Massive Climate Research Expedition Focuses On Beaufort Sea - CBC

[hatrack]

YELLOWKNIFE - "A Canadian researcher is leading a massive climate change study in the Beaufort Delta. The project involves 75 scientists from Canada, the United States and Norway. The group will be based aboard a refurbished icebreaker, Franklin.

University of Saskatchewan professor Alec Aitken is leading the international team of Arctic experts. Aitken says he expects the group to come back with a comprehensive picture of the effects of climate change.

'The project as you well know is focused on climate change and how it affects sea ice and how that then affects things that are happening in terms of the biology of the oceans,' Aitken says.

EDIT

The Franklin is set to leave Quebec City Sept. 5. Some scientists will spend a year tracking sea ice cover. Others will study plankton and activity in the ocean floor.

Aitken says the Beaufort is the best place in the world to look at climate change.

'This is the region of North America where we've seen the greatest change in temperatures, where we've seen the greatest change in sea ice cover, where we've seen the most rapid rate of thawing of permafrost,' Aitken says."

EDIT

As an aside, I hope choosing a ship named the Franklin (for an expedition to Western Arctic Canada, for crying out loud) isn't a bad mojo indicator!

http://north.cbc.ca/regional/servlet/View?filename=june30climatechange06302003

[pmbryant]

1. Is there a baseline?

Is there data on the past for that area that the new data will be compared to, or is this going to serve as a baseline for measuring future changes?

:shrug:

--Peter