Burwash Landing and Destruction Bay Landscape Hazards: Geological mapping for climate change adaptation planning

This project investigates contemporary landscape hazards related to permafrost degradation in Burwash Landing and Destruction Bay, Yukon. It also considers potential impacts of a changing climate on the local landscape. The work is accomplished by conducting surficial geological mapping and gathering geoscience data, including landscape metrics, permafrost conditions and hydrology. Projections of future climate variability (e.g., temperature and precipitation) for the region are used to identify potential future trajectories of change. Based on these data, landscape hazards are ranked in four categories, varying from no risk to high risk, and are represented graphically (in stoplight colours) on maps covering the study area. By incorporating projections of future climate variability, landscape hazards classification reflects both contemporary and potential future conditions.