Arctic Research Foundation

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Arctic Research Foundation (ARF) is a private, non-profit organization based in Canada. Federally incorporated in 2011, ARF works with Indigenous and Northern communities, NGOs, government, private corporations and academia to facilitate science research and community initiatives. [1]

Contents

ARF’s mandate is to find innovative and flexible solutions to the unique challenges that are ever-present in the Arctic.

By developing effective science-community partnerships and physical infrastructure initiatives, ARF aims to contribute to the economic, social and spiritual well-being of communities, provide important and timely information on how and why the environment is changing, and inform systems-based, adaptive co-management approaches to climate adaptation.

History

ARF was founded in 2011 by former co-CEO of Research in Motion, Balsillie, and Waterloo-area businessman, Tim MacDonald, to assist Parks Canada’s search for HMS Terror and HMS Erebus. [2]

English explorer Sir John Franklin set sail in search of the Northwest Passage in 1845. HMS Erebus, HMS Terror and crew were last seen by Inuit near King William Island and never returned to England. [3]

Their disappearance prompted a 170-year search for the ships.

After seeing foreign vessels searching for the shipwrecks while flying over King William Island, Balsillie wanted to help bolster the Canadian efforts to locate the lost ships. After forming ARF, Balsillie and MacDonald decided to refurbish an Atlantic Canadian fishing vessel, the R/V Martin Bergmann, and make it available to Parks Canada’s archeologists.

A Parks Canada led expedition located HMS Erebus in September 2014 after Inuit identified the search area. The wreck of HMS Terror was discovered two years later.

Due to its Arctic home port, ARF’s vessel, the R/V Martin Bergmann, was responsible for at least 80 per cent of territory surveyed during the search.

Current Operations

When the search for the Terror and the Erebus concluded, Balsillie and MacDonald saw opportunities to expand the foundation in order to generate broader public interest in the Arctic and challenges faced in the region.

ARF refocused its efforts on developing partnerships and infrastructure to support initiatives including food security, climate change and economic development.

Since 2011, ARF has made possible dozens of scientific missions and contributed to many cultural initiatives in Arctic regions with the operation of research vessels, remote mobile laboratories and community growing pods.

Research Vessels

ARF maintains and operates 5 research vessels: the R/V Martin Bergmann, the R/V William Kennedy, the R/V Jenny Pierre, the R/V Tiriarnaq, and the R/V Nahidik. These vessels support numerous science and community programs across Canada’s Arctic regions.

The R/V Martin Bergmann

The R/V Martin Bergmann is a repurposed Newfoundland fishing trawler stationed in Cambridge Bay, Nunavut and is operational during the ice free months of the year. The Bergmann is used for scientific research, archeological exploration and mapping waterways around Victoria Island. [4]

The R/V William Kennedy

The R/V William Kennedy is Canada’s first research vessel dedicated exclusively to Hudson Bay. The vessel is a refitted Atlantic Canadian fishing vessel operated by the Arctic Research Foundation in partnership with the University of Manitoba and the Churchill Marine Observatory, a multidisciplinary research facility located in Churchill. The R/V William Kennedy hosts a variety of researchers and scientists, including oceanographers, geneticists and biologists who partner with local communities to conduct scientific research throughout Hudson Bay. [5]

R/V Nahidik

The Nahidik is a shallow draft research vessel operating in Great Slave Lake and throughout the Mackenzie River in Northwest Territories. It is the largest vessel in the ARF fleet measuring 175 feet in length. The former coast guard vessel was refitted in partnership with the Government of Northwest Territories in 2019 and has been operational since. The vessel has supported various science projects including a study of Great Slave Lake’s bathymetry, geological surveys of the area and a youth science expedition in partnership with Northern Youth Leadership. [6]

R/V Tiriarnaq

Currently stationed in Victoria, British Columbia, the R/V Tiriarnaq, was a former coast guard vessel until 2019, when it was refitted to support science research. It is expected that the vessel will be stationed in the Northwest Territories in the future, and specialize in supporting near coastal research. [7]

The R/V Jenny Pierre

The R/V Jenny Pierre is a vessel co-owned by the community of Gjoa Haven and ARF, in the Kitikmeot Region of Nunavut. Community members reached out to ARF to refurbish the former converted lobster boat to meet the growing research needs of local groups, including its hunter and trapper organization. [8]

Mobile Labs

ARF operates four mobile science labs and one Plant Production and Research Pod, which is located in Gjoa Haven, Nunavut. [9]

Built out of sea containers, the labs are heated, insulated and equipped with toilets, water purifiers and satellite communication links. The labs are also capable of plugging into existing power networks or running completely off the grid, drawing electricity through environmentally friendly solar panels or wind turbines.

The mobile labs can be moved across remote Arctic environments, either by land or by sea.

Naurvik

ARF’s first Mobile Plant Production and Research Pod is operating in the Northern community of Gjoa Haven, Nunavut. Local residents named the project, Naurvik, which means “the growing place.” [10]

The Plant Production and Research Pod is an adaptation of the mobile lab, further developed to grow fresh produce and test new agriculture technologies.   It is currently housed in two shipping containers powered by solar panels and wind turbines with a generator for backup when the wind and sun both fall short.

First becoming operational in 2019, Naurvik currently harvests micro-greens and tomatoes that are distributed to community elders and residents. The crops harvested in the pod are chosen by the community.

The project is a collaboration with the Hamlet of Gjoa Haven, ARF, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, the National Research Council and the Canadian Space Agency.

Arctic Focus

Arctic Focus is a media platform hosted and developed by ARF. Established in August 2018, Arctic Focus publishes stories from across the Arctic authored by researchers, Northern residents, explorers and journalists. It aims to foster education about Arctic regions while also offering a platform for Northern based creators and writers to publish their work. [11]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Franklin</span> British naval officer and explorer (1786–1847)

Sir John Franklin was a British Royal Navy officer and Arctic explorer. After serving in wars against Napoleonic France and the United States, he led two expeditions into the Canadian Arctic and through the islands of the Arctic Archipelago, in 1819 and 1825, and served as Lieutenant-Governor of Van Diemen's Land from 1839 to 1843. During his third and final expedition, an attempt to traverse the Northwest Passage in 1845, Franklin's ships became icebound off King William Island in what is now Nunavut, where he died in June 1847. The icebound ships were abandoned ten months later and the entire crew died, from causes such as starvation, hypothermia, and scurvy.

HMS <i>Erebus</i> (1826) Hecla-class bomb vessel best known for Antarctic and Arctic exploration

HMS Erebus was a Hecla-class bomb vessel constructed by the Royal Navy in Pembroke dockyard, Wales, in 1826. The vessel was the second in the Royal Navy named after Erebus, the personification of darkness in Greek mythology.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kitikmeot Region</span> Region in Nunavut, Canada

Kitikmeot Region is an administrative region of Nunavut, Canada. It consists of the southern and eastern parts of Victoria Island with the adjacent part of the mainland as far as the Boothia Peninsula, together with King William Island and the southern portion of Prince of Wales Island. The regional centre is Cambridge Bay.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bathurst Island (Nunavut)</span> Uninhabited member of the Queen Elizabeth Islands, Nunavut, Canada

Bathurst Island is one of the Queen Elizabeth Islands in Nunavut, Canada. It is a member of the Arctic Archipelago. The area of the island is estimated at 16,042 km2 (6,194 sq mi), 115 to 117 mi long and from 63 mi (101 km) to 72 mi (116 km) to 92.9 mi (149.5 km) wide, making it Canada's 13th largest island. It is located between Devon Island and Cornwallis Island in the east, and Melville Island in the west. Four small islands of Cameron, Vanier, Massey and Alexander lie in its northwest.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">King William Island</span> Island in Nunavut, Canada

King William Island is an island in the Kitikmeot Region of Nunavut, which is part of the Arctic Archipelago. In area it is between 12,516 km2 (4,832 sq mi) and 13,111 km2 (5,062 sq mi) making it the 61st-largest island in the world and Canada's 15th-largest island. Its population, as of the 2021 census, was 1,349, all of whom live in the island's only community, Gjoa Haven.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gjoa Haven</span> Hamlet in Nunavut, Canada

Gjoa Haven is an Inuit hamlet in Nunavut, above the Arctic Circle, located in the Kitikmeot Region, 1,056 km (656 mi) northeast of Yellowknife, Northwest Territories. It is the only settlement on King William Island.

HMS <i>Terror</i> (1813) British warship and polar exploration ship

HMS Terror was a specialised warship and a newly developed bomb vessel constructed for the Royal Navy in 1813. She participated in several battles of the War of 1812, including the Battle of Baltimore with the bombardment of Fort McHenry. She was converted into a polar exploration ship two decades later, and participated in George Back's Arctic expedition of 1836–1837, the successful Ross expedition to the Antarctic of 1839 to 1843, and Sir John Franklin's ill-fated attempt to force the Northwest Passage in 1845, during which she was lost with all hands along with HMS Erebus.

Beechey Island is an island located in the Arctic Archipelago of Nunavut, Canada, in Wellington Channel. It is separated from the southwest corner of Devon Island by Barrow Strait. Other features include Wellington Channel, Erebus Harbour, and Terror Bay.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Francis Crozier</span> Irish naval officer and polar explorer (1796–1848?)

Francis Rawdon Moira Crozier was an Irish officer of the Royal Navy and polar explorer who participated in six expeditions to the Arctic and Antarctic. In May 1845, he was second-in-command to Sir John Franklin and captain of HMS Terror during the Franklin expedition to discover the Northwest Passage, which ended with the loss of all 129 crewmen in mysterious circumstances.

CCGS <i>Sir Wilfrid Laurier</i>

CCGS Sir Wilfrid Laurier is a Martha L. Black-class light icebreaker and major navaids tender of the Canadian Coast Guard. Built in 1986 by Canadian Shipbuilding at Collingwood, Ontario, Canada, she was the last ship constructed there. The ship has been based out of Victoria, British Columbia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">James Clark Ross</span> British explorer and naval officer (1800–1862)

Sir James Clark Ross was a British Royal Navy officer and polar explorer known for his explorations of the Arctic, participating in two expeditions led by his uncle John Ross, and four led by William Edward Parry, and, in particular, for his own Antarctic expedition from 1839 to 1843.

The Northwest Passage Territorial Park is located at Gjoa Haven, on King William Island, Kitikmeot Region, Nunavut, Canada. The park consists of six areas that show in part the history of the exploration of the Northwest Passage and the first successful passage by Roald Amundsen in the Gjøa.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Franklin's lost expedition</span> British expedition of Arctic exploration

Franklin's lost expedition was a failed British voyage of Arctic exploration led by Captain Sir John Franklin that departed England in 1845 aboard two ships, HMS Erebus and HMS Terror, and was assigned to traverse the last unnavigated sections of the Northwest Passage in the Canadian Arctic and to record magnetic data to help determine whether a better understanding could aid navigation. The expedition met with disaster after both ships and their crews, a total of 129 officers and men, became icebound in Victoria Strait near King William Island in what is today the Canadian territory of Nunavut. After being icebound for more than a year Erebus and Terror were abandoned in April 1848, by which point Franklin and nearly two dozen others had died. The survivors, now led by Franklin's second-in-command, Francis Crozier, and Erebus's captain, James Fitzjames, set out for the Canadian mainland and disappeared, presumably having perished.

O'Reilly Island is an uninhabited island in Nunavut Territory, Canada. It lies to the south of King William Island and to the west of the Klutschak and Adelaide Peninsulas, in the easternmost part of the Queen Maud Gulf.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ross expedition</span> 1839–43 British Antarctic exploration mission

The Ross expedition was a voyage of scientific exploration of the Antarctic in 1839 to 1843, led by James Clark Ross, with two unusually strong warships, HMS Erebus and HMS Terror. It explored what is now called the Ross Sea and discovered the Ross Ice Shelf. On the expedition, Ross discovered the Transantarctic Mountains and the volcanoes Erebus and Terror, named after his ships. The young botanist Joseph Dalton Hooker made his name on the expedition.

Terror Bay is an Arctic waterway in the Kitikmeot Region, Nunavut, Canada. It is located in the south western side of King William Island. The entrance to the bay is marked by Fitzjames Island on the west and Irving Islands to the east. The Bay opens to Queen Maud Gulf.

Wrecks of HMS <i>Erebus</i> and HMS <i>Terror</i> National Historic Site National Historic Site of Canada in Nunavut

The Wrecks of HMS Erebus and HMS Terror National Historic Site is a National Historic Site of Canada near King William Island in the northern Nunavut territory. It protects the wrecks of HMS Erebus and HMS Terror, the two ships of the last expedition of Sir John Franklin, lost in the 1840s during their search for the Northwest Passage and then re-discovered in 2014 and 2016. The site is jointly managed by Parks Canada and the local Inuit. Public access to the site is not permitted.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nattilik Heritage Centre</span> Museum in Nunavut, Canada

Nattilik Heritage Centre is a museum in Gjoa Haven, King William Island, Nunavut, Canada. It presents the history and culture of the local Inuit.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Irving (Royal Navy officer)</span> British Royal Navy officer and explorer

John Irving was a British officer in the Royal Navy and polar explorer. He served under Francis Crozier as Third Lieutenant on the ship HMS Terror during the 1845 Franklin Expedition which sought to discover and chart as-of-yet unexplored parts of the Canadian Arctic, including the Northwest Passage, and make scientific observations. All personnel of the expedition, including Irving, perished in and around King William Island in what is now Nunavut, Canada. Irving is one of the few men whose remains have been supposedly identified and re-interred in Britain.

John Gregory was an English railway and naval engineer. He served as engineer aboard HMS Erebus during the 1845 Franklin Expedition, which sought to explore uncharted parts of what is now Nunavut, including the Northwest Passage, and make scientific observations. The ships were outfitted with former railway locomotive engines which served as auxiliary power units, which is why Gregory, who had never been to sea, served on the expedition. All expedition personnel perished in uncertain conditions, mostly on and around King William Island. In 2021, Gregory's remains became the first of the expedition to be identified using DNA analysis.

References

  1. ↑ "About". Arctic Focus. Retrieved 2021-03-09.
  2. ↑ "History". Arctic Focus. Retrieved 2021-03-09.
  3. ↑ Parks Canada Agency, Government of Canada (2020-07-22). "Wrecks of HMS Erebus and HMS Terror National Historic Site". www.pc.gc.ca. Retrieved 2021-03-09.
  4. ↑ "R/V Martin Bergmann". Arctic Focus. Retrieved 2021-03-09.
  5. ↑ "R/V William Kennedy". Arctic Focus. Retrieved 2021-03-09.
  6. ↑ "R/V Nahidik". Arctic Focus. Retrieved 2021-03-09.
  7. ↑ "R/V Tiriarnaq". Arctic Focus. Retrieved 2021-03-09.
  8. ↑ "R/V Jenny Pierre". Arctic Focus. Retrieved 2021-03-09.
  9. ↑ "Mobile Labs". Arctic Focus. Retrieved 2021-03-09.
  10. ↑ Agency, Canadian Space (2021-01-12). "Naurvik project in Nunavut". www.asc-csa.gc.ca. Retrieved 2021-03-09.
  11. ↑ "Arctic Research, Perspectives, and News". Arctic Focus. Retrieved 2021-03-09.
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