Canadian researchers focused on the polar environment are facing a five-year gap with the scaling back of operations at the Polar Environment Atmospheric Laboratory (PEARL). Located at Eureka Nunavut on Ellesmere Island, PEARL will no longer be able to conduct full-time, year-round operations, largely due to the sunsetting of the Canadian Foundation for Climate and Atmospheric Sciences (R$, March 31/11). Unless more funding is secured, researchers seeking a fully operational research station will have to wait