Fig 1.
Canadian Arctic search and rescues.
In 2014, there were 543 SAR incidents above 55oN. This map depicts the hot spots of incident location. Data from National Search and Rescue Secretariat. Basemap shapefiles are modified and republished from Government of Canada under a CC BY license, with permission from Natural Resources Canada and Crown-Indigenous Relations, original copyright 2018. Contains information licensed under the Open Government License–Canada [11,12].
Fig 2.
Encompassing roughly 4 million km2, the Inuit region of the Canadian Arctic–known as Inuit Nunangat–represents 35% of Canada’s landmass and over 50% of coastline [11,12]. Basemap shapefiles are modified and republished from Government of Canada under a CC BY license, with permission from Natural Resources Canada and Crown-Indigenous Relations, original copyright 2018. Contains information licensed under the Open Government License–Canada [11,12].
Fig 3.
Royal Canadian Air Force Arctic response times and cost.
Travel times for RCAF CC-130 SAR assets from takeoff to location are depicted above. RCAF has CC-130 currently at CFB Winnipeg, CFB Trenton, and CFB Greenwood. The map shows time from the closest aircraft, if aircraft were only dispatched for their zone, times in the far north would increase by roughly 2 hours. More information about calculations, as well as times for helicopter responses, can be found in the S1 File. Basemap shapefiles are modified and republished from Government of Canada under a CC BY license, with permission from Natural Resources Canada and Crown-Indigenous Relations, original copyright 2018. Contains information licensed under the Open Government License–Canada [11,12].
Fig 4.
The study draws from community-based research methods. Questions and the conceptualization of the study were generated by community interests. Data were gathered from qualitative interviews, participatory testing of UAVs, and Environment Canada historic weather observations. Drawing from grounded theory and common methods applied in the region, analysis was iteratively integrated into data collection.
Table 1.
UAV flight weather limitations.
In order to quantify how many days annually a consumer UAV could be flow in Arviat, Nunavut, we established two categories of minimum parameters and assessed 5 years of daily weather data. Limits were based on manufacture recommendations, legal limits, and tests conducted in Arviat.
Fig 5.
This photo, captured at roughly 50’ above ground level, shows a group traveling from Arviat, NU to the floe edge on the Hudson Bay. While this target is easy to see with a still image, participants found it difficult to see on an iPhone screen. Intense glare from the sun and snow reflection, along with cold conditions causing loss of hand dexterity made it very difficult to search for objects during these conditions. Photo taken by Dylan G. Clark, with approval to distribute under the CC BY license.
Fig 6.
This photo captures the power of the three-dimensional meshing produced using UAV images taken at approximately 75’ above ground level. Three-dimension meshing, processed by Pixel3D, produced near-real life textures that could be beneficial in hazard mapping and emergency preparedness. Photo generated by Dylan G. Clark, with approval to distribute under the CC BY license.
Fig 7.
Five years of daily weather observations were assessed for suitability of UAV flight. This graph depicts the number of days (under model 1 and 2) that were deemed suitable for UAV flights.