October 23, 2013
Photo credit: Luther Caverly

Researchers on ice

One of the major themes recently adopted by Carleton University focuses on Northern and Aboriginal issues. Chris Burn and Frances Abele’s expertise in the terrain, resources and people of the North contribute to Carleton’s research prominence in the area.

Burn, professor of Geography and Environmental Studies and former NSERC Senior Northern Research Chair, examines the impact of climate change on permafrost in the Arctic in partnership with the Government of the Northwest Territories.

For communities like Inuvik which have no local access to energy sources, the Dempster Highway is a 736 km lifeline linking the Yukon and the Northwest Territories.

The sustainability of permafrost affects the stability of infrastructure such as highways.

“Propane is hauled to Inuvik from Alberta to maintain the town’s energy supply,” said Burn, “but the storage facility has only a few days’ reserve.”

… the Dempster Highway is a 736 km lifeline linking the Yukon and the Northwest Territories.

To keep the community from freezing, the highway must be kept open all year round, which means building ice bridges and running ferries simultaneously across the Mackenzie and Peel rivers. However the highway is only as stable as the permafrost upon which it is built.

“Warming in winter affects ground thawing in summer,” said Burn. These changes have been particularly evident over the past 40 years.

During the course of his career Burn has examined the factors big and small that have impacted permafrost. Something as seemingly innocuous as snow banks on the side of a highway impact the permafrost beneath by providing a blanket of insulation against the cold.

Burn’s research has resulted in a unique observation which may also influence the effects of warming.

“Hill slopes underlain by ice don’t respond to summer thawing in the same way as flat terrain,” said Burn. “On a hill slope melted ice runs downhill, changing the condition in the ground. In flat ground, the water stays and refreezes in the winter so the conditions are comparable from year to year. But most of the time when we model transitions for the permafrost of northern Canada we assume the ground is flat.”

… changes have been particularly evident over the past 40 years

… in the North there are employers seeking skilled workers at the same time that there are many unemployed youth …

In 2012, Burn’s contributions to research were recognized by the Royal Canadian Geographical Society; and the Wildlife Management Advisory Council for the Yukon North Slope.

Another of Carleton’s experts in Northern and Aboriginal Affairs is Frances Abele, professor of Public Policy and Administration. Abele is studying labour and investment issues related to northern natural resource development.

Abele is a member of a SSHRC-funded international research consortium examining sustainable resource development. This summer, she received additional SSHRC funding to review existing knowledge about Aboriginal youth employment and unemployment in northern Canada.

With Dr. Senada Delic, a recent graduate of the School of Public Policy and Administration and graduate assistants, Abele will prepare a synthetic literature review and meta-analysis, presented in briefing papers tailored to practitioners’ needs and academic publications.
“At present in the North there are employers seeking skilled workers in industry and in all the new government institutions at the same time that there are many unemployed youth,” said Abele. “One aspect of understanding the realistic economic options facing northerners is a good appreciation of the life circumstances and goals of young people.”

This recent project builds on a long career dedicated to Abele’s interest in Indigenous self-government and the economic development in the North.

“I was drawn to northern research by the potential for improving Canadian democracy by democratizing the public policy development process, and an interest in better understanding the way the non-renewable resource industry affects Canadian development.”

I was drawn to northern research by the potential for improving Canadian democracy

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