This article was posted on Wednesday, February 8,
2012 on ‘What's Happening at the U of M’.
It may seem a bit idiosyncratic for a Canadian
university to build a special experimental facility for making ice (and hockey
is not involved), but this research laboratory may be the key to helping
scientists better understand climate change.
The Sea-ice Environmental Research Facility (SERF)
is the first of its kind in Canada: a large, outdoor, saltwater pond equipped
with a suite of state-of-the-art analytical instruments. Researchers will watch
and monitor the formation of sea ice on the water for comparison with what
occurs in the high Arctic. By “growing” sea ice under controlled conditions,
scientists will better understand how sea ice forms and melts on polar oceans,
and gain insight into the processes that regulate the exchange of molecules
between the ocean and atmosphere.
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| Sea Ice (courtesy of National Geography) |
With a total funding of $1.38 million, the SERF
facility is of fundamental importance to the research mission of the
University, which has identified climate change and northern studies as a major
thrust for research and research training.
“By creating sea ice at a land-locked prairie
research facility to study the impact of climate change, we are turning
innovative ideas into reality at the University of Manitoba,” said president
David Barnard. "I congratulate our visionary researchers for finding
solutions to real-world problems and our partners for their support and
commitment.”
The main feature of the SERF facility is an outdoor
pool, 60 feet long, 30 feet wide and 8 feet deep. It is equipped with a movable
roof to control snow cover, and various sensors and instruments to allow
real-time monitoring. The SERF facility also includes a trailer laboratory and
a storage building.
Along with concurrent field studies onboard the
Canadian Research Icebreaker CCGS Amundsen in the Arctic Ocean, experimental
studies at SERF are expected to improve our ability to predict the impact of
the rapid sea-ice loss on the marine ecosystem, on Arctic and global climates,
on transport and biogeochemical cycles of greenhouse gases and contaminants and
on the human use of sea ice.
“This state-of-the-art facility will help
researchers advance our understanding of the complex dynamics of sea ice and
its impact on climate,” said Gilles G. Patry, president and CEO of the Canada
Foundation for Innovation (CFI). “SERF will draw on the talents of top
investigators from around the world whose work will have a real and positive
impact on Northern communities and ecosystems.”
“This is an example of the innovative and
cutting-edge projects the Manitoba Research and Innovation Fund supports,” said
Innovation, Energy and Mines Minister Dave Chomiak. “Understanding the effects
of climate change has never been more important and I wish the University of
Manitoba continued success on this initiative.”
Søren Rysgaard, Canada Excellence Research Chair (CERC)
in Arctic Geomicrobiology and Climate Change, received funding in January from
the Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI), some of which will be put to work
in this facility. What will be learned will have broad economic and
environmental impact and will be applied to environmental assessment and
resource development in the Arctic and its resultant impact on Indigenous
peoples of the region. Rysgaard was appointed CERC in 2010 and studies the
geomicrobiological aspects of this critical habitat, how it will alter amid a
changing climate and how it affects global CO2 balance and carbon
sequestration.
The SERF is funded by CFI, the Manitoba Research
and Innovation Fund, and the University of Manitoba. The project is led by Drs.
Feiyue Wang, Tim Papakyriakou, David Barber (Canada Research Chair in Arctic
System Science) and Søren Rysgaard of the Centre for Earth Observation Science
in the Clayton H. Riddell Faculty of Environment, Earth and Resources at the
University of Manitoba.
