Adam Fenech | University of Prince Edward Island (original) (raw)
Papers by Adam Fenech
The Adaptation and Impacts Research Division of Environment Canada has developed, or has access t... more The Adaptation and Impacts Research Division of Environment Canada has developed, or has access to a large number of climate change related, predictive models capable of analyzing the implications of various climate change policy options upon socio-economic, ecological systems. Until now most of these models have not been employed in an integrated fashion. This paper chronicles the initial methodological considerations of developing an integrated adaptation, mitigation, sustainable development (AMSD) decision support system (DSS), to be used in an adaptation planning exercise undertaken by Halton Municipality, in Ontario, Canada. A systems approach is used to develop a conceptual, agency-centered framework (Agent ENvironment, AEN), within which major modeling systems, techniques and information are to be structured. From this basis, several existing climate change impacts and adaptation research tools/concepts will be assessed in terms of their applicability to the specific context ...
International Journal of Molecular Sciences
The aim of this research was to determine the impact of heat stress on cell differentiation in an... more The aim of this research was to determine the impact of heat stress on cell differentiation in an equine mesenchymal stem cell model (EMSC) through the application of heat stress to primary EMSCs as they progressed through the cell specialization process. A proteomic analysis was performed using mass spectrometry to compare relative protein abundances among the proteomes of three cell types: progenitor EMSCs and differentiated osteoblasts and adipocytes, maintained at 37 °C and 42 °C during the process of cell differentiation. A cell-type and temperature-specific response to heat stress was observed, and many of the specific differentially expressed proteins were involved in cell-signaling pathways such as Notch and Wnt signaling, which are known to regulate cellular development. Furthermore, cytoskeletal proteins profilin, DSTN, SPECC1, and DAAM2 showed increased protein levels in osteoblasts differentiated at 42 °C as compared with 37 °C, and these cells, while they appeared to ac...
The origins of this book emerge from five papers originally presented at the “Bridging Scales and... more The origins of this book emerge from five papers originally presented at the “Bridging Scales and Linking to Policy” conference held at the University of Maryland, in Adelphi, USA from 9-11 May 2007. The unifying theme of the session in which these papers were presented was: “Linking Impacts and Adaptation Modeling of Climate Change to the Policy Process” from which this book takes its title. This paper outlines the threads that stitch the papers together, and provides brief introductions to each of the ten papers. Part I of the book consists of two papers that describe the underlying elements of climate change adaptation including a feedforward decision framework, and a bibliometric analysis of the climate change adaptation literature. Part II of the book presents the evolution of a planning methodology (or suite of methodologies) referred to collectively as RACe (Rapid Assessment to Climate) which is discussed within the context of the Regional Municipality of Halton. Papers in th...
Environmental Monitoring & Assessment
The Brundtland Commission report, Our Common Future, defined sustainable development as developme... more The Brundtland Commission report, Our Common Future, defined sustainable development as development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. Although the idea of sustainable development has been widely accepted, it has proved difficult to identify and implement policies and practices that promote sustainable economic growth. Some economists, environmental scientists and policy analysts believe that they can transform the consensus about sustainability into manageable practices. They propose to accomplish this feat with a set of new ideas about the relationships between the economy and the environment offered under the banner of 'natural capital'. An ideal account of natural capital would be one or more standard measures or models that would allow the direct comparison of environmental goods, like forests, fresh water and clean air, with economic goods, like money, capital and productivity. By bringing...
Climate change will result in a set of diverse and regionally-specific impacts on natural ecosyst... more Climate change will result in a set of diverse and regionally-specific impacts on natural ecosystems and human societies. A
Phenology is the study of the synchronization of developmental stages of plants and animals with ... more Phenology is the study of the synchronization of developmental stages of plants and animals with the seasons. The timing of these cycles depends on factors such as temperature,
Geographic Information Systems (GIS) allow for interdisciplinary efforts to foster collaborative ... more Geographic Information Systems (GIS) allow for interdisciplinary efforts to foster collaborative science, spatial data interoperability, and knowledge sharing in climate change impacts and adaptation studies. The use of GIS has made data sets compatible, and created a bridge between the atmospheric sciences, geography, ecology, other more spatially-based sciences, and the natural resource management and planning communities. There is a need for better integration of datasets/models with GIS to address climate change issues, particularly for adaptation, mitigation and sustainable development at the practitioner level. In this paper, a framework of Web-GIS based Climate Change Impact and Adaptation Integrated Assessment Tool (CCIAT) is presented. This three-tier system framework is based on the J2EE technologies, and includes different web services linking climate model outputs to feed into impact models. A database server was setup to support various applications and online access to...
Climate change will result in a set of diverse and regionally-specific impacts on natural ecosyst... more Climate change will result in a set of diverse and regionally-specific impacts on natural ecosystems and human societies. A growing literature suggests that while climate mitigation strategies are necessary to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from anthropogenic sources, those alone are unlikely to be sufficient. As studies have shown, the impacts of climate change from previous emissions of greenhouse gases over the past 150 years will have to be confronted by all countries including Canada. Therefore, pursuing a complementary strategy of enabling countries to adapt to climate change and negate many of the expected adverse impacts is equally, if not more, urgent (Adger and Kelly, 1999; Burton et al., 2002).
A quantitative risk assessment of Prince Edward Island’s coastal residences (homes, cottages), sa... more A quantitative risk assessment of Prince Edward Island’s coastal residences (homes, cottages), safety and security infrastructure (roads, bridges, water treatment plants, hospitals, fire departments, etc.) and heritage (churches, graveyards, lighthouses, archaeological sites, parks, etc.) was conducted for every one meter of coastline by estimating the possible future coastlines for Prince Edward Island. Over 1000 residences (houses and cottages) and 17 lighthouses were shown to be vulnerable to coastal erosion. Such scientific results were significant but were threatened to sit on a shelf in a scientific report unless communicated sufficiently to the organizations and communities of Prince Edward Island. A geovisual interface, known as the CoastaL Impacts Visualization Environment (CLIVE), was developed enabling citizens to interactively navigate and view a 3-dimensional (3D) virtual environment of the province of Prince Edward Island constructed from accurate historical spatial da...
The leading authority on climate change, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has... more The leading authority on climate change, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has concluded that warming of the climate system is unequivocal, and will continue for centuries. The regions in the Middle East and Northern Africa (MENA) have experienced numerous extreme climate events over the past few years including the 2009 flooding in Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia; the 2005 dust storm in Al Asad, Iraq; water scarcity throughout the Arab MENA; and the rising sea levels on the Nile Delta coast, Egypt. A climate baseline can be developed for regions in the MENA by locating climate stations in the study area using observations made in the Global Climate Observing System (GCOS). For projections of future climate, global climate models (GCMs), mathematical equations that describe the physics, fluid motion and chemistry of the atmosphere, are the most advanced science available. The Climate Research Lab at the University of Prince Edward Island has a dataset available to...
Climate change will result in a set of diverse and regionally-specific impacts on natural ecosyst... more Climate change will result in a set of diverse and regionally-specific impacts on natural ecosystems and human societies. A growing literature suggests that while climate mitigation strategies are necessary to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from anthropogenic sources, those alone are unlikely to be sufficient. As studies have shown, the impacts of climate change from previous emissions of greenhouse gases over the past 150 years will have to be confronted by all countries including Canada. Therefore, pursuing a complementary strategy of enabling countries to adapt to climate change and negate many of the expected adverse impacts is equally, if not more, urgent (Adger and Kelly, 1999; Burton et al., 2002).
Researchers have long identified how phenology can contribute to the examination of climate chang... more Researchers have long identified how phenology can contribute to the examination of climate change and its impact (Kramer, 1996; Lechowitz and Koike, 1995; Schwartz, 1999). Schwartz (1999) calls on researchers to examine the great variety of phenological data that exists worldwide, and to carefully interpret these records in their regional and ecological context. An historical dataset of phenological observations exists in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia.
Water
Prince Edward Island (PEI), Canada has been experiencing the consequences of a rising sea level a... more Prince Edward Island (PEI), Canada has been experiencing the consequences of a rising sea level and intense storms on its coasts in recent years. The most recent severe event, Post Tropical Storm Dorian (Dorian), began impacting Prince Edward Island on 7 September 2019 and lasted for over 20 h until the morning of 8 September 2019. The measurement of highwater marks (HWM) from the storm was conducted between 25 September and 25 October 2019 using a high precision, survey grade methodology. The HWM measured included vegetation lines, wrack lines, beach, cliff, and dune morphological features, and tide gauge data at 53 locations in the Province along coastal areas that are exposed to high tides, storm surge, high winds, and wave runup. Photos were taken to provide evidence on the nature of the HWM data locations. The data reveal that Dorian caused extensive coastal floods in many areas along the North and South Coast of Prince, Queens and Western Kings Counties of Prince Edward Island...
The conceptual relationship between temperature and forest family diversity has been developed by... more The conceptual relationship between temperature and forest family diversity has been developed by Rochefort and Woodward (1992) and is a useful concept to detect, examine and calibrate the climate-biodiversity relationship. The conceptual model assumes that the primary mechanisms that determine diversity include the capacity to survive the absolute minimum temperature of a site, and the ability to complete the life cycle in a given length and warmth of a growing season. This study presents the actual data, based on earth observing sites, as an effective diagnostic tool to identify areas where the biodiversity is or is not in equilibrium with the present climate, as well as developing the basis for predictions under climate change. This observing network is based on data from monitoring plots established in Canada and worldwide using protocols from the Smithsonian Institution's Measuring and Assessing Biodiversity (SI/MAB) program, as well as growing-degree data derived from climate observing sites.
The Adaptation and Impacts Research Division of Environment Canada has developed, or has access t... more The Adaptation and Impacts Research Division of Environment Canada has developed, or has access to a large number of climate change related, predictive models capable of analyzing the implications of various climate change policy options upon socio-economic, ecological systems. Until now most of these models have not been employed in an integrated fashion. This paper chronicles the initial methodological considerations of developing an integrated adaptation, mitigation, sustainable development (AMSD) decision support system (DSS), to be used in an adaptation planning exercise undertaken by Halton Municipality, in Ontario, Canada. A systems approach is used to develop a conceptual, agency-centered framework (Agent ENvironment, AEN), within which major modeling systems, techniques and information are to be structured. From this basis, several existing climate change impacts and adaptation research tools/concepts will be assessed in terms of their applicability to the specific context ...
International Journal of Molecular Sciences
The aim of this research was to determine the impact of heat stress on cell differentiation in an... more The aim of this research was to determine the impact of heat stress on cell differentiation in an equine mesenchymal stem cell model (EMSC) through the application of heat stress to primary EMSCs as they progressed through the cell specialization process. A proteomic analysis was performed using mass spectrometry to compare relative protein abundances among the proteomes of three cell types: progenitor EMSCs and differentiated osteoblasts and adipocytes, maintained at 37 °C and 42 °C during the process of cell differentiation. A cell-type and temperature-specific response to heat stress was observed, and many of the specific differentially expressed proteins were involved in cell-signaling pathways such as Notch and Wnt signaling, which are known to regulate cellular development. Furthermore, cytoskeletal proteins profilin, DSTN, SPECC1, and DAAM2 showed increased protein levels in osteoblasts differentiated at 42 °C as compared with 37 °C, and these cells, while they appeared to ac...
The origins of this book emerge from five papers originally presented at the “Bridging Scales and... more The origins of this book emerge from five papers originally presented at the “Bridging Scales and Linking to Policy” conference held at the University of Maryland, in Adelphi, USA from 9-11 May 2007. The unifying theme of the session in which these papers were presented was: “Linking Impacts and Adaptation Modeling of Climate Change to the Policy Process” from which this book takes its title. This paper outlines the threads that stitch the papers together, and provides brief introductions to each of the ten papers. Part I of the book consists of two papers that describe the underlying elements of climate change adaptation including a feedforward decision framework, and a bibliometric analysis of the climate change adaptation literature. Part II of the book presents the evolution of a planning methodology (or suite of methodologies) referred to collectively as RACe (Rapid Assessment to Climate) which is discussed within the context of the Regional Municipality of Halton. Papers in th...
Environmental Monitoring & Assessment
The Brundtland Commission report, Our Common Future, defined sustainable development as developme... more The Brundtland Commission report, Our Common Future, defined sustainable development as development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. Although the idea of sustainable development has been widely accepted, it has proved difficult to identify and implement policies and practices that promote sustainable economic growth. Some economists, environmental scientists and policy analysts believe that they can transform the consensus about sustainability into manageable practices. They propose to accomplish this feat with a set of new ideas about the relationships between the economy and the environment offered under the banner of 'natural capital'. An ideal account of natural capital would be one or more standard measures or models that would allow the direct comparison of environmental goods, like forests, fresh water and clean air, with economic goods, like money, capital and productivity. By bringing...
Climate change will result in a set of diverse and regionally-specific impacts on natural ecosyst... more Climate change will result in a set of diverse and regionally-specific impacts on natural ecosystems and human societies. A
Phenology is the study of the synchronization of developmental stages of plants and animals with ... more Phenology is the study of the synchronization of developmental stages of plants and animals with the seasons. The timing of these cycles depends on factors such as temperature,
Geographic Information Systems (GIS) allow for interdisciplinary efforts to foster collaborative ... more Geographic Information Systems (GIS) allow for interdisciplinary efforts to foster collaborative science, spatial data interoperability, and knowledge sharing in climate change impacts and adaptation studies. The use of GIS has made data sets compatible, and created a bridge between the atmospheric sciences, geography, ecology, other more spatially-based sciences, and the natural resource management and planning communities. There is a need for better integration of datasets/models with GIS to address climate change issues, particularly for adaptation, mitigation and sustainable development at the practitioner level. In this paper, a framework of Web-GIS based Climate Change Impact and Adaptation Integrated Assessment Tool (CCIAT) is presented. This three-tier system framework is based on the J2EE technologies, and includes different web services linking climate model outputs to feed into impact models. A database server was setup to support various applications and online access to...
Climate change will result in a set of diverse and regionally-specific impacts on natural ecosyst... more Climate change will result in a set of diverse and regionally-specific impacts on natural ecosystems and human societies. A growing literature suggests that while climate mitigation strategies are necessary to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from anthropogenic sources, those alone are unlikely to be sufficient. As studies have shown, the impacts of climate change from previous emissions of greenhouse gases over the past 150 years will have to be confronted by all countries including Canada. Therefore, pursuing a complementary strategy of enabling countries to adapt to climate change and negate many of the expected adverse impacts is equally, if not more, urgent (Adger and Kelly, 1999; Burton et al., 2002).
A quantitative risk assessment of Prince Edward Island’s coastal residences (homes, cottages), sa... more A quantitative risk assessment of Prince Edward Island’s coastal residences (homes, cottages), safety and security infrastructure (roads, bridges, water treatment plants, hospitals, fire departments, etc.) and heritage (churches, graveyards, lighthouses, archaeological sites, parks, etc.) was conducted for every one meter of coastline by estimating the possible future coastlines for Prince Edward Island. Over 1000 residences (houses and cottages) and 17 lighthouses were shown to be vulnerable to coastal erosion. Such scientific results were significant but were threatened to sit on a shelf in a scientific report unless communicated sufficiently to the organizations and communities of Prince Edward Island. A geovisual interface, known as the CoastaL Impacts Visualization Environment (CLIVE), was developed enabling citizens to interactively navigate and view a 3-dimensional (3D) virtual environment of the province of Prince Edward Island constructed from accurate historical spatial da...
The leading authority on climate change, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has... more The leading authority on climate change, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has concluded that warming of the climate system is unequivocal, and will continue for centuries. The regions in the Middle East and Northern Africa (MENA) have experienced numerous extreme climate events over the past few years including the 2009 flooding in Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia; the 2005 dust storm in Al Asad, Iraq; water scarcity throughout the Arab MENA; and the rising sea levels on the Nile Delta coast, Egypt. A climate baseline can be developed for regions in the MENA by locating climate stations in the study area using observations made in the Global Climate Observing System (GCOS). For projections of future climate, global climate models (GCMs), mathematical equations that describe the physics, fluid motion and chemistry of the atmosphere, are the most advanced science available. The Climate Research Lab at the University of Prince Edward Island has a dataset available to...
Climate change will result in a set of diverse and regionally-specific impacts on natural ecosyst... more Climate change will result in a set of diverse and regionally-specific impacts on natural ecosystems and human societies. A growing literature suggests that while climate mitigation strategies are necessary to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from anthropogenic sources, those alone are unlikely to be sufficient. As studies have shown, the impacts of climate change from previous emissions of greenhouse gases over the past 150 years will have to be confronted by all countries including Canada. Therefore, pursuing a complementary strategy of enabling countries to adapt to climate change and negate many of the expected adverse impacts is equally, if not more, urgent (Adger and Kelly, 1999; Burton et al., 2002).
Researchers have long identified how phenology can contribute to the examination of climate chang... more Researchers have long identified how phenology can contribute to the examination of climate change and its impact (Kramer, 1996; Lechowitz and Koike, 1995; Schwartz, 1999). Schwartz (1999) calls on researchers to examine the great variety of phenological data that exists worldwide, and to carefully interpret these records in their regional and ecological context. An historical dataset of phenological observations exists in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia.
Water
Prince Edward Island (PEI), Canada has been experiencing the consequences of a rising sea level a... more Prince Edward Island (PEI), Canada has been experiencing the consequences of a rising sea level and intense storms on its coasts in recent years. The most recent severe event, Post Tropical Storm Dorian (Dorian), began impacting Prince Edward Island on 7 September 2019 and lasted for over 20 h until the morning of 8 September 2019. The measurement of highwater marks (HWM) from the storm was conducted between 25 September and 25 October 2019 using a high precision, survey grade methodology. The HWM measured included vegetation lines, wrack lines, beach, cliff, and dune morphological features, and tide gauge data at 53 locations in the Province along coastal areas that are exposed to high tides, storm surge, high winds, and wave runup. Photos were taken to provide evidence on the nature of the HWM data locations. The data reveal that Dorian caused extensive coastal floods in many areas along the North and South Coast of Prince, Queens and Western Kings Counties of Prince Edward Island...
The conceptual relationship between temperature and forest family diversity has been developed by... more The conceptual relationship between temperature and forest family diversity has been developed by Rochefort and Woodward (1992) and is a useful concept to detect, examine and calibrate the climate-biodiversity relationship. The conceptual model assumes that the primary mechanisms that determine diversity include the capacity to survive the absolute minimum temperature of a site, and the ability to complete the life cycle in a given length and warmth of a growing season. This study presents the actual data, based on earth observing sites, as an effective diagnostic tool to identify areas where the biodiversity is or is not in equilibrium with the present climate, as well as developing the basis for predictions under climate change. This observing network is based on data from monitoring plots established in Canada and worldwide using protocols from the Smithsonian Institution's Measuring and Assessing Biodiversity (SI/MAB) program, as well as growing-degree data derived from climate observing sites.