NWT RESEARCH DATABASE

Regions: North Slave Region

Tags: physical sciences, climate change, geochemistry, traditional knowledge, metals

Objective(s): To generate new spatial and temporal data on changing geochemical, permafrost, ecological and climate data for the past 1000 years; and to integrate this data with Traditional Ecological Knowledge and Inuit Quajimajatuqangit with a focus on vegetation, climate, water quality and land use.

Project Description: This project will focus on providing baseline information for areas of high resource potential. In areas of past land use and soon to be developed areas in the Slave Geological Province, the project will generate new spatial and temporal data on changing geochemical, permafrost, ecological and climate data for the past 1000 years. This data will be integrated with Traditional Ecological Knowledge and Inuit Quajimajatuqangit with a focus on vegetation, climate, water quality and land use to integrate new findings with western science. To determine the pre-development geochemical baseline in the environment, and to evaluate the effect of climate change on transport and fate of metals, the research team will collect samples from study areas across the Slave Geologic Province. Sites will be selected on the basis of changes in local geology, catchment area characteristics, lake morphology, likelihood of human influence, and prospective for future development with a focus in the vicinity of the City of Yellowknife and Courageous Lake. Samples of local bedrock, lake bottom sediment, peat, soil and till will be taken from select sites to characterize changes in modern metal concentrations and examine geochemical variations within and between environmental systems. Peat, soil and lake sediment cores will be taken from sites to establish pre-development metal concentrations and examine past changes in climate. Traditional and Cultural Knowledge will be integrated into this approach to better understand recent changes in climate and land use change. Sampled material will be returned to the lab for sub-sampling and analysis. Sediment grain size, micro-charcoal, vegetation changes inferred from pollen, isotopic geochemistry and microfossil analysis will be used to examine historical changes in temperature and precipitation. Microfossils can also be used to examine the health of environments in the past. Inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry, X-ray fluorescence and syncotron-based micro-X-ray diffraction will be used to understand sediment, soil, peat and rock geochemistry including variations in chemical concentrations and speciation. The research team have contracted First Nations groups to collect Traditional Ecological Knowledge and Inuit Quajimajatuqangit to supplement the derived climate and land use data. Through the synthesis of data from individual sites and inter-comparison between study sites, the research team will further the understanding of climate and regional changes in metalloid concentrations. All information generated will be made publically available through the NRCan’s GEOSCAN database and presented to First Nations and Governmental stakeholders in the form of open file reports. The project team includes the members from the Tlicho First Nation, Yellowknives Dene First Nation, and the North Slave Metis Alliance as collaborators. Each of these First Nations groups are conducting Traditional Knowledge studies and will be involved in the integration of their traditional knowledge products pertaining to climate change and anthropogenic impacts in the study region with data developed using Western Scientific approaches. Members of these communities have been consulted by email, telephone, and in person (September, 2015 and/or November 2015 in Yellowknife). Members from each of these three communities have been solicited to be involved in the field programs through communications with the individuals mentioned above. As the research team work alongside partners in the Yellowknives Dene First Nations, Tlicho Government, North Slave Metis Alliance, progress will be discussed through regular meetings and e-mail and telephone correspondences, and products such as Open File Reports. The research team will host annual workshop presentations in Cambridge Bay, Nunavut, and Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, to communicate results among our large team and to stakeholders. The team intend to share knowledge at the Yellowknife Geoscience Forum. All materials generated through this project will be archived in the permanent collections of the Geological Society of Canada and available online to the public through NRCan’s GEOSCAN database. The fieldwork for this study will be conducted from April 4, 2016 to November 1, 2016.