| Title | Ground temperatures and permafrost conditions, Rankin Inlet, southern Nunavut |
| Author | Oldenborger, G A; Bellehumeur-Genier, O; Short, N; Tremblay, T; LeBlanc, A M |
| Source | Canada-Nunavut Geoscience Office, Summary of Activities (2017), 2017 p. 117-128 (Open Access) |
| Links | Online - En ligne
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| Year | 2017 |
| Alt Series | Natural Resources Canada, Contribution Series 20170237 |
| Publisher | Canada-Nunavut Geoscience Office |
| Document | serial |
| Lang. | English |
| Media | paper; on-line; digital |
| File format | pdf |
| Province | Nunavut |
| NTS | 55K; 55J |
| Area | Rankin Inlet |
| Subjects | regional geology; surficial geology/geomorphology; Nature and Environment; permafrost; climate, arctic; climate effects; remote sensing; radar imagery; boreholes; ground temperatures; raised beaches;
conductivity surveys; terrain conductivity surveys; conductivity |
| Illustrations | location maps; graphs; photographs |
| Program | Climate Change
Geoscience, Permafrost |
| Abstract | Along the western coast of Hudson Bay, permafrost and ground ice are important features of the landscape and can significantly affect land-based infrastructure. Fieldwork was conducted in Rankin Inlet
to determine ground temperatures and provide information on permafrost and ground ice conditions for the region. Recent fieldwork involved installation of several permafrostmonitoring stations, along with collection of ground geophysics for
comparison to relative seasonal ground surface displacementmaps derived from differential interferometric synthetic aperture radar (DInSAR). Site locations were chosen to represent a variety of conditions including developed and undeveloped land, and
different geological settings. Average summer ground temperatures are -5.6°C at 12mdepth and -6.6°C at 7mdepth for sites on developed and undeveloped land, respectively. Although based on limited data, these temperatures are within the range of other
contemporary ground temperatures in the region, and indicate warmer conditions than historically reported for Rankin Inlet. Results are site specific, but observations indicate correlation between surficial geology, apparent conductivity and relative
seasonal ground surface displacement that could be used for permafrostmapping. Beach deposits exhibitmoderate conductivity and minimal relative seasonal ground surface displacement, butmay eventually be locally thaw susceptible due to the presence of
currently stable ice wedges. In contrast, other terrain types exhibit complex patterns of displacement and apparent conductivity that require further investigation. |
| Summary | (Plain Language Summary, not published)
Along the western coast of Hudson Bay in the Kivalliq region of Nunavut, permafrost and ground ice are important features of the landscape that can
significantly affect land-based infrastructure. We report on activities conducted in Rankin Inlet to provide information on ground temperatures, ground ice conditions and ground subsidence for the region. Recent fieldwork involved installation of
several ground temperature monitoring stations, along with collection of a variety of geoscience data using ground-based, airborne and satellite measurements. Although based on preliminary data of limited recording period, measured ground
temperatures for the summer of 2017 indicate warmer conditions than historically reported. Other observations provide information on different terrain types that may be susceptible to permafrost degradation, and how geophysical, airborne and
satellite surveys might be used to map these areas. |
| GEOSCAN ID | 306087 |
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