Parks Canada
Parks Canada Underwater Archaeology Team (UAT) has led the search for Franklin’s ships for close to a decade and is continuing as the lead role in the April dive on HMS Erebus. The research effort will provide approximately one week of intensive diving on the wreck, located in the Eastern part of Queen Maud Gulf, west of the Adelaide Peninsula. The UAT has deployed all members to ensure maximum dive time, a full suite of archaeology, documentation and photography/videography support, and full technical and equipment provisions during the approximate five-day period.
The UAT recently completed nine weeks of intensive training in surface support and through-ice diving to prepare for the spring dives. Surface support diving differs from standard scuba-diving in that the divers use an umbilical tethered to the surface to receive oxygen. The dive suits are also supplied with warm water for thermal protection, which allows the divers to extend their bottom times significantly, thereby increasing productivity under water. The team is also using a variety of tools during the survey and research of the wreck including underwater lighting, ultra high-resolution film cameras, laser scanning system, underwater grids and excavation tools.
In addition, members of the UAT led a virtual guided tour at the Royal Ontario Museum, offering a unique view of the wreck of HMS Erebus, and participated in a live chat, answering questions and providing details of their archaeological research.
About Parks Canada
Parks Canada protects and manages nationally significant examples of this country's natural and cultural heritage, and fosters public understanding, appreciation and enjoyment in ways that ensure their ecological and commemorative integrity for present and future generations. As an international leader in underwater archaeology, Parks Canada is well positioned to showcase how new technologies can help locate and analyze shipwrecks to bring part of the story of the Franklin Expedition to life. In 1992, Canada designated the location of Franklin’s ships, the Wrecks of HMS Erebus and HMS Terror, as a national historic site.
Royal Canadian Navy
The Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) deployed divers from the Fleet Diving Unit-Atlantic (FDU (A)) to support the April dives conducted during Operation NUNALIVUT. The RCN FDU (A) recently participated in two weeks of cross-training with Parks Canada’s UAT, in order to familiarize the respective teams with one another’s diving procedures and protocols as a lead up to these joint dives during Operation NUNALIVUT. The teams worked together during this time to share underwater archaeology methods and principles and to acquaint the FDU (A) with the specific survey equipment being used on HMS Erebus. In addition to supporting the research on HMS Erebus, the FDU (A) and Joint Task Force (North) are providing support in underwater photography and videography.
The RCN also supported Parks Canada’s 2014 Victoria Strait Expedition by providing the vessel HMCS Kingston and its crew as one of the four main platforms for the search and scientific research efforts for Franklin’s ships. The FDU (A) also worked with Parks Canada using multiple remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) to capture high-quality, HD footage of the Breadalbane, a three-masted merchant ship built in 1843 in Glasgow, Scotland. The Breadalbanesunk in 1853, while serving as a supply ship for a Franklin Expedition search.
About the Royal Canadian Navy
The Royal Canadian Navy plays a lead role in protecting the safety and security of Canada’s coasts and marine waterways, including those in the Arctic. The RCN routinely deploys its ships in Canada’s northern waters on fisheries and sovereignty patrols and, when authorized, assists other government departments in enforcing national and international law.
A longer navigation season in the Arctic will bring with it an increase in maritime activity, including shipping traffic and tourism. With this activity comes increased risk of marine incident, environmental accident and criminal activity. The RCN conducts exercises and operations in the North to help ensure that it will have the capabilities necessary to respond to future safety and security challenges as they may arise. During Joint Task Force (North)’s northern operations, RCN assets work with personnel from the Canadian Army and Royal Canadian Air Force.
Joint Task Force (North) (JTFN)
Joint Task Force (North)’s mission is to exercise sovereignty and contribute to safety, security and defense operations in Canada’s North. Operation NUNALIVUT takes place annually in the High Arctic and typically consists of both Canadian Rangers and Canadian Army Patrols, often with a Royal Canadian Navy component. JTFN’s operations in the Arctic provide a unique opportunity for allies and partners to practice specialized Arctic skill sets and the capacity to operate in austere locations and challenging environments. Parks Canada is fortunate to have this unique opportunity to partner with JTFN and share resources on the sea ice used to support Operation NUNALIVUT.
In 2014, this same operation received international attention when, with the assistance of Parks Canada’s Underwater Archaeology Service and Sea Botix Inc., Clearance Divers from the Royal Canadian Navy Fleet Diving Unit (Atlantic) used multiple remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) to capture high-quality, HD footage of the Breadalbane, a three-masted merchant ship built in 1843 in Glasgow, Scotland. The Breadalbanesunk in 1853, while serving as a supply ship for a Franklin Expedition search.
About Joint Task Force (North)
Headquartered in Yellowknife, JTFN maintains detachments in Whitehorse, Yukon, and Iqaluit, Nunavut. In total over 250 Regular and Reserve Force personnel operate out of the various units and detachments located “North of 60,” including: JTFN Headquarters and its two detachments in Iqaluit and Whitehorse; Area Support Unit (North); 1st Canadian Ranger Patrol Group; 440 Transport Squadron; 1 Field Ambulance Detachment; and Loyal Edmonton Regiment, C Company (Yellowknife). JTFN provides a presence in the north by conducting several major sovereignty operations. While the precise objectives of each operation differ, they all share the same overarching purpose: to exercise Canada’s sovereignty in the region, to advance the Canadian Armed Forces capabilities for Arctic operations; and to improve intergovernmental coordination in response to Northern safety and security issues.
Government of Nunavut
The Government of Nunavut’s Department of Culture and Heritage has partnered in Parks Canada’s work related to the lost Franklin vessels since 2008 and played an integral role in the 2014 Victoria Strait Expedition and the discovery of HMS Erebus. Since the beginning, the Government of Canada has been working very closely with the Government of Nunavut who has been a key intermediary with the communities of Nunavut and a key research partner exploring the terrestrial archaeological remains of the Franklin expedition.
By engaging with interested beneficiaries in Gjoa Haven, the Government of Nunavut is actively working to help increase the long-term benefits of this expedition for Nunavummiut. This includes new information and resources about Nunavut's complex history made available as education initiatives, for exhibition and interpretation purposes. The Government of Nunavut’s involvement also contributes to the management of Nunavut's archaeological resources through identification, documentation and analysis, which has long-term benefits such as ecotourism and economic development.
The archaeological record of the Franklin Expedition on King William Island is one of the most studied, but least documented. Since 2008, the Government of Nunavut has led the surveys and investigations of terrestrial archaeological sites to obtain up-to-date information about the condition of sites documented decades ago, and to search for new information about the Franklin Expedition. This work has provided important data about the condition of key Franklin sites and has added nearly 40 Inuit archaeological sites to the inventory as well as hundreds of artifacts to Nunavut’s collections. This work also provided the Government of Nunavut with information needed to make informed decisions about the management of these resources, which are of increasing interest to the tourism sector.
About the Government of Nunavut’s Archaeology Program
The Department of Culture and Heritage is the Government of Nunavut department responsible for the administration and management of Nunavut’s archaeological resources. These resources consist of approximately 11,000 documented archaeological sites that cover a period of nearly 4,500 years of human history in Nunavut. The department’s Archaeology Program administers the archaeology permitting process for Nunavut and conducts archaeological research that supports its resource management mandate. The program develops policies, establishes technical standards and guidelines, and creates, analyzes and disseminates information about archaeological research. Close working relationships are maintained with the Inuit Heritage Trust, with communities, and with other territorial and federal government agencies.
Royal Ontario Museum
In December 2014, Parks Canada and the Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) announced a partnering arrangement to create the Franklin Outreach Project. This innovative project aims to share the story of the Franklin Expedition and all of the unfolding discoveries with Canadians over the next three years.
The Franklin Outreach Project will include pop-up displays, lectures and exhibitions and incorporate contemporary research and technology and Inuit traditional knowledge to bring the Franklin story to life. The centrepiece of the travelling program is a 3D printed replica of the bell recovered from HMS Erebus. A nationwide program hosted by the ROM is also in development with members of the History Museums Network and Parks Canada to bring to life this important part of Canadian history.
About the Royal Ontario Museum
Opened in 1914, the ROM is Canada’s largest museum of natural history and world cultures with over six million objects in its collections and galleries showcasing art, archaeology and natural science. The ROM is the largest field research institution in the country, and a world leader in research areas from biodiversity, palaeontology, and earth sciences to archaeology, ethnology and visual culture – originating new information towards a global understanding of historical and modern change in culture and environment.
Other Partners
Parks Canada has been fortunate thus far to have the support of many partners in its efforts to research and ultimately solve the mystery of the Franklin Expedition. Government partners for the past 2014 Victoria Strait Expedition which supported the discovery of HMS Erebus included Parks Canada’s Underwater Archaeology Team, Fisheries and Oceans Canada (Canadian Hydrographic Service and the Canadian Coast Guard), the Royal Canadian Navy, Defence Research & Development Canada (DRDC) (an agency of the Department of National Defence), Environment Canada (Canadian Ice Service), and the Canadian Space Agency, as well as the Governments of Nunavut and Great Britain. Private and non-profit partners included the Arctic Research Foundation, the Royal Canadian Geographical Society who additionally brought The W. Garfield Weston Foundation, Shell Canada and One Ocean Expeditions as partners.
In addition to these, we are pleased to be sharing discussions on how other Inuit organizations and communities can become engaged in and benefit from this exciting project. Discussions are ongoing with the Kitikmeot Inuit Association, Nunavut Tunngavik Inc. and the Nattilik Heritage Centre in Gjoa Haven (Nunavut).
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