Regions: Inuvialuit Settlement Region
Tags: physical sciences, ground temperature, permafrost, climate change, glaciology, snow depth
| Principal Investigator: | Burn, Chris R (36) |
| Licence Number: | 14000 |
| Organization: | Carleton University |
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| Issued: | Jun 08, 2006 |
| Project Team: | Dr. J. Ross Mackay, Douglas Esagok, Les Kutny, Alan Harrison, Wayne Savigny |
Project Description: The principal objective of this research is to determine how permafrost conditions in the western Arctic will respond to climate change. Additional objectives are to determine how lake temperatures respond to climate change, and how snow depths affect ground temperatures. How permafrost responds to climate change will affect how the ground supports development projects in the future. Data is being collected on ground temperatures in the region and how it has changed over the last thirty-five years. Data is also being collected at sites to determine the influence of snow depth on ground temperature. Because it is expected that climate change will include snowier winters, deeper snow may lead to ground warming as great as the effects of warmer air temperatures. A long-term field experiment on the abrasion of rocks will be started at Paulatuk with the installation of several small rock pillars in the hills south of the community. These will be exposed to sand and snow blasting during high winds. The possibility of installing a deep ground temperature cable near Paulatuk will be discussed with the community. Data on ground temperatures will continue to be collected at a site along the Dempster Highway near the Inuvik Airport, and deformation of the ground at the site measured. At each site, surveys with leveling equipment will be conducted, and ground temperatures measured with data loggers and thermistor cables. Of particular interest is how snow depths change ground temperatures. Snow depths will be measured by probing, and lake-ice thickness, by drilling a hole. It will be determined, by recording circuits of breaking cables, if ice-wedges have cracked. Travel to Illisarvik, Garry Island, Herschel Island and Paulatuk will be by snowmobile, helicopter, or plane. The findings of this research will be communicated through publications and posters, which will be deposited at the Aurora Research Institute library for public access. This study will be conducted from June 8 to November 30, 2006 at the following locations: Garry Island (69 29.78 N 135 45.41 W), Illisarvik (69 28.78 N 134 35.59 W), Red Lake (68 44.88 N 134 15.46 W), Bar C (69 02.21 N 134 38.75 W), Seal Lake (69 12.19 N 134 41.67 W), Dennis Lagoon (69 21.69 N 134 41.80 W).
