Leading Arctic research

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This article was published 24/08/2024 (422 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

It will be a very special day on Aug. 27 for Manitoba, Canada and for research in the North.

It marks the opening of the Churchill Marine Observatory (CMO), an important research facility, located on the shore of the Arctic Ocean.

Adjacent to a deep-water port, the CMO will enable research on extreme weather and the effects of climate change in sea-ice-covered waters as well as the freshwater rivers of the region. Scientists will work on the detection, impact and mitigation of oil spills through microbial genomics.

These topics are of increasing importance as the warming environment is causing sea-ice melt and opening the way for increased marine transportation and the possibility of greater pollution of the water and serious damage to the ecology.

The CMO is symbolic of Manitoba’s recognition of the importance of the Northern environment and its long-term commitment to Arctic research.

Manitoba has led the way in establishing and contributing to networks of excellence like ArcticNet and in providing the infrastructure necessary to operate in extreme weather conditions. These include the Sea-Ice Environmental Research Facility (SERF) and remote sensing radar. The Arctic Research Foundation’s refitted crab-fishing vessel William Kennedy provides coastal mobility and the Amundsen, a major science initiative based at the University of Laval in Quebec City, includes researchers from Manitoba on longer expeditions.

Construction of the marine observatory began in 2015. Completion is a tribute to the perseverance and dedication of the team who worked around severe weather conditions and were slowed by flooding due to melting permafrost which disrupted rail and road access.

Research began at the site in 2021 even before the facility was complete. The CMO already enables 170 scientists from across the country, including participants and support from northern Indigenous communities, six Canadian universities, 10 government departments, 10 private sector organizations, and four NGOs and not-for-profit organizations to perform essential research not only for this region, but for the world.

The CMO is, in great part, the result of efforts by the late David Barber, professor and founder of the Centre for Earth Observation Science at the University of Manitoba.

Known as one of the most influential and accomplished Arctic researchers in Canada, he was passionate about the Arctic and has been recognized for his work in helping secure the Amundsen icebreaker for research (and serving as the chief scientist aboard, establishing the Network of Centres of Excellence, ArcticNet, the Arctic Shelf Exchange Study, the Inuit Circumpolar Canal research on sea ice, and the Hudson Bay System Study for the International Polar Year.

Barber was indeed passionate and tireless — he was also a visionary. He recognized the importance of the Arctic to global survival. He correctly saw the enormity and complexity of interrelated issues involving the participation and interests of the Indigenous Peoples, often competing international claims, the inter-relatedness of many geographic areas and fields of study and approaches to research.

Preserving the Arctic ecosystem in times of environmental change requires the research infrastructure to advance scientific inquiry. Barber understood this and he saw the necessity of bringing people together in a common effort.

Barber’s work is continued by researchers including Feiyue Wang, Christopher Mundy and Gary Stern whose specialties include sea ice, algae, radiation, genomics and aquatic chemistry and mass spectrometry. The Genice program supported by Genome Canada is also a key partner.

The vigorous assistance and support of Digvir Jayas, former vice-president (research and international) at the University of Manitoba, the demonstrated commitment of the institution and the generosity and shared vision of people like Clayton Riddell, as well as grants to the project of more than $15 million from the Canada Foundation for Innovation on behalf of the Government of Canada, which also invested a further $4.4 million to study the permafrost along the Hudson Bay Corridor made Tuesday’s observatory opening possible.

We recognize not only the value of this facility that will enable research, but the enormous importance of the North in helping us understand and predict the effects of climate change. And we are reminded to see the Arctic in its entirety as it joins together Indigenous Peoples, continents and questions of culture and human existence as well as issues regarding transportation, exploration and global security.

Roseann O’Reilly Runte is president and CEO of the Canada Foundation for Innovation.