John Falkingham
Consultant and Member
International Ice Charting Working Group
Canada
Before retiring from the Public Service of Canada in May 2008, John Falkingham worked at the Canadian Ice Service, a division of Environment Canada, for 33 years, retiring as chief of forecast operations.
Subsequently, he has remained active in the sea ice community providing secretariat services to the International Ice Charting Working Group. He also advises the World Meteorological Organization’s expert team on sea ice, and provides consulting services on sea ice conditions to governments and industry.
In addition to being an expert in ice monitoring, forecasting and climatology, Falkingham is also a specialist on how ice affects marine navigation, and how weather and ice information is delivered to mariners and how they use that information. He has been active in helping frame Canada’s policies and positions on climate change and how it will affect the north, particularly with respect to marine activities.
Some of his recent work includes a paper for Environment Canada entitled Global Satellite Observation Requirements for Floating Ice – Focusing on Synthetic Aperture Radar published in March 2014, and major revisions to the Ice Objects Catalogue for Electronic Navigation Charts and the Archive Format for Sea Ice Geo-referenced Information and Data (April 2014).