH)
• Ministry of Agriculture (AGRI):
– Partnership w/ADCON supporting
Farmwest.com
• Rio Tinto (RT)
• Pacific Climate Impacts
Consortium (PCIC)
– Pacific Climate Data Set
• Environment and Climate
Change Canada (ECCC)
• Capital Regional District (CRD)
• Metro Vancouver Regional
District (MVRD)
– Parks and Planning
– Water Services

9. • Ministry of Environment and
Climate Change Strategy (ENV):
– Snow Program (ASWS)
– Air Quality (AQ)
• Ministry of Forests, Lands,
Natural Resource Operations and
Rural Development (FLNRORD):
– BC Wildfire Service (FWx)
– Regional Climatologists (Forest
Ecosystems Research Networks, FERN)
with connections to UNBC
• Ministry of Transportation and
Infrastructure (TRAN):
– Avalanche and Weather Programs
• BC Hydro (BCH)
• Ministry of Agriculture (AGRI):
– Partnership w/ADCON supporting
Farmwest.com
• Rio Tinto (RT)
• Pacific Climate Impacts
Consortium (PCIC)
– Pacific Climate Data Set
• Capital Regional District (CRD)
• Metro Vancouver Regional
District (MVRD)
– Parks and Planning
– Water Services
• Environment and Climate
Change Canada (ECCC)
Federal/Agency Data Sharing Agreement
(2019 and on)

10. Additional Agreements
• Ministry of Environment and
Climate Change Strategy (ENV):
– Snow Program (ASWS)
– Air Quality (AQ)
• Ministry of Forests, Lands,
Natural Resource Operations and
Rural Development (FLNRORD):
– BC Wildfire Service (FWx)
– Regional Climatologists (Forest
Ecosystems Research Networks, FERN)
with connections to UNBC
• Ministry of Transportation and
Infrastructure (TRAN):
– Avalanche and Weather Programs
• BC Hydro (BCH)
• Ministry of Agriculture (AGRI):
– Partnership w/ADCON supporting
Farmwest.com
• Rio Tinto (RT)
• Pacific Climate Impacts
Consortium (PCIC)
– Pacific Climate Data Set
• Capital Regional District (CRD)
• Metro Vancouver Regional
District (MVRD)
– Parks and Planning
– Water Services
• Environment and Climate
Change Canada (ECCC)

11. Challenges
• Data Aggregation and Annotation
• Meta Data
• Sensing technology
• Standards
• Monitoring gaps/redundancies

12. Challenges
Data Aggregation and Annotation
• Aggregation
– Provincial data available in Pacific Climate Data Set
(PCDS- PCIC),
– Fed by manual and automated transfers
– Data Updates?

13. Challenges
Data Aggregation and Annotation
• Annotation
– Data processing techniques
due to operational need, age
of systems, etc.
– Data Sharing Agreement
w/ECCC.
• TRAN, ENV, FLNRORD FWx
Data annotated and posted on
DataMart National Archive
 PCDS (@PCIC)
– Data Updates?

14. Challenges
Meta-data
• Most agencies manage some meta data
– Maintenance records, calibration records, siting,
sensor history, siting history
• Focus is on operational data for clients
– Meta data may/may not
• Part of the database of record
• Drive internal data processing.
“metadata collected should be treated with the
same rigour
as the data itself”
GCOS climate monitoring principle #3

15. Challenges
Sensing Technology – Over winter precipitation

16. Challenges
Standards
• Provincial Standards – draft collection of
what “could be” adhered to
• New Standards under development
(ECCC/CCCS sponsored project)
– Meta Data Self declaration
– Data transmission
– Data Quality/grading
– Site selection and operation

17. Monitoring Gaps

18. Monitoring Gaps/Redundancies
• Next Steps
– Consultation w/local groups
– Define
• Enhancements to existing sites?
• New monitoring sites?
– Funding? Partnerships?

19. How can you help?
• Advocate for
– More coordinated monitoring
• Especially all season precipitation
• Operational support – “Not equipment infusion”
– Network gap filling
– Collection/sharing of metadata
• Operating a network?
– Post your meta data and data
– Standards development project

20. Ted.weick@gov.bc.ca
778-698-4446

21. Resources
• Open Data BC
– Meteorological Stations (Historic and Active),
(CRMP Partners, Past Networks, ECCC)
– Data (ENV)
• Air Quality,
• Automated Snow Weather Stations
– Public Avalanche Weather Station data (TRAN)
• Farmwest
• Pacific Climate Impacts Consortium
– Pacific Climate Data Set (includes live feeds from available
network data), Climate anomalies, and PRISM Mapping
• ECCC
– Canadian Centre for Climate Services
– DataMart