Onshore research was conducted using the following methods: multi-temporal analysis and mapping of modern and raised coastal systems using airphotos, satellite imagery, LiDAR and RTK GPS surveys. Data on the sediment composition of coastal landforms was collected using graded photographs and in situ measurments of gravel samples. Shallow-water mapping of transgressive coastal systems was carried out using multibeam sonar and sub-bottom profiler primarily from the CCGS Amundsen (EM300 30 kHz) and the CSL Heron (EM3002 3.5 kHz) during the 2006 ArcticNet NCE scientific cruise and from the CCGS Henry Larsen and the CSL Heron in 2008.

Geophysical data from a single-channel 3.5kHz sub-bottom profiler is acquired 24hrs during CCGS Amundsen’s cruises by a Knudsen 320-BR (2014 and 2015 cruises) and a 3260 (2016 cruise) sub-bottom profiler. The sounder is comped of 16 (4x4 array) transducers outputting a total of 10KW. The dataset consists of raw (keb and sgy) and processed (JPEG2000 and PNG images) data. Heave (TSS1 form the Applanix POS-MV) and GPS (ZDA, VTG, GGA from the CNAV GNSS Receiver) data are inputted to the raw data files directly during acquisition. The processing is made using the NRCAN software suite (SEGY to SGYJP2 and SegyJp2Viewer). The speed of sound is constantly set to 1500 m/s. The data are available per year (2014 to 2016) in an ESRI ArcGIS geodatabase format where shiptrack lines are linked to png images of the sub-bottom profile.

Onshore research was conducted using the following methods: multi-temporal analysis and mapping of modern and raised coastal systems using airphotos, satellite imagery, LiDAR and RTK surveys. Data on the sediment composition of coastal landforms was collected using graded photographs. Shallow-water mapping of transgressive coastal systems was carried out using multibeam sonar and sub-bottom profiler primarily from the CCGS Amundsen and the CSL Heron during the 2006 ArcticNet NCE scientific cruise.

Sediment from Hudson Bay was collected with boxcores deployed from the CCGS Amundsen. The boxcores were immediately sectioned at 1 cm (top 10 cm), 2 cm (10 cm to 20 cm depth), or 5 cm (depth > 20 cm) intervals, and aliquoted for a variety of analyses. Sediment samples were then frozen (-20 Celsius) while onboard for approximately 1 month, followed by freeze-drying at the Freshwater Institute, Department of Fisheries and Oceans, Winnipeg, MB, Canada. Freeze-dried sediment was stored at room temperature in the dark. Rock Eval pyrolysis of freeze dried sediment samples was performed at the Geological Survey of Canada using a Rock Eval 6 pyrolysis.

Sample collections were made aboard the CCGS Amundsen during the ArcticNet field campaigns in August 2013 (Leg 1), July, August and October 2014 (Leg 1 & 3) and October 2015 (Leg 4). Sediment samples retrieved from box cores were sliced into 0.5 cm increments and frozen separately, while benthic invertebrates were collected using a benthic trawl. Individual species including Gorgoncephelus arcticus, Psilaster andromeda, Ophiopleura borealis and Ctenodiscus crispatus were identified, sorted, packed and stored at -30C and shipped to Winnipeg. At the University of Manitoba samples were freeze-dried and homogenized. Samples were then extracted and analyzed for polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and n-alkanes using a LECO Pegasus gas chromatographer with a high resolution time of flight mass spectrometer (GC-HR TOFMS). Supplementary data was also generated, including stable isotope ratios of nitrogen and carbon, as well as lipid (inverts) and total organic carbon (sediment) to calculate biota-sediment accumulation factors (BSAFs). Statistical analysis is currently ongoing.

Microplastics pollution has been found across the globe, but with limited information from the polar regions. Although there is evidence of microplastics in the Arctic and Antarctic, little is understood about the sources, fate and extent of contamination. We collected samples and will quantify the amount and identify the types of microplastics in snow (as a surrogate for air), water, sediments and zooplankton sampled from the CCGS Amundsen in and around the Hudson Bay and/or the central and eastern Canadian Archipelago. In addition, we will answer questions about sources and fate using two types of information. First, we will collaborate with an Indigenous community to quantify and type plastic along their shoreline. Second, we will examine patterns of microplastics contamination and compare them with land-use patterns and water and air circulation. Based on previous studies, and our preliminary findings, we believe that microplastics will be present in Arctic samples, but a detailed study will help us better understand how ubiquitous microplastics are, from where they are derived, and how they are preserved or degraded. Microplastics in the Arctic raise concerns about impacts to wildlife and local communities that rely on food from the sea. Results from this study will inform future experiments that answer questions related to such impacts.

Microplastics pollution has been found across the globe, but with limited information from the polar regions. Although there is evidence of microplastics in the Arctic and Antarctic, little is understood about the sources, fate and extent of contamination. We collected samples and will quantify the amount and identify the types of microplastics in snow, ice, water, sediments and zooplankton sampled from the CCGS Amundsen in and around the Hudson Bay and/or the central and eastern Canadian Archipelago. In addition, we will answer questions about sources and fate using two types of information. We will examine patterns of microplastics contamination and compare them with land-use patterns and water and air circulation. Based on previous studies, and our preliminary findings, we believe that microplastics will be present in Arctic samples, but a detailed study will help us better understand how ubiquitous microplastics are, from where they are derived, and how they are preserved or degraded. Microplastics in the Arctic raise concerns about impacts to wildlife and local communities that rely on food from the sea. Results from this study will inform future experiments that answer questions related to such impacts.

Geophysical data from a single-channel 3.5kHz sub-bottom profiler is acquired 24hrs during CCGS Amundsen’s cruises by a Knudsen 3260 sub-bottom profiler. The sounder is comped of 16 (4x4 array) transducers outputting a total of 10KW. The dataset consists of raw (keb and sgy) and processed (JPEG2000 and PNG images) data. Heave (TSS1 form the Applanix POS-MV) and GPS (ZDA, VTG, GGA from the CNAV GNSS Receiver) data are inputted to the raw data files directly during acquisition. The processing is made using the NRCAN software suite (SEGY to SGYJP2 and SegyJp2Viewer). The speed of sound is constantly set to 1500 m/s. The data are available in an ESRI ArcGIS geodatabase format where shiptrack lines are linked to jp2, sgy and png formats of the sub-bottom profiles.

A deep water (100 to 1500 m), continental slope-focused field program was carried out over four years, covering the eastern, central and finally, the western Beaufort Sea regions during survey expeditions in 2011, the western Beaufort in 2012, and 2014. This was supported through the BREA program (Beaufort Regional Environmental Assessment) with funds from AANDC (Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development). Research activities were conducted in collaboration with ArcticNet, the Geological Survey of Canada (GSC), Imperial Oil, and British Petroleum and Chevron Canada. The primary survey platform was CCGS Amundsen. Supplementary datasets from these collaborators contributed to survey concepts and specific targets but are not part of the BREA dataset. An amalgamation of all the continental slope-related data (from and including 2009) are included in the dataset. Data generated through these activities included multibeam (ca. 9500 square km at 50 m resolution) and sub-bottom profiler sonars (nearly 41 000 km) and seabed sediment cores to investigate deep water geohazards through geotechnical, stratigraphic, age-dating, and interpretations of geo-features and processes related to sediment instability. These data continue to be a primary dataset for GSC (Geological Survey of Canada) scientists to enable their present focus on assessment of seabed instability.

Sediment cores were collected onboard the CCGS Amundsen during ArcticNet cruise 0502 (2005) using a box corer, penetrating the seafloor to a maximum of 50 cm. Samples were stored in a freezer (- 20 °C) onboard the Amundsen until the end of the cruise, then shipped to the Freshwater Institute (FWI), where they were maintained in storage at - 20 °C. Subsamples were processed at the University of Victoria Marine Micropaleontology Laboratory in October-November 2010. A gentle version of the standard palynological protocol was applied to oven-dried samples of known volume. Steps are as follows: (1) add 10 % hydrochloric acid in room temperature; (2) sieve with distilled water through a 120 micrometre and a 15 micrometre nitex mesh, retaining the fraction in between; (3) add 48% hydrofluoric acid in room temperature for 2-4 days followed by 20 minutes in 10 % hydrochloric acid; (4) sieve through precise 15 micrometre mesh with gentle sonication for 10-60 seconds. The final residue of samples was placed in sealed storage vials and stored in + 4 °C. Aliquots of residue were mounted in glycerine jelly on microscopic slides with cover slips. Dinoflagellate cysts are studied primarily with Zeiss Standard 20 microscope under bright-field oil-immersion and 500X and 1000X magnifications. At least 300 dinoflagellate cysts species and cyst types will be identified on each slide together with pollen, freshwater algae and other palynomorphs.