NWT RESEARCH DATABASE

Regions: Inuvialuit Settlement Region, Gwich'in Settlement Area

Tags: permafrost, waste sump, sump, quarry, trail, monitor

Objective(s): To describe long-term permafrost change at sites disturbed by resource or infrastructure development activities. This project also aims to connect interested stakeholders in the monitoring of sites and assist the permafrost research community in informing and learning from regulatory monitoring activities. This work also includes ongoing monitoring of thermal and hydrological conditions in streams.

Project Description: This licence has been issued for the scientific research application No.5508. The response of permafrost to disturbance can be better understood through long-term monitoring at sites of interest. The objectives of this research application are to; 1) help connect and engage local partners and interested stakeholders in the monitoring of drilling waste sumps, aggregate quarries, and 2) assist the broader permafrost research community in contributing to and learning from regulatory monitoring activities associated with sites where there may be permafrost disturbances. Permafrost conditions at sites of prior human-caused disturbance will be monitored using methods including: (1) ground temperature thermistors and temperature recording devices; (2) the measurement of late winter snow depth and density; (3) the measurement of late-summer or fall ground thaw depth; (4) the collection of geophysical data to map the extent of unfrozen ground at a site, or the extent of drilling fluids or other materials in drilling waste sumps; (5) the use of drones to map vegetation and describe site topography and topographic change; (6) the use of satellite data to describe long-term changes to terrain at disturbed sites, and (7) the completion of vegetation surveys. Work will also include continued monitoring of temperature and hydrological conditions in small streams, which affect the landscape connectivity of sites with permafrost disturbance. Monitoring results, data analysis, and research outcomes will be shared in permafrost monitoring workshops to be held in the Beaufort Delta region, similar to past permafrost monitoring workshops conducted with the Inuvialuit Lands Administration (ILA) since 2019. Results will also be presented in venues at the Aurora Research Institute (ARI), at the Yellowknife Geoscience Form, and at other northern forums and national or international conferences. Results will also be presented in the NWT Open Report series published by the NWT Geological Survey, informal reports to community partners, and in scientific journals. The fieldwork for this study will be conducted from May 12, 2023 to December 31, 2023.