Canada: projects/activities

Directory entires that have specified Canada as the primary or lead country for the project/activity and are included in the AMAP, ENVINET, SAON and SEARCH directories. To see the full list of countries, see the countries list. The specified country may not be the geographic region where the activity is taking place - to select a geographic region, see the list of regions.

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Displaying: 1 - 4 of 4
1. C-ICE 2001

The Collaborative Interdisciplinary Cryospheric Experiment (C-ICE) is a multi-year field experiment that incorporates many individual projects, each with autonomous goals and objectives. The science conducted has directly evolved from research relating to one of four general themes: i. sea ice energy balance; ii. numerical modeling of atmospheric processes; iii. remote sensing of snow covered sea ice; and iv. ecosystem studies.

Atmospheric processes Biology Mapping Climate variability Spatial trends Remote Sensing Sea ice Climate change Shipping Modelling Ice Polar bear Oceanography Arctic Ice cores GIS Energy Balance Food webs Data management MicroWave Scattering Atmosphere Ocean currents Ecosystems Marine mammals
2. Mercury Measurements at Amderma, Russia

This project aims to establish continuous Total Gaseous Mercury (TGM) measurements at Amderma, Russia to provide circumpolar data in concert with international sampling efforts at Alert (Nunavut, Canada), Point Barrow (Alaska, USA) and Ny-Ålesund (Svalbard/Spitsbergen, Norway). The objectives of this project are to determine spatial and temporal trends in atmospheric mercury concentrations and deposition processes of mercury in the Arctic in order to assist in the development of long-term strategies for this priority pollutant by: A) measuring ambient air TGM concentrations in the Russian Arctic; B) investigating and establishing the causes of temporal variability (seasonal, annual) in mercury concentrations so that realistic representations (models) of atmospheric pathways and processes can be formulated, tested and validated; and C) studying the circumpolar behaviour of mercury by comparison with data from other polar sites.

Pathways Atmospheric processes gas-phase mercury mercury Heavy metals Long-range transport Spatial trends Hg Arctic Atmosphere Temporal trends particulate-phase mercury Arctic springtime depletion of mercury total gaseous mercury
3. Mercury Measurements at Alert

The objectives of the project are: A) to determine temporal trends in atmospheric mercury concentrations and deposition processes of mercury in the Arctic, and to assist in the development of long-term strategies for this priority pollutant by: i) measuring ambient air Total Gaseous Mercury (TGM) concentrations in the Canadian Arctic (Alert) and investigating the linkage to elevated levels of mercury known to be present in the Arctic food chain; ii) investigating and establishing the causes of temporal variability (seasonal, annual) in mercury concentrations so that realistic representations (models) of atmospheric pathways and processes can be formulated, tested and validated; iii) studying the chemical and physical aspects of atmospheric mercury vapour transformation (oxidation) after polar sunrise and the resultant enhanced mercury deposition to the sea, snow and ice surfaces each year during springtime; and iv) obtaining a long-term time series of atmospheric mercury (TGM) concentrations at Alert for the purpose of establishing whether mercury in the troposphere of the northern hemisphere is (still) increasing and if so, at what rate; B) to establish a sound scientific basis for addressing existing gaps of knowledge of the behaviour of mercury in the Arctic environment that will enable international regulatory actions to reflect the appropriate environmental protection strategies and pollution controls for the Arctic by: i) studying the relative roles of anthropogenic and natural sources of mercury so as to clarify understanding of the atmospheric pathways leading to the availability of mercury to Arctic biota; ii) studying tropospheric TGM depletion mechanisms/processes leading to enhanced input of mercury to the Arctic biosphere in spring; iii) undertaking essential speciated measurements of particulate-phase and/or reactive gaseous-phase mercury as well as mercury in precipitation (snow/rain) to quantify wet and dry deposition fluxes into the Arctic environment; and vi) providing the scientific basis for the information and advice used in the preparation and development of Canadian international strategies and negotiating positions for appropriate international control objectives.

Pathways Atmospheric processes gas-phase mercury mercury Heavy metals Long-range transport Spatial trends Hg Arctic Atmosphere Temporal trends particulate-phase mercury Arctic springtime depletion of mercury total gaseous mercury
4. Fluxes of Mercury from the Arctic Ice Surface during Polar Sunrise Conditions and Melt Conditions

The objectives of this project are: A) to determine the pathway for the transfer of mercury in snowmelt to sea water during the melt period at Alert; B) to determine the extent of open water and wet ice in the summer Arctic as it affects the surface exchange of Hg using satellite radar imagery; and C) to determine the atmospheric dynamics associated with the photochemistry of mercury episodically during the polar sunrise period.

trace metals satellite radar imagery radar Atmospheric processes melt open water acoustic sounding mercury Mapping Heavy metals Long-range transport Spatial trends Contaminant transport Hg Modelling Ice Arctic GIS radar imagery wet ice Atmosphere atmospheric boundary layer boundary layer