Iqaluit Calibration/Validation Supersite for Meteorological Satellites

It is foreseen that the changing climate in the Arctic will result in increased activities, such as marine navigation, resource exploitation, aviation, fishing, and recreation, requiring reliable and relevant weather information. However, processes governing weather systems in the Arctic are not well understood. There is a recognized lack of meteorological observations to characterize the atmosphere and the cryosphere for operational forecasting and to support process studies, satellite and model calibration/validation (cal/val), and for verification. Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) is enhancing the observing capacity of selected sites, including Iqaluit (64oN, 69oW), which is uniquely situated in close proximity to frequent overpasses by polar-orbiting satellites such as ADM-Aeolus, A-Train, GPM, and EarthCARE. Iqaluit's suite of instruments will provide near-real time observations of altitude resolved wind speed and direction, aerosol size and shape, cloud intensity and height, sensible heat flux, turbulence, fog, and precipitation amount/type. Initial results demonstrate their ability to detect fog, blowing snow and very light precipitation (diamond dust).