Grant: Collaborative Research and Development Grants

Precipitation information is a critical input to hydrologic models and various water management models. In many areas of Canada, precipitation stations are located far apart and it may be difficult to obtain accurate information about precipitation. To compensate for the lack of weather station data, Environment Canada has in recent years developed a precipitation analysis system called CaPA (Canadian Precipitation Analysis) that combines the output from a numerical weather prediction model with observations from the synoptic network of weather stations. A series of possible improvements of CaPA have been identified by researchers with Environment Canada. The objective of this project is to investigate some of these improvements and implement them in an experimental version set up for the Canadian Prairie region. Given the very low density of synoptic stations in the Prairie region, an important task will be to integrate more observational information into CaPA from various cooperative networks and from remote sensing platforms. Part of the project will focus on optimizing the geostatistical method that is at the core of CaPA. The project will also explore various applications of CaPA products for hydrologic model calibration, streamflow forecasting, and for climate change downscaling. This research project is sponsored by Manitoba Hydro and conducted under the scientific direction of Drs. P. Rasmussen and T. Stadnyk at the University of Manitoba, as well as Dr. V. Fortin with Environment Canada. The outcome of the project will allow better calibration of hydrologic models and better forecasts of reservoir inflows. The improved CaPA product will also provide useful information for predicting spring floods in the Prairie region.