Expressions of Intent for International Polar Year 2007-2008 Activities

Expression of Interest Details

PROPOSAL INFORMATION

CANADA #135:The Canadian Research Icebreaker Amundsen: opening the Canadian Arctic to international collaboration for the IPY and beyond  (CCGS Amundsen and the International Polar Year)

Outline
Access to the arctic coastal environments and communities is the one factor limiting the implementation of the large, multidisciplinary, and cross-sector research programs needed to answer the ecosystem-level questions raised by climate warming and modernisation in the Arctic. The Canadian research icebreaker Amundsen is a 100-m, 5400-ton, state-of-the-art research platform dedicated to providing such access for oceanographers, geologists, terrestrial ecologists, epidemiologists, archaeologists, and anthropologists. The Amundsen has proven a highly versatile platform to carry international-calibre missions, including the one-year expedition of the Canadian Arctic Shelf Exchange Study (CASES) and the Inuit Health Survey Qanuippitaa? It is also the core infrastructure that will support the extensive scientific program of the new Canadian Network of Centres of Excellence ArcticNet for the integrated natural/health/social study of the changing coastal Canadian Arctic. Notwithstanding special requests for longer expeditions, the Amundsen is available for research for 157 days in the period from May to November of each year. ArcticNet will charter approximately 75 of the 157 days per year until 2010. The remaining 82 days represent a unique opportunity for Canada to engage the international community in the Canadian IPY program to study the changing Arctic (as part or not of the ArcticNet program). Beginning in 2005, the charter of these additional days would help to build a strong Canadian-led IPY international program that would culminate in 2007-2008 with a full one-year over-wintering expedition of the Amundsen in the Canadian Arctic. At a charter rate of $38 000 per day (including the helicopter, technical support and logistics for the science team to reach the ship from Quebec City and return), the Amundsen is the most cost-effective way for large international teams to access the Canadian Arctic. The Amundsen was mobilized for science by a Consortium of researchers from Canadian universities and Federal institutions funded by the Canada Foundation for Innovation. This Consortium is requesting from the IPY secretariat (a) $3.2M per year (starting in 2005) to charter the 82 days of operation that will provide a unique opportunity to amplify the Canadian-led IPY program; (b) $2.1M in 2005 to complete the installation of a Dynamic Positioning System for drilling operations; $9.6M in 2006 for two Automated Underwater Vehicles (AUV) and one Unmanned Atmospheric Vehicle (UAV), to extend the spatial range of under-ice operations from the ship; and an additional $8.5M in 2007-2008 for the operation of the Amundsen over a complete annual cycle. As the IPY is approaching fast, the proponents believe that it is crucial to begin now the process of meshing new Canadian-led or foreign-led international efforts into the schedule of the Amundsen, so as to guarantee that logistic and scientific problems are ironed out and the different initiatives are fully operational for the main thrust in 2007-2008. The success and duration of national programs rooted in the international sharing of a research icebreaker (e.g. the German Polarstern, the American Healy) clearly illustrate the legacy this IPY initiative will leave in Canada.

What significant advance(s) in relation to the IPY themes and targets can be anticipated from this project?
Engaging international specialists in the study of the Canadian Arctic will contribute in many ways to 4 IPY themes. Some examples among many: present oceanographic observatories (Beaufort and Laptev Seas, Hudson Bay, North Water) will be multiplied to form a circum-arctic network (Theme 1). Coring in the deep arctic basin will allow the reconstruction of past ice regimes and climate to calibrate regional models (Theme 2). The wealth of new data recorded by the instrumentation of the Amundsen is pushing the frontiers of knowledge in the Arctic Ocean (Theme 4). Health studies will be expanded to the High Arctic and the Coast of Greenland (Theme 6).

What international collaboration is involved in this project?
New collaborations with the Norwegian Network Arctos; the West Greenland Health Study; the Nansen-Amundsen Basin Observatory Study (NABOS); the OASIS and ESSAS programs; the British IPY program. Consolidate existing arctic collaborations with Denmark, Poland, Spain and France. Support the implementation of Canadian-led international programs such as Northern-RiSCC and Arctic Coast Dynamics.

FIELD ACTIVITY DETAILS

Geographical location(s) for the proposed field activities:
The scientific mission of the Amundsen encompasses the Canadian coastal Arctic as accessible by a Class 1200 icebreaker, including the Beaufort Sea, the southern Canadian Archipelago, Baffin Bay and Hudson Bay. With sufficient preparation, the ship can also access the circum-arctic ancillary seas outside of Canadian waters.

Approximate timeframe(s) for proposed field activities:
Arctic: 05/06-08/06      05/07-08/07      05/08-08/08
Antarctic: n/a

Significant facilities will be required for this project:
Ice-breaker. Multi-instrumented-platform with state-of-the art instrumentation for geology, oceanography, atmospheric sciences, terrestrial ecology, health sciences. Fully equipped for oceanographic mooring deployment and recovery. Multi-beam sonar, sub-bottom profiler, hull ADCP, fish and plankton sonar, multi-net samplers, trawls, internal moon pool, acoustic well, ROV, helicopter, launch, ice vehicles and ice camp support, radio-sonde, radiometers, satellite reception, fully equipped laboratories, etc. All projects supported by the Amundsen are designed to maximize the sharing of logistics among users from different fields of research.

Will the project leave a legacy of infrastructure?
Definitely. The Amundsen is to be operated until 2015 and beyond if needed. It will be included in the infrastructure renewal program of the Federal and eventually replaced by a Polar class research icebreaker. The Consortium plan to renew, diversify and expand the equipment attached to the ship in preparation for the IPY and beyond.

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

The required logistics are already in place and activated at a level of ca. 50% (80 days out of 157 chartered by ArcticNet). The Canadian Coast Guard manages, maintain and crew the Amundsen. The scientific equipment is maintained by the technical services of Québec-Océan. Japanese and American collaborators contribute a small fraction of the operation costs.

Has the project been "endorsed" at a national or international level?
The funding of the Amundsen, CASES and ArcticNet clearly demonstrate the priority given by Canadian funding agencies (CFI, NSERC, NCE) to arctic projects supported by the infrastructure. At the international levels, on-going efforts are endorsed by the AOSB, while planned efforts (see 1.7) are endorsed by the AOSB, IASC, IGBP or GLOBEC umbrellas. 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: Non-virtual infrastructure

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

Canadian-led international projects supported by IPY additional funds for the Amundsen can either be new autonomous proposals or proposals integrated to the scientific program of existing initiatives (e.g. ArcticNet or other). The advantage of building on ArcticNet is the direct linkage to Inuit communities and integration into a cross-sector, pan-Canadian and international network.

How will the project be organised and managed?
A Joint Ship Management Committee (JSMC) coordinates science with Coast Guard and a Scientific Equipment Committee (SCE) maintains the equipment. Both report to an International Science Management Committee (ISMC) of the Scientific directors of programs using the Amundsen. The ISMC reports to a Board of Directors (BOD) that has final word on allocation of access to the infrastructure. This management structure is independent of ArcticNet (the largest user presently). For this project, new IPY programs using the Amundsen independently from ArcticNet would sit on the ISMC. Others will be represented by ArcticNet. A representative of the Canadian IPY Secretariat will be invited on the BOD.

What are the initial plans of the project for addressing the education, outreach and communication issues outlined in the Framework document?
“Schools on Board” enables secondary school students (including Northerners) to join the science on board the Amundsen. ArcticNet’s communication plan involves community tours, TV documentaries and a newsletter. These media and many others will be adapted to communicate the IPY projects supported by the Amundsen to decision makers and the general public.

What are the initial plans of the project to address data management issues (as outlined in the Framework document?
Oceanographic data from the Amundsen is archived with Canadian Marine Environmental Data Service, but management of the colossal amount of other data is an issue. Following the National Consultation on Access to Scientific Research Data, we will be collaborating with the Canadian Cryospheric Information Network (see http://www.ccin.ca/) to build a central, geo-referenced, relational data bank.

How is it proposed to fund the project?
Capitalisation of the Amundsen ($30.5M, FCI/DFO), maintenance ($3.45M, Coast Guard/ Quebec-Océan) and management ($1.27M, Coast Guard) until 2008 are funded. Eighty of the 157 days available per year is chartered until 2008 ($2.72M per year, ArcticNet, Japan, USA). The remainder ($1.2M in 2005, and $2.62M per year in 2006-2008) is requested from the IPY program.

Is there additional information you wish to provide?
The requested $9.1M over 4 years are consolidated by (1) collateral funding of $46.1M; (2) a pan-Canadian network of Centres of Excellence that cuts across research sectors (natural/health/social sciences) and directly involves Inuit organizations; (3) the logistic expertise of the Canadian Coast Guard and Québec-Océan; and (4) a network of foreign arctic specialists eager to access the Canadian Arctic as part of the IPY. Whether or not they build on ArcticNet, the Canadian-led international IPY programs supported by the requested additional operation funds will have tremendous benefits for the Canadian IPY program by engaging the international community in the study of the Canadian Arctic.

PROPOSER DETAILS

Prof  Louis Fortier
Québec-Océan, Université Laval
Department of Biology, Université Laval, Québec, QC
G1K 7P4
Canada

Tel: 418-656-5646
Mobile: no
Fax: 418-656-2339
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Other project members and their affiliation