Arctic Ocean sea ice shot from a helicopter as part of the Integrated Ocean Drilling Program Arctic Coring Expedition along with the expedition's three ships: I/B Sovetsky Soyuz (top); I/B Oden (middle), and I/B Vidar Viking (bottom).

The Arctic observatory is Ocean Networks Canada's northernmost location of operation with a shore station in Cambridge Bay, Nunavut, the site of the Canadian High Arctic Research Station.

The need of Arctic observatories cannot be overstated–our understanding of the physical and biogeochemical processes in the Arctic, especially related to marine ecosystems is rudimentary, yet it is precisely here where we are witnessing the most rapid and profound impacts of global climate change, in particular the dramatic loss of summer sea ice, the increase in extreme weather events and changing climate regimes.

An Ocean Networks Canada community observatory on the dock ready for deployment in Cambridge Bay, Nunavut.

Ocean Networks Canada's Arctic observatory contains a near-shore community observatory in Cambridge Bay to study the interaction of sea-ice, water, weather and biology and a seasonal array of buoys with ice drifters from Peel Sound to Queen Maud Gulf deployed by Fisheries and Oceans Canada. The data will improve environmental monitoring as human activity, including ship traffic, increases in this region.

The community observatory in operation in the icy waters of Cambridge Bay, Nunavut.