Stephanie McDonald
Northern News Services
Monday, August 6, 2007

IQALUIT - The Amundsen lifted anchor in Quebec City on July 26, setting sail for the Canadian Arctic on what will be the largest research project ever conducted in Canada.

On its 15-month round-trip journey, more than 200 scientists from 14 countries will conduct scientific and medical research.

"We're hoping to get a very detailed scientific assessment of the effects of climate change on the Arctic marine system," said David Barber, the chief scientist on the mission and a professor at the University of Manitoba, specializing in climate change and sea ice.

In August and September, the medical crew on board will survey 1,200 Inuit in 19 communities in the Baffin and Kivallaq regions. Participants will be tested for diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, and risk of stroke.

The changing diet of Inuit has an effect on medical conditions, Barber said.

In the fall, focus will shift to the Circumpolar Flaw Lead Study in the Western High Arctic. A flaw lead is an area of open water surrounded by sea ice. The study will be looking at the effects of climate change on the Arctic marine system.

On its return trip south, in the summer of 2008, the ship will once again turn into a floating hospital, completing its health survey assessment in six Kitikmeot communities and Baker Lake. After 15 months in Arctic waters, the Amundsen will return to Quebec City in November 2008.

The $50 million study is the largest International Polar Year study taking place in the world. At any one time there will be 40 scientists on board, on a six-week rotation each. Scientists from around the world will be participating as well as high school students and teachers.

The Schools on Board project is co-ordinating student groups to be on the ship for each of the research phases. On the second leg there will be a high school student and teacher from Inuksuit high school in Qikiqtarjuaq. The third leg will include six Inuit youth between the ages of 17 and 25.

"Our goal is to educate the scientists as much as they will be educating the students," said Schools on Board co-ordinator Lucette Barber.

The Inuit representatives will contribute traditional and local knowledge to the global team on the boat.

The ship will be like a little university, Barber said.

"Science is a textbook for many of them," she said.