Historical weather data captured on new data server

November 1, 2013

WHITEHORSE – Yukon Research Centre (YRC) is releasing some of the oldest weather data in Yukon history on Monday, November 4th, at the Partnering in Research event. The event will showcase this historically relevant weather data from the White Pass and Yukon Route (WPYR) log books of 1902 to 1957, while promoting a new data server on which the data will be stored.

The Yukon Research Centre Data Server is dedicated to hosting environmental and social science data that can be accessed from anywhere, allowing users the option to publish the data or keep it private. The environmental and social science research community is encouraged to consider this data server as a service provided to them to potentially make scientific information more accessible and easier to store.

“The chief significance of the data server is that it gives access to information that can be used by the scientific community”, said Rick Steele, Project Coordinator, Yukon Research Centre. “The WPYR weather data is an example of extremely significant data that will provide insight into the climate regime of the first half of the 20th century in the Yukon, and is now available to all”, said Steele.

YRC has transcribed and logged the data from the WPYR log books and hired a meteorologist to set quality controls. The raw data is based upon stations along the railway and the Yukon River. This data is available to the public, but without any analysis at this point. The data server will also feature photos of the log books as there is additional information about river water levels, and anecdotal observations and comments that may be of interest to researchers and historians.

“Weather station data in the Yukon is sparse in comparison to what we would find in southern Canada for this time period, which makes this dataset extremely valuable for climate research”, said Bob Sagar, Meteorologist. “Not only was the weather data fascinating but the anecdotal information was a great lens into the past that is now accessible to all”, said Sagar.

The data server and weather data will be featured in the morning session offered to territorial and federal researchers on Monday, November 4th. The morning session is by invitation only, but the afternoon session will showcase academic posters on Yukon research and is open to the public. This session runs from 1 to 5pm at the Westmark Hotel.

The data server is funded by Canada’s Advanced Research and Innovation Network (CANARIE) and will be managed by the Yukon Research Centre.

The Yukon Research Centre (YRC) at Yukon College has seven key programs: Biodiversity Monitoring, Cold Climate Innovation, Northern Climate ExChange, NSERC Industrial Research Chair for Colleges in Mine Life Cycle, Technology Innovation, Science Adventures, and Resources and Sustainable Development in the Arctic. Core funding for the Yukon Research Centre is provided by Yukon Education and Yukon Economic Development.