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PANNIQTUUQ/PANGNIRTUNG
Hamlet officials in Pangnirtung are taking another look at the community's master plan to deal with news that some lots are no longer fit for development due to melting permafrost.

"Fortunately at this point it's not a lot of land but every loss to us is critical," said senior administrative officer Ron Mongeau, speaking after a three-day meeting Feb. 15 to 17 with geologists who have been looking for permafrost instabilities in the hamlet.

He was not sure how many lots would be affected. "It will affect the latter years of the master plan. The area where we're going to build the next two subdivisions is relatively unaffected."

The geologists, from the Canada-Nunavut Geoscience Office and Universite Laval, focused on the community after permafrost erosion triggered a flood that destroyed a bridge at Auyuittuq National Park in 2008. Starting in 2009, the scientists set up five 15-metre deep monitoring stations in Pangnirtung to measure temperature and permafrost levels.

"When the bridge washed out, that was a big shock to the community," said chief geologist David Mate of the Canada-Nunavut Geoscience Office. "It raised people's awareness of terrain sensitivity and what could happen to built structures. When you think of climate change and increased development up here, it's good to know what the terrain is and know more about permafrost."

Armed with the geological information, Pangnirtung is determining where special treatments are required for drainage ditches and building pads to ensure permafrost is preserved, Mongeau said.

"There are significant areas of town where there's no bedrock under the ground," he said. "It's really valuable information for us in how we plan subdivisions. There are techniques we can follow that minimize impact on the permafrost beneath the ground."

Melting permafrost has already affected a few homes, which have "begun to shift a little bit," Mongeau said, noting other communities face a similar dilemma.

"Permafrost underlies everything in Nunavut," he said. "The same thing we've seen in terms of the land slumping because of permafrost degradation, we've seen in the High Arctic, on Ellesmere Island, in Auyuittuq National Park, outside of Clyde River, and certainly in Cumberland Sound." Mate agreed.

"Across the Arctic, permafrost temperatures are rising and it is posing some problems," he said. "If your community is built on bedrock, you're going to be fairly robust with respect to changes in permafrost."

For communities where bedrock is not as common, however, Pangnirtung's situation signals the need for awareness.

"Anchoring to permafrost could potentially be an issue if you're in an area where permafrost is beginning to degrade," he said.

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