View source for Isachsen

{{Short description|Weather station in Nunavut, Canada}}
{{For|people named Isachsen}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2021}}
{{Use Canadian English|date=March 2021}}
{{Infobox settlement
|name= Isachsen
|image_skyline = Isachsen-1974-bw-1b.jpg
|image_caption = Welcome sign at Isachsen 1974
|pushpin_map = Canada Nunavut#Canada
|coordinates= {{coord|78|47|N|103|30|W|scale:50000_region:CA-NU|notes=<ref>{{Cite cgndb|OAIAY|Isachsen}}</ref>|display=inline,title|name=Isachsen}}
|pushpin_map_caption=Location in Nunavut
|subdivision_type = Country
|subdivision_name= Canada
|subdivision_type1= [[Provinces and territories of Canada|Territory]]
|subdivision_name1= [[Nunavut]]
|subdivision_type2= [[Regions of Nunavut|Region]]
|subdivision_name2= [[Qikiqtaaluk Region|Qikiqtaaluk]]
|type=Weather station
}}

'''Isachsen''' is a remote [[Arctic]] research-[[weather station]] named after the Norwegian explorer of the Arctic [[Gunnar Isachsen]]. It is on the western shore of [[Ellef Ringnes Island]] in the [[Sverdrup Islands]], in the territory of [[Nunavut]] in Canada. Isachsen Station was established to participate in a joint Canadian-American weather observation program. Isachsen Station operated from April 3, 1948, through September 19, 1978. Regular weather observations began on May 3, 1948. In October 1949, a [[Douglas C-47 Skytrain]] (tail number 316062) crash-landed near the station. No one was killed, but three on board were injured. The wreckage has been preserved by the cold weather and dry conditions.

==Climate==
According to [[Environment and Climate Change Canada]], Isachsen and the surrounding area has the worst weather in Canada with a [[Climate Severity Index]] of 99 out of a possible 100.<ref name="CSI">{{cite web |url=https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/climate-severity/ |title=Climate Severity |author=David Phillips |date=2006-02-06 |website=thecanadianencyclopedia.ca |publisher=[[The Canadian Encyclopedia]] |access-date=2018-02-01}}</ref> The climate of Isachsen is a severe [[tundra climate]], with short, cool summers and long, cold winters. The record high is {{cvt|22.2|C}} on July 21, 1962, and the record low is {{cvt|-53.9|C}} on March 16, 1956.

{{Weather box
|location = Isachsen, 1951–1978 normals, extremes 1948–1978
|metric first = Y
|single line = Y
|Jan record high C = -1.5
|Feb record high C = -4.4
|Mar record high C = -8.3
|Apr record high C = -1.1
|May record high C = 6.1
|Jun record high C = 16.7
|Jul record high C = 22.2
|Aug record high C = 14.4
|Sep record high C = 3.9
|Oct record high C = 0.0
|Nov record high C = -3.9
|Dec record high C = -8.9
|year record high C= 22.2
|Jan high C = -31.0
|Feb high C = -33.2
|Mar high C = -31.1
|Apr high C = -21.8
|May high C = -9.0
|Jun high C = 1.3
|Jul high C = 5.7
|Aug high C = 3.1
|Sep high C = -5.9
|Oct high C = -15.6
|Nov high C = -24.7
|Dec high C = -29.2
|year high C = 
|Jan mean C= -34.7
|Feb mean C= -36.6
|Mar mean C= -34.7
|Apr mean C= -25.7
|May mean C= -12.0
|Jun mean C= -0.9
|Jul mean C= 3.2
|Aug mean C= 0.9
|Sep mean C= -8.8
|Oct mean C= -19.4
|Nov mean C= -28.4
|Dec mean C= -32.8
|year mean C= 
|Jan low C = -38.4
|Feb low C = -40.0
|Mar low C = -38.1
|Apr low C = -29.5
|May low C = -15.0
|Jun low C = -3.1
|Jul low C = 0.6
|Aug low C = -1.3
|Sep low C = -11.6
|Oct low C = -23.1
|Nov low C = -32.0
|Dec low C = -36.3
|year low C = 
|Jan record low C = -52.8
|Feb record low C = -53.3
|Mar record low C = -53.9
|Apr record low C = -45.6
|May record low C = -29.4
|Jun record low C = -15.6
|Jul record low C = -7.2
|Aug record low C = -13.3
|Sep record low C = -29.4
|Oct record low C = -41.1
|Nov record low C = -47.2
|Dec record low C = -52.2
|year record low C= -53.9
|precipitation colour = green
|Jan precipitation mm = 3.4
|Feb precipitation mm = 2.6
|Mar precipitation mm = 2.8
|Apr precipitation mm = 5.2
|May precipitation mm = 9.9
|Jun precipitation mm = 9.2
|Jul precipitation mm = 20.7
|Aug precipitation mm = 23.2
|Sep precipitation mm = 17.9
|Oct precipitation mm = 11.5
|Nov precipitation mm = 4.4
|Dec precipitation mm = 2.8
|year precipitation mm = 113.6
|rain colour = green
|Jan rain mm = 0.0
|Feb rain mm = 0.0
|Mar rain mm = 0.0
|Apr rain mm = 0.0
|May rain mm = 0.0
|Jun rain mm = 2.8
|Jul rain mm = 15.2
|Aug rain mm = 14.6
|Sep rain mm = 1.2
|Oct rain mm = 0.0
|Nov rain mm = 0.0
|Dec rain mm = 0.0
|year rain mm= 33.8
|snow colour = green
|Jan snow cm = 3.3
|Feb snow cm = 2.6
|Mar snow cm = 3.0
|Apr snow cm = 5.3
|May snow cm = 10.7
|Jun snow cm = 6.3
|Jul snow cm = 5.0
|Aug snow cm = 8.1
|Sep snow cm = 17.7
|Oct snow cm = 12.1
|Nov snow cm = 4.4
|Dec snow cm = 2.8
|year snow cm = 81.3
|unit precipitation days = 0.2 mm
|Jan precipitation days = 5
|Feb precipitation days = 4
|Mar precipitation days = 4
|Apr precipitation days = 6
|May precipitation days = 10
|Jun precipitation days = 7
|Jul precipitation days = 9
|Aug precipitation days = 12
|Sep precipitation days = 13
|Oct precipitation days = 10
|Nov precipitation days = 5
|Dec precipitation days = 4
|year precipitation days = 89
|unit rain days = 0.2 mm
|Jan rain days = 0
|Feb rain days = 0
|Mar rain days = 0
|Apr rain days = 0
|May rain days = 0
|Jun rain days = 2
|Jul rain days = 6
|Aug rain days = 6
|Sep rain days = 0
|Oct rain days = 0
|Nov rain days = 0
|Dec rain days = 0
|year rain days= 14
|unit snow days = 0.2 cm
|Jan snow days = 5
|Feb snow days = 4
|Mar snow days = 4
|Apr snow days = 6
|May snow days = 10
|Jun snow days = 6
|Jul snow days = 3
|Aug snow days = 6
|Sep snow days = 13
|Oct snow days = 10
|Nov snow days = 5
|Dec snow days = 4
|year snow days= 76
|Jan sun = 0.0
|Feb sun = 0.3
|Mar sun = 94.6
|Apr sun = 324.3
|May sun = 338.6
|Jun sun = 266.6
|Jul sun = 232.0
|Aug sun = 143.4
|Sep sun = 50.0
|Oct sun = 7.1
|Nov sun = 0.0
|Dec sun = 0.0
|year sun = 1456.9
|source 1 = [[Environment and Climate Change Canada]]<ref name="Canadian Climate Normals">{{cite web 
| publisher = [[Environment and Climate Change Canada]] 
| url = https://climate.weather.gc.ca/climate_normals/index_e.html
| title = 1951-1980 Climate Normals & Averages
| work = Canadian Climate Data
| access-date = December 22, 2020|date = 2020-12-22}}</ref><ref name="July 1962">{{cite web 
| publisher = [[Environment and Climate Change Canada]] 
| url = https://climate.weather.gc.ca/climate_data/daily_data_e.html?timeframe=2&Year=1962&Month=7&Day=21&hlyRange=1953-01-01%7C1978-07-31&dlyRange=1948-05-01%7C1978-06-30&mlyRange=1948-01-01%7C1978-12-01&StationID=1790&Prov=NU&urlExtension=_e.html&searchType=stnName&optLimit=yearRange&StartYear=1840&EndYear=2020&selRowPerPage=25&Line=0&searchMethod=contains&txtStationName=isachsen
| title = Daily Data Report for July 1962
| work = Canadian Climate Data
| access-date = December 22, 2020|date = 2020-12-22}}</ref><ref name="March 1956">{{cite web 
| publisher = [[Environment and Climate Change Canada]] 
| url = https://climate.weather.gc.ca/climate_data/daily_data_e.html?timeframe=2&hlyRange=1953-01-01%7C1978-07-31&dlyRange=1948-05-01%7C1978-06-30&mlyRange=1948-01-01%7C1978-12-01&StationID=1790&Prov=NU&urlExtension=_e.html&searchType=stnName&optLimit=yearRange&StartYear=1840&EndYear=2020&selRowPerPage=25&Line=0&searchMethod=contains&txtStationName=isachsen&Day=21&Year=1956&Month=3#
| title = Daily Data Report for March 1956
| work = Canadian Climate Data
| access-date = December 22, 2020|date = 2020-12-22}}</ref><ref name="December 1976">{{cite web
| publisher = [[Environment and Climate Change Canada]] 
| url = https://climate.weather.gc.ca/climate_data/daily_data_e.html?timeframe=2&hlyRange=1953-01-01%7C1978-07-31&dlyRange=1948-05-01%7C1978-06-30&mlyRange=1948-01-01%7C1978-12-01&StationID=1790&Prov=NU&urlExtension=_e.html&searchType=stnName&optLimit=yearRange&StartYear=1840&EndYear=2020&selRowPerPage=25&Line=0&searchMethod=contains&txtStationName=isachsen&Day=21&Year=1976&Month=12#
| title = Daily Data Report for December 1976}}
</ref>
|date=December 2020}}

==Flora and fauna==
There are no trees or shrubs that can live this far north. The plant life here is limited to small patches of [[moss]], [[lichen]]s, and a few tiny flowering plants. The wildlife here is limited to [[polar bear]]s, [[Arctic fox]]es, [[Reindeer|caribou]], [[Arctic hare]]s, [[lemming]]s, [[Pinniped|seals]], [[muskox]]en, and [[Bird migration|migratory birds]].

==History and background==
On October 9, 1949, a [[Douglas C-47 Skytrain|C-47]] cargo plane of the [[United States Air Force]]  crashed on takeoff at the weather station. The plane had ten people on board: a US Air Force crew of six and four civilian passengers. The passengers were two U.S. weather bureau employees, a Canadian weather bureau employee, and a [[Royal Canadian Mounted Police]] constable. Three of the aircrew received cuts and bruises and everyone else escaped injury. The subsequent investigation blamed the accident on the plane being overloaded and attempting to take off with ice building up on the cockpit windshield and wings. At the time of the crash, there were {{cvt|5|in|order=flip}} of snow on the mud runway, a light snowfall and some fog.<ref>[http://www.oldwings.nl/content/c47_yic/brief.htm The Crashed U.S. Air Force Plane at Isachsen], [http://www.oldwings.nl/ oldwings.nl].</ref> The wreck was briefly shown in the [[Top Gear: Polar Special|Polar Special]] episode of the BBC program ''[[Top Gear (2002 TV series)|Top Gear]]''. Photos of the remains of Isachsen Station can be seen on the Hilux Arctic Challenge website,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.invinciblehilux.co.uk/|publisher=Toyota|title=Hilux Arctic Challenge|access-date=March 15, 2008|archive-date=June 18, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120618130242/http://www.invinciblehilux.co.uk/|url-status=dead}}</ref> taken by the ''Top Gear'' team on their trip to the nearby 1996 [[North Magnetic Pole]]. The footage of the wreck was filmed on May 2, 2007. The episode first aired on July 25, 2007. The wreck site is located at {{coord|78|46|13|N|103|20|08|W|type:landmark_region:CA-NU|name=C-47 wreck, Isachsen}}.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.oldwings.nl/content/c47_yic/c47.htm |title=Arctic C-47 Wreck at Isachsen, Canada|access-date=October 4, 2023}}</ref>

During the 1950s, Isachsen Station was  primarily collecting [[radiosonde]] observations. Along with weather soundings from similar stations such as [[Prince Patrick Island|Mould Bay]], [[Eureka, Nunavut|Eureka]], and [[Alert, Nunavut|Alert]], this information was used to complete the North American data, primarily used to [[weather forecasting|produce weather forecasts]] over the [[Atlantic Ocean|North Atlantic Ocean]], [[Greenland]], and [[Iceland]], and long-range weather forecasts for [[Western Europe]].

The Isachsen Station was in an extremely isolated place, with supplies and new personnel flown in by the [[Royal Canadian Air Force]], usually twice a year: in the late spring, and again in the early fall from an [[air base]] (now [[Resolute Bay Airport]]) at [[Resolute, Nunavut|Resolute]] on [[Cornwallis Island (Nunavut)|Cornwallis Island]]. In turn, Resolute Station, like most northern communities, was supplied using ocean-going [[cargo ship]]s aided by [[icebreaker]]s during the late summer [[sealift]].

The eight-man staff at Isachsen usually consisted of four Americans and four Canadians. The Americans were usually two weather observers, a cook, and a mechanic. The Canadians were usually two weather observers and two radio operators. All communication to and from Isachsen Station was via [[shortwave radio]] [[Wireless telegraphy|radiotelegraphy]].

[[Fuel oil]] and [[diesel fuel]] for heating and cooking, and for the station's [[electric generator]]s, respectively, were shipped to Isachsen by [[Cargo aircraft|transport planes]] in standard metal fuel [[barrel]]s.

During the summer of 1958, the Isachsen station was rebuilt using [[prefabricated building]]s that had been [[airlift]]ed in along with about a dozen construction personnel. The sun sets in October and it is [[Polar night|totally dark]] for about three months with temperatures from {{cvt|-32|to|-51|C}}. In the summer, the [[Midnight sun|sun is visible]] above the horizon 24 hours a day for about three months with temperatures from about {{cvt|7|to|16|C}}.

In 1956, a plan by the [[Government of Canada]] to resettle the [[Inuit]] at several high Arctic locations was scrapped. These settlements would have included Isachsen, Alert, Eureka, and Mould Bay.

On October 31, 1971, the United States withdrew from participation in the weather program at the site. In 1971, the Canadian government made a significant investment in Isachsen to upgrade its buildings. Then, in 1978, as a cost-cutting measure, the government decided to close one high Arctic station; Isachsen Station was selected, and it was closed down during that same year. The last manned weather observations were taken on July 31, 1978. An [[Automated airport weather station|Automated Surface Observing System]] was placed at the site in 1989, linked by [[Communications satellite|satellite communications]] to southern Canada. Isachsen is now uninhabited.

During the summers of 1989 and 1992, the closed weather station at Isachsen was the site of the High Arctic Psychology Research Station (HAPRS). The HAPRS operated under the aegis of the Polar Psychology Project, an international and transpolar multi-year program. Each time, six or seven researchers used each other as participants in investigations of the effects of isolation, remoteness, and cold on psychological and physiological processes such as taste perception, irritability, mood, subjective and hormonal measures of stress, brain waves, and sleep patterns. In 1992, a survey was made of abandoned vehicles, fuel drums, and potential contaminants to assist Environment and Climate Change Canada in planning to remove such items from the site.

==See also==
*[[List of accidents and incidents involving the DC-3 in 1949]]
*[[List of research stations in the Arctic]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links and photos==
* [http://atlas.gc.ca/toporama/en/index.html?id=map1&extent=-190739.29916910105,3266578.2197782113,-181706.40610331495,3271340.72930323&legend=762eb7ed-0001-242f-6fcf-af08f5605eb1,0,0,1;e5511402-0002-5cbe-0d3c-f537c612b7df,0,0,0.7;cc7fde4c-0003-1cf2-8358-7ca86eefb13c,0,0,1;762eb7ed-cccc-242f-6fcf-af08f5605eb1,0,1,1;8a57b0ba-c004-f03d-7cd4-b3d9b35a8b83,0,0,1;4118b52e-66fe-6b4d-b826-a8f309338f76,0,0,1;e5511402-0029-5cbe-0d3c-f537c612b7dg,0,0,1;e5511402-0029-5cbe-0d3c-f537c612b7df,0,1,1;e5511402-0028-5cbe-0d3c-f537c612b7df,0,0,1;e5511402-0628-5cbe-0d3c-f537c612b7df,0,1,1;e5511402-0528-5cbe-0d3c-f537c612b7df,0,1,1;8a9bb0ab-0005-32b1-6715-be42194945aa,0,0,1;e5511402-0027-5cbe-0d3c-f537c612b7df,0,1,1;e5511402-0026-5cbe-0d3c-f537c612b7df,0,1,1;e5511402-0025-5cbe-0d3c-f537c612b7df,0,1,1;8a9bb0ab-0021-32b1-6715-be42194945aa,0,1,1;e5511402-0023-5cbe-0d3c-f537c612b7df,0,1,1;e5511402-0022-5cbe-0d3c-f537c612b7df,0,1,1;8a9bb0ab-0018-32b1-6715-be42194945aa,0,1,1;e5511402-0020-5cbe-0d3c-f537c612b7df,0,1,1;e5511402-0019-5cbe-0d3c-f537c612b7df,0,1,1;8a9bb0ab-0014-32b1-6715-be42194945aa,0,1,1;e5511402-0017-5cbe-0d3c-f537c612b7df,0,1,1;e5511402-0016-5cbe-0d3c-f537c612b7df,0,1,1;e5511402-0015-5cbe-0d3c-f537c612b7df,0,1,1;8a9bb0ab-0010-32b1-6715-be42194945aa,0,1,1;e5511402-0013-5cbe-0d3c-f537c612b7df,0,1,1;e5511402-0012-5cbe-0d3c-f537c612b7df,0,1,1;e5511402-0011-5cbe-0d3c-f537c612b7de,0,1,1;e5511402-0011-5cbe-0d3c-f537c612b7df,0,1,1;e5511402-0009-5cbe-0d3c-f537c612b7df,0,1,1;e5511402-0007-5cbe-0d3c-f537c612b7df,0,1,1;e5511402-0004-5cbe-0d3c-f537c612b7df,0,1,1 Topographic map of Isachsen] at the [[Atlas of Canada]].
* [https://weather.gc.ca/past_conditions/index_e.html?station=wic Past 24 Hour Conditions] in Isachsen (weather station)

{{Subdivisions of Nunavut}}

[[Category:Former populated places in the Qikiqtaaluk Region]]
[[Category:Ghost towns in Nunavut]]
[[Category:Meteorological stations]]
[[Category:Meteorological Service of Canada]]
[[Category:Federal government buildings in Nunavut]]