The field operations took place at an ice camp near the Inuit village of Qikiqtarjuaq (Nunavut). These activities spanned the period between March 15 and July 17, 2015 and the period between April 20 and July 27, 2016. They were coordinated by Joannie Ferland and Marie-Hélène Forget.

Location

The Green Edge Ice Camp site 67°28.784N, 063°47,372W - Red Square : Ice camp Location
Bathymetric data compiled from the CCGS Amundsen's high resolution (10-m grid)
multibeam (Gabriel Joyal and Patrick Lajeunesse)
and International Bathymetric Chart of the Arctic Ocean (IBCAO)

Sampling activities and key figures

At the ice camp, 47 stations in 2015 and 37 stations in 2016 were sampled, beginning in completely ice and snow covered conditions to melt ponds and bare ice, ending in 2016 with a station on the ice edge, in quasi-open waters with the presence of ice floes. We measured background winter conditions as well as processes under ice algae bloom and phytoplankton bloom conditions. In 2016, a total of 52 people (against 47 in 2015) contributed to the ice camp efforts over a 109-day period (against 124 in 2015), measuring a total of 70 variables to characterize the physical, chemical and biological ecosystems in the land-fast sea ice and the water column.

Transportation and Installation

Transportation:

4 skidoos and Qamutiks, 1 airboat

Installation in the ice:

1 Polarhaven tent, 1 cabin

Operations

Tent:

(Wet & Dry lab 2015, Dry lab 2016)

• LOKI (2015 only)
• CTD-Undervision Profiler (UVP)
• 8 & 20L Niskin � seawater sampling (6 depths, deep profiles 1/week)
• DIC, TOC-DOC, Sugar, nutriments sampled from Niskin
• Pooled water in 20L jugs carried to the School Lab for stock measurements
• Light measurement (Inherent Optical Properties; LISST, BB3, BB9, CTD)
• Nets for phytoplankton & zooplankton sampling

Cabin:

(Wet lab 2016)

• Alife experience with ice algae and phytoplankton (physiological experiment under nutrient and light stresses)
• Nutrients, silicate, phytoplankton and ice algae production
• Fv/Fm Water Pam measurement
• HPLC filtration
• Nutriments stock

On the ice:

• C-OPS light measurement (AOP; apparent optical properties)
• Under ice measurement with PAR sensor
• Extensive Ice coring
• Nutriments Bioassays on underice algal community
• Underice incubation (production experiment)
• ROV underice light measurement-image recording 2016 only
• Snow optical and physical properties + 90 m transect towards the ice edge
• Sediment trap (short & long term)
• Eddy covariance under the ice (2105 only)
• ICE-T buoy
• Drone image temporal serie 2016 only
• Meteorological station continuous measurement

In the laboratory - Inuksuit school:

• Freezers, Refrigerator storage management
• Pure water system production
• Spectrophotometer (Particulate Absorption)
• Image FlowCytoBot (Taxonomy)
• Microscopy (Cell isolation and imagery)
• Incubation chamber, cell growth (phytoplankton)
• Ultrapath (Colored Dissolved Organic Matter (CDOM)
• Filtration (Ap, CHN/SPM, CDOM, Silice, genetic, sugar)
• Salinity ice cores

 

Footprint on the community

• Polar Bear monitors and guides:�9,�support for�67 days�on the ice� (Jaypootie, William, Rennie, Goatamie, Steevie, Ipeelie, Sammy, Jacobie)
• Construction:�3� Jaypootie, Sammy, Aaron �
• Housekeeping and Kitchen help:�8 Kitty, Maryann, Charlie, Veronica, LeahAnn, Elisapee, Markosie, Sarah
• Jewelly: many local artists
• Country food: 2-3 local hunters
• Elder & student visiting the ice camp
• Educative program in classes
• Sport in the gym