Expressions of Intent for International Polar Year 2007-2008 Activities

Expression of Interest Details

PROPOSAL INFORMATION

CANADA #17:The Polar Environment Atmospheric Research Laboratory  (PEARL)

Outline
PEARL will be a permanent atmospheric research laboratory at Eureka (80N, 86W). It is situated close to the Environment Canada weather station at Eureka. It will measure atmospheric parameters from the ground to 100km on a continuous basis. The PEARL location has significant advantages as an atmospheric observing site: large number of clear “nights”; opportunities for measurements inside and outside the polar vortex; high overpass rate by polar orbiting satellites (important for satellite validation activities). Parameters measured will include: temperature, wind, composition, aerosols, clouds and precipitation. The equipment, consisting of at least 14 separate instruments including lidars, radars, photometers, and spectrometers, will be of research quality and will be updated as appropriate. Data will be subject to quality control before being made available. The laboratory will be associated with the Environment Canada weather station about 15km away. The Project Investigators will cooperate on studies intended to derive information about atmospheric dynamics and pollutant transport at high Northern latitudes. The scientific team implementing PEARL will be operating the station year-round and will be beginning to have the equipment in place at Polar Sunrise 2005 and hope to have all equipment in place by the end of the summer of 2006. The PEARL laboratory will contribute to the following IPY themes: Status, Change, Global linkages, New Frontiers. It makes a limited contribution to Vantage Point. PEARL is intended as a permanent research laboratory in the high Arctic and will meet the targets of: natural science research, data management and legacy. In addition to the permanent instrument set at PEARL, there will be a “guest instrument” program whereby other researchers will be able to negotiate to place equipment temporarily or permanently at the laboratory to take advantages of the facilities and the other measurements. PEARL will be managed by the Canadian Network for the Detection of Atmospheric Change (CANDAC) a consortium of university and government researchers. PEARL has already obtained funding for the instrumentation for the laboratory and is currently applying for funding to operate the laboratory through the time period covered by IPY.

What significant advance(s) in relation to the IPY themes and targets can be anticipated from this project?
Status: the current state of the Arctic atmosphere will be monitored Change: the data will be carefully quality controlled, archived and compared to historical data at the same site Global linkages: measurements will be one element in studies of global phenomena, e.g. pollution transport. New Frontiers some of the instruments are new developments. All will be making research-grade measurements. The concentration of instrumentation at a single location will permit in-depth scientific investigations Vantage Point. Through the guest instrument program other researchers will be encouraged to participate in PEARL activities. The site is very close to the geomagnetic pole.

What international collaboration is involved in this project?
Active collaboration: Study of Environmental Arctic Change (SEARCH) (Study of Environmental Arctic Change), NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) Boulder, CO (T. Uttal) In contact with: The World Meteorological Organization – Global Atmosphere Watch (WMO/GAW) Network for the Detection of Stratospheric Change (NDSC) Inter-American Network for Atmospheric/Biospheric Studies (IANABIS)

FIELD ACTIVITY DETAILS

Geographical location(s) for the proposed field activities:
The laboratory is located at Eureka, 80N, 86W – 15km from the Environment Canada weather station at Eureka.

Approximate timeframe(s) for proposed field activities:
Arctic: Initial operation – Polar sunrise 2005      Full operation – late summer 2006      Duration – at least until 2010
Antarctic: n/a

Significant facilities will be required for this project:
Most of the local logistics are in place. The laboratory will have a “guest” instrument. Due to the nature of the national funding (NSERC, CFCAS), there will be a modest user fee for this service. Accommodation at the weather station will be by negotiation with Environment Canada (Federal Government).

Will the project leave a legacy of infrastructure?
Yes, the building is owned by Environment Canada and is licensed to the University of Toronto for the period when CANDAC can support PEARL. It is the intention of CANDAC that PEARL be a permanent facility with the research and equipment evolving as the research needs of the Arctic evolve.

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

Accommodation and other local support will come from the Environment Canada weather station at Eureka. Transportation will be by charter, perhaps under some “blanket” agreement with a national consortium, e.g. Polar Shelf – to be determined.

Has the project been "endorsed" at a national or international level?
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

The IPY component will be part of a longer-running sequence of measurements at the PEARL site. The initial operational phase of PEARL co-incidentally coincides with the beginning of IPY, but PEARL is not exclusively an IPY project.

How will the project be organised and managed?
PEARL will be managed as a measurement site of CANDAC – the Canadian Network for the Detection of Atmospheric Change. CANDAC is an informal association of university and government researchers. The management structure of CANDAC is by means of several committees. CANDAC will employ a manager for PEARL

What are the initial plans of the project for addressing the education, outreach and communication issues outlined in the Framework document?
Eureka is not in the vicinity of any community. Education and outreach will be performed at other Northern locations. The CANDAC funding application contains an element for outreach on a national level. Some science personnel have had contact with schools in Resolute Bay.

What are the initial plans of the project to address data management issues (as outlined in the Framework document?
Data will be available as soon after collection as practical – in some cases it may be possible to do near real-time – and to be carefully archived for future reference along with any necessary ancillary and metadata. We will also be depositing appropriate data with the WMO-GAW program and the NDSC.

How is it proposed to fund the project?
National Funding (CFI) of CDN$6.6M has already been obtained. Further national funding of about CDN$2Mpa (NSERC, CFCAS) is being applied for. It is expected that basic funding for the majority of the PEARL project will be in place by mid-2005. Funding for any enhancements for IPY will depend upon opportunity.

Is there additional information you wish to provide?
None

PROPOSER DETAILS

Prof  James Drummond
University of Toronto
60 St. George Street, Toronto, Ontario
M5S 1A7
Canada

Tel: 416-978-4723
Mobile: no
Fax: 416-978-8905
Email:

Other project members and their affiliation