Expressions of Intent for International Polar Year 2007-2008 Activities

Expression of Interest Details

PROPOSAL INFORMATION

CANADA #199:A Canadian initiative for an integrated network of Automated Climatological and Geocryological Stations in the circum-Subarctic zone.  (SIN. Subarctic Instrumental Network)

Outline
Worldwide, climate regulates physical and ecological conditions under which societies live. This is particularly true of Arctic and Subarctic regions where cold conditions exert control on all the components of the cryosphere such as snow cover, lake and river ice, sea ice and permafrost. Under the very strong seasonal cycles and under the cold climatic conditions that are of unequal strength across the North, gradients and ecotones (i.e. latitudinal, altitudinal, coastal, across tree line and vegetation zones) often set critical conditions for land processes (e.g. soil cracking, slope processes, thermokarst), life forms, resources availability, ecological interactions and human subsistence. Although all components of the cryosphere are extremely sensitive to climate change, as demonstrated by the current generalized retreat of glaciers and sea ice cover, one component, permafrost, offers a particularly suitable mean of quantitative monitoring of the changes through its thermal sensitivity: it is almost a perfect, time stable, integrator of changes in surface conditions. Vegetation changes (e.g. increased growth, increased shrub height and density in the tundra), animal life (e.g. breeding seasons, migtatory cycles) and human activities are also critically dependant of climate in the Arctic and the SubArctic. Centre d’études nordiques’ SILA network encompasses seven key sites of automated meteorological stations in eastern Canada, from James Bay (53N) to Ward Hunt (83N) ice shelf at the northern end of Ellesmere Island. Satellite sites, most of them equipped with automated and man-read thermistor cables (about 80 in total) in the permafrost are spread in clusters in the same regions. The majority of the instrument clusters are located in communities, for example Radisson, Kuujjuarapik and Salluit or benefit from collaborative maintenance with organizations such as Parks Canada (Bylot and Ellesmere) for research purposes in the fields of ecology and permafrost science. The SILA network was created over the last fifteen years through various initiatives such as the construction of airports in Nunavik and particular research projects or contracted mandates. The network has produced a wealth of data that is high demand by users and climate modellers and by remote sensing specialists for validation purposes. The reference stations within this network are designed to respect international standards (WMO). The database is nearly updated through various grants and contracts, particularly with the Québec government. The International Polar Year offers an opportunity to merge SILA with other networks across the circum-Subarctic, starting with Canadian ones. A first step will be to make sure that all the fused networks are operating on similar technical and data quality standards. In the particular case of SILA, the requested funding is not to install or build new stations but rather 1- to make sure that proper standards are met by investing for the necessary upgrades (half of the existing network needs to be adapted and implemented), 2- invest in needed staffing for field maintenance, 3- invest in staffing for database handling and management, 4- ensure adequate data integration with an IPY-supported climate and cryospheric database. Our intent is to merge our initiative with other existing instrumental networks in Canada as part of the Canadian Group of Earth Observatories, in order to better achieve the insertion of the SILA network into a circumpolar organisation with the Russian and the Scandinavian networks. SILA has already some international links, such as with the Golbal terrestrial network for Permafrost. However, there are potentials for a larger Canadian initiative ensuring the inclusion of networks that are not at present sufficiently linked with the Canada’s federal networks.

What significant advance(s) in relation to the IPY themes and targets can be anticipated from this project?
1- keeping track of the state of Arctic and Subarctic climate with better spatial end temporal resolution than the sparse state owned, basic network. 2- monitoring climate change in parallel with other programs of IPY such as coastal changes, glaciers and ecological changes 3- contributing with other networks of stations and observatories on all aspects of the environment 4- increased knowledge at a spatial scale to fit with regional climate models and increase resolution of observations. Keeping at the forefront of technical developments in automatic and intelligent field systems of instrumentation. 5- use the Arctic as a warning site for global change 6- provide necessary information to adapt to climate change and design strategies

What international collaboration is involved in this project?
In Canada, with the Mackenzie valley and delta array of monitoring stations. In Alaska with University of Alaska in Fairbanks. Field stations in Greenland and Svalbard, Russia.

FIELD ACTIVITY DETAILS

Geographical location(s) for the proposed field activities:
Radisson Nunavik: Kuujjuarapik, Lac à L’Eau-Claire, Rivière Boniface, Salluit Nunavut : Bylot Island, Ward Hunt ice platform.

Approximate timeframe(s) for proposed field activities:
Arctic: 04/06 – 12/06      01/07 – 12/07      01/08 –12/08
Antarctic: n/a

Significant facilities will be required for this project:
CEN’s Field station and substations. PCSP, Commercial airlines, community support. All can be share with other initiatives.

Will the project leave a legacy of infrastructure?
SILA stations are integrated in communities where they are built or in Parks (either provincial or national). Thermistor cables at airports will remain part of transportation infrastructure and will keep monitoring.

How is it envisaged that the required logistic support will be secured?

Agreements for logistics for field maintenance and operation and for staffing data handling are actually being negociated with Transports Quebec, Kativik Regional Government and Parks Canada and Ouranos

Has the project been "endorsed" at a national or international level?
Yes- Basic metadata was already supplied to NSIDC in Boulder; This pre-proposal has been reviewed and is being submitted by the Canadian Steering Committee (CSC). Ongoing discussions will integrate this pre-proposal into a larger network of related national and international initiatives. The CSC has initially sorted this pre-proposal into: THEME: Education, Outreach & Communication SUB-THEME: Variability and change in the Canadian Cryosphere

PROJECT MANAGEMENT AND STRUCTURE

Is the project a short-term expansion (over the IPY 2007-2008 timeframe) of an existing plan, programme or initiative or is it a new autonomous proposal?
yes

It is the continuation of regional undertakings from CEN and a proposal for consolidation and integration with other existing networks at the circumpolar scale.

How will the project be organised and managed?
SILA sites in Nunavik and eastern Nunavut will be operated by CEN. Standardization and coordination of the Canadian networks shall operate under the coordination of a Project Steering Committee. CEN could provide a project office will be established with a secretariat. The PSC’s primary responsibilities will be to oversee the development and operation of Arctic climate monitoring and serve as the coordinating office between the organizations (Universities, Government agencies, Arctic Communities) that participate in the overall network. The PSC will also be responsible for integration and coordination with international authorities in meteorological data.

What are the initial plans of the project for addressing the education, outreach and communication issues outlined in the Framework document?
Make the results publicly available for information on climate change at a rate as close as possible to real time data acquisition. Regularly provide synopsis information to the public.

What are the initial plans of the project to address data management issues (as outlined in the Framework document?
Data will be collected, standardized, synthesized, and archived in a manner which supports (i) metadata standards (ISO) to promote data access and value, (ii) an international Arctic spatial data infrastructure and (iii) web accessible databases and maps for GIS spatial data.

How is it proposed to fund the project?
Funding required for SILA and related data acquisition infrastructure: - new equipment for upgrades and maintenance: 200 k$ - salaries for staff (field and data handling and diffusion): 330k$ - travel and cargo: 90k$ - Total: 620 k$ Other potential source of funding (estimated): - Transport Québec: 65k$ - Parks Canada: 30k$ - Kativik Regional Government: in-kind: 60k$ - Ouranos: 150 k$

Is there additional information you wish to provide?
We are open to merge our initiative with a large one in Canada.

PROPOSER DETAILS

Yves Bégin
Centre d’études nordiques
Université Laval
Ste-Foy, Québec
G1K 7P4
Canada

Tel: 418 656 3340
Mobile: 418 952 0816
Fax: 418 656 2978
Email:

Other project members and their affiliation