Western Arctic Research Centre (WARC)

Station name and owner

The Western Arctic Research Centre (WARC) is operated by the Aurora Research Institute and Aurora College. The station is owned by the Government of the Northwest Territories (NWT).

Location

WARC is located in the town of Inuvik, Northwest Territories, in the western Canadian Arctic. WARC provides logistical support for research projects taking place throughout the northern NWT (including the archipelago) and along the northern Yukon coast. There are many protected areas in the vicinity of WARC, including bird sanctuaries, national parks, and territorial parks.

Climate data

Grey colours are WMO Climate Normals including maximum and minimum values. Blue colours are individual years.

Climate data for the stations where extracted via Copernicus Climate Data Store, from the global gridded reanalysis product: ERA5 monthly averaged data on single levels from 1940 to present. Description and source code: Roemer J.K. 2023. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.10214922 Data Source: Hersbach et al. 2023. Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) Climate Data Store (CDS), https://doi.org/10.24381/cds.f17050d7

Biodiversity and natural environment

Inuvik is located two degrees above the Arctic Circle, but just south of the tree line, in a region underlain by continuous permafrost. The town sits approximately 100 km south of the Beaufort Sea coastline on the eastern edge of the Mackenzie River Delta (13000 km2 in area). The delta contains over 45000 lakes, and experiences some degree of flooding during the ice breakup period each spring. The surrounding landscape includes a wide variety of ecoregions, including tundra, mountains (the Richardson Mountains on the west side of the Mackenzie Delta), coastal zones, and peat plateaus. Characteristic regional fauna include bears, reindeer, caribou, water fowl and shore birds, beluga whales, moose, and a variety of fresh- and salt-water fish.

History and facilities

A research centre first opened in Inuvik in 1964; the original facility was torn down in 2010 and replaced with the Western Arctic Research Centre, which opened in 2011. WARC contains a conference room, classroom, three laboratories, a research library, a staging area/loading bay, a workshop, and office space for 15 people. Accommodations are a 10-minute walk from WARC in a residential neighbourhood and include four houses each containing six beds, living space, a kitchen, a full bathroom, and laundry facilities. Some extra accommodations are available in the Aurora College dorms during the summer season. WARC can support between 24 and 34 people in our accommodations, and up to 75 in our main facility, at any given time.

General research and databases

Research undertaken and supported at WARC is wide ranging and includes archaeology, permafrost, limnology, oceanography, geology, spatial information sciences, botany, renewable energy (solar and wind), atmospheric sciences, wildlife, fisheries, and marine mammal health. Social sciences, health sciences, and traditional knowledge studies are also frequently supported. Each year, we support more than 50 separate research projects. The Aurora Research Institute (ARI) maintains the NWT Research Database, which is a searchable database of all research licenses issued by ARI since 1974.

Link to data: https://dataportal.eu-interact.org/stations

Station Monitoring

• Climate
  • Meteorology
    • Air temperature
    • Air humidity
    • Air pressure
    • Wind velocity
    • Wind direction
    • Precipitation
  • Energy balance and radiation
    • Energy balance
    • Short wave incoming
    • Short wave outgoing
    • Long wave incoming
    • Long wave outgoing
    • Net radiation
• Geo
  • Geology/Geomorphology
    • Bedrock geology
  • Sub-surface characteristics
    • Ground surface temperature
    • Soil temperature
    • Active layer depth
    • Permafrost thickness
    • Permafrost temperature
  • Snow characteristics
    • Snow depth
  • Hydrology/Limnology
    • River water discharge/water level
    • Water chemistry
  • Pollution
    • In air
    • In water
• Bio
  • Vegetation
    • Landscape NDVI (from satellite images)
    • Species list (community composition)

Human dimension

WARC is located in the town of Inuvik (population 3300), which is a regional centre for government and industry. The region surrounding Inuvik is the homeland of the Inuvialuit and Gwich’in indigenous peoples, while the town itself is home to both groups as well as people from many different cultures. The public sector (territorial and Canadian government) is the largest employer, including health care workers, educators, and administrators. The town itself is very well equipped with amenities and services.

Access

Inuvik is accessible via the Dempster Highway for most of the year, except for periods in the spring and fall when both the local ice roads and ferries are not in operation. Air service runs year-round and includes daily jet service from Edmonton, Yellowknife, and Whitehorse. The Inuvik Regional Airport is a 15 minute drive from the town. Depending on destination and season, field transportation can include car/truck, snowmobile, boat, charter plane, or helicopter.