Inventory of weather and climate related information extracted from the Hudson’s Bay Company post journals of Stupart Bay (Kangiqsujuaq) and Port Burwell (Killiniq)

Information related to weather, climate, sea-ice and environmental conditions were compiled from two Hudson's Bay Company (HBC) post journals. Daily information is available. Temperature, wind, cloudiness, precipitations, description of sea-ice, migration birds and other exceptional events were extracted from the post journals. Original documents were digitalized and are available in the Archives of Manitoba (Stupart Bay = B.484; Port Burwell = B.466). Stupart Bay post, now Kangiqsujuaq, was in operation from 1914 to 1940. Port Burwell post, now Killiniq, was in operation from 1920 to 1939. Several HBC employees contributed to the post journals writing. They were following a method established by the institution which ensured a uniformity in the observations. No information was found regarding the specific layout of the meteorological instruments at the Stupart Bay and Port Burwell posts. However, Ball (1994) described the observation material from an other HBC post. A picture from the Robert Bell collection showed a wind gauge and a weather vane located at about 1.5 m on a building roof at Stupart Bay post (Library and Archives Canada C-086377). Ball T (1994) Climate of two locations on the Southwestern corner of Hudson Bay: AD 1720–1729. International Journal of Climatology 14(10):1151–1168. https:// doi.org/10.1002/joc.3370141006.

Funded by a Postdoctoral research scholarship from the Fonds de recherche du Québec—Nature et Technologies (FRQNT), by the Sentinel North program of Université Laval (Canada First research excellence fund, NSERC), and by the National Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada.

Published

Version 1.0 (1914-1940) - Updated February 12, 2024

Description of variables