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Alert was first settled in the early 1950s as a weather station of the Joint
Arctic Weather Station System. The Canadian military station was established
in 1958 and has been expanding ever since.
CFS Alert was named after a British ship, HMS Alert, which wintered off Cape Sheridan 9.7 km east of the present station in 1875 - 1876. She was under the command of Sire George Nares whose expedition was the first to set foot on northern Ellsemere Island.
The area has been the last stepping stone for most of the attempts to reach the North Pole, the latest being the expedition by Sir Ralph Fiennes and the Trans-global Expedition in the spring of 1982. Expeditions to the Canadian Arctic islands occur on a regular basis and DND reviews requests for support on a case-by-case basis.
Only two ships have ever reached CFS Alert: the US Coast Guard icebreaker Staten Island in 1953, followed by the CCGS St. Laurent in August 1971. The CGCS St. Laurent went on to 82O 59” North, farther than any other surface ship at the time. This record stood until the Soviet ice breaker Artika reached the North Pole in August, 1977.
CFS Alert is the most northern permanently inhabited settlement in the world. It is situated on the northeastern tip of Ellsemere Island in the Canadian Arctic Archipelago, at 82O 30” 6’ North latitude, and 62O 19” 47’ West longitude. This is approximately the same longitude as Charlottetown PEI. The Station is located about 817 km (450 nautical) miles from the geographic North Pole.
Military personnel, civilian employees of DND, and employees of the Department of the Environment comprise the entire population of CFS Alert.
The closest Inuit settlement is Grise Fjord, located about 725km to the south. Although Edmonton is the nearest Canadian city at 3475 km, Stockholm, Sweden is only 3282 km away. Other distances from Alert that may be of interest are:
| City | Distance |
|---|---|
Vancouver, BC |
4264 km |
Winnipeg, MB |
3990 km |
Toronto, ON |
4344 km |
Ottawa, ON |
4151 km |
Montreal, QC |
4135 km |
Halifax, NS |
4183 km |
Resolute Bay, NWT |
1046 km |
Thule, AFB, Greenland |
676 km |
The most noticeable differences in the environment compared to southern Canada are the periods of full daylight and full darkness, lower ambient temperatures, and lower annual precipitation. From approximately 8 April to 5 September there is absolutely no nighttime, and at the peak of summer, the sun revolves around the horizon, rising no higher than about 30O above the horizon at noon, and dipping to about 16O above the horizon at midnight. From 10 Oct to 1 March there is no direct sunlight, and between these two extremes there is a fairly rapid transition period, which takes approximately six weeks.
During the summer months, CFS Alert experiences about 28 frost-free days. The temperature rises to an average daily high of approximately 10O Celsius, with 20O Celsius being the record high. For July, the warmest month, the daily mean is 4O Celsius. The record low is -50O Celsius, and during the winter months the temperature typically hovers around -40O Celsius for extended periods. Severe storms can appear on short notice, and when this happens, visibility quickly deteriorates to zero, caused by blowing snow. The human body’s ability to keep itself warm is also severely reduced as the wind gets stronger. This effect, known as ‘wind chill’, makes the temperature feel far colder than the thermometer indicates. An example of this occurred on 23 January 1993, when the thermometer indicated –45O Celsius, and with the 40 km/h winds, it felt like –71O Celsius. Human skin will freeze in less than one minute if left unprotected at temperatures below –30O Celsius, so it is imperative at CFS Alert that everyone dress for the worst when leaving the immediate camp area.
The area surrounding CFS Alert, like much of the high Arctic, is classified as desert. It may seem strange to picture a place covered with snow most of the year as a desert, but the average precipitation that falls in the area of CFS Alert is less than that in the Sahara Desert. Since 1951, when recordings began, the mean annual rainfall at Alert has been only 17.5 mm, falling almost entirely in July and August. Snow has fallen in every month of the year, with an annual average of 148.1 cm. September has the greatest snowfall of any month, averaging 33 cm.
The terrain in the vicinity of CFS Alert is rugged and undulating with hills and valleys. The United States mountain range is visible to the west, and on a clear day the peaks and cliffs of Greenland can be seen 56 km to the southeast. Pack ice is usually present offshore during summer and is frozen solid from shore to horizon in winter. The coastline is irregular with many small inlets, bays and points of land. The rocks in the area consist almost exclusively of slate and shale, which break down easily, forming ravines and canyons in the plateau regions, and stony clay along the coast. In summer, the shale disintegrates to a very fine penetrating dust, and the ground thaws in some places to a depth of one meter, under which permafrost is found.
Although the soil is poor and growing conditions are extremely harsh, over 70 different species of plants are found in the area. Vegetation manages to exist in the lee of hills and cracks in the ground, and during most of July and August many miniature flowers grow, resulting in a profusion of reds, purples, whites, and yellows from every available sheltered place. Common plant types are Blue Grass, Chickweed, Arctic Poppy, Saxifrage, Arctic Willow, and Mountain Ravens (the official flower of the Northwest Territories).
There is an astonishing variety of wildlife in the area, but the total population is small due to the scarcity of available food. Arctic Hare and Fox are common to the area, while Seals, Arctic Wolves, Musk-Ox, Caribou, Lemmings, and Weasels (ermine) are occasionally seen. Many types of birds nest here in the summer, but are gone by September. They include Glaucous and Ivory Gulls, Longtailed Jaegers, Sandpipers, Turnstones, Knots, Snow Buntings, Oldsquaws, and occasionally Snow Geese. Although insect life seems to be almost non-existent, Spiders, Deer Flies and Warble (Blue) Flies abound on Ellesmere Island. In some areas, large numbers of small flies swarm a few inches above rocks on hillside heated by the sun, but they are not bothersome.
CFS Alert has a full-time strength of approximately 70 personnel, divided into the following sections: Administration, Operations, Construction Engineering, Transport, Supply, Food Services and Medical Services. Environment Canada also maintains an upper air meteorological service at CFS Alert. Every spring, once the daylight period arrives, the complement of personnel and related activity increase proportionately as Station replenishment, new construction projects, and preventive maintenance activities get under way. CFS Alert is always on Ottawa time, either Eastern Standard or Daylight Saving Time. The tour of duty for most of the permanent positions at CFS Alert is for six months, with some specialized positions being designated as requiring a rotation every three months.