Isachsen, Nunavut
Encyclopedia
Isachsen was a remote Arctic
research-weather station
named after the Norwegian explorer of the Arctic
, Gunnar Isachsen
. it is located on the western shore of Ellef Ringnes Island
in the Sverdrup Islands
, in the territory of Nunavut
in Canada
. Isachsen Station was established to participate in a joint Canadian-American weather observation program. Isachsen Station operated from April 3, 1948 through September 19, 1978. Regular weather observations began on May 3, 1948.
Climate Severity Index, Isachsen and the surrounding area has the worst weather in Canada with a CSI severity value of 99 out of a possible 100.
, lichen
s, and a few tiny flowering plants. The wildlife here is limited to polar bear
s, Arctic Fox
es, seal
s, muskoxen, and migratory birds
.
C-47 cargo plane crashed on takeoff at the weather station. The plane had 10 people on board, a U.S. Air Force crew of six and four civilian passengers. The passengers were two U.S. weather bureau employees, a Canadian weather bureau employee, and an RCMP constable. Three of the aircrew received cuts and bruises and everyone else escaped injury. The subsequent investigation blamed the accident on the plane being overloaded and attempting to take off with ice building up on the cockpit windshield and wings. At the time of the crash there were five inches of snow on the mud runway, a light snow fall and some fog. The wreck was briefly shown in an episode of the BBC program Top Gear. Photos of the remains of Isachsen Station can be seen on the Hilux Arctic Challenge Web site, taken by the Top Gear team on their trip to the nearby 1996 North Magnetic Pole
. The footage of the wreck was filmed on May 2, 2007. The episode first aired on July 25, 2007.
During the 1950s, Isachsen Station was primarily collecting radiosonde
observations. Along with weather soundings from similar stations such as Mould Bay
, Eureka
, and Alert
, this information was used to complete the North America
n data, primarily used to produce weather forecasts
over the North Atlantic Ocean
, Greenland
, and Iceland
, and long-range weather forecasts for Western Europe
.
The Isachsen Station was located in an extremely isolated place, with supplies and new personnel flown in by the Royal Canadian Air Force
, usually twice a year: in the late spring, and again in the early fall from an air base at Resolute
on Cornwallis Island
. In turn, Resolute Station, like most northern communities, was supplied using ocean-going cargo ship
s aided by icebreaker
s during the late summer sealift
.
The eight-man staff at Isachsen usually consisted of four Americans and four Canadians. The Americans were usually two weather observers, a cook, and a mechanic. The Canadians were usually two weather observors and two radio operators. All communications to and from Iachsen Station was via shortwave radio
radiotelegraphy.
Fuel oil
and diesel fuel for heating and cooking, and for the station's electric generators, respectively, were shipped to Isachsen by transport planes in standard metal fuel barrel
s.
During the summer of 1958, the Isachsen station was rebuilt using prefabricated buildings
that had been airlift
ed in along with about a dozen construction personnel. The sun sets in October and it is totally dark for about three months with temperatures from -25 °F to -60 °F (-32 °C to -51 °C). In the summer the sun is visible above the horizon 24 hours for about three months with temperatures from about 45 °F to 60 °F (7 °C to 16 °C).
In 1956, a plan by the Government of Canada
to resettle the Inuit
people at several high Arctic locations was scrapped. These settlements would have included Isachsen, Alert, Eureka, and Mould Bay.
On October 31, 1971, the United States withdrew from participation in the weather program at the site. In 1977, the Canadian Government made a significant investment in Isachsen to upgrade its buildings. Then, in 1978, as a cost-cutting measure, the Government decided to close one high Arctic station, Isachsen Station was selected, and it was closed down during that same year. The last manned weather observations were taken on July 31, 1978. An Automated Surface Observing System was placed at this site in 1989, linked by satellite communications to southern Canada. Isachsen is uninhabited.
Web site.
Arctic
The Arctic is a region located at the northern-most part of the Earth. The Arctic consists of the Arctic Ocean and parts of Canada, Russia, Greenland, the United States, Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Iceland. The Arctic region consists of a vast, ice-covered ocean, surrounded by treeless permafrost...
research-weather station
Weather station
A weather station is a facility, either on land or sea, with instruments and equipment for observing atmospheric conditions to provide information for weather forecasts and to study the weather and climate. The measurements taken include temperature, barometric pressure, humidity, wind speed, wind...
named after the Norwegian explorer of the Arctic
Arctic
The Arctic is a region located at the northern-most part of the Earth. The Arctic consists of the Arctic Ocean and parts of Canada, Russia, Greenland, the United States, Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Iceland. The Arctic region consists of a vast, ice-covered ocean, surrounded by treeless permafrost...
, Gunnar Isachsen
Gunnar Isachsen
Gunnerius Ingvald Isachsen , was a Norwegian military officer and polar scientist. From 1923, he was the first president of the Norwegian Maritime Museum.-Early years:...
. it is located on the western shore of Ellef Ringnes Island
Ellef Ringnes Island
Ellef Ringnes Island is one of the Sverdrup Islands in Qikiqtaaluk Region, Nunavut, Canada. Also a member of the Queen Elizabeth Islands and Canadian Arctic Archipelago, it is located in the Arctic Ocean, east of Borden Island, and west of Amund Ringnes Island...
in the Sverdrup Islands
Sverdrup Islands
The Sverdrup Islands is an archipelago of the northern Queen Elizabeth Islands, in Nunavut, Canada. The islands are situated in the Arctic Ocean, west of Ellesmere Island from 77° to 81° North and 85° to 106° West.- History :...
, in the territory of Nunavut
Nunavut
Nunavut is the largest and newest federal territory of Canada; it was separated officially from the Northwest Territories on April 1, 1999, via the Nunavut Act and the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement Act, though the actual boundaries had been established in 1993...
in Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. Isachsen Station was established to participate in a joint Canadian-American weather observation program. Isachsen Station operated from April 3, 1948 through September 19, 1978. Regular weather observations began on May 3, 1948.
Climate
According to the Environment CanadaEnvironment Canada
Environment Canada , legally incorporated as the Department of the Environment under the Department of the Environment Act Environment Canada (EC) (French: Environnement Canada), legally incorporated as the Department of the Environment under the Department of the Environment Act Environment...
Climate Severity Index, Isachsen and the surrounding area has the worst weather in Canada with a CSI severity value of 99 out of a possible 100.
Flora and fauna
There are neither trees nor shrubs that can live this far north. The plant life here is limited to small patches of mossMoss
Mosses are small, soft plants that are typically 1–10 cm tall, though some species are much larger. They commonly grow close together in clumps or mats in damp or shady locations. They do not have flowers or seeds, and their simple leaves cover the thin wiry stems...
, lichen
Lichen
Lichens are composite organisms consisting of a symbiotic organism composed of a fungus with a photosynthetic partner , usually either a green alga or cyanobacterium...
s, and a few tiny flowering plants. The wildlife here is limited to polar bear
Polar Bear
The polar bear is a bear native largely within the Arctic Circle encompassing the Arctic Ocean, its surrounding seas and surrounding land masses. It is the world's largest land carnivore and also the largest bear, together with the omnivorous Kodiak Bear, which is approximately the same size...
s, Arctic Fox
Arctic fox
The arctic fox , also known as the white fox, polar fox or snow fox, is a small fox native to Arctic regions of the Northern Hemisphere and is common throughout the Arctic tundra biome. The Greek word alopex, means a fox and Vulpes is the Latin version...
es, seal
Pinniped
Pinnipeds or fin-footed mammals are a widely distributed and diverse group of semiaquatic marine mammals comprising the families Odobenidae , Otariidae , and Phocidae .-Overview: Pinnipeds are typically sleek-bodied and barrel-shaped...
s, muskoxen, and migratory birds
Bird migration
Bird migration is the regular seasonal journey undertaken by many species of birds. Bird movements include those made in response to changes in food availability, habitat or weather. Sometimes, journeys are not termed "true migration" because they are irregular or in only one direction...
.
History and background
On October 9, 1949, a U.S. Air ForceUnited States Air Force
The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...
C-47 cargo plane crashed on takeoff at the weather station. The plane had 10 people on board, a U.S. Air Force crew of six and four civilian passengers. The passengers were two U.S. weather bureau employees, a Canadian weather bureau employee, and an RCMP constable. Three of the aircrew received cuts and bruises and everyone else escaped injury. The subsequent investigation blamed the accident on the plane being overloaded and attempting to take off with ice building up on the cockpit windshield and wings. At the time of the crash there were five inches of snow on the mud runway, a light snow fall and some fog. The wreck was briefly shown in an episode of the BBC program Top Gear. Photos of the remains of Isachsen Station can be seen on the Hilux Arctic Challenge Web site, taken by the Top Gear team on their trip to the nearby 1996 North Magnetic Pole
North Magnetic Pole
The Earth's North Magnetic Pole is the point on the surface of the Northern Hemisphere at which the Earth's magnetic field points vertically downwards . Though geographically in the north, it is, by the direction of the magnetic field lines, physically the south pole of the Earth's magnetic field...
. The footage of the wreck was filmed on May 2, 2007. The episode first aired on July 25, 2007.
During the 1950s, Isachsen Station was primarily collecting radiosonde
Radiosonde
A radiosonde is a unit for use in weather balloons that measures various atmospheric parameters and transmits them to a fixed receiver. Radiosondes may operate at a radio frequency of 403 MHz or 1680 MHz and both types may be adjusted slightly higher or lower as required...
observations. Along with weather soundings from similar stations such as Mould Bay
Prince Patrick Island
A member of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago, Prince Patrick Island is the westernmost of the Queen Elizabeth Islands in the Northwest Territories of Canada. The area of the island is , making it the 55th largest island in the world and Canada's 14th largest island...
, Eureka
Eureka, Nunavut
Eureka is a small research base on Fosheim Peninsula, Ellesmere Island, Qikiqtaaluk Region, in the Canadian territory of Nunavut. It is located on the north side of Slidre Fiord, which enters Eureka Sound farther west. It is the second-northernmost permanent research community in the world. The...
, and Alert
Alert, Nunavut
Alert, in the Qikiqtaaluk Region, Nunavut, Canada, is the northernmost permanently inhabited place in the world, from the North Pole. It takes its name from HMS Alert, which wintered east of the present station, off what is now Cape Sheridan, in 1875–1876.Alert was reported to have five permanent...
, this information was used to complete the North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
n data, primarily used to produce weather forecasts
Weather forecasting
Weather forecasting is the application of science and technology to predict the state of the atmosphere for a given location. Human beings have attempted to predict the weather informally for millennia, and formally since the nineteenth century...
over the North Atlantic Ocean
Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...
, Greenland
Greenland
Greenland is an autonomous country within the Kingdom of Denmark, located between the Arctic and Atlantic Oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Though physiographically a part of the continent of North America, Greenland has been politically and culturally associated with Europe for...
, and Iceland
Iceland
Iceland , described as the Republic of Iceland, is a Nordic and European island country in the North Atlantic Ocean, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Iceland also refers to the main island of the country, which contains almost all the population and almost all the land area. The country has a population...
, and long-range weather forecasts for Western Europe
Western Europe
Western Europe is a loose term for the collection of countries in the western most region of the European continents, though this definition is context-dependent and carries cultural and political connotations. One definition describes Western Europe as a geographic entity—the region lying in the...
.
The Isachsen Station was located in an extremely isolated place, with supplies and new personnel flown in by the Royal Canadian Air Force
Royal Canadian Air Force
The history of the Royal Canadian Air Force begins in 1920, when the air force was created as the Canadian Air Force . In 1924 the CAF was renamed the Royal Canadian Air Force and granted royal sanction by King George V. The RCAF existed as an independent service until 1968...
, usually twice a year: in the late spring, and again in the early fall from an air base at Resolute
Resolute, Nunavut
Resolute or Resolute Bay is a small Inuit hamlet on Cornwallis Island in Nunavut, Canada. It is situated at the northern end of Resolute Bay and the Northwest Passage and is part of the Qikiqtaaluk Region....
on Cornwallis Island
Cornwallis Island, Nunavut
Cornwallis Island is one of the Queen Elizabeth Islands, part of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago, in the Qikiqtaaluk Region of Nunavut in the Canadian Arctic. It lies to the west of Devon Island and at its greatest length is about . At ) in size, it is the 96th largest island in the world, and...
. In turn, Resolute Station, like most northern communities, was supplied using ocean-going cargo ship
Cargo ship
A cargo ship or freighter is any sort of ship or vessel that carries cargo, goods, and materials from one port to another. Thousands of cargo carriers ply the world's seas and oceans each year; they handle the bulk of international trade...
s aided by icebreaker
Icebreaker
An icebreaker is a special-purpose ship or boat designed to move and navigate through ice-covered waters. Although the term usually refers to ice-breaking ships, it may also refer to smaller vessels .For a ship to be considered an icebreaker, it requires three traits most...
s during the late summer sealift
Sealift
Sealift is a term used predominantly in military logistics and refers to the use of cargo ships for the deployment of military assets, such as weaponry, vehicles, military personnel, and supplies...
.
The eight-man staff at Isachsen usually consisted of four Americans and four Canadians. The Americans were usually two weather observers, a cook, and a mechanic. The Canadians were usually two weather observors and two radio operators. All communications to and from Iachsen Station was via shortwave radio
Shortwave
Shortwave radio refers to the upper MF and all of the HF portion of the radio spectrum, between 1,800–30,000 kHz. Shortwave radio received its name because the wavelengths in this band are shorter than 200 m which marked the original upper limit of the medium frequency band first used...
radiotelegraphy.
Fuel oil
Fuel oil
Fuel oil is a fraction obtained from petroleum distillation, either as a distillate or a residue. Broadly speaking, fuel oil is any liquid petroleum product that is burned in a furnace or boiler for the generation of heat or used in an engine for the generation of power, except oils having a flash...
and diesel fuel for heating and cooking, and for the station's electric generators, respectively, were shipped to Isachsen by transport planes in standard metal fuel barrel
Barrel
A barrel or cask is a hollow cylindrical container, traditionally made of vertical wooden staves and bound by wooden or metal hoops. Traditionally, the barrel was a standard size of measure referring to a set capacity or weight of a given commodity. A small barrel is called a keg.For example, a...
s.
During the summer of 1958, the Isachsen station was rebuilt using prefabricated buildings
Prefabricated buildings
Prefabricated building is a type of building that consists of several factory-built components or units that are assembled on-site to complete the unit.- Prefabricated Housing :"Prefabricated" may refer to buildings built in components Prefabricated building is a type of building that consists of...
that had been airlift
Airlift
Airlift is the act of transporting people or cargo from point to point using aircraft.Airlift may also refer to:*Airlift , a suction device for moving sand and silt underwater-See also:...
ed in along with about a dozen construction personnel. The sun sets in October and it is totally dark for about three months with temperatures from -25 °F to -60 °F (-32 °C to -51 °C). In the summer the sun is visible above the horizon 24 hours for about three months with temperatures from about 45 °F to 60 °F (7 °C to 16 °C).
In 1956, a plan by the Government of Canada
Government of Canada
The Government of Canada, formally Her Majesty's Government, is the system whereby the federation of Canada is administered by a common authority; in Canadian English, the term can mean either the collective set of institutions or specifically the Queen-in-Council...
to resettle the Inuit
Inuit
The Inuit are a group of culturally similar indigenous peoples inhabiting the Arctic regions of Canada , Denmark , Russia and the United States . Inuit means “the people” in the Inuktitut language...
people at several high Arctic locations was scrapped. These settlements would have included Isachsen, Alert, Eureka, and Mould Bay.
On October 31, 1971, the United States withdrew from participation in the weather program at the site. In 1977, the Canadian Government made a significant investment in Isachsen to upgrade its buildings. Then, in 1978, as a cost-cutting measure, the Government decided to close one high Arctic station, Isachsen Station was selected, and it was closed down during that same year. The last manned weather observations were taken on July 31, 1978. An Automated Surface Observing System was placed at this site in 1989, linked by satellite communications to southern Canada. Isachsen is uninhabited.
Photos of the station
Photos of the remains of Isachsen Station taken by the Top Gear team can be seen on the Hilux Arctic ChallengeTop Gear: Polar Special
Top Gear: Polar Special was an episode of the popular series Top Gear, first broadcast on 25 July 2007 on BBC Two. It was an attempt by the BBC's Top Gear crew to be the first to drive a motor vehicle to the 1996 location of the Magnetic North Pole....
Web site.