Exposure to Coastal Hazards in a Rapidly Expanding Northern Urban Centre, Iqaluit, Nunavut

 The City of Iqaluit, Nunavut, is an expanding urban centre with important infrastructure located in the coastal zone. This study investigates the exposure of this infrastructure to coastal hazards (rising mean sea level, extreme water levels, wave run-up, and sea ice). Using a coastal digital elevation model, we evaluate the inundation and flooding that may result from projected sea level rise. Some public and private infrastructure is already subject to flooding during extreme high water events. Using a near upper-limit scenario of 0.7 m for relative sea level rise from 2010 to 2100, we estimate that critical infrastructure will have a remaining freeboard of 0.3–0.8 m above high spring tide, and some subsistence infrastructure will be inundated. The large tidal range, limited over-water fetch, and wide intertidal flats reduce the risk of wave impacts. When present, the shorefast ice foot provides protection for coastal infrastructure. The ice-free season has expanded by 1.0–1.5 days per year since 1979, increasing the opportunity for storm-wave generation and thus exposure to wave run-up. Overtopping of critical infrastructure and displacement by flooding of subsistence infrastructure are potential issues requiring better projections of relative sea level change and extreme high water levels. These results can inform decisions on adaptation, providing measurable limits for safe development. La ville d’Iqaluit, au Nunavut, est un centre urbain en plein essor doté d’infrastructures importantes sur la zone côtière. Cette étude se penche sur l’exposition de cette infrastructure aux risques côtiers (niveau de la mer montant, niveaux d’eau extrêmes, vagues et glace de mer). À l’aide d’un modèle numérique de l’élévation côtière, nous évaluons les inondations et les submersions susceptibles de découler de la montée projetée du niveau de la mer. Certaines infrastructures publiques et privées sont déjà la cible d’inondations en présence de très hautes eaux. En nous appuyant sur un scénario dont la limite supérieure est de près de 0,7 m pour la hausse relative du niveau de la mer de 2010 à 2100, nous estimons que les infrastructures critiques auront un franc bord de 0,3 à 0,8 m au-dessus de la marée haute de vives-eaux, et une partie des infrastructures de subsistance sera inondée. La grande amplitude de la marée, le fetch limité sur l’eau et les larges battures intertidales réduisent le risque de l’impact des vagues. Lorsqu’elle est présente, la glace de rive offre une protection aux infrastructures côtières. Depuis 1979, la saison sans glace s’est prolongée de 1,0 à 1,5 jour par année, ce qui augmente la possibilité de la formation de vagues de tempête et, par conséquent, l’exposition aux jets de rive. La submersion des infrastructures critiques et le déplacement des infrastructures de subsistance par les inondations constituent des enjeux potentiels qui doivent faire l’objet de meilleures projections du changement relatif du niveau de la mer et des niveaux d’eau extrêmes. Ces résultats pourront éclairer les décisions en matière d’adaptation, ce qui permettra d’obtenir des limites mesurables en vue d’aménagements sécuritaires

Impact of the Holocene Transgression on the Atlantic Coastline of Nova Scotia

As analogs for impact of a future sea-level rise on the coast of Nova Scotia (eastern Canada), geological data and information on relative sea-level changes are examined at three different time scales. Relative sea level rose swiftly during the early Holocene, at a maximum rate of 11 m/ka at 7500 radiocarbon years BP. Freshwater, salt-marsh, and estuarine sediments that formed during this period have been located on the inner shelf. After 5000 BP the rate slackened to about 2 m/ka. Despite overall submergence and coastal retreat since that time, gravel barriers have persisted where large amounts of sediment have been added to the littoral system by erosion of glacial deposits. The barriers often display evidence of early progradational phases in the form of gravel beach ridges, partly or wholly submerged in lagoons behind contemporary storm beaches. Tide-gauge data from the past century show submergence rates averaging 3.5 mm/a, well in excess of the longterm trend. The response of the coastline to this rapid rise is complex. Unconsolidated cliffs (bluffs) retreat at up to 5 m/a during initial exposure to wave attack and during extreme storm events, but at lesser rates (8 m/a) in some locations, but low elsewhere, in some cases showing almost no movement over the past 10 years, and neighbouring beaches are sometimes observed to behave in completely different ways. Sediment released by coastal erosion finds its way into nearby estuaries, causing growth of flood-tidal deltas and marsh aggradation. If a global rise in sea level occurs, the processes of erosion and sedimentation operating along the coast of Nova Scotia during the Holocene are expected to continue in a similar fashion, but rates of change will increase at many locations.Les données géologiques et les connaissances sur les changements du niveau marin relatif sont étudiées à trois échelles temporelles en tant qu'analogues des conséquences d'une future hausse du niveau marin sur la côte de la Nouvelle-Écosse. Le niveau marin relatif s'est rapidement élevé au cours de l'Holocène inférieur, jusqu'au taux maximal de 11 m/ka à 7500 BP. Des sédiments estuariens ou issus de marais salants et d'eau douce datant de cette période ont été localisés sur le plateau continental intérieur. Après 5000 BP le taux a diminué jusqu'à 2 m/ka. En dépit de la submersion de la région côtière et de son dégagement subséquent, les cordons littoraux de gravier ont persisté là où de grandes quantités de sédiments ont été mis en place sur le littoral par érosion des dépôts glaciaires. Les cordons montrent souvent des indices de phases de progression sous la forme de crêtes de graviers, partiellement ou entièrement submergés dans les lagunes situées derrière les plages de tempêtes contemporaines. Les données marégraphiques du siècle dernier font ressortir un taux de submersion d'environ 3,5 mm/a, taux nettement plus élevé que celui de la tendance à long terme. La réponse du littoral à cette hausse rapide est complexe. Les falaises non consolidées peuvent reculer jusqu'à 5 m/a au début de leur exposition aux fortes vagues et pendant les plus fortes tempêtes et à un rythme beaucoup plus lent (8 m/a) par endroits, lent ailleurs; certaines plages sont presque immobiles depuis 10 ans, alors que les plages voisines se comportent de façon tout à fait différente. Les sédiments libérés par l'érosion littorale se retrouvent dans les estuaires les plus proches, provoquant l'expansion des deltas d'inondation et l'extension des marais. Si une hausse globale du niveau marin survenait, les processus d'érosion et de sédimentation qui se sont manifestés le long de la côte de la Nouvelle-Écosse pendant l'Holocène agiront de façon semblable, mais le rythme des changements augmentera dans plusieurs sites

State of the Arctic Coast 2010 - Scientific Review and Outlook

The Land-Ocean Interactions in the Coastal Zone Project, LOICZ, is a Core Project of the “International Geosphere-Biosphere Programme” (IGBP) and the “International Human Dimensions Programme on Global Environmental Change” (IHDP) of the International Council for Science and the International Social Science Council. The LOICZ IPO is hosted and financially supported by the Institute of Coastal Research, at the Helmholtz-Zentrum Geesthacht, Germany, a member of the Helmholtz Association of National Research Centres. Reproduction of this publication for educational or other, non-commercial purposes is authorized without prior permission from the copyright holders. Reproduction for resale or other purposes is prohibited without the prior, written permission of the copyright holders

Specificity of the Minimal Clinically Important Difference of the Quick Disabilities of the Arm Shoulder and Hand (QDASH) for Distal Upper Extremity Conditions

Retrospective cohort design. The minimal clinically important difference (MCID) for the quick Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder and Hand (QDASH) has been established using a pool of multiple conditions, and only exclusively for the shoulder. Understanding diagnoses-specific threshold change values can enhance the clinical decision-making process. Before and after QDASH scores for 406 participants with conditions of surgical distal radius fracture, non-surgical lateral epicondylitis, and surgical carpal tunnel release were obtained. The external anchor administered at each fourth visit was a 15-point global rating of change scale. The test-retest reliability of the QDASH was moderate for all diagnoses: intraclass correlation coefficient model 2, 1, for surgical distal radius = 0.71; non-surgical lateral epicondylitis = 0.69; and surgical carpal tunnel = 0.69. The minimum detectable change at the 90% confidence level was 25.28; 22.49; and 27.63 points respectively; and the MCID values were 25.8; 15.8 and 18.7, respectively. For these three distal upper extremity conditions, a QDASH MCID of 16-26 points could represent the estimate of change in score that is important to the patient and guide clinicians through the decision-making process

A Retrospective Cohort Study of QuickDASH Scores for Three Hand Therapy Acute Upper Limb Conditions

Introduction: The QuickDASH is a valid and reliable outcome measure widely used to assess the function and pain in arm, shoulder, and hand disabilities. A recent study introduced a QuickDASH 80% cut point test to gauge patients at risk of poor outcomes. However, the utility of this test has not been validated. Purpose: To determine typical QuickDASH scores for three upper limb conditions and to test the sensitivity and specificity of the QuickDASH 80% cut point test in predicting patients at risk of poor outcomes. Methods: This is a retrospective study with a total of 406 patient records for whom QuickDASH scores were examined. The sensitivity and specificity of the QuickDASH 80% cut point test was investigated for three acute upper limb conditions seen in hand therapy: surgical distal radius fracture, nonsurgical lateral epicondylitis, and carpal tunnel release. Results: Typical scores were determined for three upper limb conditions. The QuickDASH 80% cut point test per upper limb condition returned poor sensitivity between 28.57% and 41.67%. Conclusion: The results did not support the QuickDASH 80% cut point test as a predictor of final outcome in these three patient populations. Patients with the worse initial 20% scores were not correctly classified as worse 20% final scores. This study provides summary data from three upper limb conditions to provide clinicians with comparison data to establish goals and educate patients

Adherence of Individuals in Upper Extremity Rehabilitation: A Qualitative Study

OBJECTIVE: To describe the rehabilitation experiences, expectations, and treatment adherence of patients receiving upper extremity (UE) rehabilitation who demonstrated discrepancy between functional gains and overall improvement. DESIGN: Qualitative (phenomenologic) interviews and analysis. SETTING: Outpatient UE rehabilitation. PARTICIPANTS: Patients with acute UE injuries (N=10). INTERVENTIONS: Not applicable. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: Concerns related to UE rehabilitation patients demonstrating discrepancy between outcome measures. RESULTS: Five key themes emerged from the interviews of patients demonstrating discrepancy in their self-reported patient outcomes: (1) desire to return to normal, (2) initial anticipation of brief recovery, (3) trust of therapist, (4) cannot stop living, and (5) feelings of ambivalence. Challenges included living with the desire to move back into life. Multiple factors affected patient adherence: cost of treatment, patient-provider relation (difference between therapist and patient understanding on what is important for treatment), and patients expecting the treating therapists to be an expert and fix their problem. CONCLUSIONS: Patient adherence to UE rehabilitation presents many challenges. Patients view themselves as laypersons and seek the knowledge of a dedicated therapist who they trust to spend time with them to understand what they value as important and clarify their injury, collaboratively make goals, and explain the intervention to get them in essence, back into life, in the minimal required time. When categorized according to the World Health Organization\u27s multidimensional adherence model, domains identified in this model include social and economic, health care team and system, condition-related, therapy-related, and patient-related dimensions. Assessing factors identified to improve efficiency and effectiveness of clinical management can enhance patient adherence

Photochemical production and loss rates of ozone at Sable Island, Nova Scotia during the North Atlantic Regional Experiment (NARE) 1993 summer intensive

Three weeks of summertime surface‐based chemical and meteorological observations at Sable Island, Nova Scotia during the North Atlantic Regional Experiment (NARE) 1993 summer intensive are used to study instantaneous photochemical production and loss rates of ozone by means of a numerical photochemical model. Results are most sensitive to the averaging scheme of data used to constrain the model and the ambient variability of the measurements. Model simulations driven by a time series of 5 min averaged data, most representative of the chemistry at the site, yield an average net photochemical ozone production of 3.6 ppbv/d. Estimates of net ozone production designed to filter out local sources, by using 1000–1400 LT median values of observations to drive the model and by excluding short‐lived hydrocarbons, give values ranging from 1 to 4 ppbv/d. These positive values of net ozone production within the marine boundary layer over Sable Island demonstrate the impact of polluted continental plumes on the background photochemistry of the region during the intensive. The dominant ambient variables controlling photochemical production and loss rates of ozone at the site during the measurement campaign appear to be levels of nitrogen oxides, ozone, nonmethane hydrocarbons, and solar intensity determined by cloud cover. The model partitioning of nitrogen oxides agrees for the most part with measurements, lending credence to calculated photochemical production and loss rates of ozone as well as inferred levels of peroxy radicals not measured at the site. Discrepancies, however, often occur during episodes of intermittent cloud cover, fog, and rain, suggesting the influence of cloud processes on air masses reaching the site

Anthropogenic, direct pressures on coastal wetlands

Coastal wetlands, such as saltmarshes and mangroves that fringe transitional waters, deliver important ecosystem services that support human development. Coastal wetlands are complex social-ecological systems that occur at all latitudes, from polar regions to the tropics. This overview covers wetlands in five continents. The wetlands are of varying size, catchment size, human population and stages of economic development. Economic sectors and activities in and around the coastal wetlands and their catchments exert multiple, direct pressures.Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS-YIC) scholarship and SKLECECNU project 111 scholarship<, Natural Resources Canada contribution no. 20200070; Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT) Scientific Employment Stimulus Programme (CEECIND/01635/2017). and (CEECIND/00095/2017), (UID/MAR/00350/2019CIMA) and (UID/MAR/04292/2019)info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Diagnostic accuracy of somatosensory evoked potential monitoring during scoliosis fusion

The goal of this review was to ascertain the diagnostic accuracy of intraoperative somatosensory evoked potential (SSEP) changes to predict perioperative neurological outcome in patients undergoing spinal deformity surgery to correct adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS). The authors searched PubMed/MEDLINE and World Science databases to retrieve reports and/or experiments from January 1950 through January 2014 for studies on SSEP use during AIS surgery. All motor and sensory deficits were noted in the neurological examination administered after the procedure which was used to determine the effectiveness of SSEP as an intraoperative monitoring technique. Fifteen studies identified a total of 4763 procedures on idiopathic patients. The observed incidence of neurological deficits was 1.11% (53/4763) of the sample population. Of the patients with new postoperative neurological deficits 75.5% (40/53) showed significant SSEP changes, and 24.5% (13/53) did not show significant change. Pooled analysis using the bivariate model showed SSEP change with pooled sensitivity (average 84%, 95% confidence interval 59-95%) and specificity (average 98%, 95% confidence interval 97-99%). The diagnostic odds ratio of a patient who had a new neurological deficit with SSEP changes was a diagnostic odds ratio of 340 (95% confidence interval 125-926). Overall, detection of SSEP changes had excellent discriminant ability with an area under the curve of 0.99. Our meta-analysis covering 4763 operations on idiopathic patients showed that it is a highly sensitive and specific test and that iatrogenic spinal cord injury resulting in new neurological deficits was 340 times more likely to have changes in SSEP compared to those without any new deficits