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This paper provides ethnographic and historical evidence for the existence, in time and space, of a network of well-established trails connecting most Inuit settlements and significant places across the Canadian Arctic. The geographic and environmental knowledge relating to trails (and place names associated with the trails) has been orally transmitted through many generations of Inuit. I use historical documents, ethnographic research, and new geographic tools such as GPS, GIS and Google Earth, to show the geographic extent of the network and its historical continuity. I particularly draw on a trip following Inuit along a traditional trail connecting the communities of Iglulik and Naujaat (Repulse Bay). Inuit have made systematic use of the Arctic environment as a whole and trails are, and have been, significant channels of communication and exchange across the Arctic. There are some types of oral history and knowledge that can be accurately transmitted through generations, and I propose that some aspects of Inuit culture are better understood in terms of moving as a way of living. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research on climate change impacts, vulnerability and adaptation, particularly projects aiming to contribute to practical adaptation initiatives, requires active involvement and collaboration with community members and local, regional and national organizations that use this research for policy-making. Arctic communities are already experiencing and adapting to environmental and socio-cultural changes, and researchers have a practical and ethical responsibility to engage with communities that are the focus of the research. This paper draws on the experiences of researchers working with communities across the Canadian Arctic, together with the expertise of Inuit organizations, Northern research institutes and community partners, to outline key considerations for effectively engaging Arctic communities in collaborative research. These considerations include: initiating early and ongoing communication with communities, and regional and national contacts; involving communities in research design and development; facilitating opportunities for local employment; and disseminating research findings. Examples of each consideration are drawn from climate change research conducted with communities in the Canadian Arctic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The story of oil and gas exploration in the Arctic Islands of Canada and in the Sverdrup Basin of that region is largely the story of Panarctic Oils Limited. Panarctic was incorporated May 27, 1966 by Federal Letters Patent and operations started in 1968 with the first seismic work. J.C. Sproule of Calgary was a major force behind its formation. Panarctic was an industry/government consortium established to explore for oil and gas in the Canadian Arctic Islands, with up to 37 participating companies. Panarctic drilled 150 wells over an area measuring some 850 by 1200km. The most northerly well was located approximately 80°45′ N on Ellesmere Island and the most southerly well was at 72°40′ N on Prince of Wales Island. 38 of these wells were drilled offshore from floating ice platforms in water depths of up to 550m. 500km3 (17.5trillionft3) of natural gas reserves was discovered over this period and small oil reserves were discovered at Bent Horn. All of the offshore wells attempted were drilled, logged and tested as planned, a proof of the viability of using ice as a support for drilling. In spite of large distances, extreme weather and permafrost, the operations were successful and had no lasting effect on the environment. This paper summarizes the significant achievements over Panarctic''s history from inception to 1986 when operations ceased. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

In the eastern Canadian Arctic, a shift in toolstone selection strategies from pre-dorset (4500-2800 B.P.) to dorset (2500-1000 B.P.) has been interpreted as one line of evidence indicating culture change within the palaeo-Eskimo continuum. pre-dorset toolmakers appear to have relied on readily available local cherts while dorset toolmakers were more discriminating, frequently using scarce or non-local toolstones such as chalcedony from northern labrador, crystal quartz, and nephrite, among others. our recent analysis of a debitage assemblage from ledx-42, a multi-component palaeo-Eskimo site located in the interior of southern Bafin island, aimed to see if similar raw material signatures could be isolated using a newly developed methodological approach for sourcing chert toolstone. one of our objectives in this preliminary study was to evaluate if diversity in chert selection strategies could be used as a proxy to assess possible links between cultural affiliation and activity areas within the site. this paper describes the sourcing protocol and discusses our results as they relate to the palaeo-Eskimo exploitation of chert toolstone at LeDx-42. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Freshwater exiting the Arctic Ocean through the Canadian Arctic Archipelago (CAA) has been shown to affect meridional overturning circulation and thereby the global climate system. However, because of constraints of spatial resolution in most global ocean models, neither the flow of low salinity water through the CAA to the Labrador Sea nor the eddy activity that may transport freshwater from the shelf to areas of open ocean convection can be directly simulated. To address these issues, this study uses a high-resolution ice-ocean model of the pan-Arctic region with a realistic CAA and forced with realistic atmospheric data. This model resolves conditions in the Arctic Ocean upstream of the Labrador Sea and is coupled to a thermodynamic-dynamic sea ice model that responds to the atmospheric forcing. The major shelf-basin exchange of liquid freshwater occurs south of Hamilton Bank, whereas the largest ice flux occurs in the northwest of the basin. Freshwater flux anomalies entering the Labrador Sea through Davis Strait do not immediately affect deep convection. Instead, eddies acting on shorter time scales can move freshwater to locations of active convection and halt the process. Convection is modulated by the position of the ice edge, highlighting the critical need for a coupled ice-ocean model. Finally, the size of eddies and the short duration of events demonstrate the need for high resolution, both spatial and temporal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the climactic, economic, and political realities of oil and gas exploration and development in the Canadian Arctic. The author suggests that potential oil or gas discoveries does not mean the economics or the environmental costs justify the efforts in getting the product to the markets. It mentions that the country has enforced a moratorium on off shore drilling due to the risks it brings like the massive 2010 Macondo deep water oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. It mentions several changes that Canada has to do before exploiting its oil and gas in the North including the ability to control the Northwest Passage, and requiring of a requisite shipping facilities and monitoring systems.

Objectives. Societies that foster socially supportive networks produce healthier populations. Social support is a significant determinant of health among Canada's Inuit population; however, little is known about the characteristics that provide access to social support among Inuit. This exploratory analysis describes how 4 types of social support (namely, positive social interaction, emotional support, tangible support and affection and intimacy) differ in relation to various determinants of health. Study design. Micro-data from the Arctic Supplement of the 2001 Aboriginal Peoples Survey (n=26,290) was used. Methods. Cross-tabulations and multivariate logistic regression analyses were used to examine levels (high/low) of the 4 types of social support among the full Inuit sample (n=26,290) as they relate to age, gender, geographic region, marital status, Aboriginal language use and participation in traditional harvesting activities. Results. Certain subsegments of the Inuit population were less likely to report high levels of social support, including men, the elderly (aged 55+) and the unmarried. Some Inuit-relevant determinants were also found to decrease the odds of reporting high levels of social support, including being unable to speak or understand an Aboriginal language, not participating in traditional harvesting activities and living in Nunavik. Conclusions. Research that frames Inuit health within the social determinants of health is in its relative infancy; however, evidence from the social epidemiological literature indicates that those with diminished access to social support also suffer poorer health outcomes. Future research should build on the findings of this study to examine how the relationship between various health outcomes (e.g., respiratory disease, suicide attempts, self-rated health) and social support may respond along a social gradient. Such analysis will build on the paucity of literature specific to Inuit health and social conditions and set priorities for policy and programming efforts that will improve the social determinants of Inuit health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences is the property of Canadian Science Publishing and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Dinkum Sands was mapped in 1949 as a small island, one link in a 95-km-long chain of harrier islands near Prudhoe Bay, Alaska. Questions about its status as an Arctic island and the submerged land ownership led to a Federal/State joint monitoring program using topographic surveys, tide gauges, and other approaches. On the basis of the results the Supreme Court concluded that Dinkum Sands is a shoal rather than an island. The shoal attracts the yearly formation of pressure ridges at least as high as 15 m and undergoes drastic changes in location, shape, and elevation. Pressure ridges form from 10-cm-thick new ice when shifting and compression result in crumbling and the introduction of ice slabs into the sandy gravel shoal. This leads to a seasonal increase in shoal volume and height. With summer warming and sea-ice melting, part of the ice in the crest of the shoal (∼ 50%) melts and its height accordingly drops to below sea level. This lowering requires neither wave action nor lateral sediment transport. The original disappearance of the island in the 1950s, however, probably was not caused by diminished sediment supply from rivers or from coastal erosion, but by diminished local sediment supply through ice pile-ups or by increased erosion from wave attack. Similar changes in sediment volume as those observed in Dinkum Sands probably also occur on fully submerged shoals ranging to water depths of 20 or more meters, which are also marked by seasonal pressure ridge formation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences is the property of Canadian Science Publishing and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)