NWT RESEARCH DATABASE

Regions: Inuvialuit Settlement Region

Tags: climate change, climate change adaptation

Objective(s): This project will feed into a better understanding of effective approaches for community-based environmental monitoring and contribute to a better understanding of contaminants and the role of extreme weather events in the Arctic environment. The objectives of this study are to: 1. Analyse the presence of contaminants in the water and sediment at community-identified legacy source areas. 2. Produce baseline measurements at the proposed new landfill site. 3. Through continued community monitoring, identify whether storms (or other environmental conditions) increase the transport of contaminants into the marine environment. 4. Use a new model of environmental community-based research that can inform strategic decision-making.

Project Description: This licence has been issued for the scientific research application No. 5704. This research project will feed into a better understanding of effective approaches for community-based environmental monitoring and contribute to a better understanding of contaminants and the role of extreme weather events in the Arctic environment. The objectives of this study are to: 1) analyse the presence of contaminants in the water and sediment at community-identified legacy source areas; 2) produce baseline measurements at the proposed new landfill site; 3) through continued community monitoring, identify whether storms (or other environmental conditions) increase the transport of contaminants into the marine environment; 4) use a new model of environmental community-based research that can inform strategic decision-making. The design of the research was and will continue to be co-developed with the Tuktoyaktuk Community Liaison and the researchers who are working as part of the larger research program the Nuna project (Canada-Inuit Nunangat-UK Research Program). Water samples will be collected at locations surrounding Tuktoyaktuk and times determined by community members including prior to and immediately after storm events, this could include but is not limited to sampling locations on the map attached to this application. A simple and standardized sampling protocol was developed in 2022 and this will be adhered to. The accessibility and applicability of water sampling sites were important to address when developing the sampling design. At each site, a 50ml water sample will be taken in a falcon tube. Pictures will be taken of site conditions, and weather conditions/anything unusual will be noted in an all-weather book to provide context. Information from the all-weather notebook will be uploaded immediately on return from sampling to a shared online spreadsheet, hosted in and accessible by these researchers. Water samples will be frozen and stored in freezers at accommodation in Tuktoyaktuk. Frozen samples will be transported for laboratory analysis at Northumbria University. Seafloor sediment grabs will be collected at different locations in the marine waters surrounding Tuktoyaktuk to identify the long-term trends in contaminants. Sediment grabs will be taken using a 3L stainless steel Van Veen grab sampler. All samples will be frozen and transported to the laboratory at Northumbria University using a Northumbria University-issued sediment import license, to undergo laboratory analysis. Given the nature of this research, sample collection will continue beyond August by Deva-Lynn Pokiak who lives in Tuktoyaktuk. Samples will be frozen and shipped to Northumbria University. Water samples once collected will be filtered then undergo Inductively Coupled Plasma Optical Emission spectroscopy (ICP-OES), an analytical technique used to determine how much of certain elements are in a sample. Sediment samples will undergo XRF (X-ray fluorescence), a non-destructive analytical technique used to determine the elemental composition of materials. Co-dissemination of results and interpretation with community members will occur online and in person during community meetings in 2024. March 2022: Research team attended community meetings with Tuktoyaktuk youth, Hamlet council and Tuktoyaktuk Community Climate Resiliency Project (TCCRP). Discussed were research priorities and areas to further develop and expand community-based monitoring efforts. June 2022: Community meetings with Hamlet council. Attendance at the annual aboriginal day. June-August 2022: Researchers engaged on a daily basis with different community members throughout the day when traveling to sites to conduct daily monitoring measurements. The researchers attended community-wide events such as Canada day and engaged with youth at the Jason Jacobson Youth Center (JJYC) to discuss interest and potential opportunities for youth engagement in environmental monitoring work. Louise spent time with the TCCRP supporting monitoring work and learning about challenges and opportunities associated with community-based monitoring in the area. Invaluable time spent with the TCCRP helped shape the design of this study. Additionally, Louise spent time with different community members which included being invited to take part in culturally important activities such as harvesting and drying fish. August 2022: A model for community-based contaminant monitoring was co-developed. The research design was shaped by informal conversations with community members throughout the Summer of 2022. This provided insight into the historical context of contaminant concerns at key locations. The researchers gained feedback from an elder who recommended changes, sites were then altered accordingly. This highlights the key role that community engagement has had in shaping the program design. August 2022: Community-wide open house event at Kitti Hall where community members were invited to meet researchers part of the Nuna project and learn about the work conducted over the summer. Maps were available for community members to highlight locations of contaminant concerns to guide future monitoring efforts. This provided the opportunity for feedback and identification of future community-selected monitoring sites of interest. November 2022: An overview of initial work was presented at a community leadership meeting. Due to the project being in its early stages, a brief overview was presented and received positive feedback from the community leaders. Feedback and suggestions were provided to guide future monitoring efforts. December 2022: The ArcticNet Annual Scientific Meeting 2022 provided the opportunity to have an in-person meeting with project team members. Research members presented an overview of the initial stages of the project including the proposed research approach to other community members and to the wider scientific community. This provided valuable feedback to shape the next stage of the research. A meeting with community leaders from Tuktoyaktuk provided the opportunity to gain feedback about communication strategies. During this meeting, a Facebook group was suggested to communicate results back to the community. This will act as a communication outlet for results associated with this work. August 2023: Meetings with the Hamlet council and wider community meetings to discuss future work and specifically identify further study locations for this study. This will include the identification of key monitoring areas that are accessible and appropriate to the project objectives. Additional areas for background and future change monitoring will also be discussed. August 2023: Community meetings to provide progress updates following summer sample collection periods and present the next steps planned for analysis over the winter period. March 2024: Co-dissemination of results at community meetings. All results will be feedback to the community in an understandable and respectful manner. Project progress will be evaluated through discussions that could involve topic areas including improvements to sampling design, community engagement, challenges, and opportunities to create more efficient data collection processes. Plans for future monitoring work will be discussed. The team will produce plain language summaries for community organizations and these materials will be published on the community Facebook page upon approval by the Hamlet council. The fieldwork for this study will be conducted from: August 01 - December 31, 2023