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makers at the local, territorial and national levels so data to develop a clearer understanding of Arctic
that they can use it as they develop their responses environments as they are now—benchmarks
to climate change. which will allow future change to be measured and
evaluated.
Scientific reports based on numerous studies
demonstrate that the Arctic regions are Below are some examples of POLAR-supported
experiencing climate warming at an accelerated research:
rate. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate • A weather station network to support safe travel
Change (IPCC) 2019 Special Report on the Ocean and build environmental monitoring capacity in
and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate indicates Nunavut (University of Calgary).
that the Arctic is warming at more than twice the
global rate. The Changing air temperatures affect • SmartICE Pond Inlet: a sea ice information service
many components of the Arctic ecosystem, which in to support local decision-making. The project
turn affects the wellbeing of Northerners. The Arctic deploys in-situ and mobile sea-ice thickness
is an enormous and complex region, and the central sensors in areas where Inuit travel and the ice are
Canadian Arctic, where POLAR’s headquarters known to be dangerous (Memorial University of
are located, is a relatively understudied region. Newfoundland).
Much of the research that POLAR conducts and
supports involves obtaining baseline environmental • Permafrost research, including monitoring
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