Inuvik (Mar 20/06) - The Inuvik Research Centre will be part of a proposed International Polar Year project that will fly an airship across the North.

Project leader Terry Dick says the airship proposal is finished and being prepped for the March 31 proposal deadline for the 2007-2008 International Polar Year - when scientists from around the world will study the earth's polar ice caps.

"21st century airships based in Newmarket, Ont., would build the cigar shaped airship approximately 111-feet long, 62-feet high, and with 4,200 cubic metres of helium," said Dick.

"We will be involved in the planning and bring to the table a perspective of the region for project researchers," said Bill Crossman, manager of the Inuvik Research Centre.

"The project will help to see what effect the airships will have in circumventing the deterioration of winter roads and ice bridges," Crossman added.

This year, the system of ice roads in the Mackenzie Delta opened around the month of January - one month later than usual.

Dick says the project proposes that airships be used to transport people and goods.

The airships use helium and work well in the North during the winter months when the air is more dense, explains Dick.

The project intends to build an airship to fly a route across the North starting from Yellowknife.

From there, the airship will travel to Fort Simpson, Inuvik, Barrow, Alaska, Tuktoyaktuk, back to Yellowknife, and then on to Rankin Inlet, Iqaluit, and ending the journey back in Yellowknife.

The Government of Canada program for the International Polar Year (IPY) 2007-2008 will review project proposals.

The Canadian IPY office says it is looking for projects related to climate change impacts and adaptation.

"There should be a legacy left to people in the North as the wealth of the area is removed," said Dick.

"When I see environmental damage by all-terrain vehicles and the high cost of goods in the North, there needs to be cheaper transportation."

Barry Prentice, a partner in the project, says there are no technological barriers remaining in implementing airship technology.

"A demand for airships is emerging because of climate change and the need for cheaper transportation," Prentice said.

"This is not just one solution to the effects climate change, but is a means to reduce greenhouse gas emissions as well," Prentice added.