Who’s frozen, who’s not: online map tracks Nunavut permafrost

Here’s a section of the GN’s online permafrost databank.

In a continued effort to inform Nunavummiut on the effects of climate change, the Government of Nunavut has added a permafrost databank to its online Climate Change Centre, Environment Minister Johnny Mike announced May 31.

The data bank gathers into one place the research results from a number of academic organizations studying permafrost in Nunavut, Mike said during his minister’s statement in the legislature.

Permafrost data is important, Mike said, because it informs communities’ decision-making on infrastructure development and land use planning.

“Increased permafrost thaw has major implications to our building infrastructure and we need to ensure we are planning for this,” Mike said.

The data bank, built on a Google Maps interface, is designed to be user-friendly, the minister said, and includes information on temperature, depth and type of permafrost.

If you visit the permafrost databank by clicking here, you will see a number of red dots on a Google map of Nunavut.

Clicking a dot brings up a list of completed and on-going research projects on permafrost in the area surrounding the dot.

By clicking a research project, you can read a brief description of the project.

The descriptions are full of scientific jargon, but the GN encourages anyone wanting more information to contact the researchers listed under each research project.

“My department is committed to continuing to support community resiliency by creating useful adaptation resources to deal with the impacts of climate change,” Mike said May 31.

Thawing permafrost is expected to wreak havoc on community infrastructure across Nunavut as the effects of global warming increase.

The GN’s Climate Change Centre, which you can visit by clicking here, allows users to share stories of land travel and to learn about communication devices best used out on the land.