“The workshop was the ideal venue to introduce PermafrostNet to the polar data management community and to learn from other communities of practice to ensure that the network will help permafrost data fit into the broader ecosystem of interoperability.”
Nick Brown

The Third Canadian Polar Data Workshop was held 18-21 February 2020 in Banff, Alberta. The event is organized by the Canadian Consortium for Arctic Data Interoperability (CCADI), who aim to advance collaboration, through development of an integrated Canadian arctic data management system and Arctic Research Data Infrastructure (ARDI). The purpose of the third Canadian Polar Data Workshop is to gather people involved in polar data management from across Canada to share ideas and identify key priorities and commitments for coordinating the work of the polar data community and, ultimately, advancing our work.

The workshop provided an opportunity for members of the Permafrost Network to discuss issues of data sharing architectures and data governance with research communities who are facing similar challenges. In attendance from NSERC PermafrostNet were scientific director Stephan Gruber, scientific committee member Peter Pulsifer, network data scientist Nick Brown as well as two members from the broader PermafrostNet community: Ashley Rudy (Northwest Territories Geological Survey) and Etienne Godin (Laval University).

Held at the Banff Centre, the workshop began with presentations from some of the attending organizations including PolarView, CCADI and Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami. There were presentations by network member Peter Pulsifer and a poster by the PermafrostNet data scientist Nick Brown on advancing interoperable and open permafrost data on day two. The agenda then turned to a more interactive format identifying the needs of the community for improved formal vocabularies and semantics, and visioning the formation of a committee to help coordinate polar data management. The event concluded with a hackathon focused on implementing code to make datasets more discoverable online. A relatively strong turnout by the permafrost community made for great conversations between formal sessions, and will help PermafrostNet make data interoperable with other initiatives.

Photos: Nick Brown

Third Canadian Polar Data Workshop Poster Download

Unfrozen: How digging and data can help mitigate permafrost thaw

“Highways buckle and heave, houses sink, and pipelines and other linear infrastructure are particularly susceptible.”
Nick Brown, NSERC PermfrostNet Data Scientist

Nick Brown was recently interviewed for the first edition of the new Carleton University magazine – Raven.

“PermafrostNet’s data scientist, Nick Brown, who met Gruber while running a fly-in geological services field camp on the tundra east of Yellowknife and later did his master’s degree with Gruber, explains how the new network will address one of climate change’s biggest challenges.”

You can read the full interview on page 44 of the new Carleton University magazine Raven.

Raven magazine is published by Carleton University’s Department of University Communications, with support from the Office of the President and the Office of the Provost. Raven is a showcase for the important and impactful work of Carleton faculty, students, staff, alumni and the university’s community partners.

Photo: Stephan Gruber