Devon Island Programs 1971

Abstract

From April to October 1971 the Arctic Institute's research base on the northeast coast of Devon Island (75°40'N, 84°40'W) was the seat of operations for over 50 investigators and their field assistants. The major research program was a large integrated tundra ecosystem study sponsored by the Canadian International Biological Program (IBP) .... The Base Camp was also used, though briefly, by groups of researchers from the Canadian Wildlife Survey conducting polar bear studies in northern Devon Island, and from the Polar Continental Shelf Project who were making glaciological studies of the Devon Island Ice Cap. ... The status and condition of the Base Camp, and the logistics services, remain essentially as reported in the 1970 field summary ..., although minor improvements and repairs were made to the 8 huts, and the water and power system and local transportation facilities were improved by the addition of another skidoo, bringing the total to 3. ... In 1971, as in the previous summer, the size and capacity (unfortunately not synonymous) of the Base Camp increased. Those who have visited the Camp in previous years would find little resemblance today. The Camp at present consists of 8 Parcolls and Jamesways (many of which were enlarged in 1971), which together with tents, some lent to the Institute by the Canadian Forces, provided both laboratory and living space. A secondary camp, situated some 5 miles from Base Camp, provided a base of operations for a group of researchers from the University of Manitoba. Remote from the large population of Base Camp it made work on muskoxen and other mammals somewhat easier. One problem that came to the fore in 1971 was how to keep to the minimum the impact of relatively large numbers of people with their equipment on the Truelove Lowland itself. All of those who lived at Base Camp cooperated in efforts to avoid any unsightliness and in fact several visitors noted the general tidiness of the area. Outside the BaseCamp, movement, particularly vehicle movement, was also kept to a minimum. ... [The two AINA-sponsored projects (ecological studies of sedge dominated meadow tundras, comparative ecology of High Arctic species of Saxifraga) are summarized.]