NWT RESEARCH DATABASE

Regions: Inuvialuit Settlement Region, Gwich'in Settlement Area

Tags: mercury, permafrost, greenhouse gases, methane, microbiology, soil carbon

Objective(s): The goals of this multi-year-long project are to assess greenhouse gas (methane and carbon dioxide) release from warming permafrost and tundra lakes in the ISR and to study associated carbon dynamics and microbiological processes, including the release of mercury to the environment.

Project Description: This licence has been issued for the scientific research application No. 6143. The goals of this multi-year-long project are to assess greenhouse gas (methane and carbon dioxide) release from warming permafrost and tundra lakes in the ISR and to study associated carbon dynamics and microbiological processes, including the release of mercury to the environment. The second year (2025) of field activities are planned for about two weeks in April, about a week in June, about three weeks in July, and about a week in September. This field work and will be based out of Inuvik with mostly day trips to the study sites. This field work and will be based out of Inuvik with mostly day trips to the study sites. We will set up an over-night camp of about 4 people at "Swiss Cheese Site", outer delta when we work on the Eddy Covariance station that we have temporarily deployed there to measure greenhouse gas fluxes. These the planned study sites are listed below and indicated in the attached KMZ file. All sites are in the Inuvialuit Settlement Region, with some on Inuvialuit Private Lands and some on Crown Land. One site is within the Kendall Island Migratory Bird Sanctuary. At the following sites instruments will be retrieved that were deployed under GNWT Science Licenses 16066, 17231, and 17466. 1 – Inuvik Lakes (situated on Mackenzie R. delta plain) • Access to study site will be by boat supplied by the Aurora Research Institute • Water sampling (~20 L) for measurement of lake chemistry • Collection of approximately 3 shallow (2 m length, 3 cm diameter) permafrost cores at selected locations 2 – Unnamed Lake (situated in outer Mackenzie R. delta plain) • Access to study sites will be by helicopter (with support from the Polar Continental Shelf Project) • Retrieval of water sampler deployed in summer 2023 • Water sampling (~20 L) for measurement of lake chemistry • Collections of air samples in area for methane analyses • Shallow geophysics (ERT and GPR, no seismic)) 3 – Niglintgak Slump (situated on glacial till) • Access to study sites will be by helicopter (with support from the Polar Continental Shelf Project). • Collection of small permafrost samples with a small portable hand drill or by excavating samples from naturally eroding permafrost sections. • This site is within the Kendall Island Migratory Bird Sanctuary and a KIBS permit will be obtained. • Collections of air samples in area for methane analyses • Approximately 3 shallow (2 m length, 10 cm diameter) permafrost cores at selected locations 4 – North Head Lake (lacustrine plain, not visited in 2024) • Access to study sites will be by helicopter (with support from the Polar Continental Shelf Project) • Water sampling (~20 L) for measurement of lake chemistry • Collections of air samples in area for methane analyses • Collection of approximately 3 shallow (2 m length, 3 cm diameter) permafrost cores at selected locations • Collection of small permafrost samples with a small portable hand drill or by excavating samples from naturally eroding permafrost sections. 5 – Grassy Lake, Richards Island (lacustrine plain) • Access to study sites will be by helicopter (with support from the Polar Continental Shelf Project) • Water sampling (~20 L) for measurement of lake chemistry • Retrieve osmotic water sampler deployed in 2024 • Collections of air samples in area for methane analyses • Approximately 3 shallow (2 m length, 10 cm diameter) permafrost cores at selected locations Remaining terrestrial sites throughout study area in various surficial geology units • Access to study sites will be by helicopter (with support from the Polar Continental Shelf Project) • Collection of approximately 3 shallow (2 m length, 3 cm diameter) permafrost cores at selected locations* • Sample collection is expected to span several years and will not be completed in one season Remaining lake sites throughout the study area • Access to study sites will be by helicopter (with support from the Polar Continental Shelf Project) • Water sampling (~20 L) for measurement of lake chemistry* * Sample collection is expected to span several years and will not be completed in one season Communications with the Inuvik, Aklavik and Tuktoyaktuk HTCs are ongoing. Copies of all scientific contributions (scientific papers, maps, and databases) will be provided to the communities in the ISR through their HTC and through the ARI. As this research project was initially co-developed with the IRC, our hope is that we will be able to disseminate our findings more directly to communities using their established networks and outreach strategies. The team has communicated its work at 2023 ARI Summer Speaker Series, and we hope to be able to present and update each summer. The fieldwork for this study will be conducted from: April 27 - September 30, 2025