NWT RESEARCH DATABASE

Regions: Inuvialuit Settlement Region, Gwich'in Settlement Area

Tags: physical sciences, contaminants, aquatic ecosystems, climate change, slumping, environmental change, terrestrial ecosystem, tree growth

Objective(s): To examine the impacts of climate and environmental change on freshwater ecosystems in the Inuvik region across a variety of spatial and temporal scales, specifically the impacts of permafrost degradation and subsequent thaw slumping on freshwater ecosystems and the impact of climate change on tree growth in the Mackenzie Delta.

Project Description: Climate change and industrial contaminants are two principal concerns for Arctic residents. The objectives of this research are to examine the impacts of climate and environmental change on freshwater ecosystems in the Inuvik region across a variety of spatial and temporal scales. Specifically, the team is examining the impacts of permafrost degradation and subsequent thaw slumping on freshwater ecosystems and the impact of climate change on tree growth in the Mackenzie Delta. Lake sediment sampling The late winter/early spring field work (late April - early May) will occur while the lakes are still ice covered. The research team will target 4 lakes to recover long sediment records spanning most of the Holocene. Using the ice cover as the coring platform, a Livingstone piston corer will be used to recover longer sediment profiles from these lakes. The piston coring system allows for the collection of several metres of sediment from lakes with depths varying from a few metres to 10-15 metres. The team will use a gas powered ice auger to cut through the ice and a spill kit will be carried at all times. The team will aim to only fuel the auger up at the airport in Inuvik or possibly at Swimming Point to reduce the possibility of any accidental spills at the field sites. Sediment cores will be examined by a number of different students for a variety of fossils preserved within them. For example, Joshua Thienpont (PhD candidate Queen’s University) will examine these cores for their sub-fossil diatom assemblages while Jesse Vermaire (Postdoctoral fellow, Carleton University) and will examine the records for their sub-fossil chironomid assemblages. The results of all components of this project will be communicated in a number of media including, but not limited to, written reports, scientific publications, oral presentations, and poster presentations. Copies of these communications will be made available to the Aurora Research Institute (ARI) upon completion. This research will also form a significant component of the thesis research of a number of students. These theses will be submitted to the ARI once they have been accepted by the respective School of Graduate Studies. The fieldwork for this study will be conducted from March 1, 2012 to December 31, 2012.