Tristan MacLean

Seminar – 22 May – Precise Change Detection with Airborne Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR) & Optical Photogrammetry Data and its application to Active Permafrost Regions.

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.

Date: 22 May 2024
Time: 13:00-14:00 Eastern Time
Location: Zoom (details are posted in our Teams site).

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.

By Tristan MacLean, ago

Seminar – 15 May – Ice-Wedge Volume, Distribution, and Development in the Barrens of the Hudson Bay Lowlands, Northern Manitoba.

Tabatha Rahman will be presenting Ice-Wedge Volume, Distribution, and Development in the Barrens of the Hudson Bay Lowlands, Northern Manitoba.

Date: 15 May 2024
Time: 13:00-14:00 Eastern Time
Location: Zoom (details are posted in our Teams site).

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 5,500 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.

By Tristan MacLean, ago

Recording and AI summary of the 2023 Canadian Science Policy Conference

A Vision for Permafrost Knowledge in Canada: From Strategy to Action

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.
 

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.

You can now read all the details of the panel, get an AI summary of the discussion and hear the audio recording of the symposium on the CSPC webpage for the session.

By Tristan MacLean, ago

Seminar – 8 May – The Effects of Environmental Controls on Epigenetic Ice-Wedge Cracking.

Gabriel Karam will be presenting The Effects of Environmental Controls on Epigenetic Ice-Wedge Cracking.

Date: 8 May 2024
Time: 13:00-14:00 Eastern Time
Location: Zoom (details are posted in our Teams site).

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 different environmental controls and explore the growth of wedges over multiple years.

By Tristan MacLean, ago

Seminar – 1 May – Advancing Arctic coastal erosion measurement and monitoring through UAV-SfM and object-based image analysis.

Andrew Clark will be presenting Advancing Arctic coastal erosion measurement and monitoring through UAV-SfM and object-based image analysis.

Date: 1 May 2024
Time: 13:00-14:00 Eastern Time
Location: Zoom (details are posted in our Teams site).

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.

Andrew Clark
By Tristan MacLean, ago

Le secret des tourbières par Radio-Canada

Un reportage à Découverte de Radio-Canada avec Oliver Sonnentag.

Face au réchauffement de la planète, les scientifiques tirent la sonnette d’alarme : il est temps de prendre conscience des pouvoirs de la tourbe. D’un labo de biopharmacie en Irlande à la plus grande tourbière d’Europe, en passant par la cabane d’un piégeur et la plus vaste expérience sur le changement climatique, Le secret des tourbières nous dévoile la beauté et les merveilles des tourbières. Avec Oliver Sonnentag, à la minute 22:45.

Regarder ici: https://ici.radio-canada.ca/tele/decouverte/site/episodes/865999/tourbieres-foret-amazonie-planete
By Tristan MacLean, ago

Ottawa-Carleton Northern Research Symposium

The OCSNRS is an annual student academic conference focusing on Subarctic, Arctic and Antarctic research from natural & physical sciences, social sciences, humanities and applied sciences.

This year the University of Ottawa hosted the meeting which featured a number of permafrost presentations from the network:

  • 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.

Read more about the symposium here:

Eng: https://www.uottawa.ca/en/events-all/ottawa-carleton-student-northern-research-symposium-ocsnrs

Fr: https://www.uottawa.ca/fr/tous-evenements/symposium-recherche-nordique-ottawa-carleton-sernoc

By Tristan MacLean, ago

Seminar – 17 April – Climate change induced increases in maintenance costs for Yukon highways, 1994–2022.

Astrid Schetselaar will be presenting Climate change induced increases in maintenance costs for Yukon highways, 1994–2022.

Date: 17 April 2024
Time: 13:00-14:00 Eastern Time
Location: Zoom (details are posted in our Teams site).

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.

By Tristan MacLean, ago

Winter Newsletter 2024

The 2024 Winter edition of our newsletter is now available in French and English.

This issue has 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.

Take a look at the newsletter here.

By Tristan MacLean, ago
The study area showing the Hudson Bay Railway extending from Churchill to The Pas, Manitoba.

A study of thermal modeling parameters and their impact on modelled permafrost responses to climate warming

A study of thermal modeling parameters and their impact on modelled permafrost responses to climate warming

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.
The study area showing the Hudson Bay Railway extending from Churchill to The Pas, Manitoba.

By Tristan MacLean, ago