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Effects on Infrastructure
Transportation and infrastructure in the NWT must not only be able to withstand harsh conditions, but also respond to changing land stability as permafrost thaws and recedes. Laurier research projects are measuring and analyzing these changes over time to predict the effect of permafrost changes on infrastructure.
Development and Testing of Ground Freezing Systems for Permafrost Thaw Mitigation
Researcher: Igor Egorov, PhD Candidate (2018–present)
Supervisor: William Quinton (Laurier)
I am a research scientist with the National Research Council (NRC), Ottawa, on leave to develop and evaluate advanced permafrost restoration and thaw mitigation systems and permafrost restoration, and determine the effectiveness of such systems in the protection of transportation infrastructure. Many sections of northern highways are at high risk of instability due to ground temperature increase and thaw of ice-rich ground. Increasing occurrence of standing depressions adjacent to highways creates extra groundwater flow and heat advection, causing additional permafrost thaw in the highway subgrade. These impacts, including differential settlements and shoulder instabilities, are significantly increasing not only the highway operating and maintenance costs but also the risk of highway failure.
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Permafrost Degradation in Road Subgrades Due to Climate Change
Researcher: Michelle Liu, MSc (2018–20)
Supervisors: Susan Tighe (University of Waterloo), William Quinton (Laurier)
This study aims to quantify permafrost degradation beneath sections of the Inuvik Tuktoyaktuk Highway (ITH) by calculating the decline of permafrost table and reduction in permafrost active layer thickness (ALT) from existing data. The results will be analyzed against pavement temperature data of the corresponding ITH sections to determine whether a correlation is present. Permafrost table and ALT data of nearby natural ground will also be analyzed against the same set of pavement temperature data as baseline for verifying the significance of the correlation.
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Investigating the Effects of Snow Cover on Ground Thermal Regime at the Seismic Line and Evaluation of Thermosyphon Performance
Researcher: Elzbieta Mastej, MSc (2017–present)
Supervisor: William Quinton (Laurier)
This study investigates the effects of snow cover on ground thermal regime and consequently permafrost fate at the seismic line and evaluates the thermosyphon technology for its performance as a ground cooling device. This work is relevant to future resource exploration and concomitant infrastructure as well as future climate models. It is focused on the development of low cost, readily deployable ground cooling infrastructure that may serve to mitigate permafrost thaw by altering snow accumulation regimes in the rapidly warming southern Dehcho region.