Eureka, Nunavut
Eureka | |
|---|---|
Settlement | |
 Eureka seen from its airfield | |
| Country | Canada |
| Territory | Nunavut |
| Region | Qikiqtaaluk Region |
| Island group | Queen Elizabeth Islands |
| Founded | April 11, 1947 |
| Postal code | X0A 0G0 |
| Area code | 867 |
Eureka is a small research base on Fosheim Peninsula, Ellesmere Island, Qikiqtaaluk Region, in the Canadian territory of Nunavut. It is located on the north side of Slidre Fiord, which enters Eureka Sound farther west. It is the third-northernmost permanent research community in the world. The only two farther north are Alert, which is also on Ellesmere Island, and Nord, in Greenland. Eureka has the lowest average annual temperature and least precipitation of any weather station in Canada. The base consists of three areas, the Eureka Aerodrome which includes "Fort Eureka" (the quarters for military personnel maintaining the island's communications equipment), the Environment Canada Weather Station, and the Polar Environment Atmospheric Research Laboratory (PEARL), formerly the Arctic Stratospheric Ozone Observatory (AStrO). PEARL is operated by a consortium of Canadian university researchers and government agencies known as the Canadian Network for Detection of Atmospheric Change.[1] PEARL announced it would cease full-time year-round operation as of April 30, 2012 due to lack of funding, however this decision was reversed in May 2013 with the announcement of new funds.[2] Eureka's postal code is X0A 0G0. Its area code is 867.
Base history
Eureka was founded on April 11, 1947, as part of a requirement to set up a network of Arctic weather stations. On this date, 100 tonnes (98 long tons; 110 short tons) of supplies were airlifted to a promising spot on Ellesmere Island and five prefabricated Jamesway huts were constructed. Regular weather observations began on January 1, 1948. The station expanded over the years. At its peak, in the 1970s, there were at least fifteen staff on site; in 2005, it reported a permanent population of zero with at least 8 staff on a continuous rotational basis.
There have been several generations of buildings. The latest operations centre, with work areas and staff quarters in one large structure, was completed in 2005.
Climate
The settlement sees the midnight sun between April 10 and August 29, with no sunlight at all between mid-October and late February. Eureka has the lowest average annual temperature and least precipitation of any weather station in Canada with an annual mean temperature of −18.8 °C (−1.8 °F). Winters are frigid, but summers are slightly warmer than at other places in the Canadian Arctic. Even so, since record keeping began, the temperature has never exceeded 20.9 °C (69.6 °F), first reached on July 14, 2009.[3] Although a polar desert, evaporation is also very low, which allows the limited moisture to be made available for plants and wildlife.
{{Weather box
|location = Eureka
|metric first = Y
|single line = Y
|Jan maximum humidex= -1.1
|Feb maximum humidex= -1.1
|Mar maximum humidex= -8
|Apr maximum humidex= -2.8
|May maximum humidex= 7.5
|Jun maximum humidex= 18.5
|Jul maximum humidex= 20.9
|Aug maximum humidex= 17
|Sep maximum humidex= 9.3
|Oct maximum humidex= 5
|Nov maximum humidex= -1.7
|Dec maximum humidex= -2.1
|year maximum humidex= 20.9
|Jan record high C = -1.1
|Feb record high C = -1.1
|Mar record high C = -8.0
|Apr record high C = -2.8
|May record high C = 7.5
|Jun record high C = 18.5
|Jul record high C = 20.9
|Aug record high C = 17.0
|Sep record high C = 9.3
|Oct record high C = 5.0
|Nov record high C = -1.7
|Dec record high C = -2.1
|year record high C= 20.9
|Jan high C = -32.9
|Feb high C = -33.7
|Mar high C = -33.3
|Apr high C = -22.5
|May high C = -6.9
|Jun high C = 5.7
|Jul high C = 9.3
|Aug high C = 5.4
|Sep high C = -3.8
|Oct high C = -17.1
|Nov high C = -25.9
|Dec high C = -29.7
|year high C = -15.5
|Jan mean C= -36.5
|Feb mean C= -37.4
|Mar mean C= -36.8
|Apr mean C= -26.5
|May mean C= -10.2
|Jun mean C= 3.0
|Jul mean C= 6.1
|Aug mean C= 3.2
|Sep mean C= -6.4
|Oct mean C= -20.7
|Nov mean C= -29.4
|Dec mean C= -33.3
|year mean C= -18.8
|Jan low C = -40.1
|Feb low C = -41.1
|Mar low C = -40.3
|Apr low C = -30.5
|May low C = -13.3
|Jun low C = 0.4
|Jul low C = 2.9
|Aug low C = 0.9
|Sep low C = -9.0
|Oct low C = -24.3
|Nov low C = -33.0
|Dec low C = -36.8
|year low C = -22.0
|Jan record low C = -53.3
|Feb record low C = -55.3
|Mar record low C = -52.8
|Apr record low C = -48.9
|May record low C = -31.1
|Jun record low C = -13.9
|Jul record low C = -2.2
|Aug record low C = -11.2
|Sep record low C = -31.7
|Oct record low C = -41.7
|Nov record low C = -48.2
|Dec record low C = -51.7
|year record low C= -55.3
|Jan chill = -69.2
|Feb chill = -69.5
|Mar chill = -66.9
|Apr chill = -59.3
|May chill = -43.2
|Jun chill = -20.7
|Jul chill = -7.0
|Aug chill = -17.4
|Sep chill = -40.3
|Oct chill = -52.1
|Nov chill = -61.3
|Dec chill = -63.7
|year chill= -69.5
|Jan precipitation mm = 2.6
|Feb precipitation mm = 3.1
|Mar precipitation mm = 2.2
|Apr precipitation mm = 3.7
|May precipitation mm = 3.1
|Jun precipitation mm = 8.2
|Jul precipitation mm = 15.3
|Aug precipitation mm = 16.1
|Sep precipitation mm = 9.5
|Oct precipitation mm = 7.6
|Nov precipitation mm = 4.1
|Dec precipitation mm = 3.6
|year precipitation mm = 79.1
|Jan rain mm = 0.0
|Feb rain mm = 0.0
|Mar rain mm = 0.0
|Apr rain mm = 0.0
|May rain mm = 0.0
|Jun rain mm = 5.3
|Jul rain mm = 14.5
|Aug rain mm = 11.7
|Sep rain mm = 1.0
|Oct rain mm = 0.0
|Nov rain mm = 0.0
|Dec rain mm = 0.0
|year rain mm= 32.5
|Jan snow cm = 3.1
|Feb snow cm = 3.9
|Mar snow cm = 2.8
|Apr snow cm = 4.6
|May snow cm = 4.2
|Jun snow cm = 3.0
|Jul snow cm = 0.7
|Aug snow cm = 4.8
|Sep snow cm = 11.3
|Oct snow cm = 10.9
|Nov snow cm = 5.7
|Dec snow cm = 5.4
|year snow cm = 60.3
|Jan humidity= 63.4
|Feb humidity= 66.3
|Mar humidity= 65.8
|Apr humidity= 67.2
|May humidity= 75.0
|Jun humidity= 71.1
|Jul humidity= 69.3
|Aug humidity= 76.2
|Sep humidity= 82.0
|Oct humidity= 74.3
|Nov humidity= 65.8
|Dec humidity= 64.6
|year humidity= 70.1
|unit precipitation days = 0.2 mm
|Jan precipitation days = 4.2
|Feb precipitation days = 4.3
|Mar precipitation days = 3.7
|Apr precipitation days = 4.9
|May precipitation days = 3.7
|Jun precipitation days = 4.9
|Jul precipitation days = 8.0
|Aug precipitation days = 8.2
|Sep precipitation days = 7.4
|Oct precipitation days = 8.7
|Nov precipitation days = 5.2
|Dec precipitation days = 4.5
|year precipitation days = 67.6
|unit rain days = 0.2 mm
|Jan rain days = 0.0
|Feb rain days = 0.0
|Mar rain days = 0.0
|Apr rain days = 0.0
|May rain days = 0.0
|Jun rain days = 3.1
|Jul rain days = 7.7
|Aug rain days = 5.9
|Sep rain days = 0.6
|Oct rain days = 0.0
|Nov rain days = 0.0
|Dec rain days = 0.0
|year rain days= 17.3
|unit snow days = 0.2 cm
|Jan snow days = 4.7
|Feb snow days = 4.7
|Mar snow days = 4.2
|Apr snow days = 5.2
|May snow days = 4.0
|Jun snow days = 2.4
|Jul snow days = 0.7
|Aug snow days = 2.9
|Sep snow days = 7.9
|Oct snow days = 9.6
|Nov snow days = 6.0
|Dec snow days = 5.0
|year snow days= 57.4
|Jan sun = 0.0
|Feb sun = 0.0
|Mar sun = 120.2
|Apr sun = 353.8
|May sun = 486.3
|Jun sun = 386.4
|Jul sun = 360.5
|Aug sun = 238.9
|Sep sun = 98.4
|Oct sun = 12.5
|Nov sun = 0.0
|Dec sun = 0.0
|year sun = 2057.0
|Jan percentsun = 0
|Feb percentsun = 0
|Mar percentsun = 34.9
|Apr percentsun = 54.5
|May percentsun = 65.4
|Jun percentsun = 53.7
|Jul percentsun = 48.5
|Aug percentsun = 32.2
|Sep percentsun = 21.4
|Oct percentsun = 8.4
|Nov percentsun = 0
|Dec percentsun = 0
|year percentsun = 39.9
|source 1 = Environment Canada Canadian Climate Normals 1981–2010[3]
|Source 2 =(A humidity of 63.4% and a temperature of -1.1C= humidex of -1.1C and the humidex can never be lower than the temperature)Cite error: The <ref> tag has too many names (see the help page).
The jet is a military observation aircraft based on the Challenger executive jet. This jet visited Eureka on a familiarization trip, in order to prepare for the possibility of Danish aircraft assisting in Search and Rescue missions over Canadian territory. The Canadian American Strategic Review noted critically that the first jet to fly a mission to Eureka was not Canadian.
At Eureka's latitude, a geosynchronous communications satellite, if due south, would require an antenna to be pointed nearly horizontally; satellites farther east or west along that orbit would be below the horizon. Telephone access and television broadcasts arrived in 1982 when Operation Hurricane resulted in the establishment of a satellite receiving station at nearby Skull Point, which has an open view to the south. The low power Channel 9 TV transmitter at Skull Point was the world's most northern TV station at the time. In the 1980s, TV audio was often connected to the telephone to feed CBC-TV news to CHAR-FM in isolated Alert. More recently, CANDAC has installed what is likely the world's most northerly geosynchronous satellite ground-station to provide Internet-based communications to PEARL.
Other settlements on Ellesmere Island include Alert and Grise Fiord.
Flora and fauna
Eureka has been described as "The Garden Spot of the Arctic" due to the flora and fauna abundant around the Eureka area, more so than anywhere else in the High Arctic. Fauna include musk oxen, Arctic wolves, Arctic foxes, Arctic hares, and lemmings. In addition, summer nesting geese, ducks, owls, loons, ravens, gulls and many other smaller birds nest, raise their young, and return south in August.
References
- ^ CANDAC
- ^ High Arctic research station saved by new funding
- ^ a b "Eureka" (CSV (4222 KB)). Canadian Climate Normals 1981–2010. Environment Canada. Climate ID: 2401200. Retrieved 2013-11-27.
Further reading
- Couture, Nicole J. Sensitivity of Permafrost Terrain in a High Arctic Polar Desert An Evaluation of Response to Disturbance Near Eureka, Ellesmere Island, Nunavut. Ottawa: National Library of Canada = Bibliothèque nationale du Canada, 2003. ISBN 0-612-70405-X
- Whyte, L. G., B. Goalen, J. Hawari, D. Labbe, C. W. Greer, and M. Nahir. 2001. "Bioremediation Treatability Assessment of Hydrocarbon-Contaminated Soils from Eureka, Nunavut". Cold Regions Science and Technology. 32, no. 2-3: 121-132.
- Eureka at the Atlas of Canada
External links
