he R/V William Kennedy - Canada’s first research vessel dedicated exclusively to historic Hudson Bay - recently completed its first research expedition in the Arctic.
Over the course of the summer, a diverse team of scientists aboard the R/V William Kennedy worked closely together to better understand the region and the impacts climate change will have. The Arctic is currently warming at twice the rate of the rest of the globe, a fact that will have consequences not only for the communities who call the region home, but for the international community as a whole.
Research has shown how a warming Arctic could potentially lead to more frequent and severe weather events in the mid-latitudes, cause catastrophic sea level rise and cost the global economy trillions of dollars.
According to Brenda Konar, an associate dean of research at the University of Alaska Fairbanks who was onboard the R/V William Kennedy this summer, "This place, being one of the places hardest hit by climate change, is a sentinel for folks. People should be watching what's happening here."
The R/V William Kennedy is operated by the Arctic Research Foundation in partnership with the University of Manitoba and the Churchill Marine Observatory, a multidisciplinary research facility located in Churchill, Manitoba.
