Alert

-CO-

Station Characteristics Name : Alert Country : Canada GAW Category : Global Platform : Ground base Location : 82.45ºN   62.52ºW   210m a.m.s.l. Time Zone : Address : Organization : Environment Canada/Meteorological Service of Canada Description : In 1986, the Alert Background Air Pollution Monitoring Network (BAPMoN) Observatory was opened as Canada's first research station for the continuous monitoring of background concentrations of trace gases and aerosols. Currently, the Dr. Neil Trivett Global Atmosphere Watch Observatory at Alert, NU is the most northerly site in the GAW Network. It is located on the northeastern tip of Ellesmere Island in Nunavut, Canada at 82º28'N and 62º30'W, far removed from the major industrial regions of the Northern Hemisphere. Alert is also the site of a military station (CFS Alert) staffed with about 60 personnel, and an Environment Canada Upper Air Weather Station. The Alert GAW Observatory is approximately 400 m2 in size and is situated 210 m above sea level and 6 km SSW of CFS Alert. It is a key site for Arctic atmospheric process studies, which have led to the discovery of such phenomena as Arctic haze, important chemical interactions of pollutants with snow surfaces, and rapid changes in the chemical composition of the atmospheric boundary layer during polar sunrise. The program at Alert has grown substantially since its inception. A team of Canadian scientists, working in partnership with international scientists, maintains the extensive measurement program at Alert. The measurement and research of trace atmospheric constituents thought to have an impact on climate remains a primary function for this station.