| Title | Electrical and electromagnetic data for permafrost characterization at Iqaluit International Airport, Nunavut |
| Download | Downloads |
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| Licence | Please note the adoption of the Open Government Licence - Canada
supersedes any previous licences. |
| Author | Oldenborger, G A ;
LeBlanc, A -M; Sladen, W E |
| Source | Geological Survey of Canada, Open File 7750, 2015, 43 pages, https://doi.org/10.4095/295978  Open Access |
| Image |  |
| Year | 2015 |
| Publisher | Natural Resources Canada |
| Document | open file |
| Lang. | English |
| Media | on-line; digital |
| File format | pdf |
| Province | Nunavut |
| NTS | 25N/10; 25N/15 |
| Area | Iqaluit; Baffin Island |
| Lat/Long WENS | -69.0000 -68.5000 64.0000 63.5000 |
| Subjects | geophysics; surficial geology/geomorphology; Nature and Environment; electrical surveys; electromagnetic mapping; electromagnetic induction; electromagnetic fields; e m surveys; remote sensing;
satellite imagery; permafrost; freezing ground; ground ice; displacement; terrain analysis; terrain sensitivity; terrain types; D-InSAR; Cenozoic; Quaternary |
| Illustrations | location maps; tables; aerial photographs; graphs; schematic diagrams |
| Program | Climate Change Geoscience Land-based Infrastructure |
| Released | 2015 02 24 |
| Abstract | Iqaluit International Airport presently suffers from instabilities and subsidence along its runway, taxiways and apron. In particular, asphalt surfaces are significantly impacted by settlement and
cracking These instabilities may be related to permafrost, permafrost degradation and associated drainage conditions. This Open File reports on electrical and electromagnetic geophysical data collected and processed by the Geological Survey of Canada
at the Iqaluit International Airport as part of the Land-Based Infrastructure Project within the Climate Change Geoscience Program. Galvanic and capacitive electrical resistivity surveys, along with low induction number electromagnetic measurements,
were performed over selected areas within the airport boundary and in the near vicinity to assist with permafrost characterization and to investigate active permafrost processes. The recovered electrical resistivities suggest distinct electrical
signatures for different terrain units and sediment types, and for ice-rich material including ice wedges. Even with continuous permafrost and cold permafrost temperatures, the resistivity models reveal anomalously conductive material at depth that
is not obviously correlated to mapped surficial sediments. The anomalous regions are correlated with localized settlement problems and downward multi-season displacement derived from D-InSAR. The geophysical surveys also exhibit features indicative
of seasonal freezing of localized groundwater beneath airport infrastructure and variable active layer thickness under infrastructure that is thicker than for undeveloped ground. |
| Summary | (Plain Language Summary, not published)
Iqaluit International Airport presently suffers from instabilities and subsidence along its runway, taxiways and apron. These instabilities may be
related to permafrost, permafrost degradation and associated drainage conditions. In particular, asphalt surfaces are significantly impacted by permafrost degradation, thaw settlement and frost cracking. As part of the Climate Change Geoscience
Program, several types of geophysical data have been collected over and around airport infrastructure to characterize permafrost conditions and to investigate active permafrost processes. The geophysical surveys reveal anomalies related to
multi-season displacement and groundwater influence. |
| GEOSCAN ID | 295978 |
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