Alert

-CO2-

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 : Alert is the most northerly site in the World Meteorological Organization?s Global Atmospheric Watch Network. It is located on the northeastern tip of Ellesmere Island in Nunavut 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 around 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. A 10 m meteorological tower located 50 m WSW of the observatory is instrumented for wind and temperature measurements. The objective of the program at Alert is to make available on-going background concentration measurements of selected atmospheric constituents and related physical parameters representative of the Canadian Arctic, and to promote scientific studies towards developing a better understanding of the natural biogeochemical cycles and the impact of human activities on these cycles. A team of Canadian scientists, working in partnership with international scientists, maintain the extensive measurement program at Alert.