Section 1
International Polar Year

Canada's contribution to the fourth International Polar Year (IPY March 2007-March 2009) encompasses 44 programs in support of two themes: research on climate change impacts and adaptation, and on the health and well-being of northern peoples. The Government of Canada has allotted $150 million for IPY over six years, of which $100 million is for scientific research. This includes six major IPY research projects led by DFO Science that seek to understand climate change in the Arctic and its impact on the ecosystem. DFO is also collaborating with national and international partners on other IPY projects.

DFO vessel-based research programs conducted from Canadian Coast Guard (CCG) icebreakers provided insight into the current state of the polar environment and the major role oceans play in climate change. Other projects worked closely with northern communities and peoples to increase understanding of how climate change will impact the aquatic animals upon which northerners depend. DFO researchers also participated in six other IPY research projects led by other government departments or universities.

The first season of the IPY field research was a very successful one thanks to solid team work and the dedication and professionalism of CCG crews and officers, northern guides and logistics providers. There is much anticipation that science activities will continue long after the second field season officially ends on March 1, 2009. The legacy of the 4^th International Polar Year will be a new generation of polar scientists, innovative research, long-term Arctic monitoring networks and an observational system that will continue to deepen our understanding of Canada's polar environment in the years to come.

Canada's Three Oceans (C3O): Climate Change Monitoring

More than 40 investigators and 90 sea-going scientists from DFO and other national and international agencies and universities collected climate change data in 2007 for the “Canada's Three Oceans” (C3O) project — part of Canada's contribution to IPY. Principal investigator Dr. Eddy Carmack of DFO's Institute of Ocean Sciences and a C3O team of scientists from both Canadian and foreign governments as well as academia explored a 15,000-kilometre stretch of marine Canada from the surface to the seabed, from the smallest organisms (viruses) to the largest (whales), and from the Pacific to the Arctic to the Atlantic. The results of this project will reveal the interconnectedness of the Arctic and subarctic oceans and how their boundaries may be affected by a changing climate.

In order to measure change in Canada's oceans, the C3O team is gathering sets of benchmark data from Victoria to Halifax. This will give scientists and policy makers the basic knowledge to practice good governance and address emerging issues such as warming, ice cover retreat, species invasion, hypoxia and acidification. C3O will also help establish a long-term Arctic Ocean monitoring strategy to help study climate changes in the years ahead. The research team hopes to turn over a major portion of C3O monitoring methods to local coastal communities within the coming decade so they can carry out marine monitoring. For more information: www.ipy-api.gc.ca/_docs/ctho_e.pdf

Members of the Canada's Three Oceans research team prepare the rosette aboard the CCGS Louis S. St-Laurent in Davis Strait. The device takes samples of water at various depths and records data including ocean temperature, oxygen, nutrients and alkalinity.

C3O Measures Ocean Temperatures from Coast to Coast to Coast

Based on measurements taken by the Canada's Three Oceans research team in the summer of 2007, a vertical section extending from Victoria in the Pacific to Halifax in the Atlantic reveals ocean temperatures ranging from -2ºC (dark blue) to 10ºC (dark red) from the North Pacific to the Labrador Sea. The measurements, taken at depths of up to 900 dbars (1 dbar equals about a metre), will increase our understanding of the changing ocean climate.

Northern Youth Mentorship

Post-secondary student Louisa Thomassie (left), one of several students involved in the 2007-2008 Northern Youth Mentorship Program, takes a musical break with Dr. Eddy Carmack during the Canada's Three Oceans voyage aboard the CCGS Louis S. St-Laurent. Youth mentorship strengthens links between the Arctic's northern and research communities. The students helped scientists collect copepods and gather oceanographic data and sea floor samples. In return they shared their knowledge, culture and perspective on science activities that affect their life in the North.

Canadian Archipelago Through-flow Study

In August 2007, researchers from DFO's Institute of Ocean Science and the Bedford Institute of Oceanography worked around heavy ice floes to install specially designed recording instruments for the Canadian Archipelago Through-flow Study (CAT). The IPY project examines the amount of fresh water, sea water and sea ice that passes from the Arctic Ocean to the Labrador Sea through the Canadian Arctic Archipelago.

Led by Dr. Humfrey Melling, CAT is measuring ocean currents, salinity, temperature, ice drift and thickness in four of the ocean gateways between the Arctic and the Atlantic — Nares Strait, Cardigan Strait, Lancaster Sound and Bellot Strait. When the instruments are recovered in August 2009, they will provide valuable data on the freshwater exchange between the world's oceans that is a critical component of global ocean circulation, the hydrologic cycle and climate.

With a warmer global climate, more fresh water will enter the Arctic Ocean from increased precipitation and indirectly via northern rivers. The outflow of fresh water will increase to counteract the stronger inflow, establishing a new balanced freshwater budget for the Arctic. The outflow will ultimately return fresh water to the temperate and tropical oceans where it originated. These changes in the storage and through-flow of fresh water from the Arctic Ocean will likely impact ecosystems of the Arctic and eastern Canadian Arctic waters. Fresh water is less dense and doesn't mix well with saltier, deeper ocean water, forming a “cap” over the surface of the ocean. Impeded mixing will reduce the upward movement of nutrients that nourish plankton, the very foundation of the Arctic food chain. It could also slow down global deep-ocean circulation, which plays a major role in the Earth's climate.

Results from CAT will provide scientists with new insight into the changes that are taking place, and enable them to refine predictions about Arctic climate change and its impacts on Arctic marine ecosystems, human activities and ocean circulation. For more information: www.ipy-api.gc.ca/pg_IPYAPI_028-eng.html

Working on the Canadian Archipelago Through-flow Study (CAT), marine technician Jo Poole prepared a sophisticated, four-beam Doppler sonar on board CCGS Henry Larsen before it was dropped to the seabed to measure currents and ice drift in Nares Strait.

Exploring the Impacts of Severe Arctic Storms and Climate Change on Arctic Oceanographic Processes

As the global climate warms, Arctic storms seem to be growing in strength. As part of Canada's contribution to IPY, a DFO-led research effort is investigating the effects of intense storms and severe weather on oceanographic processes. The findings will provide valuable information about the impact of storms on coastal lands and waters, which play a vital role in the daily lives and culture of northerners. Arctic storms influence waves, surges, erosion and sediment, causing changes that can affect aquatic species, resource development and the Arctic lifestyle.

Under principal investigator Dr. William Perrie of the Bedford Institute of Oceanography, a team of researchers is gathering information on marine winds, waves, currents, ice, storm surges, erosion and sediment transport that work together in the coastal waters of the Southern Beaufort Sea and Western Arctic.

Among other work accomplished in 2007-2008, the team:

• assembled data (storm, climate and observational) for the Beaufort Sea and completed preliminary modelling studies; and
• began testing model simulations for episodic storms, sediment transport and coastal erosion, ice cover and movement, and ocean circulation for the Beaufort Sea and related waters.

Initial results suggest that varying large-scale atmospheric patterns may strongly affect episodic storms in coastal regions of the southern Beaufort Sea region, including the area around Tuktoyaktuk. These patterns need to be understood through studies of meteorological data archived over the last several decades, as well as detailed computer model studies for climate change. For more information: www.ipy-api.gc.ca/_docs/sor_e.pdf

Keystone Species: Exploring the Effects of Climate Change on Arctic Char

Arctic char are important to the Northern culture and economy, and are considered a keystone species in freshwater and near-shore marine environments. The sensitivity of char to environmental effects at many levels in Arctic ecosystems makes them key indicators of overall aquatic ecosystem health.

DFO research exploring the effects of climate change and variability on Arctic char will contribute to the development of conservation and management strategies to ensure the sustainability of this species upon which northerners depend.

Dr. James Reist of DFO's Freshwater Institute is heading a team that is exploring the effects of climate change and variability on the biodiversity of Arctic char. The project, which contributes to IPY, will also study the link between climate change and the bioaccumulation of contaminants. Its findings will aid in the development of conservation and management strategies to ensure the sustainability of the species, its continued supply as a food source, and the vitality of the entire northern aquatic ecosystem. This in turn will help northerners adapt to the changing Arctic.

In the summer of 2007, Arctic char were collected from Lake Hazen and surrounding lakes in Quttinirpaaq National Park, Nunavut. Analysis of the data collected from these fish is ongoing and results will be available soon. This research is aimed at determining the responses of char to variability in water temperatures as well as ecosystem food web dynamics and contaminant levels. The research is also assessing genetic and morphological variation within and between populations. To date, researchers have confirmed the presence of three forms of Arctic char (large, small and benthic) in Lake Hazen, rather than the two forms (large and small) initially thought to occur there. Since Arctic char is the only fish present in fresh waters in this area, the three forms act as distinct ecological species for studying the differential effects of climate change. For more information: http://www.api-ipy.gc.ca/pg_IPYAPI_030-eng.html

In the Belcher Islands, Johnassie Ippak (left) and Lucassie Ippak (second from left) of Sanikiluaq, Nunavut, and graduate student Carie Hoover (right) of the University of British Columbia, assist DFO research scientist Dr. Steve Ferguson (second from right) on a research project exploring the effects of climate change on Arctic marine mammals. The research involves, in part, attaching satellite transmitters to ringed seals to track and study their movements.

Global Warming and Arctic Marine Mammals

Understanding the potential impacts of global climate change on polar ecosystems is key to developing strategies for the conservation and management of Arctic species. For International Polar Year, the Global Warming and Arctic Marine Mammals (GWAMM) project, led by Dr. Steven Ferguson of DFO's Freshwater Institute, is exploring:

• how marine mammals will adapt to global warming and the possibilities for future survival;
• the relationship between warming temperatures and the habitats of polar bears, seals and whales; and
• the potential effects of global warming on reproduction and how many mammals will survive.

In the first IPY year, the GWAMM team developed a community-based monitoring network in the Hudson Bay region of the Canadian Arctic. Through this network, the team is working with local Inuit during their subsistence hunts to collect biological samples from marine mammals. Sample analysis will provide new knowledge about marine mammal genetics, reproduction, foraging ecology, disease and stress.

Preliminary satellite telemetry results reveal that seals take refuge on sea ice in winter to avoid polar bear predation, while bears select areas that increase opportunities to successfully hunt seals in spring. Thus, with warming and loss of sea ice, both species are predicted to do poorly. Inuit knowledge of killer whales indicates that they feed largely on marine mammals and not fish. This suggests that seals may decline in numbers as ice disappears and killer whales become the top seal predator, leading to an eventual loss of the Inuit seal harvest that is an integral part of their subsistence culture. GWAMM findings will inform the development of strategies for species conservation and management, and help northerners adapt to the changing Arctic. For more information: www.ipy-api.gc.ca/_docs/gwam_e.pdf

Pan-Arctic Tagging of Beluga Whales

Using a blend of traditional and western scientific approaches, Dr. Mike Hammill at DFO's Maurice Lamontagne Institute is leading a study on the distribution, movements and critical habitat of beluga whales. The findings of this IPY project will help improve the management of beluga, which are an integral part of Inuit culture. The findings will also provide insights into the state of the Hudson Bay- James Bay ecosystem and how beluga will adapt to climate change. Because of their major role in the Arctic ecosystem, the health of the beluga is important to all Arctic life.

Tracking the belugas by satellite, the team is gathering information about their habitats, migration corridors and over-wintering areas at a fine scale. Telemetry also provides water column temperature and salinity profiles that can contribute to modelling of weather and climate changes. This is combined with traditional knowledge and observational experiences of local people. The researchers are also collaborating with other international beluga tagging programs.

Early results reveal both differences and some agreement between telemetry data and traditional knowledge. For example, in Eastern Hudson Bay, Inuit traditional knowledge indicates that beluga summer close to the coast and some beluga overwinter in that area. However, telemetry indicates that the animals spend considerable time offshore and they all exit Hudson Bay to overwinter in the Labrador Sea area. In that area, beluga whales are associated with a deep channel near Hopedale off the Labrador coast. In James Bay, Cree traditional knowledge suggests that James Bay belugas overwinter in James Bay or southern Hudson Bay. To date the satellite telemetry data also suggest that animals likely overwinter in the James Bay area. These comparisons underline that it is important to consider sampling approaches when evaluating research results. For example, hunters usually remain in coastal areas for safety reasons, so they do not observe belugas in offshore areas. On the other hand, transmitters have only been deployed on a few animals, so extrapolating behaviours to the whole population may not be correct either. The two approaches also indicate that differences can occur between populations, and that is reassuring if two different sampling approaches are in agreement. For more information: www.ipy-api.gc.ca/_docs/pat_e.pdf

Researchers fit a beluga whale with a satellite telemetry device to track its movements and learn more about its migration patterns and habitat. The device also gathers environmental data from the Hudson Bay-James Bay ecosystem for use in climate and weather modelling.

Circumpolar Flaw Lead System Study Culminates 20 Years of Polar Oceanography

The Canadian research icebreaker CCGS Amundsen and a team of scientists spent the winter of 2007-2008 in the southern Beaufort Sea, in an area of persistent open water known as a flaw lead. They were there to carry out research for the Circumpolar Flaw Lead System Study (CFL), a multidisciplinary IPY project that is examining the importance of climate processes in changing the nature of a flaw lead system, and the effect of these changes on the marine ecosystem, contaminant transport, carbon fluxes and greenhouse gases. DFO senior research scientist Dr. Gary Stern is co-leading CFL, which involves 200 scientists from 15 countries. Professor Dave Barber from the University of Manitoba, Centre for Earth Observation Science, is the project's principal investigator.

The circumpolar flaw lead occurs each year when the central pack ice moves away from the coastal ice creating a “flaw” in the ice surface. This occurs because the central pack ice is mobile and the coastal ice is fixed to the shore. Flaw leads are particularly sensitive to atmosphere and oceanic influences, making them unique laboratories for gaining insight into changing polar marine ecosystems. They also enable the icebreaker to overwinter in the Arctic so scientists can monitor changes over many months.

Dr. Stern's team is focusing on how climate change could alter contaminant transport processes and cycling, contaminant pathways (biomagnification) and levels, and the health of Arctic aquatic ecosystems. Contaminants pose a potential hazard to Arctic fish and marine mammal health, and ultimately to northerners who harvest them as part of their traditional diet.

Results from CFL will help assess the vulnerability of coastal Inuit communities to climate change; project the impacts of climate change on traditional food security and community health; and provide the information that communities, scientists and policy makers need to help develop adaptation strategies. For more information: www.ipy-cfl.ca/

With the CCGS Amundsen in the background, Norwegian polar diver Haakon Hop holds a multispectral colour radiometer to measure light below the ice as part of the Circumpolar Flaw Lead Project.