Roll a marble, observe climate change in Cambay

Increased precipitation and permafrost melt due to climate change — as seen here in Cambridge Bay— can cause drainage problems erosion and instability in buildings. This poor drainage may also create bodies of water that can be dangerous for young children. (PHOTO COURTESY OF THE CANADIAN INSTITUTE OF PLANNERS)

On Nov. 10 a team working with the Canada-Nunavut climate change or atuliquq partnership visited Cambridge Bay to share their preliminary findings— and invited everyone to a community meeting and supper. (PHOTO COURTESY OF THE CANADIAN INSTITUTE OF PLANNERS)

You might think Cambridge Bay is located too far north to experience the effects of global warming.

But this Kitikmeot community is definitely feeling changes to its environment.

These include the presence of new birds like sparrows and extreme weather events like hail and thunderstorms as well as increased permafrost melt and erosion.

Buildings are also showing the impact of the changing climate. If you roll a marble on the floor in one Cambridge Bay home, it gravitates to the centre because the building is buckling in due to permafrost melt underneath.

In a cabin located outside of town, water started flowing up through the floor, also due to permafrost melt.

Ponds and rivers that used to freeze earlier and stay frozen longer are among the other signs of change which mean Cambridge Bay should prepare for a future that will require new ways of going out on the land and living in the community.

To this end, Cambridge Bay is one of five communities in Nunavut now under scrutiny as part of the Canada-Nunavut climate change or atuliquq partnership, formed to support adaptation to climate change in Nunavut communities.

The name of the pilot project, Atuliqtuq (which means coming into force in Inuktitut), reflects its goal of trying to help communities minimize damage from climate change damage and benefit from any positive opportunities from climate change, an overview of this project says.

The Government of Nunavut, federal government departments, and the Canadian Institute of Planners are now working with Iqaluit, Arviat, Whale Cove, Kugluktuk, and Cambridge Bay to come up with local climate change impact and adaptation plans, which will evaluate changes in the climate and how to deal with them.

The first phase of the project looked at developing climate change plans for Hall Beach and Clyde River.

As for the kind of changes that lie ahead in Iqaluit, Arviat, Whale Cove, Kugluktuk, and Cambridge Bay, these communities all face a probable sea level rise by 2100— which could be as much as 50 centimetres for Kugluktuk and Cambridge Bay, according to a draft report on sea level projections prepared for the five-community pilot project.

The sea-level rise is not significant as was thought, says Christine Callihoo, one of the planners involved in the project.

Over much of Nunavut, the land is rising because when glaciers melt, land rises, so this is expected to lessen the effects of rising global sea levels.

But erosion caused by rougher seas, high winds and melting permafrost may make the impact of any sea-level rise worse, as is the case in Alaska where communities like Shismaref are crumbling into the sea.

If that happens, Nunavut communities may have to think about relocating some infrastructure which could be affected by permafrost melt.

In Cambridge Bay, this could mean the possible relocation of water supply, sewage lagoon, fuel tank farm, which may be at risk of erosion or damage due to permafrost loss.

The members of the Atuliqtuq climate change consultant team returned to Cambridge Bay on Nov. 10 for a community supper and meeting to discuss the project’s progress so far.

Cambridge Bay now has a preliminary plan of how to better tackle climate change.

The proposals for action include:

By 2011, the project wants to prepare community adaptation plans for all five pilot communities.

These plans will also come up with tools that can be used by other communities in Nunavut, such as a climate change planning kit and a training module for hamlets.

Another goal of the project is to establish a Nunavut permafrost monitoring network.