| Title | Geomorphologic feature mapping methodology developed for the Dempster Highway and Inuvik to Tuktoyaktuk Highway corridors |
| Download | Downloads |
| |
| Licence | Please note the adoption of the Open Government Licence - Canada
supersedes any previous licences. |
| Author | Sladen, W E; Parker, R J H ; Kokelj, S V; Morse, P D |
| Source | Geological Survey of Canada, Open File 8751, 2021, 56 pages, https://doi.org/10.4095/328181  Open Access |
| Image |  |
| Year | 2021 |
| Publisher | Natural Resources Canada |
| Document | open file |
| Lang. | English |
| Media | on-line; digital |
| Related | NRCan photo(s) in this publication |
| Related | This publication is related to the following
publications |
| File format | readme
|
| File format | pdf; rtf; py (Python® 2.7); docx (Microsoft® Word®) |
| Province | Northwest Territories; Yukon |
| NTS | 106E/15; 106E/16; 106F/13; 106F/14; 106K/03; 106K/04; 106K/05; 106K/06; 106K/11; 106K/12; 106K/13; 106K/14; 106L/01; 106L/02; 106L/07; 106L/08; 106L/09; 106L/10; 106L/15; 106L/16; 106M/01; 106M/02; 106M/07;
106M/08; 106M/09; 106M/10; 106M/15; 106M/16; 106N/03; 106N/04; 106N/05; 106N/06; 106N/11; 106N/12; 106N/13; 106N/14; 107B/02; 107B/03; 107B/06; 107B/07; 107B/10; 107B/11; 107B/14; 107B/15; 107C/02; 107C/03; 107C/06; 107C/07 |
| Area | Inuvik; Tuktoyaktuk; Fort McPherson; Eagle Plains; Dawson; Arctic Ocean |
| Lat/Long WENS | -135.0000 -133.0000 69.5000 65.7500 |
| Subjects | environmental geology; surficial geology/geomorphology; Transport; geophysics; hydrogeology; Nature and Environment; Science and Technology; mapping techniques; terrain sensitivity; permafrost; ground
ice; periglacial features; thermokarst; climate; landslides; mass wasting; remote sensing; satellite imagery; hydrologic environment; drainage; Canadian Cordillera; Interior Plains; Arctic Coastal Plain; Canadian Digital Elevation Model; Dempster
Highway; Inuvik to Tuktoyaktuk Highway; Methodology; Infrastructures; Road networks; Climate change; permafrost thaw; Geographic data; Geographic information systems; Digitization |
| Illustrations | location maps; geoscientific sketch maps; profiles; tables; photographs; satellite images; bar graphs |
| Program | Climate Change
Geoscience Permafrost |
| Released | 2021 04 27 |
| Abstract | Thaw of permafrost and associated ground ice can reduce ground stability, modify terrain, and reconfigure drainage patterns. This, in turn, can affect terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems, and present
challenges to northern societies. Permafrost change can have a significant influence on the integrity of ground-based transportation infrastructure, which is critical to northern communities. The geomorphic landscape can indicate ground ice presence
and thaw susceptibility.
In 2017, the Geological Survey of Canada and the Northwest Territories Geological Survey collaboratively developed a robust methodology to classify and digitize geomorphic features in permafrost terrain using
high-resolution imagery. A 10-km wide corridor centred on the Dempster Highway and Inuvik to Tuktoyaktuk Highway was used to develop and test the methodology. The 875-km-long corridor traverses a variety of geological and physiographic terrain types,
including glaciated and non-glaciated terrain. Permafrost here is continuous. However, variation in climate, relief, ecology, and disturbance have produced a diverse range of periglacial conditions. We selected five test sections representative of
terrain along the study corridor. The main geomorphic categories are mass movement, hydrological, and periglacial. We used high-resolution (0.6 m) satellite imagery to generate stereo pairs for 3D visualization. Geomorphic features were digitized in
ArcGIS. We customized Python scripts to populate the attributes for each geomorphic feature. This Open File provides a background on the physical context and physiographic terrain of the study corridor. The report presents the geomorphic feature
identification and digitization methodology and summarizes the results from the test section mapping and its limitations. |
| Summary | (Plain Language Summary, not published)
Permafrost is ground that remains frozen for 2 years or more. Thawing of ice-rich permafrost can result in uneven settlement of the ground surface, mass
wasting, and lake drainage or enlargement, which has impacts on the environment, hydrology, and infrastructure. Landscape features can indicate the presence of ground ice and thaw susceptibility. A methodology has been developed to map permafrost,
mass-wasting, and permafrost-thaw features along a 10-km-wide corridor centred on the Dempster and Inuvik-to-Tuktoyaktuk highways. This 875-km long corridor traverses a variety of geological and physiographic terrain types, including glaciated and
non-glaciated landscapes. In addition to generating critical geoscience data for this region, the methodology can be applied to other fine scale permafrost terrain or hazard mapping projects. The methodology will support other research projects at
local and site-specific scales, and risk assessment along northern highways. This report presents the methodology for geomorphic feature identification and digitization. |
| GEOSCAN ID | 328181 |
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