Permafrost thaw and northern infrastructure

Climate change impacts story map, created by Yukon University Research Centre By Heather DesserudWhen a warming climate causes permafrost thaw, the changes affect the very foundations of Northern life. In northern communities, infrastructure, buildings and transportation networks are often constructed over a permafrost base, which is vulnerable to changes to climate and rapidly warming Arctic temperatures. This can spell disaster for the structures above, damaging buildings and roads as the permafrost degrades beneath. Permafrost thaw also releases damaging contaminants into the ecosystem, impacting food chains and community health.Dr. Fabrice Calmels is the Research Chair of Permafrost and Geoscience at Yukon University, investigating the...

Read more...

Building resilience in Inuit schools: community-centred research

By Heather DesserudHow can you build pathways for resilience, professional development and traditional knowledge in Inuit education? That’s what the project “Effective teachers for successful students: An investigation of the preparation and resiliency of Northern educators” co-led by Dr. Ruth Kane and Kathy Snow, is working to find out.Following her Fulbright panel presentation in June, I interviewed Kathy and her panel/team members Jodie Lane, Director of Education for the Nunatsiavut Government Department of Education and Economic Development; and Diane Obed, an Inuk researcher originally from Hopedale, Nunatsiavut, studying and lecturing on Indigenous education in Halifax. All three share a passion...

Read more...

Celebrating the launch of Yukon University

Canada’s newest university is north of 60°, with Yukon University’s recent announcement. Yukon University is the culmination of years of hard work and extensive consultations with Yukoners by Yukon College. The presence of an accredited university in the North is an important step for one of ArcticNet’s key principles, the necessity for northern research to be led by northerners. YukonU’s president and vice chancellor, Dr. Karen Barnes, described the institution’s journey since 1963 as one of “constant evolution,” with a promise to offer an “accessible pathway for every learner, and to contribute to a strong, resilient north.” Peter Johnston, Grand Chief...

Read more...

Meet ArcticNet: Dr. Philippe Archambault

Dr. Philippe Archambault of Université Laval has been a valuable member of ArcticNet for most of the Network’s history, beginning as a Network Investigator in 2007. On April 1, Dr. Archambault and Dr. Jackie Dawson of the University of Ottawa took on the scientific directors’ roles at ArcticNet, succeeding Dr. Louis Fortier, who retired this year. Dr. Archambault is a biology professor who studies the interaction between human activity and environmental change, and the impacts on biodiversity and the benthic environment. His research in the Gulf of St. Lawrence and the Canadian Arctic has spanned the intertidal zone to the deep...

Read more...

Taking a holistic view of beluga health: Enooyaq Sudlovenick

By Heather Desserud Enooyaq Sudlovenick is a first-year PhD student at the Centre for Earth Observation Sciences at the University of Manitoba, and a long-time member of ArcticNet, attending the last five years of conferences and actively participating in the Network. This year, the talented student researcher is giving back to the Network by serving as the ArcticNet Students’ Association President, while also embarking on a new chapter in her research career. Enooyaq moved to Winnipeg this past year to begin her PhD on beluga health, previously earning her master’s at the veterinary program at the University of Prince Edward Island, and...

Read more...