Wpg Free Press: A place to study Arctic oil spills
U of M leading $28-M project proposed for Churchill
On April 22, the University of Manitoba was the main cover story of the Winnipeg Free Press.
The article reads:
The University of Manitoba is proposing a unique research centre at Churchill that would study the potentially profound environmental effects of industrializing the Arctic.
The $28-million Churchill Marine Observatory would develop ways of detecting oil in ice-covered waters, study its impact on the ecosystem and develop technologies for cleaning up Arctic waters in case of a spill.
The U of M is leading the project, which — if accepted by a key national funding agency — would see 20 to 30 scientists from Canada and abroad in Churchill at any one time and about 100 during the course of a year.
“We should have done this 20 years ago, but we didn’t. So we’re trying to do it now… ” said David Barber, a U of M professor and Canada Research Chair in Arctic systems science.
Research at the University of Manitoba is partially supported by funding from the Government of Canada Research Support Fund.