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Detailed maps of seafloor substrata and morphology can act as valuable proxies for predicting and understanding the distributions of benthic communities and are important for guiding conservation initiatives. High resolution acoustic remote sensing data can facilitate the production of detailed seafloor maps, but are cost-prohibitive to collect and not widely available. In the absence of targeted high resolution data, global bathymetric data of a lower resolution, combined with legacy seafloor sampling data, can provide an alternative for generating maps of seafloor substrate and morphology. Here we apply regression random forest to legacy data in the Gulf of St Lawrence, Canada, to generate a map of seabed sediment distribution. We further apply k-means clustering to a principal component analysis output to identify seafloor morphology classes from the GEBCO bathymetric grid. The morphology classification identified most morphological features but could not discriminate valleys and canyons. The random forest results were in line with previous sediment mapping work done in the area, but a large proportion of zero values skewed the explained variance. In both models, improvements may be possible with the introduction of more predictor variables. These models prove useful for generating regional seafloor maps that may be used for future management and conservation applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Advances in sonar technology have revolutionized our ability to map the seafloor, however, differences between legacy and modern data pose challenges when analysing multi-source datasets. Acoustic backscatter recorded via multibeam echosounder is commonly used to characterize the seafloor, but a lack of standardized calibration often yields relative rather than absolute backscatter measurements, hindering comparison between surveys. ‘Bulk shift’ methods have been developed for harmonizing legacy backscatter datasets using overlapping survey areas for relative statistical calibration. This becomes increasingly difficult, though, given many datasets collected over extensive time periods. Backscatter data were collected in the Bay of Fundy, Canada, using multiple sonar systems and vessels over an 18-year period. Here, we propose a reproduceable strategy for harmonizing this large volume of disparate backscatter data using the bulk shift method. A final, harmonized map is presented for the entire Bay of Fundy and is validated using in situ observations from seafloor imagery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Marine protected area (MPA) planning often relies on scientific principles that help ensure that an area selected for conservation will effectively protect biodiversity. Capturing ecological processes in MPA network planning has received increased attention in recent years. High‐resolution seafloor maps, which show patterns in seafloor bio‐physical characteristics, can support our understanding of ecological processes.In part, owing to a global lack of high‐resolution seafloor maps, studies that aim to integrate seascape spatial pattern and conservation prioritization often focus on shallow biogenic habitats with less attention paid to deeper benthic seascapes (benthoscapes) mapped using acoustic techniques. Acoustic seafloor mapping strategies yield the spatial information required to extend conservation prioritization research into these environments, making incorporating seafloor ecological processes into conservation prioritization increasingly achievable.Here, a new method is proposed and tested that combines benthoscape mapping, landscape ecology metrics and a conservation decision support tool to prioritize areas with structural and potential connectivity value in MPA placement. Using a case study in eastern Canada, benthoscape composition and configuration were quantified using spatial pattern metrics and integrated into Marxan.Results illustrate how large patches of seafloor habitat in close proximity to neighbouring patches can be preferentially selected when benthoscape configuration is considered. The flexibility of the method for including relevant spatial pattern metrics or species‐specific movement data is discussed to illustrate how benthic habitat maps can improve existing conservation planning methods and complement existing and future work to support marine biodiversity conservation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

By using risk-adjusted price signals to transfer responsibility for property-level flood protection and recovery from governments to property owners, flood insurance represents a key tenet of the flood risk management (FRM) paradigm. The Government of Canada has worked with insurers to introduce flood insurance for the first time as a part of a broader shift towards FRM to limit the growing costs of flooding. The viability of flood insurance in Canada, however, has been questioned by research that disputes the utility of purchasing coverage by property owners. This study tested this assumption by drawing on public opinion survey data to assess factors that influence decisions about the utility of insurance. The findings reveal that Canadians have limited knowledge of flood insurance coverage, exhibit a low willingness-to-pay for both insurance and property-level flood protection measures, and expect governments to shoulder much of the financial burden of flood recovery through disaster assistance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The designation of marine protected areas (MPAs) requires the development of a monitoring design to assess the effectiveness of the closure in meeting its conservation objectives. Natural variability should be considered in the design, ideally determined using baseline information collected at the scale of the closure.Monitoring benthos informs on general ecosystem state. Benthic habitat maps are widely used as surrogates of benthos in marine spatial planning, and could potentially be used to inform monitoring by minimizing confounding habitat effects.Here, epibenthic diversity was assessed in the St. Anns Bank MPA in Atlantic Canada, the first assessment of benthic patterns at the scale of this closure. Epibenthic assemblages were determined using a photographic camera system along a single transect (~100–150 m in length) at 44 locations in 2013 and 2014 (with 10 or 11 images per location, providing a total of 438 images), prior to the designation of the MPA. Epibenthic patterns were correlated with a previously developed benthic habitat (benthoscape) map to determine the potential of using benthoscape classes as units for monitoring.Hierarchical agglomerative clustering of epibenthic assemblages and similarity profile analysis revealed five clusters of assemblages in the MPA (P < 0.01), each of which were associated with specific indicator taxa. Some clusters of assemblages correlated well with distinct benthoscape classes representing either hard/coarse (gravel) or soft sediment (sand and mud), whereas clusters associated with mixed sediment segregated spatially. The within‐cluster variability in assemblages between locations was lower overall than within the management zones, but differed between clusters.Similarities were detected with previous coarser‐scale assessments of epibenthic diversity in the St. Anns Bank MPA, but this study revealed a more complex benthic structure than previously thought. A monitoring design should thus consider this natural variability to reliably monitor change and aid in determining the effectiveness of the MPA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Building performance evaluations (BPEs) were carried out for nine Canadian green buildings using a standardised assessment framework. The aim was to explore and measure the discrepancies between the operational performance of the buildings and their predicted performance, as well as to identify lessons for their owners, design teams and the construction industry. The objective of this paper is not to report individual buildings in detail (we refer the reader to the individual building reports) but to report on some general lessons that came from doing this study. Overall these buildings performed well compared to benchmarks. However, the findings suggest that occupancy is not well understood and often incorrectly predicted during design, and that this affects various aspects of performance, including energy and water use. Also energy and water use modelling is often undertaken principally for building code/green rating compliance purposes and does not necessarily represent an accurate prediction of likely operational use. Combined with variations in occupancy this can lead to considerable discrepancies in performance from the modelled values. This may be understood by experts but is often misleading to building owners and others. Water use is often not well predicted and also not carefully managed in buildings and there is a lack of understanding of what constitutes good water performance. Overall, it is important to recognise that each building has its own individual "story" that provides necessary context for effective management and improvement of the building during its ongoing life. It is proposed that a BPE process allows that context to be better understood, and enables more effective decision making about building management, improvements, occupant satisfaction, energy use, etc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the challenges of paying for loss caused by climate change. It discusses how weatherrelated harms might become uninsurable by private companies in the future as the adverse effects of climate change increase in severity. Additionally, this article recognizes the difficulty in imposing civil liability on wrongdoers for climate-related harms, and explores options for state-sponsored or state-subsidized insurance. Finally, the authors examine possibilities for an international insurance fund, but eventually conclude that such a fund would unlikely be endorsed at the international level and would not benefit Canadians. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The establishment of multibeam echosounders (MBES) as a mainstream tool in ocean mapping has facilitated integrative approaches toward nautical charting, benthic habitat mapping, and seafloor geotechnical surveys. The inherent bathymetric and backscatter information generated by MBES enables marine scientists to present highly accurate bathymetric data with a spatial resolution closely matching that of terrestrial mapping. Furthermore, developments in data collection and processing of MBES backscatter, combined with the quality of the co-registered depth information, have resulted in the increasing preferential use of multibeam technology over conventional sidescan sonar for the production of benthic habitat maps. A range of post-processing approaches can generate customized map products to meet multiple ocean management needs, thus extracting maximum value from a single survey data set. Based on recent studies over German Bank off SW Nova Scotia, Canada, we show how primary MBES bathymetric and backscatter data, along with supplementary data (i.e. in situ video and stills), were processed using a variety of methods to generate a series of maps. Methods conventionally used for classification of multi-spectral data were tested for classification of the MBES data set to produce a map summarizing broad bio-physical characteristics of the seafloor (i.e. a benthoscape map), which is of value for use in many aspects of marine spatial planning. A species-specific habitat map for the sea scallop Placopecten magellanicus was also generated from the MBES data by applying a Species Distribution Modeling (SDM) method to spatially predict habitat suitability, which offers tremendous promise for use in fisheries management. In addition, we explore the challenges of incorporating benthic community data into maps based on species information derived from a large number of seafloor photographs. Through the process of applying multiple methods to generate multiple maps for management applications, we demonstrate the efficient use of survey data sets to maximize the benefit to a wide number of potential end users, and to facilitate the move toward an ecosystem-based approach to management. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The article discusses the obligations of insurance companies in Canada as of May 2012, focusing on an insurer's pre-contractual disclosure duty and its responsibility to act in good faith under the insurance laws of the nation and its provinces. Section 438 of the Ontario (Canada) Insurance Act, which deals with unfair or deceptive acts or practices, is addressed. Several insurance law cases are also mentioned, including Fletcher v. MPIC.

Comments on the case `McMillan v. Thompson' in Manitoba which focused on no-fault insurance schemes for non-motorist defendants. Court's ruling that no one may be sued in tort for damages for bodily injury caused by a motor vehicle accident; Contribution to the accident of a negligently maintained bridge; Basis of the provision of tort immunity; Application of the no-fault concept.

Marine debris, particularly plastic and abandoned, lost and discarded fishing gear, is ubiquitous in marine environments. This study provides the first quantitative and qualitative assessment of benthic debris using seafloor video collected from a drop camera system in the Bay of Fundy, Eastern Canada. An estimated 137 debris items km−2 of seafloor were counted, comprising of plastic (51%), fishing gear (including plastic categories; 28%) and other (cable, metal, tires; 21%). Debris was widespread, but mainly located nearshore (within 9 km) and on the periphery of areas with high fishing intensity. This baseline benthic marine debris characterization and estimate of abundance provides valuable information for government (municipal, provincial and federal) and for other stakeholders to implement management strategies to reduce plastic and other categories of benthic marine pollution at source. Strategies may include limiting plastic use and reducing illegal dumping through improved education among fishers. Unlabelled Image • First assessment of benthic debris using a drop camera system in Eastern Canada • Mean debris density of 137 items km−2 of seafloor • Comprised of plastic (51%), fishing gear (28%) and other (cable, metal, tires; 21%) • Debris was widespread, but mainly located with 9 km from shore. • Baseline information useful for government and other stakeholders to reduce sources of benthic marine pollution [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Seabed sediment composition is an important component of benthic habitat and there are many approaches for producing maps that convey sediment information to marine managers. Random Forest is a popular statistical method for thematic seabed sediment mapping using both categorical and quantitative supervised modelling approaches. This study compares the performance and qualities of these Random Forest approaches to predict the distribution of fine-grained sediments from grab samples as one component of a multi-model map of sediment classes in Frobisher Bay, Nunavut, Canada. The second component predicts the presence of coarse substrates from underwater video. Spatial and non-spatial cross-validations were conducted to evaluate the performance of categorical and quantitative Random Forest models and maps were compared to determine differences in predictions. While both approaches seemed highly accurate, the non-spatial cross-validation suggested greater accuracy using the categorical approach. Using a spatial cross-validation, there was little difference between approaches—both showed poor extrapolative performance. Spatial cross-validation methods also suggested evidence of overfitting in the coarse sediment model caused by the spatial dependence of transect samples. The quantitative modelling approach was able to predict rare and unsampled sediment classes but the flexibility of probabilistic predictions from the categorical approach allowed for tuning to maximize extrapolative performance. Results demonstrate that the apparent accuracies of these models failed to convey important differences between map predictions and that spatially explicit evaluation strategies may be necessary for evaluating extrapolative performance. Differentiating extrapolative from interpolative prediction can aid in selecting appropriate modelling methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Developments in acoustic survey techniques, in particular multibeam sonar, have revolutionised the way we are able to image, map and understand the seabed environment. It is now cost effective to image large areas of the seafloor using these techniques, and the information from such surveys provides base line data from which thematic maps of the seabed environment, including maps of surficial geology, can be derived when interpreted in conjunction with in-situ ground truthing data. Traditional methods for the interpretation of acoustic backscatter rely on experienced interpretation by eye of grey-scale images produced from the data. However, interpretation of data can be subjective, and new developments in semi-automated backscatter classification software offer an objective method of segmentation of acoustic backscatter data into acoustically similar regions, but are not yet well tested or accepted. A large multibeam sonar data set from Georges Bank, Canada, was classified using the backscatter classification software, QTC-Multiview. Data from 4800km2 of seabed were classified and results were compared with 110 ground truthing stations to assess the performance of the classification for geological discrimination. The relationship between backscatter metrics derived from the classification software and benthic geological characteristics were explored using statistical methods. Results suggest that image-based backscatter classification shows considerable promise for interpretation of multibeam sonar data for the production of geological maps. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Mapping seafloor surficial geology provides information necessary for effective marine spatial planning, assessing natural and anthropogenic disturbances to the environment, and science-based fisheries and natural resource management. Traditional methods for seafloor geological mapping depend on expert by eye interpretation and delineation into seafloor classes (e.g., substrate type or geomorphic classes). However, these methods are generally subjective, non-repeatable, and lacking in statistical validation. Recent advances in computing technology and modelling techniques, such as machine learning (ML), have allowed scientists to use spatial predictive modelling to efficiently produce statistically accurate and spatially continuous map products that characterize various aspects of seafloor geology. This research applied common machine learning algorithms to generate a variety of thematic seafloor maps across the Northwest Atlantic Shelf using coarse resolution (>400 m) open-source datasets. Seafloor substrate maps (hard substrate occurrence, modified Folk class, mean grain size, and % mud/sand/gravel) were modelled using random forest, trained with observations from Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) Seabed grainsize analysis and seafloor photograph databases for offshore Canada. A semi-automated approach was developed to classify seafloor morphology from the GEBCO 2020 bathymetric grid, using a k-means clustering algorithm and manual assignment of feature names based on standardized feature definitions. The standardized workflow from this study enables the integration of datasets from a variety of sources and provides output maps that are comparable over large regions and across a variety of ocean governance boundaries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abandoned, lost, or otherwise discarded fishing gear (ALDFG) has surfaced as a significant conservation issue that continues to compromise the economic, social, and ecological aspects of the marine environment. To alleviate these concerns, methods of lost gear detection at the seabed can be applied to increase the precision of derelict gear retrieval and potentially improve the likelihood of success. Targeted in Canada's most productive American lobster (Homarus americanus) fishing area, a "hotspot" analysis was performed by mapping the density of reported lost gear at a 3 km × 3 km grid resolution. The hotspot analysis was used to target the collection of 27 side scan sonar (SSS) transects in Lobster Fishing Area (LFA) 34 over a 12-day survey period in Clark's Harbour, Nova Scotia, to evaluate the benefits of gear detection in large-scale retrieval missions. Following a comprehensive review of the SSS data post-processing, 114 potential ALDFG targets were visually identified, and only one item was confirmed retrieved. Despite this, a large volume of ALDFG was retrieved in areas where there was no SSS coverage based on fisher's local knowledge. The findings from this study demonstrate that retrieval of ALDFG based on SSS data can be difficult due to limitations of retrieval methods used, and that costs of SSS data acquisition may prohibit widescale use of this technology on an annual basis in spatially extensive fishing areas. Nonetheless, the use of SSS to identify ALDFG is recommended at smaller geographic scales in areas where the benthic environment may be sensitive. Although the use of fisher's local knowledge was not evaluated in this study, where the impacts of grappling for ALDFG are considered minimal, local knowledge can be extremely effective in the removal of lost fishing gear and other debris from the benthic environment. • Side scan sonar (SSS) was used for targeted gear detection based on known locations of reported lost fishing gear. • Use of SSS is recommended for local-scale surveys (e.g., ∼100 km2) and can be used to identify ALDFG. • Advanced oceanographic modelling at local scales is required to improve detection. • Fishers' knowledge contributed to high success rates of ALDFG retrieval in areas with no SSS data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]