Christine Grimard
Northern News Services
Friday, January 26, 2007

YELLOWKNIFE - The proposals are in, and scientists across the globe are waiting to see who will be exploring the Arctic.

The Department of Fisheries and Oceans is in the final stages of choosing which projects will be getting their share of the $150 million the federal government has allocated to studying the Arctic, as part of the International Polar Year.

The initiative is a global push on polar research, three-quarters of which will most likely be taking place in the North, according to Andries Blouw, communications officer for the department.

Blouw said he estimates the research will bring a few hundred scientists through the North.

"This is not just science in a test tube," said Blouw. "It's also about what does this mean to the health of Northerners."

Research would include socio-economic angles, such as studying how issues like climate change are affecting Northerners.

"The IPY (International Polar Year) will address how the two poles have changed, and how they interact with the rest of the globe," said Martin Bergmann, a project representative with the Department of Fisheries and Oceans.

In addition to Canadian researchers, countries from around the world will be sending scientists to participate in the initiative, including the United Kingdom, the United States, and China. As a result, the Department of Fisheries and Oceans has been consulting with local authorities, such as the RCMP to make sure that security is maintained.

"If we have all these folks running around the Arctic... they're going to be in the North for the first time," said Blouw. "We're going to need some help."

The research will be conducted over the next two years, and Blouw expects it will take an additional two years to communicate the results of those findings.