Welcome to the Winter 2024 edition of our newsletter.
This year is set to be a very important one for Canadian permafrost research, with the first International Conference on Permafrost to be held in Canada for 26 years. That year Jean Chrétien was the prime minister, Canada's first diamond mine opened in the Northwest Territories, and Southern Ontario and Quebec were struck by a memorable ice storm causing widespread power failures and severe damage to forests. The network's Scientific Director, Stephan Gruber was studying for his Master's degree in Germany, the former Canadian Permafrost Association president Kumari Karunaratne was still in high school and some of our current students were still to enter the world, while Les Chansons En Or by Céline Dion and Supposed Former Infatuation Junkie by Alanis Morissette were in the Canadian charts.
In this issue we'll give you some quick highlights of recent and upcoming events, details on support for Northern Research Assistants and share recent network publications you may have missed. In November last year, the network convened for our fifth Annual General Meeting. Photos, posters, presentations and other details of the event are on our website where you can also download a full report on the meeting.
We hope to hear about your permafrost work and see you at an event in the near future. Tristan MacLean, NSERC PermafrostNet Director of Operations
The AGM was held on the traditional territory of the Lekwungen people, also known as the Songhees and Esquimalt First Nations – past, present, and future – and we acknowledge their land to honour and express gratitude to the Indigenous communities who have historically, and presently, steward and live on this land.
The meeting sessions were at the Inn at Laurel Point in Victoria, BC and a keynote talk - Loss of the Cryosphere in the Mountains of Western Canada - was delivered at the Royal BC Museum by John J. Clague.
We were delighted to be able to host the meeting at the Inn at Laurel Point, British Columbia's first carbon neutral hotel. The hotel has been carbon neutral since 2009 and became Biosphere Sustainable Certified in 2023. The hotel is aligned with the United Nations’ 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) through their Project 2030 plan which is centered around zero waste practices, renewable energy generation and making the most of precious water resources, and was the first-ever hotel in North America to join The Climate Pledge and initiative.
Both Permafrost Pathways and NSERC PermafrostNet organized separate panel sessions at the Canadian Science Policy Centre's (CSPC) 2022 Conference. This led to a collaboration to organize a single panel for the 2023 CSPC conference to advance the discussions started in 2022, entitled: A Vision for Permafrost Knowledge in Canada: From Strategy to Action, held on Monday November 13. The panelists included: John Holdren (Arctic Initiative, Harvard Kennedy School); Marc D'Iorio (ADM Science, ECCC); Sara Brown (NWT Association of Communities); and Stephan Gruber (NSERC PermafrostNet), with the Board of Directors Chair Janet King moderating (image below).
To enable more in-depth discussions and strategizing, Jennifer Spence (Carleton University; Arctic Initiative, Harvard Kennedy School) and Janet King organized a workshop that followed the panel titled: Advancing Canada's role as a leader in permafrost knowledge and policy.The workshop featured representatives of ITK, NWT Association of Communities, ECCC, the federal government's Working Group on permafrost, Polar Knowledge Canada, the Geological Survey of Canada, the NWT Geological Survey, the Canadian Permafrost Association, NSERC PermafrostNet, Permafrost Pathways, ArcticNet, Woodwell Climate Research Centre, and the Cascade Institute.
The NSERC PermafrostNet seminar series takes place online with seminar recordings made available on our YouTube channel and website.
Zoom details for all the seminar will be posted in our Teams site.
Our network seminar coordinator is Usman Iqbal Ahmed. Usman is a PhD student at Simon Fraser University under the supervision of Professor Bernhard Rabus. He uses SAR and airborne optical surveys to detect changes in permafrost, particularly along linear infrastructure. If you are a network member and would like to give a presentation in the seminar series, please get in touch with Usman.
Date: Wednesday 17thApril 2024
Time: 1pm Eastern Time / 11am Mountain Time
Astrid Schetselaar will be presenting Climate change induced increases in maintenance costs for Yukon highways, 1994–2022.
Transportation networks in Canada’s North are becoming increasingly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. Rising ground temperatures and permafrost thaw have been a cause of road damage as the bearing capacity of the ground is significantly reduced. Hydrological changes may further induce hazards, such as landslides, washouts, and icings (aufeis). Astrid's presentation will outline a retrospective assessment of climate change-induced maintenance expenditures for highways in Yukon. Changes in costs are linked to climate, physiographic, conditions and underlying permafrost.
Date: Wednesday 1stMay 2024
Time: 1pm Eastern Time / 11am Mountain Time
Andrew Clark will be presenting Advancing Arctic coastal erosion measurement and monitoring through UAV-SfM and object-based image analysis.
Arctic coasts are vast and exhibit some of the highest rates of erosion in the World due to the presence of permafrost. Rates of erosion are expected to increase with warming air and water temperatures, reductions in Arctic sea ice extent and duration, sea level rise, and increased storm severity and frequency. This presentation will describe the use of emerging technologies (UAV-SfM and OBIA) to further our understanding of Arctic coastal processes, specifically, volumetric erosion, and broad scale delineation of multiple shoreline proxies for monitoring and quantification of erosion.
Date: Wednesday 8thMay 2024
Time: 1pm Eastern Time / 11am Mountain Time
Gabriel Karam will be presenting The Effects of Environmental Controls on Epigenetic Ice-Wedge Cracking.
Ice-wedge polygons are a widespread periglacial feature in the continuous permafrost regions. To better understand the mechanical aspects of their formation, the extended finite-element method was employed to simulate the cracking process. Four case studies will be presented, which evaluate the effects of different environmental controls and explore the growth of wedges over multiple years.
Date: Wednesday 15thMay 2024
Time: 1pm Eastern Time / 11am Mountain Time
Tabatha Rahman will be presenting Ice-Wedge Volume, Distribution, and Development in the Barrens of the Hudson Bay Lowlands, Northern Manitoba.
Extensive ice-wedge polygon networks are found in the ‘Barrens’ of northern Manitoba, a 50,000 km2 zone of continuous permafrost tundra that emerged from the Tyrrell Sea less than 5500 years ago. Tabatha will present empirical results of ice-wedge volume and tri-dimensional distribution, and will focus on the environmental conditions associated with the growth and degradation of ice wedges in this uplifted permafrost peatland. Knowledge of wedge-ice morphology and development is essential for the prediction and mitigation of risks associated with anticipated permafrost thaw in the Barrens.
Date: Wednesday 22nd May 2024
Time: 1pm Eastern Time / 11am Mountain Time
Usman Iqbal Ahmed will be presenting Precise Change Detection with Airborne Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR) & Optical Photogrammetry Data and its application to Active Permafrost Regions.
Permafrost thaw can cause several problems; the ground becomes unstable and can cause damage to infrastructure such as roads, buildings, and pipelines. It can also cause erosion and changes in the landscape, which can have ecological and social impacts and disruption of indigenous ways of life. Monitoring these changes is a key factor in reducing the impact of such disasters as well as timely reaction/adaptation to such changes. I am exploring the option of developing a change detection method using Airborne Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) Interferometry and Optical Photogrammetry data for precise change detection. I will present the results of our controlled experiment with simulated permafrost related changes to showcase the capability of our method in active permafrost thaw environments.
Date: Wednesday 29thMay 2024
Time: 1pm Eastern Time / 11am Mountain Time
Rae Landriau will be presenting Performance of Drilling Waste Sumps, Western Arctic Canada.
Petroleum resource exploration and development has occurred in the Northwest Territories since the 1920s. Freezing-point depressants, mainly potassium chloride, were added to drilling fluids to facilitate drilling into permafrost. Disposal of these fluids was typically in large man-made pits (sumps). Sumps were excavated in permafrost, with the intention that frozen ground would contain the fluids indefinitely. Climatic warming in northwest Canada has raised the temperature of near-surface permafrost, increasing the potential for failure of sumps in the region. Using electro-magnetic surveys, ground conductivity on and off sumps can be collected and analyzed to detect the presence of these fluids and determine if they have migrated.
Recent Seminars
You can see recordings of last year's seminars on our seminar webpage.
Ottawa-Carleton Student Northern Research Symposium
The OCSNRS is an annual student academic conference focussing on Subarctic, Arctic and Antarctic research from natural & physical sciences, social sciences, humanities and applied sciences.
This year the University of Ottawa will be hosting the conference on March 18th, with a number of permafrost presentations:
Galina Jonat - A proposed Framework for Improved Simulations of Permafrost Change.
Frederic Brieger - Permafrost Terrain Disturbance Mapping and Susceptibility Modeling in the Na-Cho Nyäk Ge (Stewart River) Watershed, Yukon.
Rae Landriau - Performance of Drilling Waste Sumps - Mackenzie Delta NT.
Pia Blake - Effects of Snow and Surface Material on Surface Offset of Intermediate Slopes.
Carleton Challenge Conference
Each year, Carleton University hosts the Carleton Challenge Conference, bringing together Canadian changemakers and thought leaders from a wide range of sectors for a single day of forward-thinking discussions on a pressing global issue.
The next Challenge Conference, on May 8th, will focus on climate change and feature the network's Chris Burn as one of the speakers. The conference offers business, government, community and academic leadership a space to share inspiring insights and brainstorm novel solutions, all while building their networks and growing their capacity to create real change.
12th International Conference on Permafrost by Nick Brown
We look forward to welcoming all to the 12th International Conference on Permafrost (ICOP2024) scheduled to take place from June 16-20, 2024, in Whitehorse, Canada, on the lands of the Kwanlin Dun First Nation and Ta'an Kwachan Council in Whitehorse. The week will focus on the theme "Integrating Perspectives of Permafrost Thaw, Change, and Adaptation." Accordingly, the final program will have over 30 distinct technical sessions across a wide range of permafrost-related subjects. We have received more than 500 papers and extended abstracts from the community!
The network will be making a significant contribution to this year's ICOP with network members presenting posters and talks at the conference, and many members of the network playing roles in the organizing committees.
Due to the overwhelming interest in the conference and the limited in-person capacity of the venue, ICOP2024 will include a virtual poster hall.
Old Firehall, 1105 Front St, Whitehorse
The network will also be holding a reception as an opportunity to showcase the findings of the network’s projects and connect members with our international colleagues. Join us for food and drinks, meet the network students and professors, and find out about the research.
In conjunction with this reception the network is producing an insert for Frozen Ground (the official News Bulletin of the International Permafrost Association) featuring summaries of some of our research projects.
Also in keeping with the theme, the conference will feature a wide variety of mid-conference field trips near Whitehorse. These include visits to permafrost field sites, a workshop led by indigenous knowledge holders on community-based research, and even an afternoon of orienteering led by Pia Blake, a Whitehorse local, NSERC PermafrostNet student, and world-class orienteering athlete. Longer pre- and post-conference field trips will offer participants the opportunity to explore the permafrost of the Dempster Highway, Alaska Highway, or Beaufort Delta region.
Nick Brown, NSERC PermafrostNet Data scientist and ICOP National Organizing Committee member.
NSERC CREATE LEAP field school
The NSERC CREATE LEAP trainees, instructors, and partners will be take part in an annual in-person northern field school, organized jointly with northern partners.
This year the Northern field school will be held in Inuvik, NT between 20-29 July 2024.
The field school goals are to:
Build a shared learning environment.
Strengthen relationships between participants and northern partners.
Foster a collective understanding of permafrost thaw adaptation needs and solutions.
The event will include excursions led by northern partners, practical training, student project presentations, and community-led, participatory, problem-based learning.
Stay tuned for further details.
NSERC PermafrostNet 2024 AGM
ArcticNet’s ASM, is being held at Ottawa’s Shaw Center, December 9-12, and is anticipating about 2,000 attendees.
The network is working with ArcticNet to plan for a joint PermafrostNet ArcticNet AGM-ASM in tandem with the meeting. Discussions about how to best highlight the partnership, as well as possibilities to support attendance by Northerners at the event are underway.
Further details on the joint AGM-ASM will be provided in due course.
Media
Robots to the rescue
In 2023, for the first time in its history, the Rideau Canal Skateway didn't open, as warmer temperatures and higher-than-normal snowfall prevented a thick-enough layer of ice from forming.
This resulted in huge loss of revenue for the city of Ottawa, as tourists hoping to experience the world’s largest skating rink were left disappointed. For many locals with fond memories of brisk winter days spent sipping hot chocolate and looping along the canal, it was a startling example of how climate change can affect even the most seemingly unshakable traditions.
However, thanks in part to the hard work of the network's deputy Scientific Director Shawn Kenny and his students the canal was able to open for skating this year.
“What happens in the North, doesn’t stay in the North”
The LEAP program aims to train tomorrow’s Leaders in Permafrost thaw and northern research by training and providing research funding to graduate students who will work alongside co-applicants or partnered universities across Canada on permafrost science and research. Undergraduate students are also welcome to apply for unfunded research opportunities alongside the program’s co-grantee and collaborators, which they can use to complete their thesis.
You can read more about the NSERC CREATE LEAP program in the feature on Carleton University's news on experiential learning.
Publications
Exciting research in the Permafrost ArChives Science Laboratory (PACS Lab) at the University of Alberta has demonstrated a novel application of multi-sensor core logging for analyzing permafrost cores.
Measurements of core physical properties are typically destructive and time intensive.
Non-destructive multi-sensor core logging (MSCL) can efficiently analyze permafrost samples and provide high-resolution insights without these problems. The new technique allows rapid imaging, measurement of bulk density and estimation of ice content in permafrost cores. The team were able to visualize cryostructures and estimate frozen bulk density, magnetic susceptibility, and volumetric ice content.
The new technique is described in the paper published in The Cryosphere by Duane Froese's lab: Pumple, J., Monteath, A., Harvey, J., Roustaei, M., Alvarez, A., Buchanan, C., and Froese, D.: Non-destructive multi-sensor core logging allows for rapid imaging and estimation of frozen bulk density and volumetric ice content in permafrost cores, The Cryosphere, 18, 489–503, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-489-2024, 2024.
Core in the core boat on the MSCL track.
Most mountain permafrost research has been focussed on the small area of the European alps. This leads to the question, can you transfer cryosphere knowledge from the Scandes and Alps to Canada?
Comparison of mountain areas with permafrost in western Canada (coloured) and European areas (grey) for mean annual air temperature and total annual precipitation at a resolution of 30 km x 30 km.
The extent of permafrost thaw in the pan-Arctic remains unknown, but remote sensing, deep learning and crowdsourcing are helping to map permafrost degradation in the landscape.
The recent study by Huanget al study provides data and serves to develop a global inventory and better understand permafrost thaw in the pan-Arctic using very high resolution remote sensing. This approach could lead to a global inventory of retrogressive thaw slumps.
Lingcao Huang, Michael J. Willis, Guiye Li, Trevor C. Lantz, Kevin Schaefer, Elizabeth Wig, Guofeng Cao, Kristy F. Tiampo, Identifying active retrogressive thaw slumps from ArcticDEM, ISPRS Journal of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing, Volume 205, 2023, Pages 301-316, ISSN 0924-2716.
Coverage of the ArcticDEM in the Arctic with permafrost extent.
A recent study by Teddi Herring suggests ways to improve how Electrical Resistivity Tomography (ERT) is used for permafrost and highlights recent advances in this approach. ERT is a technique that is incredibly useful for studying permafrost, enabling us to see how deep the permafrost layer is and identify areas with ice content.
There has been a 10-fold increase in publications of studies using ERT to analysis permafrost in the last 20 years, and though challenges remain, and there's no single "best way" to do it yet, the study makes recommendations for conducting ERT surveys to maximize the utility of existing and future data.
Herring T, Lewkowicz AG, Hauck C, et al. Best practices for using electrical resistivity tomography to investigate permafrost. Permafrost and Periglac Process. 2023; 34(4): 494-512. doi:10.1002/ppp.2207
Global map summarizing locations of field sites where electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) has been used to study permafrost (2000–22) based on the literature search.
The design of infrastructure on permafrost must account for the impacts of a changing climate on ground stability. While guidelines like CSA PLUS 4011:19 provide a framework, choosing appropriate climate scenarios remains a challenge.
The study by Astrid Schetselaar, Trevor Anderson and Chris Burn reveals that observed warming in the Yukon and Northwest Territories (1991-2020) aligns with more extreme climate projections made in 2003 for the Mackenzie Gas Project.
Key takeaways for developers:
Consider adopting more aggressive climate change scenarios when designing permafrost foundations, as these projections have been more accurate.
Near-surface permafrost in southern parts of the region may become unsustainable. Thorough site investigations for thaw-stable soils are crucial.
Rising winter temperatures imply that the operational efficacy of thermosyphons, used to chill foundations, may be impeded. At sites where preservation of frozen ground is essential for infrastructure integrity, the number of thermosyphons required may need to increase.
Schetselaar, A.B., Andersen, T.S., and Burn, C.R. 2023. Performance of climate projections for Yukon and adjacent Northwest Territories, 1991-2020. Arctic, 76(3). doi: 10.14430/arctic77263
Yukon Territory and western Northwest Territories, including Mackenzie Mountains and adjacent Mackenzie River Valley, with locations of all weather stations.
A paper by the Thermokarst Mapping Collective (TMC), a research collaborative to systematically inventory indicators of permafrost thaw sensitivity by mapping and aerial assessments across the Northwest Territories (NT), Canada, has documented the first comprehensive inventory of thermokarst and thaw-sensitive terrain indicators for a 2 million km2 region of northwestern Canada.
Kokelj, S.V. et al. The Northwest Territories Thermokarst Mapping Collective: a northern-driven mapping collaborative toward understanding the effects of permafrost thaw. Arctic Science. E First.DOI: 10.1139/as-2023-0009.
Project organization, roles and institutional involvement by location.
Nick Brownet al have implemented a permafrost data management system to support multi-variable permafrost observation networks. It addresses five key challenges for permafrost data management and publication:
Existing data management strategies do not scale well.
Data users have different skills and needs.
Permafrost data are varied.
Resources for permafrost data management are limited, and (5) existing permafrost data sources are difficult to integrate.
Brown, N., Gruber, S., Pulsifer, P., Hayes, A. A prototype field-to-publication data system for a multi-variable permafrost observation network. Environmental Modelling & Software, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envsoft.2024.106006
Schematic of 2-step transformation of raw research data into standardized, interoperable data that can be re-used.
A study by Khatereh Roghangar and Jocelyn Hayley has assessed the effects of thermal modeling parameters on permafrost ground response to climate warming. They analyzed how variations in depth, water content, and soil type affect predictions of future active layer depths and settlement under various climate scenarios using the soil characteristics along Hudson Bay Railway corridor.
The results indicate that, for fine-grained soils, the depth of the model is a more significant parameter than for coarse-grained soils. The water content of all soil types is a critical factor in determining the time at which permafrost thaws and the depth at which the active layer is located, as higher water content leads to larger active layer changes and more settlement in most cases. These findings have important implications for infrastructure and land use management in the Arctic region.
Roghangar, K. and Hayley, J.L. (2024). A study of thermal modeling parameters and their impact on modelled permafrost responses to climate warming. Cold Regions Science and Technology, 221, 104155, DOI: 10.1016/j.coldregions.2024.104155.
The study area showing the Hudson Bay Railway extending from Churchill to The Pas, Manitoba.
Governance updates
New member of the Board of Directors - Lindsay Vician
Lindsay Vician is a Water Stewardship Advisor, with the Government of Northwest Territories (GNWT), Department of Environment and Climate Change (ECC). She coordinates the implementation of the NWT Water Stewardship Strategy, aiming to ensure NWT waters remain clean, abundant, and productive.
New Knowledge Mobilization and Communication Committee Chair - Gillian Wesley
Gillian Wesley is the Director of Communications at Efficiency Canada, where she leads a the team increasing awareness, mobilization, and the implementation of research-based energy efficiency policy.
Gillian has more than a decade of experience using strategic communications to drive real-world change. She has worked with environmental organizations, coalition groups, partners, and stakeholders to develop local, provincial, and national communications products and campaigns. Gillian is also passionate about training the next generation of climate communicators. She has provided mentorship and professional development opportunities to students from universities and professional programs across Canada.
Graduate Student and Post-doctoral fellow Advisory Committee
We still have spaces available on our graduate student and post-doctoral fellow advisory committee. The advisory committee acts as a conduit between the governance bodies and the graduate student and post-doctoral fellows.
We are currently seeking to fill the Board of Directors and Scientific Committee observer positions.
Nominations for the advisory committee can be submitted on this form by network members. Positions will remain open until filled.
The Future of Arctic and Northern research in Canada
A consortium of Arctic and northern research and science organizations from across Canada, including NSERC PermafrostNet and led by ArcticNet, commissioned an assessment of current knowledge and evidence - what are the key foundational elements to create an inclusive, collaborative, effective, and world-class Arctic and northern science system in Canada?
The findings have been published in Northern Research Leadership and Equity – The Expert Panel on the Future of Arctic and Northern Research in Canada (Canadian Council of Academies).
Northern Research Leadership and Equity sets out the elements required to create an inclusive, collaborative, effective, and world-class Arctic and Northern research system, as well the avenues through which those elements can be implemented.
With the aim of identifying the less-measured, high-potential value within NSERC PermafrostNet, all members of the Network were surveyed in January.
The anonymous survey received responses from 64 individuals. The initial results from the survey are presented in this report.
Reading the responses, aspects of data sharing and strengthened community ranked highest, supported by strong relationships and trust, as well as new and complementary people, connections, and capabilities. Looking back on our nearly concluded network now, this reflects the original intent (workshop report 2017) well. A more rigorous analysis will be available in due course.
Northern Research Assistantships
NSERC PermafrostNet is offering funding up to $10,000 to hire northern research assistants for fieldwork. This funding is available on a first-come, first-served basis to network co-investigators and their northern partners in the interest of advancing northern engagement.
Please complete and submit the Northern Research Assistant Form which can be found in the Members Area of the Website, in the drop-down menu, Co-Investigator Forms.
Share your News and Photos
NSERC PermafrostNet is a network of over 40 organizations working towards the common goal of researching and addressing the impacts of climate change. Please share your news, such as awards and recognition of your success, as well as photos of your work, so we can share them with the rest of the network.
Future Newsletters
If you have any contributions you would like to add to the newsletter please submit them to Tristan MacLean at tristan.maclean@carleton.ca
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About NSERC PermafrostNet
The NSERC Permafrost Partnership Network for Canada (PermafrostNet) is a research network established in 2019 which aims to boost Canada’s ability to monitor, predict and adapt to large-scale permafrost thaw. PermafrostNet is funded by Can$5.5 million from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) Strategic Partnership Grants for Networks along with in-kind and cash contributions of Can$5M from partners and participating institutions. It is comprised of researchers from 11 universities and over 40 partnering organizations, including those in industry, Indigenous and Northern communities, and federal, territorial, provincial and municipal government agencies. It is led by principal researcher Stephan Gruber, Canada Research Chair in Climate Change Impacts/Adaptation in Northern Canada at Carleton University.
