68th Canadian Geotechnical Conference and 7th Canadian Permafrost Conference

A PRACTICAL GUIDE TO PERMAFROST VULNERABILITY FOR YUKON’S NORTH ALASKA HIGHWAY

Session: Permafrost Considerations in Design / Pergélisol et conception en milieu nordique

Fabrice Calmels, Yukon Research Centre - Yukon College (Canada)
Louis-Philippe Roy, Yukon Research Centre - Yukon College (Canada)
Cyrielle Laurent, Yukon Research Centre - Yukon College (Canada)
Maude Pelletier, Yukon Research Centre - Yukon College (Canada)
Lacia Kinnear, Yukon Research Centre - Yukon College (Canada)
Bronwyn Benkert, Yukon Research Centre - Yukon College (Canada)
Brian Horton, Yukon Research Centre - Yukon College (Canada)
Joel Pumple, University of Alberta (Canada)

Northern Climate ExChange (NCE) has partnered with the Highways and Public Works (HPW) to develop a field guide to inform climate change adaptation along the northern 200 km of the Alaska Highway from Burwash Landing to the Yukon/Alaska border. The project examines the potential sensitivity of the permafrost along the highway to present and future climate variability. The project team used a multi-disciplinary approach that included permafrost coring, geocryological analyses, ground temperature and climate monitoring, Electrical Resistivity Tomography (ERT), and remote sensing techniques. Results indicated that the regional glacial history has influenced permafrost distribution and characteristics. Sites underlain by permafrost located within a few square kilometers of each other exhibit a wide range of ages, ground temperatures, thicknesses, and ground ice content and nature. The resulting product of the survey is a field guide that will facilitate the development of appropriate maintenance and remediation strategies, ensuring the highway’s continued viability.