This data series was compiled by AAFC and Statistics Canada using a combination of agroclimate data and satellite-derived Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) data for the current growing season. The forecast is made based on a statistical model using historical yield, climate and NDVI data.

This data represents the dryness of the land surface based on vegetation conditions. The data is created weekly and uses weekly information on precipitation anomalies (namely the Standardized Precipitation Index or SPI) and satellite vegetation condition derived from Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) from the MODIS Satellite. These dynamic data sets along with static data sets on land cover, soil water holding capacity, irrigation, ecozones and land surface elevation are used to model the drought severity, based on the Palmer Drought Severity Index (PDSI). The mapcubist model was trained on historical data and applied in real time to the dynamic inputs to produce drought severity ratings. The model is run at a 1km resolution and was developed by the AAFC, the United States Geological Survey and the United States Drought Monitor at the University of Nebraska Lincoln.

This data series was compiled by AAFC and Statistics Canada using a combination of agroclimate data and satellite-derived Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) data for the current growing season. The forecast is made based on a statistical model using historical yield, climate and NDVI data.

This dataset corresponds to daily snow cover percentage at 1km resolution grid over land areas of Canada from 2006-2010. The data are subsampled by 4km to reduce data volumes and considering the geolocation uncertainty of the input satellite imagery. The daily maps are generated by assimilation of daily cloud screened NOAA AVHRR satellite imagery and Canadian Meteorological Centre (CMC) snow depth analysis snow depth and density fields within an off-line version of the CMC daily snow depth model. The snow depth model is modified to include snowpack reflectance model and a surface radiative transfer scheme that relates vegetation and snowpack reflectance to top-of-canopy bi-directional reflectance. A logistic vegetation phenology model is used to parameterize temporal dynamics of canopy leaf area index. A per-pixel particle filter with a 30 day moving window is applied to assimilation observations corresponding to 1km resolution visible band directional reflectance and normalized difference vegetation index and 24km CMC daily snow depth and monthly snow density fields. The assimilation is forced using daily air temperature and precipitation fields. Validation of the datasets has been performed by comparison to MODIS snow cover maps and in-situ snow depth stations across Canada. Validation suggests similar accuracy to MODIS snow cover products over relatively flat terrain. Validation over mountainous regions is ongoing.

This series of datasets has been created by AAFC’s National Agroclimate Information Service (NAIS) of the Agro-Climate, Geomatics and Earth Observations (ACGEO) Division of the Science and Technology Branch. The Canadian Drought Monitor (CDM) is a composite product developed from a wide assortment of information such as the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), streamflow values, Palmer Drought Index, and drought indicators used by the agriculture, forest and water management sectors. Drought prone regions are analyzed based on precipitation, temperature, drought model index maps, and climate data and are interpreted by federal, provincial and academic scientists. Once a consensus is reached, a monthly map showing drought designations for Canada is digitized. AAFC’s National Agroclimate Information Service (NAIS) updates this dataset on a monthly basis, usually by the 10th of every month to correspond to the end of the previous month, and subsequent Canadian input into the larger North American Drought Monitor (NA-DM).The drought areas are classified as follows: D0 (Abnormally Dry) – represents an event that occurs once every 3-5 years;D1 (Moderate Drought) – represents an event that occurs every 5-10 years;D2 (Severe Drought) – represents an event that occurs every 10-20 years;D3 (Extreme Drought) – represents an event that occurs every 20-25 years; andD4 (Exceptional Drought) – represents an event that occurs every 50 years. Impact lines highlight areas that have been physically impacted by drought. Impact labels specify the longitude and magnitude of impacts.The impact labels are classified as follows:S – Short-Term, typically less than 6 months (e.g. agriculture, grasslands).L – Long-Term, typically more than 6 months (e.g. hydrology, ecology).

The Moisture Anomaly Index (Palmer-Z) is an estimate of the moisture difference from normal (a 30-year mean). It attempts to express conditions for the current month regardless of what may have occurred before the month in question.

The Blended Index (BI) is a model which employs multiple potential indicators of drought and excess moisture, such as the Palmer drought index, rolling precipitation amounts and soil moisture, and combines them into a weighted, normalized value between 0 and 100. The inputs and weights used in this model are subject to change periodically as it is optimized to best represent extent, duration and severity of impactful weather conditions. The blended index is deployed as two variations; short term (st) focusing on 1 to 3 months, and long term (lt) focusing on 6 months to 5 years.

The Blended Index (BI) is a model which employs multiple potential indicators of drought and excess moisture, such as the Palmer drought index, rolling precipitation amounts and soil moisture, and combines them into a weighted, normalized value between 0 and 100. The inputs and weights used in this model are subject to change periodically as it is optimized to best represent extent, duration and severity of impactful weather conditions. The blended index is deployed as two variations; short term (st) focusing on 1 to 3 months, and long term (lt) focusing on 6 months to 5 years.

The Standardized Precipitation Evapotranspiration Index (SPEI) is computed similarly to the SPI. The main difference is that SPI assesses precipitation variance, while SPEI also considers demand from evapotranspiration which is subtracted from any precipitation accumulation prior to assessment.Unlike the SPI, the SPEI captures the main impact of increased temperatures on water demand.

FCOVER corresponds to the amount of the ground surface that is covered by vegetation, including the understory, when viewed vertically (from nadir). FCOVER is an indicator of the spatial extent of vegetation independent of land cover class. It is a dimensionless quantity that varies from 0 to 1, and as an intrinsic property of the canopy, is not dependent on satellite observation conditions. This product consists of a national scale coverage (Canada) of monthly maps of FCOVER indicator during a growing season (May-June-July-August-September) at 20m resolution.References:L. Brown, R. Fernandes, N. Djamai, C. Meier, N. Gobron, H. Morris, C. Canisius, G. Bai, C. Lerebourg, C. Lanconelli, M. Clerici, J. Dash. Validation of baseline and modified Sentinel-2 Level 2 Prototype Processor leaf area index retrievals over the United States IISPRS J. Photogramm. Remote Sens., 175 (2021), pp. 71-87, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.isprsjprs.2021.02.020. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0924271621000617Richard Fernandes, Luke Brown, Francis Canisius, Jadu Dash, Liming He, Gang Hong, Lucy Huang, Nhu Quynh Le, Camryn MacDougall, Courtney Meier, Patrick Osei Darko, Hemit Shah, Lynsay Spafford, Lixin Sun, 2023.Validation of Simplified Level 2 Prototype Processor Sentinel-2 fraction of canopy cover, fraction of absorbed photosynthetically active radiation and leaf area index products over North American forests,Remote Sensing of Environment, Volume 293, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rse.2023.113600.https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0034425723001517