Resolution Island (Nunavut)
{{Short description|Uninhabited island in Nunavut, Canada}}
{{Use Canadian English|date=January 2023}}
{{more citations needed|date=December 2010}}
{{Infobox islands
| name = Resolution Island
| image_name = Resolutionisland.png
| image_caption = Resolution Island, Nunavut (red circle at edge of map).
| image_size =
| pushpin_map = Canada Nunavut#Canada
| native_name =
| native_name_link = Inuktitut
| nickname =
| location = Davis Strait
| coordinates = {{coord|61|30|30|N|65|00|30|W|region:CA-NU_type:isle_scale:1000000|notes={{Cite cgndb|OANXI|Resolution Island}}|display=inline,title|name=Resolution Island}}
| archipelago = Arctic Archipelago
| total_islands =
| major_islands =
| area_km2 = 1015
| highest_mount =
| elevation_m =
| country = Canada
| country_admin_divisions_title = Territory
| country_admin_divisions = Nunavut
| country_admin_divisions_title_1 = Region
| country_admin_divisions_1 = Qikiqtaaluk
| country_admin_divisions_title_2 =
| country_admin_divisions_2 =
| country_largest_city =
| country_largest_city_population =
| country_leader_title =
| country_leader_name =
| population = Uninhabited
| population_as_of =
| density_km2 =
| ethnic_groups = Inuit
| additional_info =
}}
Resolution Island is one of the many uninhabited Canadian Arctic islands in Qikiqtaaluk Region, Nunavut. It is a Baffin Island offshore island located in Davis Strait. It has an area of {{cvt|1015|km2}}.{{Cite web | title = The Atlas of Canada - Sea Islands | url = http://atlas.nrcan.gc.ca/auth/english/learningresources/facts/islands.html | publisher = Natural Resources Canada | access-date = 2011-05-05 | url-status = dead | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20121006182302/http://atlas.nrcan.gc.ca/auth/english/learningresources/facts/islands.html | archive-date = 2012-10-06 }}
The Lower Savage Islands lie between Resolution Island and Baffin Island, while Graves Strait separates Resolution Island from the more northern Edgell Island.
History
English explorer Martin Frobisher landed on the island on July 28, 1576, while on a voyage to discover the fabled Northwest Passage.{{cite book | first1=Peter | last1=Pigott | title=From Far and Wide: A Complete History of Canada's Arctic Sovereignty | page=205 | publisher=Dundurn | year=2011 | isbn=1554889898 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pJiy3NQo8zMC&pg=PT205 }} However it appears to have been named Resolution in 1612 by Sir Thomas Button, after his own ship, the Resolution.The Voyages of Captain Luke Foxe of Hull and Captain Thomas James of Bristol in search of a North-west passage in 1631-32, edited by Miller Christy, Hakluyt society, London, 1894, p.165 fn.1
The island was home to an American military base, now CFS Resolution Island, that became operational in 1954 as part of the Distant Early Warning (DEW) line. The base was vacated in 1973 and turned over to the Canadian government in 1974.
The Canadian cargo ship named "MINNA" was wrecked on the east side of the island, on 18 August 1974. The vessel was then under charter by the Bedford Institute of Oceanography and was conducting scientific surveys at the time of the accident. Badly damaged, the ship's crew and scientific equipment were removed. Bad weather swept the vessel in deeper waters where she sank on October 2, 1974. This vessel with a length of 275 feet's and displacement of 4,280 tons was based in Halifax and was on regular charter with the BIO for hydrographic surveys on the Labrador Coast and Hudson Strait. The MINNA was built in 1962 and had a crew of 21 men and 18 scientists.
It was during site investigations between 1987 and 1990 that contamination at the site was first discovered. The contamination originates largely from spills from the radar equipment, which used polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) as insulators. Other pollutants include unused transformer fluids, hydrocarbons, asbestos and heavy metals in the buildings and sprinkled throughout the site. Resolution Island has been identified as having the highest level of PCB contamination of all former military sites that fall under Indian and Northern Affairs Canada’s (INAC) responsibility in the North.
In 1993 and 1994, an environmental site assessment of the area was completed. As a result, temporary barriers were placed across drainage paths to stop the migration of PCBs into the water. Further investigations were done and, in 1997, INAC initiated remediation work with Qikiqtaaluk Corporation (QC). A large-scale remediation plan was developed, in cooperation with Environment and Climate Change Canada, QC and Queen's University. Steps were taken at that time to ensure that the contaminants were not posing a risk to humans and wildlife.
Climate
Resolution Island is located halfway between Killiniq Island and Baffin Island, and in the central area of Davis Strait. The climate of the island belongs to the typical tundra climate (Köppen: ETf). Because of the influence of ocean currents, the climate in winter is not so extremely cold, but the temperature in summer is much lower than that in surrounding areas. Even the average temperature in the warmest August is only There are {{Convert|3.2|C}}. The year's extreme temperature ranged from {{Convert|-38.3|C}} on February 9, 1967 to {{Convert|22.7|C}} on August 23, 2014.
{{Weather box
|location = Resolution Island (1951−1980 normals, extremes 1959−2022)
|metric first = Y
|single line = Y
|collapsed = Y
|Jan record high C = 1.7
|Feb record high C = 2.2
|Mar record high C = 2.8
|Apr record high C = 6.6
|May record high C = 14.3
|Jun record high C = 17.2
|Jul record high C = 22.5
|Aug record high C = 22.7
|Sep record high C = 19.4
|Oct record high C = 11.5
|Nov record high C = 3.9
|Dec record high C = 10.1
|year record high C = 22.7
|Jan high C = -13.9
|Feb high C = -15.4
|Mar high C = -12.8
|Apr high C = -7.7
|May high C = -0.9
|Jun high C = 2.2
|Jul high C = 5.0
|Aug high C = 5.3
|Sep high C = 3.2
|Oct high C = -0.1
|Nov high C = -3.6
|Dec high C = -10.9
|year high C = -4.1
|Jan mean C = -17.1
|Feb mean C = -18.2
|Mar mean C = -15.5
|Apr mean C = -10.2
|May mean C = -2.8
|Jun mean C = 0.4
|Jul mean C = 2.8
|Aug mean C = 3.2
|Sep mean C = 1.6
|Oct mean C = -1.8
|Nov mean C = -5.7
|Dec mean C = -13.2
|year mean C = -6.4
|Jan low C = -20.2
|Feb low C = -21.1
|Mar low C = -18.2
|Apr low C = -12.7
|May low C = -4.7
|Jun low C = -1.5
|Jul low C = 0.5
|Aug low C = 1.1
|Sep low C = -0.1
|Oct low C = -3.4
|Nov low C = -7.9
|Dec low C = -15.5
|year low C = -8.6
|Jan record low C = -37.8
|Feb record low C = -38.3
|Mar record low C = -34.4
|Apr record low C = -30.0
|May record low C = -18.9
|Jun record low C = -10.0
|Jul record low C = -7.2
|Aug record low C = -3.9
|Sep record low C = -10.0
|Oct record low C = -18.3
|Nov record low C = -26.7
|Dec record low C = -31.1
|year record low C = -38.3
|precipitation colour = green
|Jan precipitation mm = 19.1
|Feb precipitation mm = 13.3
|Mar precipitation mm = 12.5
|Apr precipitation mm = 10.2
|May precipitation mm = 21.1
|Jun precipitation mm = 24.7
|Jul precipitation mm = 42.3
|Aug precipitation mm = 39.7
|Sep precipitation mm = 49.2
|Oct precipitation mm = 36.6
|Nov precipitation mm = 24.8
|Dec precipitation mm = 19.8
|year precipitation mm = 313.3
|rain colour = green
|Jan rain mm = 0.3
|Feb rain mm = 0.6
|Mar rain mm = 0.1
|Apr rain mm = 0.3
|May rain mm = 4.4
|Jun rain mm = 18.7
|Jul rain mm = 42.0
|Aug rain mm = 39.6
|Sep rain mm = 45.7
|Oct rain mm = 15.5
|Nov rain mm = 1.0
|Dec rain mm = 0.1
|year rain mm = 168.3
|Jan snow cm = 20.1
|Feb snow cm = 13.8
|Mar snow cm = 14.5
|Apr snow cm = 9.4
|May snow cm = 14.9
|Jun snow cm = 6.1
|Jul snow cm = 0.4
|Aug snow cm = 0.1
|Sep snow cm = 4.9
|Oct snow cm = 23.1
|Nov snow cm = 26.1
|Dec snow cm = 22.0
|year snow cm = 155.4
|unit precipitation days = 0.2 mm
|Jan precipitation days = 12
|Feb precipitation days = 8
|Mar precipitation days = 10
|Apr precipitation days = 10
|May precipitation days = 11
|Jun precipitation days = 10
|Jul precipitation days = 10
|Aug precipitation days = 10
|Sep precipitation days = 14
|Oct precipitation days = 14
|Nov precipitation days = 16
|Dec precipitation days = 17
|year precipitation days = 142
|unit rain days = 0.2 mm
|Jan rain days = 0
|Feb rain days = 0
|Mar rain days = 0
|Apr rain days = 1
|May rain days = 3
|Jun rain days = 8
|Jul rain days = 10
|Aug rain days = 10
|Sep rain days = 12
|Oct rain days = 7
|Nov rain days = 1
|Dec rain days = 0
|year rain days = 52
|unit snow days = 0.2 cm
|Jan snow days = 12
|Feb snow days = 8
|Mar snow days = 10
|Apr snow days = 9
|May snow days = 7
|Jun snow days = 3
|Jul snow days = 0
|Aug snow days = 0
|Sep snow days = 3
|Oct snow days = 10
|Nov snow days = 15
|Dec snow days = 17
|year snow days = 94
|humidity colour = green
|Jan humidity = 83
|Feb humidity = 84
|Mar humidity = 86
|Apr humidity = 88
|May humidity = 92
|Jun humidity = 93
|Jul humidity = 92
|Aug humidity = 95
|Sep humidity = 94
|Oct humidity = 94
|Nov humidity = 90
|Dec humidity = 85
|Jan dew point C = -19.6
|Feb dew point C = -19.1
|Mar dew point C = -16.5
|Apr dew point C = -10.1
|May dew point C = -3.4
|Jun dew point C = -0.3
|Jul dew point C = 2.0
|Aug dew point C = 2.4
|Sep dew point C = 0.7
|Oct dew point C = -2.5
|Nov dew point C = -7.5
|Dec dew point C = -14.9
|source 1 = Environment Canada
{{cite web
|publisher = Environment Canada
|url = https://climate.weather.gc.ca/doc/En56-60-2-1982.pdf
|title = Canadian Climate Normals 1951–1980 Volume 2: Temperature
|access-date = August 9, 2023
|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20230809040355/https://climate.weather.gc.ca/doc/En56-60-2-1982.pdf
{{cite web
|publisher = Environment Canada
|url = https://climate.weather.gc.ca/doc/En56-60-3-1982.pdf
|title = Canadian Climate Normals 1951–1980 Volume 3: Precipitation
|access-date = August 9, 2023
|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20230809040402/https://climate.weather.gc.ca/doc/En56-60-3-1982.pdf
{{cite web
|publisher = Environment Canada
|url = https://climate.weather.gc.ca/doc/En56-60-8-1984.pdf
|title = Canadian Climate Normals 1951–1980 Volume 8: Atmospheric, Pressure, Temperature and Humidity
|access-date = August 9, 2023
|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20230809040423/https://climate.weather.gc.ca/doc/En56-60-8-1984.pdf
|archive-date = 2023-08-09}}{{cite web
|title = Almanac Averages and Extremes
|url = https://climate.weather.gc.ca/climate_data/almanac_e.html?timeframe=4&hlyRange=1962-03-12%7C2022-12-01&dlyRange=1962-03-01%7C2022-12-01&mlyRange=1962-01-01%7C1975-12-01&StationID=1778&Prov=NU&urlExtension=_e.html&searchType=stnName&optLimit=yearRange&StartYear=1840&EndYear=2023&selRowPerPage=25&Line=0&searchMethod=contains&txtStationName=Resolution+Island&month=1&day=1&time=LST&year=2023&month=1&day=1#
|publisher = Environment and Climate Change Canada
|access-date = August 9, 2023}}
}}
References
{{Reflist}}
{{Islands of the Qikiqtaaluk Region}}
{{Subdivisions of Nunavut}}
{{Authority control}}
Category:Islands of Baffin Island
Category:Islands of Hudson Strait