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Atlantic Canada (atlantic + canada)
Selected AbstractsThe integration of thermal infrared imaging, discharge measurements and numerical simulation to quantify the relative contributions of freshwater inflows to small estuaries in Atlantic CanadaHYDROLOGICAL PROCESSES, Issue 20 2009Serban Danielescu Abstract Nutrient fluxes from developed catchments are often a significant factor in the declining water quality and ecological functioning in estuaries. Determining the relative contributions of surface water and groundwater discharge to nutrient-sensitive estuaries is required because these two pathways may be characterized by different nutrient concentrations and temporal variability, and may thus require different remedial actions. Quantifying the volumetric discharge of groundwater, which may occur via diffuse seepage or springs, remains a significant challenge. In this contribution, the total discharge of freshwater, including groundwater, to two small nutrient-sensitive estuaries in Prince Edward Island (Canada) is assessed using a unique combination of airborne thermal infrared imaging, direct discharge measurements in streams and shoreline springs, and numerical simulation of groundwater flow. The results of the thermal infrared surveys indicate that groundwater discharge occurs at discrete locations (springs) along the shoreline of both estuaries, which can be attributed to the fractured sandstone bedrock aquifer. The discharge measured at a sub-set of the springs correlates well with the area of the thermal signal attributed to each discharge location and this information was used to determine the total spring discharge to each estuary. Stream discharge is shown to be the largest volumetric contribution of freshwater to both estuaries (83% for Trout River estuary and 78% for McIntyre Creek estuary); however, groundwater discharge is significant at between 13% and 18% of the total discharge. Comparison of the results from catchment-scale groundwater flow models and the analysis of spring discharge suggest that diffuse seepage to both estuaries comprises only about 25% of the total groundwater discharge. The methods employed in this research provide a useful framework for determining the relative volumetric contributions of surface water and groundwater to small estuaries and the findings are expected to be relevant to other fractured sandstone coastal catchments in Atlantic Canada. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Narrating the negative consequences of elder care and familial obligation in Atlantic Canada,JOURNAL OF COMMUNITY & APPLIED SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY, Issue 5 2003D. Hodgetts Abstract At a time when renewed emphasis is being placed on the role of the family in providing care for elderly people, shifts in family structures and the demographic profile of societies such as Atlantic Canada are impacting on community structures foundational to familial caregiving practices. Research shows that family members who attempt to provide familial care without adequate support risk negative health and interpersonal consequences. Hence many find it necessary to reflect upon their familial obligations. This article investigates the storytelling processes through which caregivers, aged between 45 and 55 years (N = 26), make sense of their efforts to provide care. We explore the ways in which participants in four focus groups and 12 interviews refer to negative consequences of caring in order to navigate dilemmas arising from their enactment of familial obligations in the absence of adequate support. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Multiproxy evidence of an early Holocene (8.2 kyr) climate oscillation in central Nova Scotia, CanadaJOURNAL OF QUATERNARY SCIENCE, Issue 7 2002Professor Ian Spooner Abstract An early Holocene lake sediment record from central Nova Scotia contains a minerogenic oscillation that is closely correlative with the 8.2 kyr event (ca. 8200 cal. yr BP), an event that has not been reported elsewhere in Atlantic Canada. A variety of biological and sedimentological indicators have been examined to characterise autochthonous and allochthonous changes that occurred during this time. The minerogenic upper oscillation (UO, ca. 8400 cal. yr BP) is marked by an increase in the chrysophyte:diatom ratio. Following the oscillation, the diatom community reflects a shift to more productive, less acidic conditions. The pollen record shows no major response to this short-lived event. Lithostratigraphic analyses indicates that the UO is characterised by an increase in clastic content, magnetic susceptibility and mean sediment grain size, all indicators of changing environmental conditions, most likely the result of regional cooling. The Taylor Lake record adds to a growing body of evidence for a widespread, hemispheric climate oscillation at 8.2 kyr. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Stomatal evidence for a decline in atmospheric CO2 concentration during the Younger Dryas stadial: a comparison with Antarctic ice core recordsJOURNAL OF QUATERNARY SCIENCE, Issue 1 2002J. C. Mcelwain Abstract A recent high-resolution record of Late-glacial CO2 change from Dome Concordia in Antarctica reveals a trend of increasing CO2 across the Younger Dryas stadial (GS-1). These results are in good agreement with previous Antarctic ice-core records. However, they contrast markedly with a proxy CO2 record based on the stomatal approach to CO2 reconstruction, which records a ca. 70 ppm mean CO2 decline at the onset of GS-1. To address these apparent discrepancies we tested the validity of the stomatal-based CO2 reconstructions from Kråkenes by obtaining further proxy CO2 records based on a similar approach using fossil leaves from two independent lakes in Atlantic Canada. Our Late-glacial CO2 reconstructions reveal an abrupt ca. 77 ppm decrease in atmospheric CO2 at the onset of the Younger Dryas stadial, which lagged climatic cooling by ca. 130 yr. Furthermore, the trends recorded in the most accurate high-resolution ice-core record of CO2, from Dome Concordia, can be reproduced from our stomatal-based CO2 records, when time-averaged by the mean age distribution of air contained within Dome Concordia ice (200 to 550 yr). If correct, our results indicate an abrupt drawdown of atmospheric CO2 within two centuries at the onset of GS-1, suggesting that some re-evaluation of the behaviour of atmospheric CO2 sinks and sources during times of rapid climatic change, such as the Late-glacial, may be required. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] The geographies of crisis: exploring accessibility to health care in CanadaTHE CANADIAN GEOGRAPHER/LE GEOGRAPHE CANADIEN, Issue 3 2002KATHLEEN WILSON There is increasing concern in Canada that the health care system is in a state of crisis. It is argued that reductions in federal government transfers to the provinces have resulted in a health care system characterized by under-funding in key areas and policy decisions based more on provincial fiscal concerns than the health needs of their constituents. Provincial governments have responded to reduced levels in federal funding by undertaking aggressive restructuring tactics such as the closure of hospitals and the deinsuring of medical services from provincial health plans. The end result of this restructuring, as argued by the media, consumer groups and indeed some health researchers, is a state of crisis' (i.e., lower levels of accessibility, long waiting lists, overcrowding in hospitals and increasing costs of medication). One crisis theme often mentioned is that fiscal decisions of various kinds are reducing economic and geographic accessibility, one of the five principles of the Canada Health Act (CHA) that defines the very essence of the Canadian health care system. Using data from the 1998-99 National Population Health Survey (NPHS), this paper explores the extent to which an accessibility crisis exists within the Canadian health care system by examining access to health care services and the barriers encountered in trying to access services in each of the ten provinces. The results show that approximately 6.0 percent of Canadians report access problems, with values ranging from 4.5 percent in Newfoundland to 8.3 percent in Manitoba. Regional variations in barriers to accessing care were also observed. In particular, geographic accessibility appears to be a main barrier to care in Atlantic Canada while economic accessibility emerges as a main barrier to care in Western Canada. We discuss these findings in the context of the current debates on the Canadian health care system ,crisis'. De plus en plus de Canadiens s'inquiétent que leur systéme de soins de santé soit en état de crise. On défend l'idée selon laquelle la réduction des paiements de transfert aux provinces par le gouvernement fédéral serait responsable de l'état d'un systeme de santé caractérisé par un sous-financement dans les domaines-clés et des décisions politiques de santé basées, non pas sur les besoins des membres de la société canadienne, mais sur la fiscalité provinciale. Les gouvernements provinciaux ont réagi à la réduction du financement fédéral par une tactique de restructuration agressive (fermeture d'hôpitaux et retrait de services médicaux des programmes d'assurance de santé provinciaux). Selon les médias, les groupes de consommateurs et même les chercheurs en soins de santé, cette restructuration a eu pour effet un système en état de ,crise' (diminution de l'aecès aux services, longues fetes d'attente, hôpitaux surchargés, augmentation des coûts des médicaments etc). Un des thèmes récurrent est celui des décisions flscales de toutes sortes qui entraînent une baisse de l'accessibilité financière et géographique. Cette accessibilité est pourtant un des cinq principes de la Loi canadienne sur la santé définissant l'essence même du système de santé au Canada. Utilisant les données tirèes de l'Enquête nationale sur la santé de la population, 1998-99 et examinant l'accès aux services de santé et les obstacles rencontrés dans les 10 provinces canadiennes, cet article évalue dans quelle mesure une crise d'accessibilité existe au sein du système de santé canadien. Les résultats démontrent qu'environ 6.0 pour cent des Canadiens ont rencontré des problèmes d'accessibilité, avec des variantes allant de 4.5 pour cent à Terre-Neuve jusqu'à 8.3 pour cent au Manitoba. On observe aussi des variantes régionales dans les obstacles rencontrés. L'accessibilité géographique en particulier semble un obstacle mqjeur dans les régions de l'Atlantique, alors que l'accessibilite financière semble être un obstacle majeur dans l'Ouest du Canada. Ces résultats sont présentés dans le contexte des débats actuels sur l'existence dune, ,crise' dans le système de santé au Canada. [source] Culture of Poverty Lives On: community economic developers in Cape Breton, Nova ScotiaCITY & SOCIETY, Issue 2 2003Constance P. DeRoche Nova Scotia's Cape Breton Island has a Jong history of community economic dlevelopment (CED) initiatives for which it is nationally recognized. While CED encompasses a range of forms and philosophies, the term commonly refers to "grassroots" undertakings that celebrate local knowledge and action. Yet, as his paper shows, key local spokespersons argue that die Island's "culture of dpendency," though bom of capitalist exploitation, undermines effective folk envolvement in economic development. Their position is reminiscent of die clasic but problematic "culture of poverty" argument. Thus, ironically, a purport My left-of-Center orientation turns to victim blaming. An interrogation of this curious stance suggests that it serves not as a defensible representation of recent history, but rather as legitimation for leadership, [poverty, ideology, community economic devebpment, Atlantic Canada] [source] | ||||||||||