“It’s about the work, and it’s about the people. It’s about a bunch of people from different parts of Canada
and all over the world working together to achieve a common goal and to make sure that people go in and out of the field
safely and being involved in something that really is a gem in terms of Canada’s Arctic logistics and the way that we approach science research.”
Scientific field research in Canada's remote Arctic is an adventure. The region is the size of Europe,
with a population of less than 110,000 people scattered in isolated communities located predominantly along coastlines.
The Arctic has almost no roads, no rail system and a marine transport system that is only operational for a few months every year, and then only to ice-strengthened vessels.
Scientists join this quest for knowledge to better understand the land, water, wildlife and people of the Arctic.
For over 50 years, scientists have relied on Natural Resources Canada’s internationally recognized Polar Continental Shelf Program, or PCSP, to facilitate the transportation,
fuel, accommodations and other logistics they need to get safely to and from their research sites across the Canadian Arctic.
As Canada’s 2nd most northern community and strategically located in Resolute, Nunavut, at the centre of the Arctic Archipelago,
PCSP’s Resolute facility consists of almost 2,000 square metres of warehouse, storage, living accommodations and office space.
At 74° North, this site is a tactically perfect location for Arctic logistical operations, as aircraft mobilized from this community can reach any place in Canada’s High Arctic.
Each year, the PCSP provides air and ground support services to approximately 165 scientific research projects,
involving over 1,100 researchers from more than 40 Canadian and international universities, government organizations and foreign agencies.
Logistic services support diverse research, for example: studies to determine the impact of climate change on Northern ecosystems;
hydrographic surveys to help identify safe shipping routes; geological mapping; impact studies of large development programs; fish and wildlife population assessments;
traditional knowledge programs focused on Aboriginal cultures; and social and health science studies in support of northern communities.
The services provided by the PCSP to support scientific research include: air transportation to and from field camps; accommodation and meals at the Resolute base;
a radio and satellite telephone communications network; field equipment; fuel for aircraft, equipment and field camps; and workspace at the PCSP facility.
As of the first of April 2011, we’ll be able to have about 75 people at our base at any one time.
Accommodation, kitchen, recreation room, we’ll have meeting rooms and offices for researchers, we’ll have a brand-new science lab
– the first science lab in the high Arctic at that latitude – fully outfitted to allow scientists to do everything from physiology to fish processing
to dealing with the reducing of rock samples / geological samples in order to take them down south.
When we put scientists into the field, they’re our responsibility to make sure they are brought back safely and effectively. So that’s what our staff do.
The Polar Continental Shelf Program reinforces the Government of Canada’s commitment to help the North realize its true potential.
It provides the logistical foundation for Arctic science to contribute to a healthy, prosperous and secure North within a strong and sovereign Canada.