Geology Reference
In-Depth Information
the Arctic air masses. Accurate forecasting in these two
countries requires the detailed knowledge of the weather
pattern of the polar region. Consequently, it was realized
that observations from the Canadian Arctic would
increase knowledge of the circulation of Earth's atmos-
phere and permit an extension of the period of reliability
of weather forecasts. It was emphasized that year‐round
observation stations have to be established for carrying
out regular observational programs directly linked with
the investigation of Arctic meteorological problems.
On 12 February, 1946, the U.S. Congress approved the
Arctic Project and eventually a suitable basis of coopera-
tion between the governments of Canada and the United
States was developed for the Canadian High Arctic.
These two countries reached a working agreement on 27
February, 1947, for the establishment and operation of
five weather stations in the Canadian High Arctic. This
agreement was originally made for a period of 5 years.
Consequently, five strategically placed permanent
weather stations were built on islands within the
Canadian Archipelago. These stations included Alert
and Eureka on Ellesmere Island, Isachsen on Ellef
Rignes Island, Mould Bay on Prince Patrick Island, and
Resolute on Cornwallis Island (see locations in
Figure 1.3). Following the first 5 year project, subse-
quent agreements affirmed that these five stations should
continue to be operated jointly by Canada and the
United States in accordance with the specifications
agreed to at the Joint Arctic Weather Stations Conference,
which was held annually. According to this agreement
the Atmospheric Environment Services (AES) of
Canada (now Meteorological Service of Canada,
Environment Canada) provided all permanent installa-
tions and approximately half the staff, including an
officer in charge who was responsible for the overall
operation of the station.
The advancements in rocketry led to the dawn of the
space race and made the world smaller and more easily
accessible. A sudden thrust in the space race was imposed
by the successful launching of the Soviet Union's satellite
Sputnik in October, 1957, and directly forced and indi-
rectly enhanced interests in the north polar zone. The
launching of the first man‐made satellite suddenly proved
the world to be small and the polar regions within reach
but, more importantly, levied a need for obtaining in‐
depth knowledge of the terrain in the north beyond the
Arctic Circle—the High Arctic and the Canadian basin.
In 1958, the United States lost the race for launching the
first man‐made satellite but succeeded in completing the
much‐publicized first underwater crossing of the Arctic
Ocean using the submarine
Nautilus
. Although the Soviet
Union (USSR) was prying the oceans with its fleet of
nuclear submarines, no claim was made for any underice
activities around the geographic North Pole by the USSR.
In a very direct manner, the underice activities and the
space race forced Canada to increase the awareness of the
Canadian Arctic Island and implement new measures to
strengthen the Canadian sovereignty in all these islands of
the High Arctic. This led to the establishment of two per-
manent human (Inuit) settlements, as mentioned earlier,
Resolute at 74.72°N and Grise Fiord at 76.42°N. The
United Nations Conference in 1958 on the Law of the Sea,
which extended the resource and exploration rights of
maritime nations on their continental shelves to a depth
of 200 m, acted as the catalyst for Canada to undertake
multidisciplinary scientific exploration of the north.
Consequently, the Canadian government established the
Polar Continental Shelf Project (PCSP) under the ministry
of Energy Mines and Resources, or EMR (recently
renamed as Natural Resources Canada or NRCan), in
1958. The most important aspects were the geophysical
mapping of the High Arctic—areas of the land and the
ocean (Figure 1.3) stretching from Alaska to Greenland
and from the Arctic Circle to the North Pole. The impor-
tant field of investigations included recording the magnetic
and gravitational data required for the space program.
Nonetheless, the Canadian government decided not to
invest heavily in building up its armed forces for the pur-
pose of maintaining Canadian presence all over the
Canadian High Arctic. Instead of sending armed forces
personnel to the High Arctic, Canada always used a pool
of scientists and experienced field workers. Since then the
Canadian sovereignty of the High Arctic is essentially
maintained by the labor of love of Canadian scientists (as
well as their scientific collaborators from other coun-
tries). The birth of the new territory of Nunavut in 1999,
ranging from mountains and fiords on the eastern shores
of Baffin and Ellesmere Islands, through the lakes and
tundra of the Barrens on the mainland, to the plateaus
and cliffs of the Arctic coast, is changing the course of
history of the Canadian Arctic.
Since 1959, the PCSP (Polar Shelf for short) with
permanent base camps (shelters or shacks with rudimen-
tary facilities) at Resolute on Cornwallis Island and
Tuktoyaktuk in the Mackenzie Delta provided logistic
support services to the scientists. This organization pro-
vides room and board (actually excellent nourishing food
for the body and the soul) at the base camps, supplies
land vehicles designed for all types of terrain, special field
equipment, and responds to the Arctic field worker's
greatest expense and concern: safe, efficient air transport
(helicopters and aircrafts) and an excellent radio commu-
nications network. Civilian research scientists and engi-
neers of Canada, of wide ranging disciplines, played and
keep playing the most significant roles in advancing polar
science and crucial roles in flying the nation's flag in the
High Arctic, the Canadian basin, and the Arctic Ocean
since 1959.
