Abstract
A climate index is a calculated value that can quantify variability and trends of important climate variables meaningful to humans and ecosystems, such as extreme temperatures (both hot and cold), frost days, frost-free period, growing season length, growing degree days, precipitation extremes, freeze-thaw days and many more. Thus, climate indices permit the synopsis and comparison of practical climate data over both space and time by comparing means, extremes or trends, or the quantification of trends and their associated confidence levels. Results for the Province of Alberta (www.albertaclimaterecords.com) provide a compelling picture of overall warming and changes of weather extremes, such as the warming of winters, or the highly significant declines in frost days or days below -20°C. Contrary, the number of summer days or heat waves has significantly increased, as have the length of the growing season or the number of growing degree days. As the results from historical and future climate indices form the basis to determine how fast and in which direction ecosystems are changing, climate indices form, in addition to local soil and hydrological conditions, the basis to identify changes in biome boundaries, identify expected bioclimatic stresses, map wildfire risk, or determine a wide range of hydro-climatological changes. Climate indices were calculated for a consistent 10km by 10km grid for Alberta, allowing the mapping for regional differences. This paper explains the calculation of climate indices and discuss selected indices for their observed and future trends. Challenges and applications of climate indices for ecosystem research are explored.
Presenters
Stefan KienzleProfessor of Hydrology and GIS, Department of Geography and Environment, University of Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
Assessing Impacts in Diverse Ecosystems
KEYWORDS
Climate Indices, Alberta, Growing Season Length, Extreme Weather, Frost Days
