Climate Baseline Studies
The UPEI Climate Lab can provide a baseline of climate observations for your study area. Such a baseline includes: locating climate stations in the study area; downloading the full climate record for each climate station; conducting quality assurance and quality control (QA/QC) measures for climate variables including range, visual and missing data checks; preparing summaries of daily climate variables for each month, season and year; formulizing and running climate extreme indicators (for example, growing degree days, extreme hot days, etc.); conducting a literature review of regional or sector specific indicators sensitive to climate, and evaluating their applicability to the climate stations selected; mapping of climate zones; as well as comparing with homogenized datasets.
Climate Futures
The UPEI Climate Lab can provide scenarios of future climate change for your study area. Such a futures study includes: utilizing all of the global climate models used in the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s Fifth Assessment Report (IPCC AR5) to determine the scope of possible climate futures; applying approaches to narrow the projections to the most likely future climate outcomes; validating climate models by comparing model back-projections to observed climate variables; removing systematic biases of models inherent in all global climate models; providing summaries, extreme indicators and environmental predictors of future climate variables; as well as mapping of future climate zones. The UPEI Climate Lab can also provide statistical downscaling of global climate models (climate futures) for your study area.
Measuring Your Carbon Footprint
The UPEI Climate Lab is able to calculate your organization’s (or project’s or nation’s) carbon footprint through the inventory, accounting, verification and reporting of greenhouse gas emissions using rules and regulations established by the International Standards Organization (ISO) and the Canadian Standards Association (CSA).
Specialized Island Database Products
The Island Database maintains climate and other environmental data from Prince Edward Island and around the world. Products can be tailored to specific jurisdictions (for example, other provinces, or other countries) or spatial entities (for example, Wildlife Management Areas) using specific variables (for example, temperature, precipitation, wind, growing degree days) for specialized needs.
Installation of Climate Stations
The UPEI Climate Lab can install instruments and equipment for observing atmospheric conditions to provide information for weather forecasts and to study the weather and climate. Equipment can be installed to measure temperature, barometric pressure, humidity, wind speed, wind direction, and precipitation amounts.
Teaching and Training
The UPEI Climate Lab conducts teaching and training on climate data analysis; climate observations; scenarios of future climate change; measuring your carbon footprint; climate change leadership; climate change and tourism; et al. See Events section of this website for upcoming teaching and training opportunities.