Marjorie Shepherd provides an overview of the work carried out by her team at the Climate Research Division of Environment and Climate Change Canada. MARJORIE SHEPHERD (Research Scientist and Director, Climate Research Division, Environment and Climate Change Canada): Hello, my name is Marjorie Shepherd. I’m the director of the Climate Research Division in Environment and Climate Change Canada. Our group has about a hundred scientists, statisticians, analyst technicians who work together to understand how and why the climate is changing, both in Canada and across the world. This work includes measuring the atmospheric levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. It includes understanding how snow and sea ice changes interact with atmospheric processes and the resulting change in climate, and as well the response of these snow and sea ice systems to changing climate conditions. We develop earth system models. These are climate models that we use to predict how climate will change into the future as a result of rising greenhouse gas levels, and we can use those climate models to also understand changes in extremes. Will cold nights become warmer? Will extreme hot days become even warmer? Will there be an impact on drought for agriculture? Forestry? We also look at contributing this information in big international projects because we know that climate surpasses all boundaries and it’s a global challenge that we face. This climate science is the basis for taking action, for informing adaptation to our changing climate, and making mitigation plans.

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