Project Name

Application of RPAS LiDAR Systems to Mapping and Monitoring the Effects of Climate Driven Changes on Western Arctic Communities

Main Project Contact

Dr. Garfield Giff

Project Start Date

March 2019

Project End Date

Ongoing

ARI Team

Celtie Ferguson

Greg Elias

Katarina Kuhnert

Overview 

Climate driven changes are greatly affecting the Western Arctic environment, thus, the need for Western Arctic communities to develop and implement strategies to slow down and mitigate against the effects of climate change. Developing these strategies require accurate, timely and affordable information. One tool for collecting this type of information is the Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems (RPAS) Light Imagining, Detection, and Ranging (LiDAR) System.  A RPAS LiDAR System is a geomatics tool that can be used to produce high-resolution 3-D maps of urban and remote areas, as well as, collect data for snow depth, ice thickness, ice road maintenance, vegetation analysis, water quality monitoring, earth movement, archeology sites survey, gas detection, and floodplain monitoring to name a few.  

 ARI will perform applied research with the RPAS LiDAR System to determine whether or not it is a cost effective, efficient, and effective system for collecting Western Arctic climate change data.

Objectives

The aim of the project is to determine whether or not RPAS LiDAR systems are cost effective and efficient tools for mapping and monitoring the effects of climate driven changes in the Western Arctic. The aim will be achieved through the pursuant of the following objectives:

• The measuring, mapping and monitoring of the following using RPAS LiDAR system
  • Earth movements (e.g., slumps and landslides);
  • Snow depth;
  • Ice thickness, break-up and freeze-up
  • Vegetation change
  • Ice roads
  • All seasons roads
  • Airport runways
  • Topographic Surveying
  • Surveying of historical and archeological sites
  • Methane detection

Location 

The project will take place throughout Northwest Territories. However, the Western Arctic will be the main focus area

Methods 

The project will utilize a number of data collection, spatial analysis and modelling techniques. This will include but not limited to the following:

• Mapping with RPAS LiDAR
• LiDAR analysis techniques
• Photogrammetry and LiDAR integration
• Photogrammetric analysis
• GIS Analysis
• Simulation modelling
• Earth and space-based observation and analysis techniques
• Snow depth measuring

The results of the project will be communicated and disseminated using the following:

• Scientific publications;
• Plain language reports;
• Maps and charts;
• Workshops; and
• Oral and poster presentations.

Funders

Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (College and Community Innovation Program)

LOOKNorth / C-CORE

Keywords

LiDAR, Climate Change Monitoring, RPAS, Photogrammetry and LiDAR integration, snow depth, Earth and space-based observations.

Updated May 2021

Project Name 

Reindeer Station Stability Assessment

Start Date

April 1, 2020

End Date

March 31, 2023

ARI Team

Garfield Giff

Celtie Ferguson

Greg Elias

Katarina Kuhnert

Overview 

Climate driven changes are affecting the landscape and the way of life of the people of the Inuvialuit Settlement Region (ISR).  As stewards of the land the Inuvialuit are in the best position to develop and implement effective and suitable climate change adaptation measures for the ISR.

Aurora Research Institute is supporting The Inuvik Community Corporation (ICC) in assessing and monitoring the effects of climate driven changes on Reindeer Station. The project will focus on monitoring permafrost thaw within the vicinity of Reindeer Station, as well as monitoring the drainage patterns in and around the Station. The results of the monitoring and assessment will be used to develop mitigation strategies to preserve Reindeer Station as an Inuvialuit Wellness Camp.

Objectives 

The main aim of the project is to collect vital information to support the development of long-term climate change adaptation strategies to protect the infrastructure at Reindeer Station, as well as, implement short-term activities that will protect the cabins and users of the facilities against changes in the drainage pattern due to earth movement. Aurora Research Institute will support the ICC with the following:

• Capacity Building in permafrost and spatial data collecting;
• Initial collection of mapping and monitoring data;
• Data analysis;
• Data management; and
• Project Management

Location 

The project activities will be carried out at and within the vicinity of Reindeer Station. Reindeer Station is located along the East Channel of the Mackenzie River between Inuvik to the south and Tuktoyaktuk to the north. A NWT historic landmark and an Inuvialuit wellness and cultural camp the approximate coordinates of Reindeer Station are Latitude 68.69° and Longitude -134.14°.

Methods 

To project team will employ the following methodology to achieve the project’s goals and pursue the objectives:

• Stakeholder Consultation;
• Project management;
• Capacity building;
• Literature and Data Review;
• Permafrost Monitoring;
• RPAS Mapping of the Drainage Pattern and Earth Movement;
• Infrastructure Monitoring;
• On-the-job training;
• GIS analysis;
• Permafrost Data Analysis;
• Simulation Modeling
• Data Management

The results of the project will be communicated and disseminated using the following:

• Scientific publications;
• Plain language reports;
• Maps and charts;
• StoryMaps;
• Workshops;
• Oral and poster presentations; and
• Through the IRC’s Portal.

Schedule

External Partners 

Kevin Floyd, Project manager, Inuvik Community Corporation 

Alice Wilson, Northwest Territories Geological Survey

Climate Change Preparedness in the North Program 

Keywords

Stability Assessment; Mapping and Monitoring, Permafrost Thawing; RPAS Surveys; Climate Change Mitigation; GIS; Drainage Patterns; Landslides; Slumping; Earth Movement; Heritage Preservation.

Updated May 2021

ARI Team

Celtie Ferguson

Garfield Giff

Kata Kuhnert

Overview

Permafrost provides a foundation for ecosystems and Northern communities. Therefore, as climate warms, the permafrost can thaw and this is the primary cause of climate-driven landscape changes in the Western Arctic. Models project that the climate will continue to warm, therefore, it is expected that the permafrost and thus, the landscape of the Western Arctic will continue to be affective negatively.

The physical characteristics of the permafrost dictate how landscapes will respond to warming, as well as the environmental, biogeochemical and infrastructure impacts. Therefore, understanding this is critical to inform societal adaptation and to predict ecosystems’ responses.

Currently, this type of time information is not readily available at large scale (i.e., at the local level e.g. the Beaufort Delta region). Existing knowledge on terrain sensitivity are mainly spatially discontinuous and are at small scales which are not of sufficient quality or resolution to inform science or decision making at local scales.

Objectives

This project is a part of a larger initiative which aim at developing a NWT wide, empirically-based map products describing the sensitivity of permafrost terrain. The goal of the project is to support the NWT wide initiative through the development of empirically-based map products describing the sensitivity of permafrost terrain in the Western Arctic.

The aim will be achieved through the pursuant of the following objectives:

• Contribute to the development and implementation of a collaborative approach to generate NWT-Wide thermokarst and permafrost feature inventory maps;
• Participate in mapping permafrost train; and
• Build permafrost terrain sensitivity products of the Western Arctic.

Location 

The efforts of the larger initiative will involve developing methods and implementing mapping efforts around the 33 NWT communities and eventually extending to the entire NWT and adjacent Provincial/Territorial transboundary watershed areas. However, ARI’s contribution will focuses on the areas surrounding the Western Arctic communities.

Figure 1: Area of the Thermokarst Mapping Project (NWT Border Marked in White).  ARI’s Initial Project Area Marked in Black.

Figure 2: The New ARI Mapping Area Depicted by Red Line: additional cells were added to include entire ecoregions.

Methods 

The study region was broken down into some 41,000 cells in a grid pattern. In each cell, the thermokarst features were assessed and inventoried in accordance with pre-determined attributes in the themes: mass wasting, hydrology, and periglacial. The mapping was carried out in a GIS and was primarily based on 2017 satellite imagery, with supporting datasets to track changes and validate observations. Aerial surveys will additionally be used to measure the accuracy of the mapping data. Analysis and QA/QC will be led by the NTGS, ARI will then develop communication products to disseminate the results to Western Arctic communities.

Schedule 

External Partners 

Steve Kokelj, Northwest Territories Geological Survey

Alice Wilson, Northwest Territories Geological Survey

 Northwest Territories Environment and Natural Resources

Keywords

Permafrost, Thermokarst, Mapping, Geographic Information Systems, Thaw Slump, slumping, slope movement, Landslides, Hydrology, Periglacial Processes, Permafrost Mapping, Permafrost Thaw, Remote Sensing, Satellite Imagery

Updated May 2021