Kinnear, Lacia

"The goal of the project was to identify and understand the snow- and permafrost-related information needs of practitioners in the mining and transportation sectors in northern Canada, specifically in Yukon and the Northwest Territories, and to produce knowledge products that respond to a subset of those needs to encourage adaptation to climate change." -- from Executive Summary.

The objective of this project was to identify landscape hazards in the Village of Mayo and nearby surroundings by compiling geoscience data from various field studies and scientific reviews (surficial geology, permafrost and hydrology). This data was used to create a map of landscape hazards that delineate low, moderate and high-risk areas in the Mayo region. Potential impacts of a changing climate were incorporated in the identification of these three hazard regions.

The objective of this project was to identify landscape hazards in Pelly Crossing and nearby surroundings by compiling geoscience data from various field studies and scientific reviews (i.e., surficial geology and hydrology). This data was used to create a map of landscape hazards that delineate low, moderate and high-risk areas in the Pelly Crossing region. Potential impacts of a changing climate were incorporated in the identification of these three hazard zones.

Yukon, Alaska and northern British Columbia depend heavily on road transportation to link communities and connect industrial activities to international markets. The Alaska Highway is the central transportation corridor in Yukon. It is crucial to maintaining and expanding economic development, the quality of life of the population and international ties. In the context of current and anticipated climate change, permafrost temperature has warmed significantly in northern territories and is expected to continue to rise (SNAP 2014). The stability of northern transportation infrastructure may be compromised by changes in permafrost, particularly in areas where the soil contains large amounts of ice. This may lead to negative impacts on economic development, including increasing the complexity and cost of road maintenance and the price of shipping goods in the North.