Grants and Contributions:

Grant or Award spanning more than one fiscal year. (2017-2018 to 2022-2023)

Owing to climate change, the Arctic is rapidly warming which is causing observable changes in cold-regions hydrology. An important control on the movement of water in the arctic subsurface is permafrost, ground that is continuously frozen. As permafrost thaws, it allows a large volume of groundwater to flow through the subsurface, which is thought to be partially responsible for an increase in the export of carbon from the arctic, as dissolved organic carbon, methane and other greenhouse gases. This, in turn, will cause even more warming, a theory called the arctic-permafrost feedback. The long-term objective of my proposed research is to study the interaction between groundwater and permafrost and its role in driving the arctic-permafrost feedback. My short-term objectives are to (1) develop a new innovative groundwater model that simulates groundwater flow, permafrost, and solute transport, (2) increase our understanding of groundwater-permafrost interactions through integrating laboratory studies, field work, and theoretical modeling, and (3) quantify the importance of increased groundwater mobility as a driver of northern environmental and climate change. This proposal builds on my previous Discovery Grant (2012-2017) which focused on groundwater in cold regions, including permafrost settings and the glaciated Peruvian Andes.
The new groundwater numerical model will simulate the flow of water through the subsurface, and the transport of energy and solutes, including the dynamic formation and thawing of permafrost. The laboratory work will utilize a new facility that simulates cold-regions hydrology within a climate controlled warehouse, including the formation and thawing of permafrost and seasonal temperature cycling. The fieldwork research is focused on the Duke River Valley, Yukon, and will involve recording a multiyear record of permafrost hydrogeology. The model will be used to simulate the laboratory and field data, leading to an improved scientific understanding of solute transport in cold regions. The final proposed project is to use a combination of theoretical and regional scale models to assess the importance of groundwater flow in driving the arctic-permafrost feedback.
The findings from this research are important for Canada, and also have significance for polar regions worldwide. They will directly increase our scientific knowledge about groundwater in the thawing arctic - an area of research that is poorly understood. The results are transferable to industrial applications, such as groundwater resources and water contamination. The project is focused on graduate student training, and will involve undergraduate, MSc, and PhD students at all stages of the research. These highly trained people will be invaluable in addressing climate and environmental questions in the arctic.