Arctic Outposts
Canadian Geographic|March/April 2018

How the Joint Arctic Weather Stations program did more than just fi ll in a blank on the nation’s weather map

Harry Wilson
Arctic Outposts

IN ADDITION to possessing thorough technical knowledge of meteorological equipment, applicants must be comfortable with long periods of isolation and cold, and be prepared to live and work in close quarters with a small group of colleagues for a year or more at a time.

OK, so this is an imaginary version of what was required of personnel at the five Joint Arctic Weather Stations active across the Canadian High Arctic from 1947 to 1972, but its take-heed tone about the physical and mental hardships of life in the North probably isn’t far off the mark. After all, staffing the stations was serious business for the Canadian and American officials who initiated the project.

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