R.A.M: Remote Arctic Memory

• Main Author: Manchanda, Karan
• Format: Master Thesis
• Language: English
• Published: University of Waterloo 2015
• Subjects: Arctic; Internet; Infrastructure; Remote; Architecture; Canadian Arctic Archipelago; Northwest Passage; Arctic Archipelago; Climate change; Northwest passage
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10012/9693

The modern world is defined by networks. One network, specifically, has become the core component in how our societies function; the Internet. While the Internet may seem ubiquitous, seamless, and imperceptible, it is only made possible through physical connections – hundreds of cables running through our oceans unseen by the user. Fibre-optic undersea cables are the backbone of our age, joining together continents and their cities through a hidden network. This infrastructure of fibre-optic Internet has been scheduled to make its way through the Canadian Arctic Archipelago via the fabled Northwest Passage, in order to connect the cities of London and Tokyo to facilitate faster financial trading. However, this long distance connection does not consider many other users. In its current projection, the “Arctic Fibre” cable will only serve a handful of settlements on the Canadian Arctic coast, with the rest of the coastal settlements remaining connected only through high-cost, low-bandwidth satellite technologies. Excluded, these communities will inevitably be further from the advances of the modern world. There remains an opportunity to expand the use of this cable network by reaching out and connecting to these remote settlements, creating a greater purpose beyond its narrow mandate to shave milli-seconds off trading systems. An improved connective network in Canada’s Arctic Archipelago is necessary to provide better healthcare, educate through remote access technologies, create efficient communications frameworks for emergency situations and most importantly, give equal access to inhabitants of the Canadian Arctic for an improved quality of life. Specifically, the relationship found between this enabled connectivity, the needs and work of Arctic researchers, and the unique cultures of the regions’ Indigenous communities are of particular interest. The Canadian Arctic Archipelago is a key site in understanding the consequences of climate change on the environment. However, the vastness of the Canadian Arctic, the ...