Hazards, Sea-level Rise, and Climate Change Impacts on Arctic Coasts
Principal Investigator: Forbes, Donald L (9)
Licence Number: 13708
Organization: Geological Survey of Canada
Licensed Year(s): 2006 2005 2004 2003 2002 2001
Issued: Aug 06, 2004
Project Team: J.C. Laver

Objective(s): The western Canadian Arctic coast is one of the most rapidly changing coastlines in the world and one of the most vulnerable to climate change. The Geological Survey of Canada has been studying the causes of this vulnerability in the Beaufort Sea region over the past decade and has developed a much better understanding of the processes governing coastal change. The primary objectives of the project are to: 1) monitor coastal stability and the processes which affect it (winds, waves, sea ice, etc); 2) map coastal features, sediment properties, and ice conditions in the nearshore regions of the Mackenzie Delta and at coastal monitoring sites; 3) monitor vertical ground motion (subsidence and uplift) both regionally and locally; and 4) study past rates of relative sea-level rise and estimate future rates of sea level rise in the region. In 2004 coastal surveys will take place near Paulatuk, Holman, Sachs Harbour, and in the Mackenzie Delta region; coastal video survey will take place on Banks Island, Victoria Island, and Paulatuk region, and GPS epoch surveys at sites throughout the Delta.