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By CRAIG GILBERT Stockwell Day he is not but Vancouver Aquarium Marine Science Centre president and CEO John Nightingale took a soggy step in that direction in the name of science and for the sake of the Arctic last week. Far from arriving by SeaDoo in a wetsuit on Oct. 28 Nightingale stood in chest waders in the waters off Sunset Beach in an attempt to stir up interest in the aquarium and the work it has been doing in eastern Nunavut communities and now in Cambridge Bay where the new federally run Canadian High Arctic Research Station is being built. We dont mind at all calling what we did yesterday a stunt Nightingale said. We need to engage more people who dont give this a second thought. He told the Journal he wants people in southern Canada to visit the aquarium in per- son or online and realize they are connected to the northern ecosystem. The aquarium said in a press release some experts believe the Arctic home to 40 per cent of Canadas land mass and 70 per cent of its shorelines could be ice-free for the rst time in 2030. Our primary concern is the change the North is going through with warming of the climate he said. People dont have a clue about the Arctic Ocean they have no visceral or emotional sense of what it is. We want to grow the choir of people who are interested. AtthefacilityinVancouverthesecondphase of the aquariums expansion and revitalization will include the new Canadas Arctic Gallery where visitors will be immersed in the rapid changes impacting the Arctic and can learn how these environmental concerns are affect- ing southern Canada. The expansion will also providelargerhabitatsforbelugawhalesAurora andQilawhichwillalsohelpfosterscienticre- search and conservation efforts to help protect thespecieswhichhasbeendesignatedasnear threatened by the World Wildlife Federation. Traditional knowledge meets Western science The aquariums scientists are working to es- tablish baseline data with a research focus on near-shoreecologyandmarineanimalsinorder tobeabletotrackandcomparethechangesover time.Wedonthaveenoughbaselineinforma- tionNightingaleexplained.Thereneedstobe acombinationofhistorictraditionalknowledge andacombinationofsomeastuteefcientWest- ernscience.Somethingscanbemeasuredwith instruments but on some things our records are so spotty in terms of science its traditional knowledgethathelpscalibratethewholepicture. Forty-ve years after the Vancouver orga- nization rst studied the Arctic its scientists are today working on projects examining the impact of increased underwater noise from shipping trafc on beluga whales tracking changes to ocean conditions including the impact of increased freshwater in Canadas Arctic and mapping sea ice loss in order to make travel in the region safer. Its a micro-concern in the global picture but its part of assembling the bigger picture. The projects involve partnering with other organizations as well as Inuit communities youth and elders. The changes are broad changes in weather patternschangesintheicewhichdramatically affectsanimalstheecosystemandthepeoples who interact with the marine environment in summer and winter Nightingale said. This isntsomethingthatcanbedonewithabunchof scientistsridinginfromthesouth.Thereneeds to be a collaboration with some augmentation of scientic capacity by the aquarium. None of the work is being done in the North- west Territories but the science that comes out could be applicable there. We have done a bit of work in Tuktoyak- tuk over the years he said I expect as Inuvik and Tuk become more centres of research for example with the territorial research cen- tre in Inuvik I believe our work will spread there as well. Warming at twice the rate of the rest of the planet the Arctic is quickly losing its sea ice cover and glaciers are melting due to unprec- edented changes according to the aquarium but the effects will also be felt closer to home in urban cities. We are a part of these ecosystems Night- ingale said. If people down south think this doesnt involve them just wait 50 years and see what happens in sea-level rise. Vancouver Aquarium to highlight plight of Arctic ice PhotocourtesyofDr.ValeriaVergara A beluga whale in the waters of Cunningham Inlet on the northern shore of Somerset Island in Nunavut. The Vancouver Aquarium Marine Science Centre is working to drum up interest in the Arctic among southern Canadians.