Canadian Cryospheric Information Network (CCIN) and Polar Data Catalogue (PDC)

The cryosphere - sea ice, lake ice, river ice, snow cover, permafrost, and glaciers - plays a significant role in the Earth's climate system. With respect to the cryosphere, Canada occupies a unique geographic position on the globe in that much of the planet's northern cryosphere falls within Canada's territorial boundaries. Under the current conditions of rapid climate change over northern high latitudes (Olsen et al., 2011; Vincent et al., 2011), Canada has an obligation to measure, model, and understand the complex relationships between the cryosphere and the Earth's climate system to provide accurate and timely information on cryospheric variability and change to the public and decision makers. In meeting this obligation, the wealth of knowledge and data generated through polar research must be managed to ensure exchange and maximize accessibility of relevant data, especially from publicly-funded activities, and to leave a lasting legacy (Parsons et al., 2011; Pulsifer et al., 2013). The Canadian Cryospheric Information Network (CCIN) was developed in the mid-1990's to fulfill this need. Created through a collaborative partnership between departments of the Canadian Government (the Canadian Space Agency, Environment and Climate Change Canada, and Natural Resources Canada), Dr. Ellsworth LeDrew at the University of Waterloo, and the private sector (Noetix Research Inc. of Ottawa, Ontario), the main objectives of CCIN have been as follows: - To provide a data and information management infrastructure for the Canadian cryospheric research community, - To enhance public awareness and access to cryospheric information and related data, and - To facilitate the exchange of information between researchers, northern communities, decision makers, and the public.