History of Canadian Flux Networks

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Despite decades of scientific leadership, beginning with the pioneering BOREAS experiment in the 1990s, continuing with BERMS in 1997, then Fluxnet-Canada, and more recently the Canadian Carbon Program, Canada’s ecosystem–atmosphere monitoring capacity remains fragmented.

BOREAS and Fluxnet-Canada were concentrated largely south of 60°N, reflecting the technological limitations of the time; earlier instruments required high power, intensive maintenance, and year-round staffing that made Arctic deployment impractical. Recent advances in low-power, low-maintenance sensors now make long-term flux measurements feasible in remote and northern environments, opening the possibility of monitoring previously inaccessible regions that are among the most climate-sensitive in Canada.

These programs established national benchmarks for flux science, produced long-term datasets that transformed understanding of temperate and boreal carbon and water cycling, and built a connected community of climate scientists, modellers, and technicians, providing a strong foundation for CanFlux.