The ambitious Sentinel North research program is articulated within priority research axes and several partnerships with key collaborators from Université Laval and beyond.

With 38 research projects completed or underway, Sentinel North has achieved its goal of mobilizing a dynamic research community and generating dozens of new and innovative transdisciplinary collaborations between world-class researchers and recognized research centers from our institution and from the international.

Phase II of the Sentinel North research program has now started with the Major Call for Proposals 2020-2023, that ended on June 15, 2020.

Discover all Sentinel North research projects below.

 

Thematic project 1 : Complex systems: structure, function and interrelationships in the North
(2017-2020)
 

• 1.1 Network analysis of umbrella and indicator species: Assessing the integrity of northern ecosystems

• 1.2 The resilience of complex networks: Identifying critical indicators for efficient targeted interventions

• 1.3 Characterization and modelling of the key interrelationships of northern water systems under climatic, geosystemic, and societal pressures

• 1.4 Photonic ultimate sensing (pulse) and monitoring of permafrost environments

• 1.5 Pitutsimaniq, networked sensor sentinels for real-time surveillance of infrastructures and ecosystems

 

Thematic project 2 : Light as a driver, environment, and information carrier
in natural environments and human health (2017-2020)
 

• 2.1 Optimizing biophilia in extreme climates through architecture

• 2.2 Innovative optical systems to track winter life in the cryosphere

• 2.3 The use of diatom microalgae for improving the treatment of the light-driven dysfunctions of the biological clock in Arctic human populations

• 2.4 A better understanding of light-matter interactions

• 2.5 Printed solar cells for small remote instruments

• 2.6 Beacons Of Northern Dynamics (BOND) – Developing light-based sensing technologies to monitor climate active gases in a mutating Arctic

• 2.7 Observing Arctic substrates: Unveiling ice, water column, and benthic physical and biological properties using laser remote sensing from autonomous underwater vehicles and unmanned aerial vehicles

• 2.8 Development, implementation, and use of miniature portable technologies for the prevention, assessment, and treatment of chronic diseases in northern areas

 

Thematic project 3 : Microbiomes: sentinels of the northern environment and human health
(2017-2020)
 

• 3.1 Sentinel microbiomes for Arctic ecosystem health

• 3.2 Comprehensive environmental monitoring in the North: From molecules to microorganisms

• 3.3 BriGHT (Bridging Global change, Inuit Health and the Transforming Arctic Ocean)

• 3.4 Enabling Tools for the Monitoring of Food Quality in the Northern Environment

• 3.5 Impact of environmental conditions on airway microbiota and respiratory health in the North

• 3.6 The gut microbiome: Sentinel of the northern environment and Inuit mental health

• 3.7 Optogenetics investigation of microbiota influence on brain development and epigenetics

• 3.8 Deciphering host–microbial interactions for cardiometabolic and mental health disorders with novel multimodal light-based sensing tools

 

Université Laval / Université Côte d’Azur Partnership (2018-2020)
 

• Pinealocyte-derived melatonin: a chronobiotic hormone that modulates the effects of photoperiod on energy homeostasis and metabolic dysfunctions

• Artificial intelligence application to the identification of functional traits of zooplankton from high-resolution images (ARTIFACTZ)

• Development of compact laser sources operating in the mid-infrared spectral region for remote gas sensing systems

• Characterization of essential oils from northern environments

• Frame shift mutation-induced ATI influence on the microbiome

 

Université Laval / University of Tromsø – The Arctic University of Norway (UiT) Partnership
(2019-2022)
 

• CalAct: The impact of light and temperature on Calanus activity patterns in the Arctic

• Calanus redness index from artificial intelligence applications to image analysis (CARDINAL)

• Characterization of underneath sea-ice light field variability in the Arctic Ocean using underwater and aerial autonomous vehicles

• Can we envision net-zero energy buildings in the high north?

• Screening for Emerging Arctic health Risks to Circumpolar Human populations (SEARCH)

• The role of circadian clocks in seasonal synchrony in the Arctic

 

Targeted call for proposals (2019-2022)
 

• QAUJIKKAUT: an on-line advanced foresight tool of extreme meteorological events and natural hazards in Nunavik using real-time access to the SILA network of climate and environmental observatories

• Participatory Action for an Inuit-Led Research on Food Production and Nutrition in Inuit Nunangat

• NUNARISK: Early warning system for drinking water management and monitoring through the analysis of online and continuous environmental data

• Doing things differently: An atlas of best practices and opportunities for culturally acceptable and sustainable living environments in Nunavik

 

First joint call for projects Institut Nordique du Québec / Sentinelle Nord (2019-2022)
 

• Solutions technico-sociales pour étendre, de Whapmagoostui-Kuujjuarapik, l’utilisation des énergies renouvelables vers d’autres régions du Nunavik

• Élucider les liens entre l’environnement marin et les qualités nutritives du béluga et des bivalves à Quaqtaq