scholarly journals Transport Airships for Scheduled Supply and Emergency Response in the Arctic

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (9) ◽  
pp. 5301
Author(s):  
Barry E. Prentice ◽  
Yui-Yip Lau ◽  
Adolf K. Y. Ng
Keyword(s):  
Emergency Response ◽  
Oil Spills ◽  
Cost Comparison ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Valuable Insight ◽  
Remote Communities ◽  
Mining Operations ◽  
Increased Risk ◽  
The Government ◽  
Government Of Canada

As climate change progresses, the Arctic Ocean creates opportunities for new resource development and navigation routes. Such economic opportunities are attractive, but carry with them an increased risk of accidents and oil spills. Existing methods of emergency response face enormous challenges in the Arctic because of its lack of transportation infrastructure and support services. Cargo airships offer a practical solution. Many airship designs are proposed that can carry over 30 tons, travel long distances at 150 km per hour, and land close to the emergency site. However, it is difficult to justify the economics of having enough capacity waiting and available to be marshaled in response to infrequent events. One solution is to develop a synergy with a new civilian cargo airship industry that can serve the regular transport needs of remote communities and mining operations. Through contingency contracts with these civilian operations, the Government of Canada could stretch its budgets and have access to the latest airship models and trained crews at locations across the Arctic. This paper gives valuable insight into the development of cargo airships. Advances in technology that make cargo airships a practical option in the 21st century are reviewed, and five competing airship designs are discussed. A case study of an existing rare earth mine proposal is used to illustrate the cost comparison of roads versus airships that could provide contingency services.

scholarly journals Measurement report: The chemical composition of and temporal variability in aerosol particles at Tuktoyaktuk, Canada, during the Year of Polar Prediction Second Special Observing Period

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (18) ◽  
pp. 14199-14213
Author(s):  
John MacInnis ◽  
Jai Prakash Chaubey ◽  
Crystal Weagle ◽  
David Atkinson ◽  
Rachel Ying-Wen Chang
Keyword(s):  
Air Quality ◽  
Chemical Composition ◽  
Aerosol Particles ◽  
Road Dust ◽  
Quality Standard ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Similar Range ◽  
The Government ◽  
Government Of Canada ◽  
Mass Concentrations

Abstract. The chemical composition, sources, and concentrations of aerosol particles vary on a seasonal basis in the Arctic. While existing research has focused on understanding the occurrence of aerosol particles during the Arctic winter and spring, less is known of their occurrence during the Arctic summer. In this study, atmospheric aerosol particle chemical composition and concentration were determined during July–September 2018 at Tuktoyaktuk, NT, Canada (69.4∘ N, 133.0∘ W), to coincide with the Year of Polar Prediction's Second Special Observing Period in the Arctic. The chemical composition of fine (PM2.5) and coarse (PM10–2.5) aerosol filter samples suggests the ocean, mineral and/or road dust, and combustion were sources of the sampled aerosol particles. Mass concentrations of PM2 and PM10, estimated from optical particle counter measurements, remained within a similar range during the study. However, elevated mass concentrations coincided with a festival in the community of Tuktoyaktuk, suggesting local human activity was an important source of aerosol particles. Mass concentrations of PM2, which promote negative health effects in humans, were significantly lower at Tuktoyaktuk than the national air quality standard recommended by the government of Canada. These measurements provide an important baseline to compare with future measurements associated with the assessment of aerosol chemistry and air quality in the Arctic.

To Cooperate or Not? Why Working Together is Essential in the Arctic

2017 ◽  
Vol 2017 (1) ◽  
pp. 1146-1165
Author(s):  
Johan Marius Ly ◽  
Rune Bergstrøm ◽  
Ole Kristian Bjerkemo ◽  
Synnøve Lunde
Keyword(s):  
Emergency Response ◽  
Oil Spill ◽  
Barents Sea ◽  
Oil Pollution ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Response Analysis ◽  
The Barents Sea ◽  
Increased Risk ◽  
Oil Spill Response ◽  
Second Year

Abstract The Norwegian Arctic covers Svalbard, Bear Island, Jan Mayen and the Barents Sea. 80% of all shipping activities in the Arctic are within Norwegian territorial waters and the Exclusive Economic Zone. To reduce the risk for accidents, the Norwegian authorities have established several preventive measures. Among these are ship reporting systems, traffic separation schemes in international waters and surveillance capabilities. If an accident has occurred and an oil spill response operation must be organized - resources, equipment, vessels and manpower from Norwegian and neighboring states will be mobilized. In 2015, the Norwegian Coastal Administration finalized an environmental risk-based emergency response analysis for shipping incidents in the Svalbard, Bear Island and Jan Mayen area. This scenario-based analysis has resulted in a number of recommendations that are currently being implemented to be better prepared for oil spill response operations in the Norwegian Arctic. Further, a large national oil spill response exercise in 2016 was based on one of these scenarios involving at sea and onshore oil spill response at Svalbard. The 2016 exercise, working within the framework of the Agreement on Cooperation on Marine Oil Pollution Preparedness and Response in the Arctic between Canada, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Russia, Sweden and the USA (Arctic Council 2013), focused on a shipping incident in the Norwegian waters in the Barents Sea, close to the Russian border. Every year, as part of the Russian – Norwegian Oil Spill Response Agreement and the SAR Agreement in the Barents Sea, combined SAR and oil spill response exercises are organized. These are held every second year in Russia and every second year in Norway. There is an expected increased traffic and possible increased risk for accidents in the Arctic waters. In order to build and maintain an emergency response system to this, cooperation between states, communities, private companies and other stakeholders is essential. It is important that all actors that operate and have a role in the Arctic are prepared and able to help ensure the best possible emergency response plans. We depend on one another, this paper highlights some of the ongoing activities designed to strengthen the overall response capabilities in the Arctic.

scholarly journals Measurement report: The chemical composition and temporal variability of aerosol particles at Tuktoyaktuk, Canada during the Year of Polar Prediction Special Observing Period

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
John MacInnis ◽  
Jai Prakash Chaubey ◽  
Crystal Weagle ◽  
David Atkinson ◽  
Rachel Ying-Wen Chang
Keyword(s):  
Air Quality ◽  
Chemical Composition ◽  
Aerosol Particles ◽  
Road Dust ◽  
Quality Standard ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Similar Range ◽  
The Government ◽  
Government Of Canada ◽  
Mass Concentrations

Abstract. The chemical composition, sources, and concentrations of aerosol particles vary on a seasonal basis in the Arctic. While existing research has focused on understanding the occurrence of aerosol particles during the Arctic winter and spring, less is known of their occurrence during the Arctic summer. In this study, atmospheric aerosol particle chemical composition and concentration were determined during July–September 2018 at Tuktoyaktuk, NT, Canada (69.4° N, 133.0° W) to coincide with the Year of Polar Prediction’s 2nd Special Observing Period in the Arctic. The chemical composition of fine (PM2.5) and coarse (PM10-2.5) aerosol filter samples suggests the ocean, mineral/road dust, and combustion were sources of the sampled aerosol particles. Mass concentrations of PM2 and PM10, estimated from optical particle counter measurements, remained within a similar range during the study. However, elevated mass concentrations coincided with a festival in the community of Tuktoyaktuk, suggesting local human activity was an important source of aerosol particles. Mass concentrations of PM2, which promote negative health effects in humans, were significantly lower at Tuktoyaktuk than the national air quality standard recommended by the Government of Canada. These measurements provide an important baseline to compare with future measurements associated with the assessment of aerosol chemistry and air quality in the Arctic.

DEEP SEISMIC REFRACTION INVESTIGATION IN THE CANADIAN ARCTIC ARCHIPELAGO

Geophysics ◽  
1965 ◽  
Vol 30 (1) ◽  
pp. 87-96 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. W. Sander ◽  
A. Overton
Keyword(s):  
Seismic Refraction ◽  
Canadian Arctic ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Seismic Profiles ◽  
Seismic Surveys ◽  
Refraction Seismic ◽  
Sverdrup Basin ◽  
Basic Portion ◽  
The Government ◽  
Government Of Canada

During 1962 and 1963, the Dominion Observatory conducted refraction seismic surveys in the islands north of the Canadian mainland. These surveys are part of a project of the Government of Canada to explore the Polar Continental Shelf. The operation consisted of three stationary recording units and a shooting party which traversed the frozen sea in a tractor train. Three refraction‐seismic profiles form a continous section from the Canadian Shield through the Franklinian Geosyncline and the Sverdrup Basin to the Arctic Ocean. Post Devonian sediments in the Sverdrup Basin were found to be 10 km thick. The lower, basic portion of the crust is indicated by a velocity of 7.3 km/sec at a depth of 24 km and the base of the crust at 38 km.

scholarly journals A high-resolution ocean and sea-ice modelling system for the Arctic and North Atlantic Oceans

2015 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-52 ◽  
Author(s):  
F. Dupont ◽  
S. Higginson ◽  
R. Bourdallé-Badie ◽  
Y. Lu ◽  
F. Roy ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
High Resolution ◽  
Sea Ice ◽  
North Atlantic ◽  
Thickness Distribution ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Ice Thickness ◽  
The North ◽  
The Government ◽  
Government Of Canada ◽  
Environmental Prediction

Abstract. As part of the CONCEPTS (Canadian Operational Network of Coupled Environmental PredicTion Systems) initiative, The Government of Canada is developing a high resolution (1/12°) ice–ocean regional model covering the North Atlantic and the Arctic oceans. The objective is to provide Canada with short-term ice–ocean predictions and hazard warnings in ice infested regions. To evaluate the modelling component (as opposed to the analysis – or data-assimilation – component), a series of hindcasts for the period 2003–2009 is carried out, forced at the surface by the Canadian Global Re-Forecasts. These hindcasts test how the model represent upper ocean characteristics and ice cover. Each hindcast implements a new aspect of the modelling or the ice–ocean coupling. Notably, the coupling to the multi-category ice model CICE is tested. The hindcast solutions are then assessed using a validation package under development, including in-situ and satellite ice and ocean observations. The conclusions are: (1) the model reproduces reasonably well the time mean, variance and skewness of sea surface height. (2) The model biases in temperature and salinity show that while the mean properties follow expectations, the Pacific Water signature in the Beaufort Sea is weaker than observed. (3) However, the modelled freshwater content of the Arctic agrees well with observational estimates. (4) The distribution and volume of the sea ice is shown to be improved in the latest hindcast thanks to modifications to the drag coefficients and to some degree as well to the ice thickness distribution available in CICE. (5) On the other hand, the model overestimates the ice drift and ice thickness in the Beaufort Gyre.

Oil and Ice in the Beaufort Sea

Polar Record ◽  
1976 ◽  
Vol 18 (114) ◽  
pp. 237-250 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter Wadhams
Keyword(s):  
Newfoundland And Labrador ◽  
Beaufort Sea ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Oil Resources ◽  
Pack Ice ◽  
Sustained Operation ◽  
Fast Ice ◽  
Environmentally Sensitive ◽  
The Government ◽  
Government Of Canada

As the world's oil resources dwindle, the search for new supplies is touching regions of the globe previously considered too hostile for any kind of sustained operation. The ice-infested coastal waters of eastern and northern Canada are one such region. Already rigs have been at work off Newfoundland and Labrador where there is a long ice-free season and where drifting icebergs are the chief danger. Wells have been drilled on land in the Arctic islands and in one case from fast ice artificially thickened by flooding. However, a proposal to drill in the environmentally sensitive Beaufort Sea aroused widespread concern because of the enormous damage that could be caused by an accidental oil spill or by the blowout of an offshore well. People realized that the polar pack ice presents great dangers, that almost no information existed on the interactions between oil and sea ice, and that the oceanography and biology of the Beaufort Sea were understood only sketchily. To remedy these deficiencies a major environmental impact study, the Beaufort Sea Project, was undertaken in 1974–75 by the federal government of Canada and the oil industry acting in co-operation. The study also served the purpose of definng the conditions and restrictions under which the government would allow offshore drilling to proceed.

Changing the Arctic Paradigm from Cold War to Cooperation: How Canada’s Indigenous Leaders Shaped the Arctic Council

2013 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 7-43 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas S. Axworthy ◽  
Ryan Dean
Keyword(s):  
Indigenous Populations ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Arctic Council ◽  
Indigenous Groups ◽  
The Creation ◽  
The Government ◽  
Government Of Canada ◽  
Foreign Ministers ◽  
Early Indication ◽  
Skilled Group

Abstract Between 1987 and 1997, through an impressive coalition of Nordic governments, the Government of Canada, scientists, environmentalists, foundations and Indigenous groups, the world witnessed the creation of a new body, the Arctic Council, a breakthrough in co-operative Arctic governance. Impressive for the relative speed of its creation, the Council – made up of eight states, six Permanent Participants and several observers – has continued to evolve at a steady pace, and recently became the primary forum for negotiating an Arctic search and rescue treaty. Many contributed to the creation of the Arctic Council, but insofar as a Canadian contribution, one of the leading drivers of the effort was a skilled group of Indigenous leaders. Aboriginal leaders like Mary Simon, supported by foundations, became the advocates of an Arctic Council that gave unprecedented status to Indigenous representatives to sit at the same table as foreign ministers through the innovation of a Permanent Participant category. This victory for the Indigenous community in the creation of the Arctic Council was an early indication of the growing presence and sophistication of the world’s Indigenous populations. Their current importance, as highlighted by the U.N. Declaration of Rights of Indigenous Peoples in 2007, has as a precedent the invention of the Permanent Participant membership category of the Arctic Council a decade earlier.

Working conditions and occupational pathology of coal miners in the Arctic

2019 ◽  
pp. 452-457 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. A. Gorbanev ◽  
S. A. Syurin ◽  
N. M. Frolova
Keyword(s):  
Coal Mining ◽  
Working Conditions ◽  
Occupational Diseases ◽  
Climatic Factors ◽  
Coal Mines ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Morbidity Rate ◽  
Coal Miners ◽  
Increased Risk ◽  
The Impact

Introduction. Due to the impact of adverse working conditions and climate, workers in coal-mining enterprises in the Arctic are at increased risk of occupational diseases (OD).The aim of the study was to study the working conditions, causes, structure and prevalence of occupational diseases in miners of coal mines in the Arctic.Materials and methods. Th e data of social and hygienic monitoring “Working conditions and occupational morbidity” of the population of Vorkuta and Chukotka Autonomous District in 2007–2017 are studied.Results. It was established that in 2007–2017 years, 2,296 ODs were diagnosed for the first time in 1851 coal mines, mainly in the drifters, clearing face miners, repairmen and machinists of mining excavating machines. Most often, the ODs occurred when exposed to the severity of labor, fibrogenic aerosols and hand-arm vibration. The development of professional pathology in 98% of cases was due to design flaws of machines and mechanisms, as well as imperfections of workplaces and technological processes. Diseases of the musculoskeletal system (36.2%), respiratory organs (28.9%) and nervous system (22.5%) prevailed in the structure of professional pathology of miners of coal mines. Among the three most common nosological forms of OD were radiculopathy (32.1%), chronic bronchitis (27.7%) and mono-polyneuropathy (15.4%). In 2017, coal miners in the Arctic had a professional morbidity rate of 2.82 times higher than the national rates for coal mining.Conclusions. To preserve the health of miners of coal mining enterprises, technical measures to improve working conditions and medical interventions aimed at increasing the body’s resistance to the effects of harmful production and climatic factors are necessary.

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