Past Event! Note: this event has already taken place.
Climate in the Age of Empire: Three Centuries of Canadian Weather Observations with Victoria Slonosky
January 9, 2023 at 7:00 PM
| Location: | Carleton Dominion-Chalmers Centre (355 Cooper St., Ottawa) |
| Cost: | Free |
January 9: Climate in the Age of Empire: Three Centuries of Canadian Weather Observations
7 PM Carleton Dominion-Chalmers Centre, 355 Cooper St., Ottawa
Victoria Slonosky, McGill University
Canada has a long scientific heritage in weather and climate observations. Letters, diaries and weather records from the 18th and 19th centuries tell us not only about the weather, but about the people, relationships and networks that existed in North America and Europe. They reveal the history of theories about weather and climate change in Canada as far back as the 1740s.
These records are not only interesting for the history of science: they’re also used in current scientific research. Millions of weather observations have been transcribed thanks to citizen science during the 2010s: analysis of these observations for the St-Lawrence Valley region reveals some surprising results for climatic change and variability, extreme events and hazardous weather.
Biography:
Victoria Slonosky is an historical climatologist. She is currently leading McGill’s Data Rescue: Archives and Weather (DRAW) interdisciplinary citizen science project and is an affiliated member of McGill’s Centre for Interdisciplinary Research on Montreal. Her book, Climate in the Age of Empire: Weather Observers in Colonial Canada, tells the story of Canada’s scientific heritage in the field of climatology.