4th Annual Permafrost Workshop / 4e atelier du Réseau du pergélisol Fairbanks (Alaska) – June 5-8, 2013
Using Geographic Information Systems to Study Changing Permafrost Environments KATERINE GRANDMONT DANIEL FORTIER JEFFREY A. CARDILLE
[email protected]
2004
A CHANGING ENVIRONMENT
Summer Temperature national Departures temperature from departures Normal - Summer and long-term (June, July, trend, August) 1948-2012 2012
Source: Environment Canada - www.ec.gc.ca
AN ADDITIONAL CHALLENGE TO DEVELOPMENT Permafrost degradation will have a significant impact on northern ecosystems and infrastructure.
Permafrost degradation could lead to:
Consequences:
• • • •
• Safety hazards • High cost of repair • Unusable buildings and infrastructure
NUNAVIK, QC
Thaw-settlement Landslides Thermal erosion Decrease in soil bearing capacity
NUNAVIK, QC
COPPER RIVER RAILWAY, AK - © USGS
YELLOWKNIFE, NWT - © NRCAN
BYLOT ISLAND, NUNAVUT
STUDYING SURFACE CHANGES OVER TIME PUVIRNITUQ AIRSTRIP – NUNAVIK, QC
Surface settlement of the airstrip between 1990 and 2006
VS
Settlement extent (m) Uplift
and more
STUDYING GROUNDWATER FLOW UNDER LINEAR INFRASTRUCTURE KUUJJUAQ AIRSTRIP – NUNAVIK, QC
© Quebec Government – 2010
Hillshade
Contour
Terrain
DEM
3D view Slopes– 15cm Orthomosaic
Aspect
IDENTIFYING AND QUANTIFYING RISK ALONG AND UNDER HIGHWAYS
Planned route
© KAVIK-STANTEC INC. - 2012
© KAVIK-STANTEC INC. - 2012
INUVIK TO TUKTOYAKTU HIGHWAY PROJECT – NWT
Example of ice-wedge network. Red lines show location of thaw subsidence across the road.
EVALUATING PERMAFROST STABILITY FOR VILLAGE DEVELOPMENT COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT – TASIUJAQ , NUNAVIK Land-suitability for residential development
Multi-criteria analysis
15% 70%
© Quebec Government – 2010
15%
?
Where to build?
? ? ? Existing village
EXPLORING THE UNCERTAINTY OF A VULNERABILITY MAP COMBINATION MAP VARIABILITY MAP
LAND-SUITABILITY MAP
Percentage of pixels per category. Numbers in parenthesis refer to the classification used in the map.
Variability over 500 iterations
PREVIOUS LAND-SUITABILITY MAP
Existing village
Variability
STUDYING PERMAFROST ENVIRONMENTS USING GIS Wide range of applications: -
Determine surface changes Evaluate groundwater flow patterns Identify and quantify risks Produce decision-making tools to guide residential development Orient decisions
Different contexts:
Multiple capacities:
-
-
Existing or planned infrastructure Linear or zonal projects Fine or coarse scale
Integrated view of the data Spatial analyses Statistics Automations
4th Annual Permafrost Workshop / 4e atelier du Réseau du pergélisol Fairbanks (Alaska) – June 5-8, 2013
Thank You! KATERINE GRANDMONT DANIEL FORTIER JEFFREY A. CARDILLE
[email protected] LABORATOIRE DE GÉOMORPHOLOGIE ET DE GÉOTECHNIQUE DES RÉGIONS FROIDES www.geocryolab.ca/web/
