Polar Environment Atmospheric Research Laboratory (PEARL)

The Arctic remains one of the Earth's least understood environments and yet it is often regarded as an early warning system for many aspects of climate change. There are also the issues of ozone depletion and ultraviolet radiation, and changes in air quality. The international scientific community unanimously recognizes the acute need for direct observation and measurement of conditions and processes in the Arctic. Many countries have assigned high priority to Arctic research and the current International Polar Year (IPY) effort is a result of this concern. Canada has a particular stake in Arctic research because much of the Arctic land mass is within Canada. However, the opportunities for doing research in the high Arctic are very limited because of the difficulties of maintaining a viable research site. This proposal is for the funds necessary to maintain the Polar Environment Atmospheric Research Laboratory (PEARL) located at a site approximately 15 km from the Meteorological Service of Canada's Eureka weather station and only 1,100km from the North Pole. There is no comparable site in the world. The purpose-built laboratory is unique in its "clear sky" nights and ability to monitor and obtain measurements from both inside and outside the winter polar vortex, the focus of much atmospheric research. More than 40 researchers including undergraduate and graduate students, Canadian university and government researchers and international investigators are currently involved in the PEARL facility. Many of these researchers and PEARL itself are also heavily involved in the IPY. PEARL enables Canadian researchers to perform internationally-competitive as well as scientifically and environmentally relevant atmospheric research in Canada's far North.