For decades Canadian dads have made backyard skating rinks for the kids every winter. They would usually last throughout the season.
In recent years as global warming has changed the climate, making a rink became more difficult and the season shorter.
Two professors in Ontario thought that monitoring these citizen rinks would give a human touch to the effects of climate change.
Robert McLeman (PhD), is professor of geography and Environmental Studies at Wilfred Laurier University in Waterloo, Ontario.
McLeman and fellow professor Colin Robertson started a website in 2013 called Rinkwatch.
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Professor Rob McLeman (PhD) Wilfrid Laurier University PHOTO-supplied
It’s a site to gather data on ice conditions and duration in connection with the climate and they do this by asking Canadians from coast to coast to coast to submit information about the start and end and ongoing condition of their home rinks.
Typical example of a backyard ice rink. With climate change, rinks are not lasting nearly as long. PHOTO- via CBC
By following the data they are establishing country-wide trends as to how the climate is changing.
This effort follows on an earlier scientific study by professors in Montreal called Observed decreases in the Canadian outdoor skating season due to recent winter warming (HERE)
To help celebrate Canada’s 150th birthday the government built a refridgerated rink on the Parliament lawn, even though the Rideau Canal-billed as the longest rink in the world, is just a block away. However, with a warm spell and rain, the canal has already been closed for the season PHOTO:Mathieu Theriault/CBC
This study also showed that the length of the cold season to maintain an outdoor rink is getting shorter.
While the length of cold winters is getting slightly shorter, another effect is the wild swings in weather which can see surprising warm snaps arrive in the middle of winter. Arriving towards the end of winter it usually means the end of the outdoor season as there may not be enough consecutive cold days to re-establish or maintain the rinks
A Montreal public outdoor rink on Feb 24 last year, already the end of the season, even in “mid-winter”. The same thing has happened this year. PHOTO: Myriam Tremblay-Sher/CBC
McLeman says his own personal experience supports the overall trend in that as a child he remembers skating on a backyard rink and frozen stream for the whole winter season, something which can’t happen now.
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