Regions: Inuvialuit Settlement Region, Gwich'in Settlement Area
Tags: sea ice, flooding, seasonal variation, erosion, seabed mapping, coastal stability
| Principal Investigator: | Forbes, Donald L (9) |
| Licence Number: | 13576 |
| Organization: | Geological Survey of Canada |
| Licensed Year(s): |
2004
|
| Issued: | Mar 16, 2004 |
| Project Team: | Steve Solo |
Objective(s): The western Canadian Arctic coast is one of the most rapidly changing coastlines in the world, one of the most vulnerable to climate change, and currently under intense hydrocarbon exploration. Safe and sustainable hydrocarbon development and potential impacts of climate change on coastal infrastructure and subsistence activities require improved knowledge and understanding of coastal and nearshore seabed properties, and coastal hazards such as storm surge flooding and coastal stability. This research is focused on mapping the distribution of bottomfast sea ice and measuring the natural rate of subsidence of the Delta region. Radar satellite imagery has great promise for mapping the distribution of bottomfast ice in freshwater lakes and the Mackenzie Delta region. The field program will be used to help ensure the interpretation of satellite images is accurate. The study of subsidence in the region will provide a baseline from which to measure the effects of withdrawal of gas and oil from beneath the delta and will help to get a better idea of the potential impacts of predicted sea level rise and associated increases in flooding and erosion risks.
