Vertical Allowance Grids for Canadian Coastal Infrastructure

Vertical allowance grids provide recommended height adjustments for infrastructure to mitigate future coastal flooding from sea level rise. The data is based on historical storm surge and tide statistics combined with IPCC sea level rise projections from AR5 (2020-2100) and AR6 (2020-2150). It is published by Fisheries and Oceans Canada and cited as Zhai, L., Greenan, B., Perrie, W. (2024).

Use Cases

• Model infrastructure resilience by analyzing vertical allowance values under different IPCC AR5 and AR6 scenarios.
• Map regional flood risk by correlating vertical allowance recommendations with local storm surge and tide statistics.
• Plan long-term coastal adaptation by projecting required infrastructure height adjustments from 2020 to 2150.
• Assess uncertainty in sea level rise projections by comparing vertical allowances derived from different IPCC assessment reports.

Strengths

• Data is derived from IPCC Fifth and Sixth Assessment Reports (AR5 and AR6), providing authoritative climate projections.
• Covers a long-term future period from 2020 to 2150 for strategic planning.
• Provides scenario-based allowances to account for uncertainty in future sea level rise.

Limitations

• Specific spatial resolution, row/column counts, and file sizes for the gridded data are not provided.
• The underlying model depends on the accuracy of IPCC sea level rise projections and historical storm statistics.
• Data is provided in multiple formats (TIFF, ESRI REST, PDF, HTML) which may require specific GIS tools for full analysis.

Provenance

Source

Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Ocean Ecosystems Science Division.

Collection Method

Calculated from historical storm surge/tide statistics and future sea level rise projections from IPCC AR5 and AR6 reports.

Time Range

Projection periods: 2020-2100 (IPCC AR5) and 2020-2150 (IPCC AR6).

Freshness

Last updated March 2026.

Geography

Canada.