Chris Burn, professor in the Department of Geography and Environmental Studies and NSERC Northern Research Chair is the recipient of the Permafrost and Periglacial Processes Prize for Excellence in Permafrost and Periglacial Research for 2012. The prize is awarded every four years, having been instituted in 2008, and is the only international award of its kind for excellence in geocryology. He will be presented with his award at the next European Permafrost Conference in Portugal in 2014.
Dr. Burn has been studying frozen ground since 1982, which has given him a strong base from which to look at the effects of climate change in Canada’s northern regions. He examines the freezing of ground at field scale, and investigates variations in ground temperature that occur in response to fluctuations in atmospheric conditions. He says he has seen slow but steadily rising temperatures over the years in parts of Canada’s north, a finding that could have important implications.