The Canadian Foundation for Climate and Atmospheric Sciences (CFCAS)and the University of Northern British Columbia are proud to announce$185,000 over two years to support groundbreaking research that willadvance Canada’s science and technology objectives while helpingprepare for the impacts of climate change.

These funds will support research at UNBC that will improve our abilityto forecast not only the weather for days ahead but also the seasonsahead – vital information for the many industries that depend on areliable understanding of upcoming weather conditions, from agricultureto construction to gas-and-oil and more. The research is being led byYoumin Tang, a Canada Research Chair in Climate Prediction and anassociate professor of Environmental Sciences at UNBC.

“These projects are a perfect fit for the goal of this competition,which focuses on research that will give decision-makers the scientifictools they need to face future challenges,” said Gordon McBean, chairof CFCAS. “This is the sort of information that must be built intosound public policy, innovation and strategic development, moving usforward into an era of mitigation and adaptation to climate change andassociated factors.”

“The support from CFCAS is wonderful,” says Dr. Tang, “This researchrepresents quite a change from weather forecasting that may look a fewdays into the future. I’m interested in using novel mathematical modelsto improve our capability in predicting atmospheric variability andevaluating their practical use, so that we may be able to use them topredict weather several months ahead.”  

This funding is part of the $5.5 million recently awarded by CFCAS topromote research across Canada on increasing knowledge and training inair quality, extreme weather, climate sciences or marine environmentalprediction. This competition was focused on research that could guideenvironmental policy or adaptation strategies. Funds were awarded toresearch on air quality, northern science, weather prediction andforecasting, or climate change and water resources. Multidisciplinarycollaborative research is encouraged, as well as partnerships withresearchers in the health or social sciences as appropriate.

This is the Foundation’s seventh and final competition under itscurrent mandate and is funded entirely by interest revenues of CFCASinvestments. CFCAS has invested over $110 million across Canada overthe past eight years to support a suite of research projects.

UNBC is emerging as a national leader in research and teaching relatedto the environment. In fact, the proportion of students inenvironmental degree programs at UNBC is 20-times the national averageand Dr. Tang is one of 13 research chairs at UNBC who are leadingresearch on environmental topics ranging from climate change towildlife habitat.

Contact:
Kelly Crowe, CFCAS Communications Officer, 613-238-2223 ext 209
Rob van Adrichem, UNBC Director of Media and Public Relations, 250-960-5622
 

 Media Downloads

Click on the thumbnail below to download a high-resolution image of Dr. Youmin Tang