Introduction

The Palliser Triangle is the driest region of the Canadian prairies, extending from southwestern Manitoba to southern Alberta. It often accounts for over half of Canada's agricultural production, despite a highly variable climate. However, future sustainable activities in parts of this region could be threatened by global climate change, which is expected to result in more frequent drought. To help prepare for these changes, the Geological Survey of Canada began a collaborative, multidisciplinary research project in 1991 to evaluate the impacts of climate on the critically important land and water resources of the Palliser Triangle. The project consists of three research components:

1. developing high resolution records of past climatic and hydrologic changes;
2. improving understanding of the relationships between climate and landscape processes, and
3. computer (GIS) analysis of landscape sensitivity.

View the paper Impacts of Future Climate Change on the Southern Canadian Prairies [PDF, 1.1 Mb, viewer] published in Geoscience Canada (1997, v. 24, number 3, p. 121-133) (reproduced with permission of the publisher).

Contribution Series - listing of project publications in refered journals