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Sea ice travel health and safety in Nain, Nunatsiavut, Labrador
Trent University
— 2012-01-31 This mixed methods project used a case study approach. We conducted two focus groups with male and female expert sea ice users in July 2010; twenty-two semi-directed interviews with community members in November 2010, selected to represent diversity in gender, level of travel experience and whether or not they had been assisted by search and rescue; document analysis of local RCMP and Nain Ground Search and Rescue records and federal DFO search and rescue records from 1995-2010; three key participant interviews and several meetings with Nain Ground Search and Rescue and local police representatives between July 2010 and May 2011; and participant observation during multiple sea ice trips in March and May 2011.
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Wooden Artifacts from the Kwädāy Dän Ts'ínchį Site and Surrounding Area: An Analytical Catalogue, 1999-2005
University of Alberta Libraries
— 2012-10-11 This dataset, text to be published as a chapter in a book, presents an analytical catalogue of the wooden artifacts collected from the Kwädāy Dän Ts'ínchį site that are presently being curated in Whitehorse. The wood artifacts were recovered within an area of approximately one square kilometre around the Kwädāy Dän Ts'ínchį discovery site, and were found during the initial discovery and recovery efforts that took place in 1999, or during subsequent annual monitoring visits to the site. Except for two pieces dug out of the snow/ice, all artifacts were surface finds, picked up from either the snow or ground. In an attempt to learn more about these unique pieces, including what they may have been used for, the wood artifacts are also compared to objects known from relevant archaeological and ethnographical contexts. The total count of wooden artifacts recovered numbers 23 (Table 1). This count is based on 33 recovered fragments, some of which have been refitted together, and while others although not refitted, are assumed to be part of the same artifact since they are of similar morphology and were found in very close proximity.
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INterContinental Atmospheric Transport of anthropogenic Pollutants to the Arctic (INCATPA)
IPY Data Assembly Centre Network
— 2015-03-16 Air monitoring of POPs and Hg has taken place at Alert, Nunavut, Canada and Ny Ålesund, Norway since the 1990s under the Northern Contaminants Program (NCP) of Canada and the Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Programme (AMAP), respectively. Through the International Polar Year (IPY) INCATPA project, stations on both sides of the Pacific Ocean have been initiated for air sampling of POPs and mercury (Hg). These include Little Fox Lakes, Yukon (POPs and Hg); Valkarkai, Russia (POPs); Dillingham and Fairbanks, Alaska (POPs); Barrow, Alaska (Hg); Waliguan, Wudalianchi and Xuancheng, China (POPs); Mt. Changbai, China (Hg); Hedo, Japan (POPs); and Ba Vi, Vietnam (POPs). All IPY sampling activities were completed in spring 2010. A few stations continue to operate, supported by other programs, as a legacy of IPY. We continue Hg measurements in air at Whistler, B.C.; Barrow, Alaska; Amderma, Russia; and Mt. Changbai, China. At Little Fox Lakes, Yukon, Hg measurements continue under NCP. Pumped air measurements of POPs at this site completed in October 2009 and a new flowthrough-type air sampler, which can operate without electricity, was installed in an attempt to catch trans-Pacific transport in spring 2010.
 
 Mercury modelling transport studies have shown that Asia is the single greatest source of atmospheric mercury in the Arctic, contributing ~30% of the mercury input. This information is useful to policy makers at the international negotiating table striving to achieve the appropriate restrictions on release of pollutants of concern for the Arctic environment. Measurement results show that a group of toxic combustion by-product, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), detected in Yukon air was related to sources in North America, Asia and northern Europe, e.g. from wildfires in California and Asia, and oil and gas production platforms throughout the Arctic. Mercury deposition from air at Alert has changed between 1995 and 2007. This change shows a complex relationship with local temperature and wind direction. A warming Arctic may also release POPs previously deposited in ice/snow and oceans back into the air, making them once again available for circulation around the globe, altering human and wildlife exposures. The influence of climate change must be considered to reduce the exposure to toxic chemicals in the Arctic.
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The impacts of oil and gas activity on peoples in the Arctic using a multiple securities perspective (GAPS)
IPY Data Assembly Centre Network
— 2012-03-12 Background: Since the early 1970s oil and gas development has come to dominate the industrial sector in the Arctic. At the same time, the region is experiencing climate change with increasing intensity. The pace of resource development has accelerated significantly in recent years as the price of oil and gas has risen, motivating industry to travel further north to extract fossil fuels for global
 consumption. Increasing pressure from various governments¿Russian, Norwegian, Canadian and American¿requires the Arctic to be open for business. Arctic communities are being tied into the global market for oil and gas, putting more pressure on their already-strained individual and societal capacities to cope with change, participate in resource management decisionmaking,
 and secure any possible economic and social benefits. Occurring amidst a changing climate, oil and gas activity poses critical challenges to the human
 security of communities, affecting local economies, traditional livelihoods and identities, health, food, and the environment. Furthermore, many of the current drivers of change in the Arctic are only expected to intensify in the future (Chapin et al. 2005). Such large-scale alterations of the environment interfere with local peoples¿ capacity to adapt by putting access to resources¿and the resources themselves¿at risk. While GAPS focuses its analysis on the effects of oil and gas development in the Arctic on local communities, it is impossible to separate such activity from an overall context of change¿particularly, climate change¿as these processes interact and overlap in ways that make potential effects even more acute.
 The traditional language of security has been actively employed in the Arctic region for decades (Huebert, 2001; St. melding 30 (2004); Heininen, 2004). Security in the Arctic has focused on issues of power, resource exploitation and territory. Global climate change is already altering the Arctic landscape, and allowing for increased transport and greater access to untapped resources,
 particularly fossil fuels. Moreover, the burning of this fuel to satisfy global energy demands will further accelerate climate change. Consequently, oil and gas plays an increasing role in security debates by both increasing sought-after revenues for Arctic states, and also providing for a reduced dependency upon Middle Eastern sources (Barlindhaug, 2005).
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Understanding the Impacts of Environmental Change on Arctic Char in the Inuvialuit Settlement Region
Trent University
— 2014-06-17 This research uses an Interdisciplinary Mixed Methods Approach: This approach uses separate qualitative and quantitative methods and concurrent triangulation as a means to build on the strengths of both knowledge bases. 
 Methodologies and Data Types Include: Grounded theory approach; Local expert Inuvialuit/Traditional Ecological Knowledge interviews on Arctic Char, fish habitat, local environmental and climate conditions and recent changes; Local resident input into project design and parameters studied; Local resident training and knowledge transfer; Traditional Knowledge Interview Participant Maps; Social science methods analyses; Contemporary biology and ecology methods analyses; Measuring Arctic Char growth and condition field data (length, weight, sex, maturity, stomach contents, parasites, gonad weight, otoliths, tissue samples); Freshwater and lake habitat field data (water quality, erosion levels, zooplankton, bathymetry); Local environmental and climate data (from existing databases); Analysis of best practices for Arctic Char community-based monitoring.
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Paleo-perspectives on environmental change in the high Arctic: the Canadian Contribution
IPY Data Assembly Centre Network
— 2014-06-27 Background: The snow and ice of the polar regions contain a wealth of information on the variability of the Earth¿s climate, past and present, and atmospheric composition. Many of the chemical compounds and aerosols found in the atmosphere find their way to the Arctic and are retained by the snow. Within large ice caps and ice sheets, annual snow layers accumulate. At depth, these layers are transformed into ice; preserving in the process much of their environmental signature. Thus, through ice core analysis, a glimpse of the pre-industrial atmosphere is offered, allowing us to place recent changes into perspective. 
 
 Objectives: This project consists of three sub-projects which are closely linked in theme and method. Collectively, their aim is to document and reconstruct short and long term changes in climate and atmospheric contaminant deposition in the Canadian Arctic and neighbouring regions by analysing snow and ice cores. 
 1. Trends in the distribution of anthropogenic contaminants in the circumpolar region, is to conduct a pan Arctic survey of Arctic snow in order to quantify present levels and rates of accumulation of airborne contaminants. This activity is associated with the internationally approved COPOL program (IPY # 175) and with two Environment Canada-led IPY programs: (1) OASIS-CANADA: Understanding Ozone and Mercury in the Air Over the Arctic Ocean and (2) Pollutants Travelling in the Air to the Arctic.
 2. Paleo-perspectives on environmental change in the High Arctic is closely associated to the study described above. The aim is to extend the record of atmospheric mercury and trace metals by sampling snow from a deep pit and from firn cores. Also included in this study the measurement of melt features observed in the snow.
 3. Greenland Ice Sheet reactions to past and present climate change is to further explore the links between trace elements, pollen assemblages, and climate - particularly during glacial, interglacial, and transitional periods. To that end, we have joined the large-scale, multi-national, ice coring program: North Greenland Eemian Ice Drilling (NEEM).
 
 Rationale: The results of the project are important to the study of long-range / transboundary dispersion of airborne contaminants in the Arctic, thus, to the health of Northerners. Also to improve our understanding of the physical processes that control the transfer of Hg and methyl mercury (MeHg) from snow to aquatic ecosystems in glacierized basins.
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Community Adaptation and Vulnerability In Arctic Regions (CAVIAR) [Canada]
IPY Data Assembly Centre Network
— 2012-12-11 This project represents the Canadian component of the international IPY CAVIAR consortium. The research is designed to systematically assess the vulnerability of communities across the circumpolar north to changing environmental conditions, including climate change, and to identify opportunities to enhance the adaptive capacities of communities to sustain their natural resources, livelihoods and well-being. The project involves case studies, using a common methodology, to document exposures and adaptive strategies to deal with changing conditions. Exposures are identified by the local communities themselves, contributing to the development of community involvement in research. The research integrates natural science, social science and traditional knowledge, and is undertaken in collaboration with northern community members (through consultations and employing community members, often youth, as research assistants). Ethnographic fieldwork includes community-based research via interviews, focus groups, and participatory observation, as well as feedback visits for confirmation of findings and local dissemination. CAVIAR primarily collects qualitative data sets (interview and focus group recordings, which are subsequently transcribed). Research participants are northerners speaking to exposure-sensitivities and adaptive strategies in northern communities, and range from youth to elders. Quantitative data include detailed weekly hunting land use data in GPS format for hunters in Iqaluit (on-going) and georeferenced surficial geology polygons, sediment samples, landscape hazard examples, infrastructure foundation types and photographs of surficial sediment classes and landscape hazards in Clyde River.
 
 Within Canada, CAVIAR is connected to three ArcticNet NCE projects: "Adaptation in a Changing Arctic: Ecosystem Services, Communities and Policy", "Instability of Coastal Landscapes in Arctic Communities and Regions" and "Understanding and Responding to the Effects of Climate Change and Modernization in Nunatsiavut". CAVIAR Canada is also linked with a SSHRC Northern Communities Grant ("Feeding the family during times of change"), Health Canada's Climate Change and Health Adaptation Program, the Northern Climate ExChange's Yukon Community Adaptation project, and a SSHRC Northern Communities Grant (C-TAC, "Climate Change and Tourism Change in Northern Communities: A Vulnerability and Resilience Assessment").
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Nutrient data for the Northwest Passage in 2011 (ArcticNet 2011-leg1)
Université Laval
— 2012-01-24 The concentrations of nitrate, nitrite, orthophosphate and orthosilicic acid were determined on fresh water samples using an Autoanalyzer 3 (Bran+Luebbe) with colorimetric methods adapted from Grasshof (1999). Ammonium concentrations were determined manually with the sensitive fluorometric method of Holmes et al. (1999).
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Nutrient data for the Beaufort Sea in 2011 (ArcticNet 2011-legs 2 & 3)
Université Laval
— 2012-01-24 The concentrations of nitrate, nitrite, orthophosphate and orthosilicic acid were determined on fresh or frozen water samples using an Autoanalyzer 3 (Bran+Luebbe) with colorimetric methods adapted from Grasshof (1999). Ammonium concentrations were determined manually with the sensitive fluorometric method of Holmes et al. (1999).
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Nutrient data for the Northwest Passage in 2011 (ArcticNet 2011-leg 3)
Université Laval
— 2012-01-24 The concentrations of nitrate, nitrite, orthophosphate and orthosilicic acid were determined on fresh water samples using an Autoanalyzer 3 (Bran+Luebbe) with colorimetric methods adapted from Grasshof (1999). Ammonium concentrations were determined manually with the sensitive fluorometric method of Holmes et al. (1999).
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Nutrient data for Baffin Bay in 2011 (ArcticNet 2011-leg 3)
Université Laval
— 2012-01-24 The concentrations of nitrate, nitrite, orthophosphate and orthosilicic acid were determined on fresh water samples using an Autoanalyzer 3 (Bran+Luebbe) with colorimetric methods adapted from Grasshof (1999). Ammonium concentrations were determined manually with the sensitive fluorometric method of Holmes et al. (1999).
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Marine temperature use and growth of Arctic charr
University of Waterloo
— 2014-01-07 Investigations of individually tagged Arctic charr from two adjacent regions, the Ungava region of northern Quebec and north Labrador, offered perspectives on growth-temperature relationships for the species. Individual measurements of annual, or within-season growth were determined from tag-recaptured Arctic charr and examined in relation to summer sea surface temperatures and within-season capture timing. Growth of Labrador Arctic charr did not vary significantly among years, however, regional comparisons demonstrated that Ungava charr had significantly higher annual growth rates. Within-season growth rates of Labrador charr did not demonstrate a significant positive association with temperature. However, when individuals were partitioned into experienced temperature intervals, those in the highest temperature grouping (3.5-4°C) had significantly lower growth rates than those experiencing a lower temperature range (1-2.5°C). Growth rates also differed throughout the season, with individuals caught in late June displaying significantly higher growth rates than individuals captured in August. The higher annual growth of Ungava Bay Arctic charr was attributed to the abnormally high temperatures experienced in 2010-11 and the likely associated increase in local nearshore productivity. Results suggest that increases in water temperature may have profound consequences for Arctic charr growth in the Canadian sub-Arctic depending on the responses of local marine productivity to those same temperature increases.
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Oceanographic Properties of Newfoundland Labrador Shelf 2007
Integrated Science Data Management - DFO Canada
— 2014-07-02 During 2007, a Sea-Bird SBE was deployed and CTD casts were obtained from 25 July to 2 August aboard the longliner, Lady Easton II along stations on the Newfoundland shelf coast, between the Wadham and the Funk Islands . Thirteen CTD casts were deployed over 19 stations during which the following parameters were measured: temperature, conductivity, pressure, oxygen, pH, fluorescence, transmittance, PAR/Irradiance and SPAR/Irradiance. Those features were measured at demersal spawing sites of capelin (mallotus villosus), that attract high concentrations of foraging seabirds and mammals. A file containing processed data will be sent to the NIs and the original data will be sent to the Integrated Science Data Management (ISDM) of Fisheries and Oceans Canada for archival.
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Inuit Sea Ice Use and Occupancy Project (ISIUOP)
IPY Data Assembly Centre Network
— 2012-07-09 ISIUOP undertook extensive field research corresponding to the gathering of Inuit sea ice use and knowledge data. The numerous community visits were also used for verification of data previously mapped and documented. The data we collected include: (a) a characterization of seasonal sea ice conditions; (b) the extent and areas of sea ice use; (c) the nature and location of notable sea ice hazards; (d) key harvesting areas; (e) traditional and current ice (and land) routes; (f) Inuktitut toponyms (placenames) or terminology associated with ice features, conditions, or dynamics; and (g) shifts in patterns of sea ice use due to social and/or climatic change.
 
 The data permitted us to establish that (a) Inuit in all communities involved have developed a sophisticated body of knowledge, including an understanding of the dynamics and changes of this environment; (b) the importance of sea ice in Inuit culture and survival is still maintained, regardless of the changes experienced across the Inuit Arctic; (c) Inuit traditional trails are important human elements of the sea ice environment, and they link both sea ice and land environments; and (d) environmental changes have been observed in all communities. The observations reveal similar types and trends of changes (e.g. sea ice freezing later, breaking up earlier, and being generally less reliable and predictable). However, the degree to which the changes are affecting activities on the sea ice vary from community to community, and in some instances from hunter to hunter. Significant changes in the layout of sea ice trails and harvesting areas have been also observed (particularly seasonal changes). In addition, Inuit communities are open to new technologies and monitoring techniques that have the potential to reduce risk and facilitate use of the sea ice.
 
 Outcomes of the project were development of Igliniit technology and development and release of the Inuit siku (sea ice) Atlas (http://sikuatlas.ca), which offers some of the results in a multimedia format for educational purposes. The Igliniit subproject offers a new software interface for PDA/GPS systems, available in Inuktitut and English, that allows hunters to log their observations of the environment as they travel. This system was tested for two years, and the team is seeking new opportunities in Nunavut for applying it to efforts such as wildlife monitoring, resource/land use mapping, cultural inventories, and search and rescue.
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Oceanographic Properties of Newfoundland Labrador Shelf 2008
Integrated Science Data Management - DFO Canada
— 2014-07-02 During 2008, a Sea-Bird SBE-19 was deployed and CTD data were obtained on 28 July aboard the longliner Lady Easton II along the Newfoundland shelf coast, offshore from Cape Freel to a distance of approximately 25 km. Five CTD casts were deployed over 8 stations during which the following parameters were measured: temperature, conductivity, pressure, oxygen, pH, fluorescence, transmittance, PAR/Irradiance and SPAR/Irradiance. Those features were measured at demersal spawning sites of capelin (mallotus villosus), that attract high concentrations of foraging seabirds and mammals. A file containing processed data will be sent to the NIs and the original data will be sent to the Integrated Science Data Management (ISDM) of Fisheries and Oceans Canada for archival.
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Oceanographic Properties of Newfoundland Labrador Shelf 2009
Integrated Science Data Management - DFO Canada
— 2014-07-02 During 2009, a Sea-Bird SBE-19 was deployed and CTD data were obtained from 2 July to 14 August aboard the longliner Lady Easton II along the Newfoundland shelf coast, between the Wadham and the Funk Islands. Sixty-two CTD casts were deployed over 97 stations during which the following parameters were measured: temperature, conductivity, pressure, oxygen, pH, fluorescence, transmittance, PAR/Irradiance and SPAR/Irradiance. Those features were measured at demersal spawning sites of capelin (mallotus villosus), that attract high concentrations of foraging seabirds and mammals. A file containing processed data will be sent to the NIs and the original data will be sent to the Integrated Science Data Management (ISDM) of Fisheries and Oceans Canada for archival.
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Land Cover Data from the North American Land Change Monitoring System (spatial resolution 30m)
Global Water Futures, University of Waterloo
— 2019-11-21 This 30-meter spatial resolution dataset from the North American Land Change Monitoring System reflects land cover information for 2010 from Mexico and Canada and 2011 for the United States. The North American Land Cover information was downloaded from http://www.cec.org/tools-and-resources/map-files/land-cover-2010-landsat-30m. The region of interest (Great Lakes) was cropped and data converted into formats ASCII and NetCDF. Data are then made available to the project collaborators on a private GitHub. Researchers interested in data can email Juliane Mai (University of Waterloo; juliane.mai@uwaterloo.ca)
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Regional Deterministic Reforecast System (RDRS) from 2010-2015
Global Water Futures, University of Waterloo
— 2019-11-21 The Regional Deterministic Reforecast System (RDRS) data was provided by Environment and Climate Change Canada Canadian Meteorological Center. Five years of data have been provided at an hourly timestep covering North America and parts of Central America Variables include: precipitation rate, air temperature, incoming shortwave radiation, incoming long wave radiation, longwave radiation, atmospheric pressure, specific humidity, wind components (along grid X/Y), corrected wind component (along W-E/S-N direct.), wind speed, and wind direction. More details about this dataset can be found at https://www2.meteo.uni-bonn.de/isrr/slides/ISRR2018_Slides06_Gasset.pdf. The data is limited to a rotated latitude-longitude uniform grid with about 15 km horizontal resolution that covers whole North America and the Arctic Ocean. The region of interest (Great Lakes) was cropped. All files of the RDRS dataset were merged to one single file which contains the study domain and all hourly timesteps of the 5 years, i.e. 2010-01-01 12:00 to 2015-01-01 12:00 NetCDF. Researchers interested in this data can email Juliane Mai (University of Waterloo; juliane.mai@uwaterloo.ca)
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St. Clair - Detroit River System: Total Phosphorus Mass B alance
Global Water Futures, University of Waterloo
— 2019-11-21 This study integrated United States and Canadian data to update and extend total phosphorus (TP) loads into and out of the St. Clair-Detroit River System for 1998-2016. The nutrient budgets for Lake St. Clair were calculated for each water year (October 1 to September 30) from 1998 to 2016. Daily flow into and out of the St. Clair River, Lake St. Clair, and the Detroit River were obtained from the US and Canadian river flow gauged stations. The annual TP loads into and out of the river-lake system were estimated from daily flow values and observations of TP concentration using a weighted regressions of time, discharge and season method. The Lake St. Clair annual TP mass balance was used to estimate annual TP retention as the difference between the amount of nutrients entering and leaving the lake.
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ArcticNet 0603a - Beaufort Sea CTD data
ArcticNet
— 2014-05-12 The CTD data was obtained during leg #0603 of the 2006 ArcticNet scientific cruise. The data were collected from September 30 to October 19, 2006, aboard the CCGS Amundsen. There were 70 CTD casts, associated to 33 oceanographic stations, in the Beaufort Sea area. The following parameters were measured: temperature, conductivity and pressure (with a Sea-Bird SBE-9plus), dissolved oxygen (Sea-Bird SBE-43), pH (Sea-Bird SBE-18-I), fluorescence (Seapoint chlorophyll fluorometer), nitrate concentration (Satlantic MBARI-ISUS 5T), transmittance (Wetlabs C-Star transmissiometer), light intensity (PAR; Biospherical Instruments QCP2300) and surface light intensity (sPAR; Biospherical Instruments QCP2200). Quality control procedures were applied to the data. Data are available on the Polar Data Catalogue and at the Marine Environmental Data Service (MEDS) of Fisheries and Oceans Canada.

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