The Canadian Arctic is facing new international challenges as global warming melts Arctic ice, opening up new shipping routes and access to untapped, potentially rich resources. As it has in the past, Canada is turning to defense spending to help strengthen its sovereignty in the region. Sovereignty is a multi-dimensional concept which requires a state to demonstrate control over its territory and its citizens. Developing Arctic energy resources is one pathway for Canada to achieve greater control in the region and strengthen its sovereignty claim. This thesis considers realist and liberal policy approaches to the development of Canadas Arctic energy resources. In the past, Canada has used both approaches to encourage the development of its Arctic energy reserves. From the 1950s to the early 1970s Canada relied solely on private companies to explore and produce Arctic resources. Between 1975 and 1984 Canada took a more interventionist approach. In 1975, Petro-Canada was created to help stimulate the development of Arctic resources. One of Petro-Canadas primary goals was to act as a catalyst for private energy companies operating in the Arctic.<p> This thesis seeks to expand upon the literature discussing Canadian Arctic sovereignty. By examining the impact of the two energy approaches on state sovereignty, this study draws a series of conclusion about the role of energy development in improving Canadas sovereignty claim. This thesis argues that government intervention is required to develop working partnerships amongst Canadian oil producers in order to bring Arctic energy reserves online in a timely and efficient manner to help bolster Canadas sovereignty claim.<p> This thesis considers realist and liberal policy approaches to the development of Canadas Arctic energy resources. In the past, Canada has used both approaches to encourage the development of its Arctic energy reserves. From the 1950s to early 1970s Canada relied solely on private companies to explore and produce Arctic resources. Between 1975 and 1984 Canada took a more interventionist approach. In 1975, Petro-Canada was created to help stimulate the development of Arctic resources. One of Petro-Canadas primary goals was to act as a catalyst for private energy companies operating in the Arctic.<p> This thesis seeks to expand upon the literature discussing Canadian Arctic sovereignty. By examining the impact of the two energy approaches on state sovereignty, this study draws a series of conclusion about the role of energy development in improving Canadas sovereignty claim. This thesis argues that government intervention is required to develop working partnerships amongst Canadian oil producers in order to bring Arctic energy reserves online in a timely and efficient manner to help bolster Canadas sovereignty claim.

The objective of this Ph.D. project is to investigate Arctic middle atmosphere chemistry using solar infrared absorption spectroscopy. These measurements were made at the Polar Environment Atmospheric Research Laboratory (PEARL) at Eureka, Nunavut, which is operated by the Canadian Network for the Detection of Atmospheric Change (CANDAC). This research is part of the CANDAC/PEARL Arctic Middle Atmosphere Chemistry theme and aims to improve our understanding of the processes controlling the stratospheric ozone budget using measurements of the concentrations of stratospheric constituents. The instrument, a Bruker IFS 125HR Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectrometer, has been specifically designed for high-resolution measurements over a broad spectral range and has been used to measure reactive species, source gases, reservoirs, and dynamical tracers at PEARL since August 2006. The first part of this research focuses on the optimization of ozone retrievals, for which 22 microwindows were studied and compared. The spectral region from 1000 to 1005 cm-1 was found to be the most sensitive in both the stratosphere and troposphere, giving the highest number of independent pieces of information and the smallest total error for retrievals at Eureka. iii Similar studies were performed in coordination with the Network for the Detection of Atmospheric Composition Change for nine other species, with the goal of improving and harmonizing the retrieval parameters among all Infrared Working Group sites. Previous satellite validation exercises have identified the highly variable polar conditions of the spring period to be a challenge. In this work, comparisons between the 125HR and ACE-FTS (Atmospheric Chemistry Experiment-Fourier transform spectrometer) from 2007 to 2010 have been used to develop strict criteria that allow the ground and satellite-based instruments to be confidently compared. After applying these criteria, the differences between the two instruments were generally small and in good agreement with previous ground-based FTIR/ACE-FTS comparisons. No clear bias was seen from year-to-year, and, in all cases, the difference between the measurements was within one standard deviation. The mean biases between the ACE-FTS and 125HR partial columns for 2007-2010 were -5.61 to 1.11%, -0.23 to 4.86%, -15.33 to -2.86%, -4.77 to 1.09%, and -0.34 to 5.23% for O3, HCl, ClONO2, HNO3, and HF, respectively. The 125HR measurements and three atmospheric models (CMAM-DAS, GEM-BACH, and SLIMCAT) were used to derive an NOy partial column data product for Eureka. This data product includes the five primary species NO, NO2, HNO3, N2O5, and ClONO2 and was used to study the seasonal and interannual variability of NOy from 2007 to 2010. The NOy 15-40 km partial column was found to be approximately constant through the sunlit part of the year, with greater variability during the spring. The mean partial column averaged for the spring period was (2.5±0.2)x1016 molec cm-2, while for the summer, it was (2.3±0.1)x1016 molec cm-2. The springtime evolution of NOy and its constituent nitrogen species, was also examined for all four years. The variability of the 5-NOy partial column was seen to be dominated by that of HNO3. iv The evolution of the individual nitrogen species was found to be consistent with the current understanding of the chemical and dynamical processes that occur in the polar stratosphere. Unusually low ozone columns were measured at Eureka from mid-February to late March 2011 and compared to the previous 14 years of measurements by the 125HR and its predecessor, Environment Canada’s Bomem DA8. The normalized O3/HF, HCl/HF, and HNO3/HF ratios, for which the effects of dynamics have been reduced, also showed record minima over this period. The SLIMCAT chemical transport model was used to quantify chemical ozone loss using the passive subtraction method. Chemical ozone depletion inside the vortex above Eureka was estimated to be 35%, which is the largest observed there in the past 15 years.

In the Canadian North, capacity building through post-secondary education is a key policy strategy of territorial and federal governments. However, government support for the University of the Arctic (UArctic), a viable policy instrument that makes an important contribution to the capacity building efforts of the territories, has been inconsistent. This thesis will investigate whether devolution has impacted capacity building through post-secondary education, by using UArctic as a case study.

The objective of this Ph.D. project is to investigate Arctic middle atmosphere chemistry using solar infrared absorption spectroscopy. These measurements were made at the Polar Environment Atmospheric Research Laboratory (PEARL) at Eureka, Nunavut, which is operated by the Canadian Network for the Detection of Atmospheric Change (CANDAC). This research is part of the CANDAC/PEARL Arctic Middle Atmosphere Chemistry theme and aims to improve our understanding of the processes controlling the stratospheric ozone budget using measurements of the concentrations of stratospheric constituents. The instrument, a Bruker IFS 125HR Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectrometer, has been specifically designed for high-resolution measurements over a broad spectral range and has been used to measure reactive species, source gases, reservoirs, and dynamical tracers at PEARL since August 2006. The first part of this research focuses on the optimization of ozone retrievals, for which 22 microwindows were studied and compared. The spectral region from 1000 to 1005 cm-1 was found to be the most sensitive in both the stratosphere and troposphere, giving the highest number of independent pieces of information and the smallest total error for retrievals at Eureka. iii Similar studies were performed in coordination with the Network for the Detection of Atmospheric Composition Change for nine other species, with the goal of improving and harmonizing the retrieval parameters among all Infrared Working Group sites. Previous satellite validation exercises have identified the highly variable polar conditions of the spring period to be a challenge. In this work, comparisons between the 125HR and ACE-FTS (Atmospheric Chemistry Experiment-Fourier transform spectrometer) from 2007 to 2010 have been used to develop strict criteria that allow the ground and satellite-based instruments to be confidently compared. After applying these criteria, the differences between the two instruments were generally small and in good agreement with previous ground-based FTIR/ACE-FTS comparisons. No clear bias was seen from year-to-year, and, in all cases, the difference between the measurements was within one standard deviation. The mean biases between the ACE-FTS and 125HR partial columns for 2007-2010 were -5.61 to 1.11%, -0.23 to 4.86%, -15.33 to -2.86%, -4.77 to 1.09%, and -0.34 to 5.23% for O3, HCl, ClONO2, HNO3, and HF, respectively. The 125HR measurements and three atmospheric models (CMAM-DAS, GEM-BACH, and SLIMCAT) were used to derive an NOy partial column data product for Eureka. This data product includes the five primary species NO, NO2, HNO3, N2O5, and ClONO2 and was used to study the seasonal and interannual variability of NOy from 2007 to 2010. The NOy 15-40 km partial column was found to be approximately constant through the sunlit part of the year, with greater variability during the spring. The mean partial column averaged for the spring period was (2.5±0.2)x1016 molec cm-2, while for the summer, it was (2.3±0.1)x1016 molec cm-2. The springtime evolution of NOy and its constituent nitrogen species, was also examined for all four years. The variability of the 5-NOy partial column was seen to be dominated by that of HNO3. iv The evolution of the individual nitrogen species was found to be consistent with the current understanding of the chemical and dynamical processes that occur in the polar stratosphere. Unusually low ozone columns were measured at Eureka from mid-February to late March 2011 and compared to the previous 14 years of measurements by the 125HR and its predecessor, Environment Canada’s Bomem DA8. The normalized O3/HF, HCl/HF, and HNO3/HF ratios, for which the effects of dynamics have been reduced, also showed record minima over this period. The SLIMCAT chemical transport model was used to quantify chemical ozone loss using the passive subtraction method. Chemical ozone depletion inside the vortex above Eureka was estimated to be 35%, which is the largest observed there in the past 15 years.

A ground-based, zenith-sky, UV-visible triple grating spectrometer was installed at the Polar Environment Atmospheric Research Laboratory (PEARL) in the Canadian High Arctic during polar springtime from 2004 to 2007 as part of the Canadian Arctic ACE (Atmospheric Chemistry Experiment) Validation Campaigns. From the solar spectra, ozone, NO2, and BrO vertical column densities (VCDs) have been retrieved using the DOAS (Differential Optical Absorption Spectroscopy) technique. This spectrometer, the UT-GBS (University of Toronto Ground-Based Spectrometer), was also deployed as part of the fourth Middle Atmosphere Nitrogen TRend Assessment (MANTRA) campaign in Vanscoy, Saskatchewan in August and September 2004. A near-identical spectrometer, the PEARL-GBS, was permanently installed at PEARL in August 2006 as part of the refurbishment of the laboratory by CANDAC (Canadian Network for the Detection of Atmospheric Change). Since then, the instrument has been making continuous measurements, with the exception of during polar night. Vertical columns of ozone and NO2 can be retrieved year-round. During the 2007 sunrise campaign, differential slant column densities (DSCDs) of OClO and VCDs of BrO were also retrieved. Ozone and NO2 DSCDs and VCDs from the UT-GBS were compared to the DSCDs and VCDs from three other UV-visible, ground-based, grating spectrometers that also participated in the MANTRA and Eureka campaigns. Two methods developed by the UV-visible Working Group of the NDACC (Network for the Detection of Atmospheric Composition Change) were followed. During MANTRA, the instruments were found to partially meet the NDACC standards. The comparisons from Eureka were an improvement on the MANTRA comparisons, and also partially met the NDACC standards. In 2007, the columns from the UT-GBS and PEARL-GBS were compared, and were found to agree within the NDACC standards for both species. Ozone and NO2 VCDs from the ground-based instruments were also compared to integrated partial columns from the ACE-FTS (ACE-Fourier Transform Spectrometer) and ACE-MAESTRO (ACE-Measurements of Aerosol Extinction in the Stratosphere and Troposphere Retrieved by Occultation) on board the ACE satellite. ACE-FTS partial columns were found to agree with the ground-based total columns, while the ACE-MAESTRO partial columns were found to be smaller than expected for ozone and larger than expected for NO2.

Boundaries between air masses, called frontal zones, have been associated with vegetation boundaries (Bryson, 1966; Hare and Ritchie, 1972). Using gridded climate reanalysis data, we analyze the air masses and frontal zones of North America. The position of the July Arctic front varies significantly through the period 1948-2007, with a mean position similar to that found by Bryson (1966). The variability of the front position can be associated with changes in the general circulation; when the AO and SOI are positive (negative), the position of the July Arctic front is further north (south). There is also more variability in the July Arctic front position in Eastern versus Western Canada. When the July Arctic front is north (south) of the mean position, the boreal forest and tundra vegetation is more (less) productive. There is some evidence that climate warming is only starting to shift the July Arctic front to the north. / This study was funded by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) and the Polar Climate Stability Network (PCSN) project funded by the Canadian Foundation for Climate and Atmospheric Sciences (CFCAS).

Current Canadian policies do not adequately prevent water contamination or mitigate the effects of existing polychlorinated biphenyl pollution. There is conflict between the Canadian government and the Inuit people over how to approach the pollution problem, arising from a clash of cultural values and traditions. Legislation related to healthcare is an inherently sensitive issue and some measures that seem acceptable to westernized societies are not appropriate for the Inuit. The purpose of this thesis is to answer (a) why polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) are in the Arctic, (b) what the effects of PCBs are on the Arctic people, and (c) how healthcare policy can address the issue.

Land use decisions can facilitate or hinder the creation of healthy communities and as such, the health and well-being of their residents. This research project has the goal of exploring the connections between land use planning and community health in remote, Arctic communities; it asks a central question: if we were given the means to improve community health through planning, how would we best proceed? Arctic communities are experiencing rapid change as a result of demographic, economic and technological factors. The pressure for resource development in the Arctic is significant and communities are facing challenging decisions in terms of land use in their regions. In addition, measures of health and well-being indicate health deficits in Arctic communities in comparison with non-Arctic communities in Canada. As such, Arctic communities represent an important study region due to both this compelling health deficit, as well as increased pressure on the land base. For this research project, the Inuvialuit region, NWT was used as a case study. A qualitative inquiry was undertaken given the research objective of generating localized and specific information in the context of remote, Arctic communities. In addition, limited information was available on the subject area which made this ‘theory generating’ methodology most relevant. Fifteen semi-structured interviews were conducted with expert/ knowledge holders, the majority of whom were from the study area. Information gathered was analyzed using the constant comparison method. Available statistical and quantitative data from secondary sources was compiled into community profiles and used for comparison with interview data and to add richness to the analysis. The study indicated that there was strong connection between community health and land use in the region. The reasons given for this connection were as follows: cultural connection – describing the basis for culture that arises from the historic and current connection with the land, self-determination – as it relates to ownership and control over ancestral lands, functional relationship with land – in terms of services provided including air, water, wildlife, and food, economic basis in the land – in terms of monetary value (or replacement value) of goods obtained directly from the land and the holistic connection between the land and community well-being – describing the innate value of the land as it positively impacts people’s health beyond the functional or cultural value. Variations in infrastructure and services between communities were examined but not found to be strongly linked to community health; however there is some evidence to indicate that the level of participation in cultural activities is linked to community health. Promoting and increasing levels of community health in the study region was shown to be linked to increased opportunities for education, local governance and control over community and regional affairs, economic development that strengthens the traditional economy, healing and treatment for individuals, and recreation opportunities that promote personal development. Implications for planning in the study region were examined. Collaborative planning theory was used as a basis. The recommendations for planning in the study region were: recognizing the historical and cultural connections with the land, integrating the hinterland and the town lands in community design, designing to support social networks, local control over the planning process, and planning to enhance opportunities in northern communities. Explicitly considering community health in planning policy holds some promise for dealing with the complex issues surrounding land use in the north in particular in providing a measure emphasizes the needs of the local communities.

Land use decisions can facilitate or hinder the creation of healthy communities and as such, the health and well-being of their residents. This research project has the goal of exploring the connections between land use planning and community health in remote, Arctic communities; it asks a central question: if we were given the means to improve community health through planning, how would we best proceed? Arctic communities are experiencing rapid change as a result of demographic, economic and technological factors. The pressure for resource development in the Arctic is significant and communities are facing challenging decisions in terms of land use in their regions. In addition, measures of health and well-being indicate health deficits in Arctic communities in comparison with non-Arctic communities in Canada. As such, Arctic communities represent an important study region due to both this compelling health deficit, as well as increased pressure on the land base. For this research project, the Inuvialuit region, NWT was used as a case study. A qualitative inquiry was undertaken given the research objective of generating localized and specific information in the context of remote, Arctic communities. In addition, limited information was available on the subject area which made this ‘theory generating’ methodology most relevant. Fifteen semi-structured interviews were conducted with expert/ knowledge holders, the majority of whom were from the study area. Information gathered was analyzed using the constant comparison method. Available statistical and quantitative data from secondary sources was compiled into community profiles and used for comparison with interview data and to add richness to the analysis. The study indicated that there was strong connection between community health and land use in the region. The reasons given for this connection were as follows: cultural connection – describing the basis for culture that arises from the historic and current connection with the land, self-determination – as it relates to ownership and control over ancestral lands, functional relationship with land – in terms of services provided including air, water, wildlife, and food, economic basis in the land – in terms of monetary value (or replacement value) of goods obtained directly from the land and the holistic connection between the land and community well-being – describing the innate value of the land as it positively impacts people’s health beyond the functional or cultural value. Variations in infrastructure and services between communities were examined but not found to be strongly linked to community health; however there is some evidence to indicate that the level of participation in cultural activities is linked to community health. Promoting and increasing levels of community health in the study region was shown to be linked to increased opportunities for education, local governance and control over community and regional affairs, economic development that strengthens the traditional economy, healing and treatment for individuals, and recreation opportunities that promote personal development. Implications for planning in the study region were examined. Collaborative planning theory was used as a basis. The recommendations for planning in the study region were: recognizing the historical and cultural connections with the land, integrating the hinterland and the town lands in community design, designing to support social networks, local control over the planning process, and planning to enhance opportunities in northern communities. Explicitly considering community health in planning policy holds some promise for dealing with the complex issues surrounding land use in the north in particular in providing a measure emphasizes the needs of the local communities.

Tree-ring analyses have contributed significantly to investigations of climate change and climate cycles, including the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO), Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO) and El Niño/Southern Oscillation (ENSO). Stable isotope climate proxies (?18O, ?D, and ?13C) have enhanced traditional ring-width data, although poor preservation of ancient wood has generally constrained reconstruction of stable isotope proxy records to the Holocene and Late Pleistocene. An opportunity to apply these stable isotope methods to older wood has been presented by recovery of remains of Mixed-Coniferous Boreal Vegetation, in Early Pliocene (4-5 Ma) deposits at Strathcona Fiord, Ellesmere Island, Canada (~79°N). An exceptionally well-preserved tree trunk, identified as Larix (larch) through wood anatomical characteristics, from this high Arctic site provided a 203-year tree-ring record, from which we present the first high-resolution, secular isotope record of Pliocene climate. ?18O, ?D, and ?13C isotope values indicate a variable climate with alternating intervals of cool/wet to warm/dry weather. These fluctuations in climate may be attributable to phase changes in climate cycles observed in the record. A growing season mean temperature of 14.4 °C was calculated from isotopic analysis of gastropod shells. Palaeoclimatic modeling of tree isotope values has revealed growing season temperatures of 11-15 °C, and estimated isotope values of precipitation of 18.3 (?18O) and 228 (?D). Both palaeotemperature estimates and source water calculations are comparable to those found in a modern Boreal Forest. Time-series wavelet analysis was applied to these data revealing prominent short (<10 years), intermediate (16-35 years) and long-term (~45-50 years) cyclicity. These are the highest resolution climate cycles recovered from the pre-Holocene terrestrial record, providing evidence for decadal scale cyclicity similar to the NAO and/or PDO 4-5 million years ago.