Dr. Adam Fenech, Director of UPEI’s Climate Research Lab, was in Ahmedabad, India in January 2015 to address the Vibrant Gujarat conference, a biennial event that attracts over 15,000 delegates. Introducing CLIVE (the UPEI Climate Lab’s CoastaL Impacts Visualization Environment tool) at the conference’s Innovation: The Torchbearer of 21st Century symposium, Dr. Fenech profiled the world-class research being conducted at UPEI. Dr. Fenech was honoured to meet the Chief Minister (equivalent to Canada’s Premiers) of Gujarat, Anandiben Patel, to discuss the common challenges of coastal erosion and climate change. Dr. Fenech also spoke about the changing climate of India at the World Innovation Symposium in Gandhinagar, India.

By Dr. Adam Fenech, Director, Climate Lab, University of Prince Edward Island

Another year has gone by and it’s time to talk about Prince Edward Island’s top three weather stories of 2014. This past year continues to remind us of the important part weather plays in our everyday lives. Every year brings stories of weather no matter where you are, and Prince Edward Island is no different. Here are my top three weather stories for 2014, and how they affected Prince Edward Island.

Number 3 – Hurricane Arthur in July

Post-tropical storm Arthur was the big weather story of the summer of 2014 with strong winds sinking three boats in the Charlottetown harbour, and cutting power to roughly 5,000 Maritime Electric customers on July 5. Continue reading →

UPEI Climate Lab together with the University of Malta co-sponsored an international symposium titled Global Environmental Change and Small Island States and Territories: Economic & Labour Market Implications. The symposium brought together leading-edge environmental science experts to examine the implications of climate change to the economic and labour market predicament of small island states and territories. Pictured left to right are Dr. Tony Shaw, Brock University; Dr. Robert Gilmour, VP Research, UPEI; Dr. Godfrey Baldacchino, University of Malta (formerly a UPEI Canada Research Chair on Island Studies); Dr. Dan Scott, University of Waterloo; and Dr. Adam Fenech, UPEI. For more information, visit https://www.um.edu.mt/events/globalenvchange2014

The PEI Association of Planners have named UPEI’s Dr. Adam Fenech the winner of the Murray Pinchuk Community Builder Award. The award recognizes the highest standard of community building in the public and private realms. “The association has selected Dr. Fenech as the 2014 winner based on his efforts to develop a coastal erosion visualization tool and his work to share ideas on how best to adapt to coastal erosion and sea level rise,” said Vahid Ghomashchi, president of the PEI Association of Planner in a news release. “This award is a testament to all who seek to make the built and natural environment better for the community as a whole. Dr. Fenech’s work demonstrates the value of sharing information with the public in the interest in generating discussion on solutions for sustainability. The CLIVE tool also reminds us all of the need to be innovative and creative in how we consult with the public we serve.” Dr. Fenech is director of UPEI’s Climate Research Lab.

A team of journalists from Al Jazeera visited the UPEI Climate Lab in October 2014 to shoot a news feature on CLIVE: the 3D visualization tool co-created by UPEI’s Climate Research Lab which simulates sea-level rise and coastal erosion on Prince Edward Island. The story will profile the features of CLIVE and will show how coastal erosion is an already real and present challenge for Island homes and infrastructure. 

UPEI’s members of the team that created CLIVE, the coastal erosion visualization tool, were in Cambridge, Massachusetts in November 2014 to pick up their Communicating Coastal Risk and Resilience award from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. CLIVE took top honours in the popular vote. Learn more about CLIVE in this short video, presented at the conference. Pictured are students Alex Chen and Andrew Doiron; Dr. Robert Gilmour, Vice-President of Research and Graduate Studies; and Dr. Adam Fenech, Director of UPEI’s Climate Research Lab.

So the past Friday brought the rude arrival of winter with over 11 centimetres of snow catching many of us off guard without our winter tires on our automobiles. It was three weeks earlier (December 4) than the first winter storm of 2014. It has started discussions about how severe the winter of 2014-15 will be – will PEI receive more snow than last year, the worst in 42 years? Well, here is what the experts say. Continue reading →

CLIVE is the Coastal Impacts Visualization Environment, a sea level rise and coastal erosion video game, which allows users to fly over Prince Edward Island raising and lowering the sea level and turning on/off coastal layers to identify areas of risk and vulnerability.

CLIVE is a joint project between UPEI’s Climate Research Lab and the Spatial Interface Lab at Simon Fraser University.

Learn more about CLIVE in this short video presentation.

Veteran broadcast meteorologist Peter Coade will join authors Don Jardine and Adam Fenech for the launch of “Some weather we’re having!” The 2015 PEI Weather Trivia Calendar. The event takes place Tuesday, November 4 at 6:30 pm at The Pourhouse, above The Old Triangle Irish Alehouse in Charlottetown. Proceeds from calendar sales go to UPEI’s Climate Research Lab.

Prince Edward Island history comes to life in this first ever PEI weather trivia calendar of 365 stories about PEI weather and its impact on Islanders’ everyday lives. Meet the authors, Don Jardine and Adam Fenech, as they visit eleven libraries (and one pub!) across the Island during the month of November.

Come for the launch with Peter Coade, stay for music from singer/songwriter Patrick Bunston.

The 2015 PEI Weather Trivia Calendar brings stories from North Cape to East Point, West Point to Murray Head—and all points in-between over the last 150 years. Calendars are sold at each reading tour event, at all Murphy’s Pharmacies, at the UPEI Bookstore and online at peiweathercalendar.ca.