The data represents the annual solar radiation in Alberta over the 30-year period from 1971 to 2000. A 30-year period is use to describe the present climate since it is enough time to filter out short-term fluctuation by is not dominated by any long-term trend in the climate. Daily total incoming solar radiation is measured in megajoules per square metre (MJ/m2). Southern Alberta receives the greatest amount of annual global solar radiation with the amount gradually decreasing as you move farther north. However, cropping is successful in the northern (Peace River) area of Alberta because the longer summer day length helps compensate for the less intense solar radiation. Cloud cover in the mountains will reduce the amount of solar radiation received there.The amount of solar radiation received at the earth's surface varies with two factors that depend on latitude: the angle of the sun's rays and the hours of daylight. The distance from the equator, and therefore the intensity of the sun's radiation has the greatest effect on climate. Canada's position in the northern portion of the earth's northern hemisphere means that it receives less solar radiation compared to countries near the equator. The northward decrease in solar radiation is also noticeable within Alberta. Temperatures are generally higher in southern Alberta in comparison to northern Alberta because the south receives more solar radiation. This resource was created using ArcGIS.

This dataset provides the background radiation dose results from Health Canada’s Canadian Radiological Monitoring Network (CRMN) monitoring sites. More information about the CRMN network can be found on the Health Canada website (see link below).This background radiation data contains both “monitoring” and “transit” dosimeters starting in 2016. The historical background radiation dose data can be found on the Open Data portal. A transit dosimeter is sent along with the monitoring dosimeter to determine if there is a significant dose recorded by the dosimeter while it is in transit to the sampling station. The transit dosimeter is shipped out with a station monitor, and shipped back with the station monitor from the previous quarter. The monitoring dosimeters are deployed over a longer time (around three months) than the transit dosimeters (around 3 weeks). This difference largely explains the lower recorded dose values for the transit dosimeter. The results provided for the monitoring and transit dosimeters are expressed as ambient dose equivalent to a cesium source, in units of millisieverts (mSv). The measured dose rate is reported in mSv/day. The external dose can be attributed almost exclusively to natural radiation (of terrestrial and cosmic origin) with fluctuations based on several factors including location, soil characteristics, and seasonal changes. The map shows the approximate sampling location for each monitoring station. Stations are found within the associated location range.

Dynamic Habitat Index. (2000-2005) Satellite derived estimates of photosynthetically active radiation can be obtained from satellites such as MODIS. Knowledge of the land cover allows for calculation the fraction of incoming solar radiation that is absorbed by vegetation. This fraction of photosynthetically active radiation (fPAR) absorbed by vegetation describes rate at which carbon dioxide and energy from sunlight are assimilated into carbohydrates during photosynthesis of plant tissues. The summation of carbon assimilated by the vegetation canopy over time yields the landscape's gross primary productivity. Daily MODIS imagery is the basis for periodic composites and monthly data products. Over the 6 year period from 2000-2005, we calculate the annual average cumulative total of 72 monthly fPAR measurements, to describe the integrated annual vegetative production of the landscape, the integrated average annual minimum monthly fPAR measurement, which describes the annual minimum green cover of the observed landscape, and the integrated average of the annual covariance of fPAR, which describes the seasonality of the observed landscape. We also share the combination of the annual integrated values for visualization and analysis as the Dynamic Habitat Index (with additional information in Coops et al. 2008). When using this data, please cite as: Coops, N.C., Wulder, M.A., Duro, D.C., Han, T. and Berry, S., 2008. The development of a Canadian dynamic habitat index using multi-temporal satellite estimates of canopy light absorbance. Ecological Indicators, 8(5), pp.754-766. ( Coops et al. 2008).

Health Canada routinely collects environmental samples for radioactivity analysis. The backbone of its monitoring comes from three separate networks: The Canadian Radiological Monitoring Network (CRMN), the Fixed Point Surveillance Network (FPS), and a Canadian contribution to the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTo). This dataset provides the approximate sampling location of the monitoring stations for each network.CRMN is a national network that routinely collects air particulate, precipitation, external gamma dose, drinking water, atmospheric water vapour, and milk samples for radioactivity analysis. The CRMN has been operating since 1959, and is used to establish long-term trends in naturally occurring environmental radioactivity, nuclear weapons fallout, as well as radioactivity generated by other human activities including nuclear power generation and medical isotope production. Full datasets for the Canadian Radiological Monitoring Network are available on the Open Government Portal.The Fixed Point Surveillance System (FPS) is an integrated network of radiation detectors providing terrestrial gamma radiation measurements in real time. The detectors are located in every province and territory of Canada with larger numbers in the vicinity of major Canadian nuclear facilities and ports where nuclear powered vessels sometimes harbour. Almost real time measurements are available on the EURDEP (EUropean Radiological Data Exchange Platform) website and monthly summaries are provided on the Health Canada website. The Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) is a universal arms control treaty that bans all States from conducting nuclear explosions in any environment (atmosphere, underground, underwater). Canada is a signatory to the United Nations CTBT. The Radiation Protection Bureau of Health Canada is responsible for four certified radionuclide monitoring stations and a certified radionuclide laboratory. Additional information on the CTBT is available on the CTBTo website.The map shows the approximate sampling location for each monitoring station. Stations are found within the associated location range.

Fraction of absorbed photosynthetically active radiation (fAPAR) quantified the absorbed by green foliage. fAPAR has been identified by the Global Climate Observing System as an essential climate variable required for ecosystem, weather and climate modelling and monitoring. This product consists of a national scale coverage (Canada) of monthly maps of fAPAR 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

Average of the hourly Direct Normal Irradiance (DNI) over 17 years (1998-2014). Data extracted from the National Solar Radiation Database (NSRDB) developed using the Physical Solar Model (PSM) by National Renewable Energy Laboratory ("NREL"), Alliance for Sustainable Energy, LLC, U.S. Department of Energy ("DOE").The current version of the National Solar Radiation Database (NSRDB) (v2.0.1) was developed using the Physical Solar Model (PSM), and offers users the solar resource datasets from 1998 to 2014). The NSRDB comprises 30-minute solar and meteorological data for approximately 2 million 0.038-degree latitude by 0.038-degree longitude surface pixels (nominally 4 km2). The area covered is bordered by longitudes 25° W on the east and 175° W on the west, and by latitudes -20° S on the south and 60° N on the north. The solar radiation values represent the resource available to solar energy systems. The AVHRR Pathfinder Atmospheres-Extended (PATMOS-x) model uses half-hourly radiance images in visible and infrared channels from the GOES series of geostationary weather satellites, a climatological albedo database and mixing ratio, temperature and pressure profiles from Modern Era-Retrospective Analysis (MERRA) to generate cloud masking and cloud properties. Cloud properties generated using PATMOS-x are used in fast radiative transfer models along with aerosol optical depth (AOD) and precipitable water vapor (PWV) from ancillary sources to estimate Direct Normal Irradiance (DNI) and Global Horizontal Irradiance (GHI). A daily AOD is retrieved by combining information from the MODIS and MISR satellites and ground-based AERONET stations. Water vapor and other inputs are obtained from MERRA. For clear sky scenes the direct normal irradiance (DNI) and GHI are computed using the REST2 radiative transfer model. For cloud scenes identified by the cloud mask, Fast All-sky Radiation Model for Solar applications (FARMS) is used to compute the GHI. The DNI for cloud scenes is then computed using the DISC model. The data in this layer is an average of the hourly GHI over 17 years (1998-2014). NOTE: The Geographical Information System (GIS) data and maps for solar resources for Global Horizontal Irradiance (GHI) and Direct Normal Irradiance (DNI) were developed by the U.S. National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and provided for Canada as an estimate. At present, neither the NREL data, nor the Physical Solar Model (PSM) on which the NREL data is based, have been either assessed or validated for the particular Canadian weather applications. A Canadian GHI map developed by the department of Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) is based on the State University of New York (SUNY) model and has been assessed and validated for the particular Canadian weather applications. The Canadian GHI map is available at http://atlas.gc.ca/cerp-rpep/en/.

Average of the hourly Global Horizontal Irradiance (GHI) over 17 years (1998-2014). Data extracted from the National Solar Radiation Database (NSRDB) developed using the Physical Solar Model (PSM) by National Renewable Energy Laboratory ("NREL"), Alliance for Sustainable Energy, LLC, U.S. Department of Energy ("DOE").The current version of the National Solar Radiation Database (NSRDB) (v2.0.1) was developed using the Physical Solar Model (PSM), and offers users the solar resource datasets from 1998 to 2014). The NSRDB comprises 30-minute solar and meteorological data for approximately 2 million 0.038-degree latitude by 0.038-degree longitude surface pixels (nominally 4 km2). The area covered is bordered by longitudes 25° W on the east and 175° W on the west, and by latitudes -20° S on the south and 60° N on the north. The solar radiation values represent the resource available to solar energy systems. The AVHRR Pathfinder Atmospheres-Extended (PATMOS-x) model uses half-hourly radiance images in visible and infrared channels from the GOES series of geostationary weather satellites, a climatological albedo database and mixing ratio, temperature and pressure profiles from Modern Era-Retrospective Analysis (MERRA) to generate cloud masking and cloud properties. Cloud properties generated using PATMOS-x are used in fast radiative transfer models along with aerosol optical depth (AOD) and precipitable water vapor (PWV) from ancillary sources to estimate Direct Normal Irradiance (DNI) and Global Horizontal Irradiance (GHI). A daily AOD is retrieved by combining information from the MODIS and MISR satellites and ground-based AERONET stations. Water vapor and other inputs are obtained from MERRA. For clear sky scenes the direct normal irradiance (DNI) and GHI are computed using the REST2 radiative transfer model. For cloud scenes identified by the cloud mask, Fast All-sky Radiation Model for Solar applications (FARMS) is used to compute the GHI. The DNI for cloud scenes is then computed using the DISC model. The data in this layer is an average of the hourly GHI over 17 years (1998-2014). NOTE: The Geographical Information System (GIS) data and maps for solar resources for Global Horizontal Irradiance (GHI) and Direct Normal Irradiance (DNI) were developed by the U.S. National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and provided for Canada as an estimate. At present, neither the NREL data, nor the Physical Solar Model (PSM) on which the NREL data is based, have been either assessed or validated for the particular Canadian weather applications. A Canadian GHI map developed by the department of Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) is based on the State University of New York (SUNY) model and has been assessed and validated for the particular Canadian weather applications. The Canadian GHI map is available at http://atlas.gc.ca/cerp-rpep/en/.

These products represent the monthly maps of the fraction of vegetation cover indicator (fCover), the leaf area index (LAI) and the Fraction of Absorbed Photosynthetically Active Radiation (fAPAR), during growing seasons (May to October) at 20 m resolution. **This third party metadata element follows the Spatio Temporal Asset Catalog (STAC) specification.**

These products represent the monthly maps of the fraction of vegetation cover indicator (fCover), the leaf area index (LAI) and the Fraction of Absorbed Photosynthetically Active Radiation (fAPAR), during growing seasons (May to October) at 20 m resolution. **This third party metadata element follows the Spatio Temporal Asset Catalog (STAC) specification.**

These products represent the monthly maps of the fraction of vegetation cover indicator (fCover), the leaf area index (LAI) and the Fraction of Absorbed Photosynthetically Active Radiation (fAPAR), during growing seasons (May to October) at 20 m resolution. **This third party metadata element follows the Spatio Temporal Asset Catalog (STAC) specification.**