Permafrost in the Northwest Territories is thawing and the ecosystem is changing. Over the past three years, Wilfrid Laurier University researcher William (Bill) Quinton, a Canada Research Chair in Cold Regions Hydrology, has been working with collaborators to map the change in the permafrost and to develop computer models that will help predict permafrost distribution and river flow. Quinton has received $150,000 in funding from the Canadian Water Network (CWN) to create the Water Knowledge Application Network (WatKAN).

For entire Press release go HERE

A study done on the impact of seismic lines on permafrost was recently featured in Environmental Research Letters.

See the full article HERE

There has been a great deal of activity lately that has resulted in several media articles and reports on different TPRN researchers.

(NOTE: Some of these stories have been archived and are no longer available)

1) NWT Minister of the Environment and Natural Resources’s visit to the Scotty
Creek Research Station
2) CBC Radio International interview with Bill Quinton
3) CBC Northbeat Interview with Jennifer Baltzer (minute ~46)
4) More on the Minister’s Scotty Creek visit
5) A story on the Climate change in the subarctic field course 

During a tour of the Scotty Creek research site, Bill Quinton, second from right, and Jennifer Baltzer explain one of the studies being conducted to David Livingstone, left, the chair of the science committee for the partnership between the territorial government and Wilfred Laurier University, and Michael Miltenberger, right, the territorial minister of Environment and Natural Resources. – Roxanna Thompson/NNSL photo

We were fortunate to take a group of NWT officials, including the territorial minister of the Environment and Natural Resources, researchers and community leaders on a tour of the Scotty Creek Research Site. It was a great opportunity to showcase our research and highlight its importance to the entire region. Thank you to everyone who made this tour possible.

More information is given in this news article here

The first round of the 2013 Wilfrid Laurier University Field Team was deployed in March. Snow surveys, snow sampling and equipment set up was on the task list. Warm (well, relatively), sunny weather and the beautiful NWT landscape were ideal field work conditions. Three of the team will stay up at Scotty Creek until early June. We wish them luck and will update their progress.

On February 22, 2013, researchers from accross Canada gathered at Wilfrid Laurier University in Waterloo for a meeting on current work being conducted in the Taiga Plains. The focus of the day was to share ideas, learn more about the people invovled, on going projects, as well as potential collaborations in the region. At the end of the day, greast strides were taken to  expand the research network’s capacity, projects and expertise. It looks like 2013 will be a very busy and productive field season.

Click here for the Agenda