COMMUNITY PERMAFROST MAPPING IN YUKON: UNDERSTANDING COMMUNITY NEEDS AND DATA LIMITATIONS IN A CHANGING NORTH (Invited Presentation)

Northern communities are facing unprecedented challenges to adequately predict and adapt to landscape evolution resulting from rapid climate change. In one of the most impacted regions of the world, geomorphic processes driven by factors such as precipitation and air temperature are occurring with increased intensity, frequency, and unpredictability. These changes result in considerable cost and safety concerns for local governments and regulators. In Yukon, thaw of widespread permafrost terrain is related to higher incidences of ground subsidence, thermal erosion, and mass wasting. While much of the academic research focuses on global and regional characterizations of permafrost thaw susceptibility and distribution, local governments are struggling to adequately predict and plan for infrastructure development, maintenance, and public safety priorities.

In an effort to develop adequate and cost-effective planning and adaptation tools, researchers at Yukon University and Yukon Geological Survey initiated a hazard mapping program in 2010 in partnership with 8 communities across the Territory. The resulting community-focused maps better define connections between surficial materials and ground ice, and account for the repercussions of climate change on geomorphic processes and associated hazards. Ten years after the project began, we continue to be unable to comprehensively predict ground ice distributions, relationships between permafrost and groundwater, and regionally relevant thaw trajectories. Examples from this project highlight the diverse needs of northern societies and the requirement for tailored approaches for specific applications.