Holocene Sea Level History and Ground Ice Occurrence in the High Arctic
Principal Investigator: Pollard, Wayne H (12)
Licence Number: 12692
Organization: McGill University
Licensed Year(s): 1994 1992 1991 1990 1988
Issued: Jan 01, 1994
Project Team: Dr. T. Bell, Dr. A. Aitken, R. Shannon, S. Omellon

Objective(s): To explain the nature and origin of ground ice in the High Arctic in relation to late Quaternary glacial, climatic and sea level change; to determine ground ice age and origin based on stratigraphic, petrographic and chemical characteristics; to document its distribution and relative volume; to determine the carbon dioxide and methane contents of massive ice; to assess the potential impacts of climate warming in areas of ice-rich permafrost; to document paleoclimatic conditions that influenced ice extent in the early Holocene; and to provide paleoenvironmental and paleoecological interpretations of raised Holocene sediments in the High Arctic.

Project Description: Fieldwork consists of a combination of mapping surface materials and landforms and where possible retrieving shells from raised marine deposits to determine the date of emergence and the temperature conditions of the oceans when the shell was formed. Observations of ice and icy sediments will also be made. By collecting this data the researchers will be able to see broad patterns in the landscape of climate and permafrost formation.