NUNAVUT - Research into the state of permafrost in some Nunavut communities may help them plan where to build and better adapt to climate change.

At least that is what a number of scientists from Natural Resources Canada and Laval University who are studying the condition of the permafrost in Clyde River, Pangnirtung and Iqaluit, are hoping for.

The scientists were to visit Pangnirtung later this month to present the hamlet with preliminary results of their work.

In 2008, degrading permafrost in a Pangnirtung river bed, along with rain and a significant snow melt, caused the river to overflow its banks and wash out the bridge, cutting off the community from its water reservoir, sewage treatment plant and municipal dump.

As the community looked for an explanation, the hamlet thought it prudent to look at the permafrost conditions throughout the community, not just the river valley, said Ron Mongeau, Pangnirtung's senior administrative officer.

"One of the biggest factors that caused the problems in our river was that the permafrost under the river was degrading," he said. "Whole sections of the river valley just dropped, literally, sometimes 10 or 15 feet."

Using sensors and through analysis of drill core samples, scientists are checking the temperature of the permafrost in different soil types, the ice content of the soil and the grain size, for instance.

The aim is to provide information to the communities and maps that can help them, said NRCan permafrost geoscientist Anne-Marie Leblanc.

"We will not necessarily say 'you should not build here' or 'you have to build here' but we will guide them and help them to say 'here you have permafrost that's maybe more sensitive to climate change and here the permafrost is very good. It's less sensitive,'" she said.

The scientific information collected and analyzed by Leblanc's team will help Pangnirtung identify land not suitable for future development because of possible permafrost degradation, said Mongeau.

"Pangnirtung is a community without a lot of usable land," he said. "We don't have a lot of land for development so it's absolutely critical that we be able to plan to develop in the right spots of this community, in areas where we don't expect to see permafrost degradation over the next few years."

Mongeau said he looks forward to seeing the preliminary results of the study.

"It should be quite interesting to see just how much the melting of the permafrost has affected usable land in the community," he said.

The multi-year permafrost study project started in Clyde River in 2007 and is expected to be completed this summer with Iqaluit.

Field reconnaissance work was done in Arviat, Whale Cove, Kugluktuk, Cambridge Bay and Hall Beach.

In Whale Cove, reducing the wear and tear on the soil and permafrost will help the community be sustainable, said the hamlet's senior administrative officer Shawn Trepanier. He added the hamlet has a climate change adaptation plan, which mentions, among other things, that the hamlet has to ensure it is not overextending its water usage.

"The climate is changing," he said. "We felt it was necessary to take this active approach and ensure that we can do something to actually help prevent the progress from going any further."