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We analyze the total factor productivity (TFP) of the pulp and paper industry in three Canadian provinces (British Columbia, Ontario, and Quebec) and in three United States (US) states that are contiguously located south of the border (Washington, Illinois, and Maine) over the period of 1971 to 2005. We find that the industry in the three Canadian provinces had much higher TFP growth rates in the era following the Free-Trade Agreement (FTA) signed in 1988. In terms of productivity level, this relative TFP surge allowed the industry in Ontario and British Columbia to move ahead of Illinois and Washington, respectively; however, Quebec trailed further Maine, which is the overall leader in the sample. Our results in this particular case reveal that the Canadian pulp and paper industry did not contribute to the overall Canada-US productivity gap. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Landslides are common across Canada and they pose hazards to human safety, economic activities, and the environment. Robust risk management strategies are necessary for sustainable development. A slope risk management framework has been adopted by the geotechnical community for approximately four decades allowing a systematic, consistent and transparent framework for managing risks. Implementing this framework is associated with uncertainties embedded in our estimates of risk. This paper presents a brief summary of the sources and categories of uncertainty in geotechnical slope engineering and focuses on two topics: (1) estimates of uncertainty in risk calculations and (2) temporal changes in landslide likelihood as a function of weather and steps towards estimating landslide risk changes with climate change. The paper argues that a quantitative risk assessment should not focus on the final risk calculation, but the overall knowledge gained. This allows comprehensive documentation of sources of uncertainty and how they impact geotechnical and risk assessments. Furthermore, the paper outlines approaches to define quantitative correlations between rock fall occurrences and weather, which can be leveraged to estimate changes in rock fall risk with climate change. The paper corresponds to, and expands on, the 2021 Canadian Geotechnical Colloquium. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Red heartwood, a dark nonhomogenous discolouration in paper birch trees ( Marsh.), limits the applications and uses of sawn boards to nonvisible low-value products, thus resulting in substantial value loss. The occurrence and distribution of red heartwood were investigated in 12 paper birch trees grown in the province of Quebec, Canada. The youngest tree was 62 years old at breast height and the oldest 86 years old for an average of 75 years old. In this study, 225 occurrences of external traits, relating to branch scars and forks, previously proposed as initiation points for red heartwood were identified and measured. The distribution of red heartwood was digitally mapped and the effect of these external traits on the red heartwood surface and shape inside each tree was examined. Results show that red heartwood initiates from an external trait and that multiple external traits can contribute to the development of a red heartwood column following the longitudinal axis of the stem. Red heartwood appeared to initiate mainly from external traits at the base of the tree. A modelling exercise indicated that the width of the red heartwood column inside a standing tree can be estimated from branch scar width and height from the ground. Tree vigour could not be linked to the proportion of red heartwood inside standing trees. A three-dimensional analysis of log shape could potentially be used to detect red heartwood presence in a log before processing to optimize the log sawing pattern. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper studies substitution between main categories of imported pulp and paper products and between imported and domestic pulp and paper products in the US market. A restricted translog subcost function approach was employed to derive the elasticity of substitution. The results suggest that Canadian pulp and paper products are competitive and have maintained their competitiveness in the US market, and therefore, the challenges faced by the Canadian pulp and paper industry are not because of the loss of its product competitiveness but are due to other reasons such as declining demand for paper products in the United States. It seems that if the Canadian pulp and paper industry wants to retain its dominant position in the world market place, it will have to create global reach and develop new markets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, a review of Indigenous engagement in renewable energy projects is conducted and the main elements of energy partnerships between stakeholders and Indigenous partners are discussed. In recent years, Canada has witnessed more significant Indigenous involvement in economic and energy development projects than ever before. For large-scale energy partnerships, the focus is on engagement, financial capital, community buy-in (readiness, and entrepreneurial and business skills), and benefits-sharing with community partners. Equity-ownership, reconciliation, and self-determination intersect with and impact the benefits and sustainability of energy projects, as they are interrelated in the framework of most energy partnerships. This paper illustrates policy disconnects in connection with partnership-making, social outcomes, and decision-making among Indigenous communities. Furthermore, findings from relevant literature explore the nuanced discourse on social implications and capacity challenges that interlink with climate adaptation and reconciliation when promoting large-scale renewable energy partnerships with Indigenous communities. Through a systematic review and a meta-analysis of the literature, we found 80 relevant studies during the screening process, of which 33 were selected for the synthesis. Findings demonstrate that the Crown, energy companies, and community partners need to coordinate and collaborate closely to achieve energy security and sustainable renewable energy. The review suggests that Indigenous engagement in energy partnerships supports positive outcomes for social development and environmental protection among Indigenous communities. The literature suggests that when government and industry mentor in the project implementation process, important positive impacts on energy transitions, and self-sufficiency can be realized. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During the process of papermaking by pulp and paper plants, a thick and viscous deposits, termed slime, is quickly formed around the paper machines, which can affect the papermaking process. In this study, we explored the composition of the bacterial biota in slime that developed on shower pipes from 2 machines at a Canadian paper mill. Firstly, the composition was assessed for 12 months by DNA profiling with polymerase chain reaction coupled with denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis. Except for short periods (2-3 months), clustered analyses showed that the bacterial composition of the slime varied substantially over the year, with less than 50% similarity between the denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis profiles. Secondly, the screening of 16S rRNA gene libraries derived from 2 slime samples showed that the most abundant bacteria were related to 6 lineages, including Chloroflexi, candidate division OP10, Clostridiales, Bacillales, Burkholderiales, and the genus Deinococcus. Finally, the proportion of 8 bacterial lineages, such as Deinococcus sp., Meiothermus sp., and Chloroflexi, was determined by the Catalyzed Reporter Deposition - Fluorescence In Situ Hybridization in 2 slime samples. The results showed a high proportion of Chloroflexi, Tepidimonas spp., and Schlegelella spp. in the slime samples. Lors du processus de fabrication industrielle du papier, un dépôt épais et visqueux se forme rapidement autour des machines à papier, ce qui peut affecter le processus de fabrication. Dans cette étude, nous avons exploré la composition bactérien ne du dépôt qui s'est développée sur des tuyaux des douches de 2 machines d'une usine à papier au Canada. La composition a d'abord été évaluée pendant 12 mois par la détermination du profil d'ADN par une réaction en chaîne par polymérase couplée à une électrophorèse sur gel en gradient dénaturant. À part de courtes périodes (2-3 mois), les analyses ont montré que la composition bactérienne du dépôt variait substantiellement au cours de l'année, avec moins de 50 % de similarité entre les profils en l'électrophorèse sur gel en gradient dénaturant. Deuxièmement, le criblage de banques géniques d'ARN ribosomique 16S dérivées de 2 échantillons de dépôt a ensuite montré que les bactéries les plus abondantes étaient apparentées à 6 lignées, notamment les Chloroflexi, la division candidate OP10, les Clostridiales, les Bacillales, les Burkholderiales, et le genre Deinococcus. Finalement, la proportion de 8 lignées bactériens comme Deinococcus sp., Meiothermus sp. et Chloroflexi a été déterminée par « Catalyzed Reporter Deposition - Fluorescence In Situ Hybridization » dans 2 échantillons de dépôt. Les résultats ont montré une forte proportion de Chloroflexi, Tepidimonas spp. et Schlegelella spp. dans les échantillons. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The process of icing and the resulting layered ice masses, called aufeis, are caused by the freezing of overflow originating from groundwater or surface water. Aufeis can directly impact infrastructure and property, most commonly through winter ice formation and spring flooding within, against, and on the surface of hydraulic structures and transportation infrastructure. They also represent a safety concern for drivers. This geohazard often needs to be managed proactively and efficiently to mitigate associated risks. This paper provides an overview of the consequences of aufeis in northwestern Canada. A total of 50 existing and novel icing and aufeis mitigation approaches are described and classified. The context of applicability for each approach is identified, considering the source of water, the type of infrastructure, and its role in the formation of aufeis. Finally, future research avenues to support the development or improvement of aufeis risk reduction techniques are presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The package PbIso is a free and open R toolbox for commonly used calculations and plots of Pb–Pb isotope data and for generating Pb evolution models. In this paper, we review Pb isotope systematics and the calculations that are commonly used, such as model age, model source μ (238U/204Pb), time-integrated κ (232Th/238U), and initial Pb isotope ratios. These equations are implemented into R functions in the package PbIso. In addition, functions are provided for generating Pb evolution models, paleoisochrons, and isochrons. This allows users to apply calculations to their data in a straightforward way while providing transparency and flexibility of the calculations used. We have implemented some basic features of the PbIso package into an online shiny R application (see https://shereearmistead.github.io/software/pbiso), which makes it easy for users without any R experience to use these calculations with their own data and to generate plots. We have provided a case study from the Superior Province in Canada, showing how different Pb evolution models can be generated in PbIso and compared to Pb isotope data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Serious games (i.e., digital games designed for educational purposes) can foster positive learning attitudes and are increasingly used as educational tools. Foodbot Factory is a serious game application (app) that helps children learn about healthy eating based on Canada's Food Guide principles and has demonstrated to increase nutrition knowledge among this group. This paper describes the process followed to expand Foodbot Factory's educational content and integrate immersive technologies and innovative features into the app. The revision process, which was guided by the Obesity-Related Behavioral Intervention Trials model, included the following phases: first, an interdisciplinary team of nutrition scientists, education experts, and computer scientists analyzed data from the original pilot study, recently published literature, and feedback from stakeholders to define areas to improve Foodbot Factory. The five original Foodbot Factory modules were evaluated by the team during weekly meetings, where the educational content, interactive features, and other elements that required updates (e.g., aesthetics and accessibility) were identified. Second, prototypes were created and refined until a final version of Foodbot Factory was approved. Nineteen children tested the updated Foodbot Factory and found it "easy to use" (89%) and "fun" (95%). The new version of Foodbot Factory contains 19 learning objectives, including 13 original and six new objectives. Interactive engagement features in the updated Foodbot Factory included augmented reality incorporated into two learning modules; new mini-games were created, including a memory game; an overhaul of the aesthetics; (e.g., new food images); and accessibility features were included to support users with cognitive and vision disabilities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Similar to many freshwater ecosystems, the Laurentian Great Lakes of North America have undergone numerous anthropogenic stressors resulting in considerable loss of biodiversity and habitat. Among Great Lakes fishes, the coregonine sub-family has endured the most extensive declines, including extinction of several species (Coregonus johannae, C. alpenae, and C. kiyi orientalis) and at least 10 instances of local extirpations of other species (C. nigripinnis, C. reighardi, C. zenithicus, C. hoyi, and C. artedi) across all 5 lakes, much of which occurred prior to the 1960s owing to overfishing, interactions with non-indigenous species, and habitat loss. Despite these declines, no federal-, provincial-, or state-mandated actions were ever implemented to conserve coregonine diversity, potentially because so much of the coregonine declines occurred prior to the enactment of federal conservation legislation. Possible explanations for inaction since enactment of that legislation include insufficient data on biological vulnerability or threats, unresolved taxonomy, and limited support from the fishery management agencies and their stakeholders prior to the 2000s. In recent decades, however, several fishery management agencies have undertaken efforts to re-introduce coregonine diversity. These efforts helped lead to development of a science-based framework to restore coregonines that was universally endorsed by fishery managers representing eight U.S. states, four U.S. tribal organizations, and the province of ON, Canada, in May 2018. The basin-wide framework is based on principles of conservation biology and adaptive management. We describe details of its key steps, including planning, restoring, and evaluating, while also describing recent implementation efforts to develop methods, improve available resources, and enhance coordination across the basin. Although our paper describes a regional effort to restore native coregonines, our adaptive-management approach could be used by other multi-agency stakeholders seeking to conserve or restore native fishes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper describes load and resistance factor design (LRFD) calibration for the resistance factor used in the Stiffness Method internal stability soil failure limit state for geogrid mechanically stabilized earth (MSE) walls. The Stiffness Method was recently adopted in the current American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials LRFD Bridge Design Specifications in the US, and will appear in the next edition of the Canadian Highway Bridge Design Code. The paper describes the details of the calibration of the soil failure limit state which is unique to the Stiffness Method. Calibration outcomes include consideration of the concept of level of understanding in the selection of nominal load and resistance values which is unique to LRFD foundation engineering practice in Canada. A practical conclusion from these calculations is that if product line-specific creep test data are available to estimate the reinforcement secant creep stiffness used for design, then a resistance factor of 1.0 is reasonable for US practice. If only minimum average roll value tensile strength data are available, then a value of 0.95 is recommended for US practice. For Canadian practice, the corresponding values for typical level of understanding are 0.90 and 0.85, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Much of Canada's industrial sector is driven by natural resources and relies heavily on provisioning services supplied by the boreal zone. However, the sometimes intensive processes used by resource-based industries and their associated infrastructure have significantly altered the region, creating concerns over the future socio-ecological health of the boreal zone. Addressing these concerns will require industries reliant on natural resources from the boreal zone to innovate their processes, management, and infrastructure to improve extraction efficiency while contributing to society's increasing expectations related to sustainability. Here, we explore past, current, and future trends in industrial innovation and infrastructure in the boreal zone for forestry, mining, pulp and paper, oil and gas, and renewable sources of power generation. We assess the role of innovation on the future socio-ecological state of the boreal zone by considering interactions between innovation in industry and infrastructure and other key drivers of change in the boreal, such as atmospheric changes, changing demands for nonprovisioning and provisioning ecosystem services, governance, and demographics and social values. We present future scenarios highlighting three divergent trajectories of change in boreal ecosystems based on past and current states of innovation in industry and infrastructure. We suggest that minimizing impacts of natural resource extraction activities in the boreal zone will only be possible through innovation directly focused on reducing the human footprint on the landscape. Innovation in the information technology sector related to process, management, and end products within these industries and placing greater emphasis on cross-sectoral collaboration will be key to achieving this goal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tailings impoundments are often prone to failure due to various causes related to complex loading conditions. For instance, tailings impoundments can fail during or after a seismic event, mainly because of the liquefaction of loose, cohesionless tailings. To improve the seismic stability of impoundments, the density of the tailings can be increased or waste rock inclusions (WRI) can be added in the impoundment. This paper presents the results of numerical analyses of the impoundments loaded with a variety of ground motions with different frequencies, scaled at two different levels of intensity representative of two mining regions of Eastern Canada. The results show that the conventional impoundments are subjected to medium to high displacements at the end of shaking; these show a high probability of rupture during the earthquake or in the post-seismic phase. Tailings densification can decrease the volume of liquefied tailings and displacements during the seismic phase but does not significantly reduce the probability of post-seismic failure. WRI can slightly reduce the volume of liquefied tailings, depending on the intensity of the motions, but the reinforcement reduces significantly the lateral displacements; impoundments with WRI show even better performances during the post-seismic phase. The use of WRI is deemed a good approach to ensure the seismic stability of tailings impoundments and reduce the risk of seismically induced failure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although road surface friction is considered the most effective performance measure for maintenance operations, it is not commonly used due to the high cost of collection. As a result, most jurisdictions use subjective visual indicators that qualitatively describe the state of the road surface, even though they create measurement inconsistencies and offer less detailed maintenance tracking. For maintenance personnel to transition into using friction, the collection cost must be reduced. This paper attempts to do so by proposing a low-cost, machine learning-based method for predicting road surface friction using dash camera imagery and demonstrates its feasibility through a case study. The dataset used for this project was collected in the City of Edmonton, AB, Canada during its 2021/2022 winter season. Three models were developed using tree-based algorithms, where all three displayed high performance with an average root mean squared error of 0.0796 or 79.3% accuracy based on RMSPE. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Extensive 14C dating and botanical identification of charcoal fragments located in the organic surface soil layer and buried in the mineral podzolic solum were used to reconstruct the successional pathways of a balsam fir forest site. The studied forest site developed in a context of continuous fire disturbance over the last 9000 years with at least 26 fires occurring at a mean interval of 330 years. Tree vegetation of the site followed a four-step trajectory consisting of an early-Holocene spruce forest and a late-Holocene mixedwood balsam fir forest. Boreal-like spruce-birch and temperate-like white pine-birch forests dominated the site between 7900 and 5900 cal. B.P. and 5600 and 1275 cal. B.P., respectively. Because all forest types developed repeatedly after fire since early deglaciation, changes in forest composition, in particular the shift of white pine forest to balsam fir forest, and concurrent decline of birch (yellow birch and/or paper birch) and pine populations were most likely related to progressive cooler and wetter conditions from mid- to late Holocene. Fire disturbance on this part of the southern boreal biome has been a continuous, positive regenerative process over the Holocene, allowing the successional turnover of boreal and temperate trees under the influence of climatic change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To improve the climate resiliency of existing and new pavements, it is important to carry out pavement designs using continuous climate records at high temporal frequencies. Over the years, significant research efforts have been dedicated to obtain high-quality climatic data for pavement design including the latest adoption of the Modern-Era Retrospective analysis for Research and Applications, version 2 (MERRA-2). The purpose of this study is to assess how MERRA-2 performs when compared to the Canadian Weather Energy and Engineering Datasets (CWEEDS), which provides hourly meteorological data for many parts of the country from various periods. In the first part, climate parameters at nine locations were directly compared to determine the correlation between two data sets. In the second part, long-term performances were simulated for typical flexible pavement to assess the relative impact of each climate scenario. As detailed in this paper, observed differences between MERRA-2 and CWEEDS indicate the need for further improvement of climate data quality and availability for designing resilient pavements in Canada. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Canada ratified the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) in 2003. With that ratification is an obligation to submit data and information to the U.N. pertaining to the limits of the country's extended continental shelf (ECS); the portion of the juridical continental shelf that extends beyond 200 nautical miles. A team of Canadian scientists, managers, and legal experts that included representation from three Federal Departments (Natural Resources Canada, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, and Global Affairs Canada) with additional support from other departments, spent 13 years compiling and acquiring data to provide the scientific evidence to support delineation of Canada's seaward most maritime limit. The submission has the potential to provide Canada with 2.4 million km2 of additional submarine landmass in the Atlantic and the Arctic oceans over which Canada exercises sovereign rights for the purpose of exploring and exploiting its natural resources. Specific information such as the tectonic framework of the continental margin, the geomorphology of the margin and in particular the continental slope, the geologic nature of adjoined ridges, rises, and plateaux, and sediment thickness within adjacent basins are examples of fundamental pieces of geoscientific information needed to substantiate Canada's outermost maritime limits. This paper highlights a number of segments of Canada's continental margins to showcase this scientific evidence and how it is applied in the UNCLOS context. In doing so, the paper demonstrates the geologic complexity of Canada's margins as illustrated in scientific publications that have resulted from these new data collections, while at the same time presenting new scientific evidence and interpretations. This collection of data and information provides a wealth of new knowledge in Canada's offshore regions. The massive data compilation in the Atlantic led to conception of continental margins, in a source-to-sink scenario, as having an equilibrium base level or graded form, comparable to river systems. Departures from this shape relate to the interplay of sedimentary processes and in particular to those processes that do not fit the source-to-sink paradigm. For example, a significant part of the Atlantic margin is shown to be heavily influenced by along-slope geostrophic currents that generated massive contourite drift deposits. These deposits reflect lateral transport of sediment that had a significant impact on the morphology of the margin. The role of mass transport processes in shaping continental margins is also highlighted, and in particular the collapses of entire segments of the margin were observed. The prominent role mass failure processes play in delivering sediment to the adjacent abyssal plain is also critical in the ECS context. These observations challenge the entrenched notion of a continental margin comprising a shelf, slope, and rise and in particular the concept of the "continental rise". Prior to 2006, regions of the Arctic Ocean seaward of the Canadian landmass had fewer than 5000 km of seismic reflection data. The massive efforts of Arctic coastal States to map their margins for ECS purposes have led to a leap in technological advances to acquire data in ice-covered seas and have led to a wealth of new geoscientific knowledge. Perhaps foremost amongst this knowledge is demonstration that Canada Basin is indeed a fully developed ocean basin, albeit significantly infilled with sediment. Based on this knowledge and identification of related structures, new realistic tectonic scenarios for opening of the Amerasia Basin are proposed that include a significant component of transform or strike-slip motions. With seismic velocity and rock sample information, the continental nature of Alpha and Mendeleev ridges has been substantiated. Even bathymetric data were lacking in the Arctic and new editions of seafloor maps now support grids of 500 m spacing; although some regions remain sparse. Once thought to be relatively stagnant, sedimentary processes such as found in many ocean basins were discovered in the Arctic Ocean. Evidence of geostrophic currents, sediment mass failures, and deep-sea turbidity current channels were found to be ubiquitous, even in the deepest parts of the Arctic's basins. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The relationship between forest stand composition in southern interior British Columbia and fluorescent pseudomonad bacteria populations was investigated using seedling bioassays. The objectives of this study were to (i) compare the relative population sizes of fluorescent pseudomonads baited from soils in pure paper birch (Betula papyrifera Marsh.), pure Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii (Mirb.) Franco), and mixed stands of the two species and (ii) determine if fluorescent pseudomonads from these soils have inhibitory effects against the root pathogen Armillaria ostoyae (Romagn.) Herink in vitro. Soil from birch stands supported four times more pseudomonads on seedling baits than soil from Douglas-fir stands, with the mixed stands intermediate. Soil from young stands yielded twice as many rhizosphere pseudomonads as soil from mature stands. Pseudomonad population size was positively correlated with percent cover and density of birch, and negatively correlated with basal area of Douglas-fir, percent cover of Douglas-fir, and carbon/nitrogen ratio of the soil. Greater than 50% of the fluorescent isolates reduced radial growth of A. ostoyae by more than 20% and greater than 90% reduced biomass of the fungus in dual culture tests. Cell-free bacterial culture filtrates added to the growth medium also reduced growth of A. ostoyae. This study provides evidence that paper birch provides a more favorable environment for fluorescent pseudomonads than Douglas-fir and suggests a mechanism by which paper birch can positively influence the susceptibility of managed forest stands to Armillaria root disease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The seismic resilience of structures can be quantified through rigorous seismic assessment. Because no detailed guideline is available for nonlinear modelling parameters and the corresponding acceptance criteria for the seismic evaluation and upgrading of steel structures in Canada, the structural commentary of the National Building Code of Canada suggests using ASCE 41, which has been adopted as a standard for seismic evaluation and retrofit of buildings in the United States (U.S.). However, because the steel design standards in Canada and the U.S. are different, their applicability to steel structures in Canada needs to be investigated. To this end, this paper critically reviews the nonlinear modelling parameters and acceptance criteria, and then recommends whether these values need to be revised or are adopted as is for the seismic evaluation and upgrading of steel structures in Canada. A numerical example of a steel moment-resisting frame is presented to demonstrate the recommended parameters being used for seismic evaluation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]