Student Research Spotlight: Visualizing climate change impacts in Atlantic Canada
Andrea Minano in Chicago presenting her research at a conference
Andrea Minano is a MSc Geography candidate who, alongside Dr. Peter Johnson and Dr. Johanna Wandel, has developed a web-based geographic tool for visualizing climate change impacts at the regional and local scales. This tool was customized for Shelburne County, Nova Scotia as a means to communicate climate change science to citizens and allow municipalities to better understand local impacts and adaptation needs.
This research is one of many case studies that have emerged from the Partnership for Canada-Caribbean Community Climate Change Adaptation (ParCA). ParCA is a 5-year interdisciplinary project that is led by Dr. Murray Simpson and IC3Director, Dr. Daniel Scott.
During the 2-year Master's program, Andrea has accomplished a series of her goals, ranging from leading public engagement exercises in Shelburne County, presenting her research at conferences among scholars and experts, and working with IC3 and Balsillie School on a global public consultation event on climate and energy.
As an example of her field work, Andrea travelled to a coastal town in Shelburne County in November 2014 to allow citizens to engage with her tool (named "AdaptNS") and evaluate its use in local climate change adaptation. Citizens provided insight on how these types of tools can promote the use of climate change science for identifying adaptation needs.
Most recently, Andrea presented her Master's research findings at the American Association of Geographers (AAG) conference in Chicago, Illinois. This opportunity allowed her to receive feedback on her research from scholars prior to her upcoming Master's thesis defence.
Currently, Andrea is working towards publicly releasing her tool online after receiving positive and helpful feedback from municipal leaders and citizens alike.