In many northern Canadian communities, buildings are supported in or on permafrost. Permafrost degradation due to climate warming can impact these building foundations, as well as nearby slopes whose stability often depends on remaining frozen. Community mapping can therefore be a useful strategy in land-use planning.
Two series of maps, describing community surficial geology and geohazards, including permafrost-related geohazards, were compiled with the assistance and support of Ecology North, the Hamlet of Fort McPherson, and the Rat River Development Corporation Ltd., as one of several proposed adaptations to climate change in Fort McPherson that required geotechnical engineering and permafrost expertise. Additional maps were developed to demonstrate changes in slope vegetation (trees and shrubs) over several decades to correlate with areas of slope movements and development. Another map presented a visual slope retrogression analysis and recommended setbacks. The map series were intended to be desktop-level maps that would accomplish the following tasks:
- Help the community better understand the soils, rock and permafrost conditions around them, including geohazards related to those conditions;
- Provide a tool to assist land managers with land use and development: to determine the preferred areas for building and avoid areas unsuitable for the future development; and
- Provide a baseline reference for monitoring potential permafrost degradation or large-scale changes in the permafrost conditions and/or slope stability, resulting from climate change and/or human-induced impact.