Geology Reference
In-Depth Information
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AXEL
HE IBERG
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N ORWEGIA N
BAY
Resolute
AS
SOMERSET
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GULF
OF
BOOT HIA
Figure 1.3 Map of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago showing locations of major measurement areas and the
weather stations (operational and decommissioned) operated by Environment Canada.
of Resolute (74.72°N, 94.97°W) and Grise Fiord
(76.42°N, 82.90°W), shown in Figure 1.3 (and as will be
seen below), were established by the federal government
of Canada in late 1950s to move Inuit communities to live
in the High Arctic but did not succeed as planned. Even
today, the Inuit communities of the newly formed terri-
tory of Nunavut like to live primarily in the Low Arctic.
Nunavut joined the 10 provinces and 2 other territories
of Canada on 1 April, 1999.
Historically speaking, the islands of the High Arctic
remained isolated from human activities, except for the
explorers and the adventurers, until the unrest in Europe
spilled over to the north Atlantic. World War II changed
the situation significantly. Interest in the Arctic as a stra-
tegic and possible economic region was boosted, but even
then the climatological observations from the Canadian
Arctic were scanty and inadequate for any meaningful
analysis. Some geophysical and meteorological data were
collected by the explorers, and some useful data could be
extracted from records kept by expeditions that attempted
to find the North west Passage. These observations were,
however, inadequate for accurate climatological studies
because information was collected on an opportunity
basis over short periods. The records rarely extended over
a period longer than a year. Moreover, the observations
made at different localities were often made in different
years. The results were not comparable because of the
absence of continuity in the mode of data collection.
The advent of the Cold War shortly after the end of
World War II, led to the creation of strong interests in
Canada and particularly in the United States for the
establishment of a network of Arctic stations. There was
a general recognition that the weather in both Canada
and the United States is dominated to a large extent by
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