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ASSESSMENT OF PERMAFROST CONDITIONS IN SUPPORT OF THE REHABILITATION AND ADAPTATION TO CLIMATE CHANGE OF THE IQALUIT AIRPORT, NUNAVUT, CANADA.
Session: In Situ Testing, Instrumentation, and Monitoring in Cold Regions / Essais insitu et instrumentation en milieu nordique
Valérie Mathon-Dufour, Centre d'études nordiques, Université Laval (Canada)
Michel Allard, Centre d'études nordiques, Université Laval (Canada)
Anne-Marie LeBlanc, Gelogical Survey of Canada, Natural Resources Canada (Canada)
Iqaluit, the territorial capital of Nunavut and hub for air transport in the eastern Canadian Arctic, had an airport in poor condition and not adapted to the expected increase in air traffic in the coming years. In fact, the runway, taxiways and aprons are affected by permafrost degradation. This study aims to contribute to the development of an integrated geoscientific approach to make up for lack of adequate characterization of permafrost during construction in order to support rehabilitation work now in progress at the Iqaluit airport and adapt the infrastructures to new climatic conditions. The results confirm that the initial conditions (e.g. drainage, cryostratigraphy) of the terrain have a considerable impact on the current stability of the infrastructure. In addition, the presence of the infrastructure itself modify the surface conditions (e.g. albedo, drainage) which have an impact on the thermal regime of permafrost.
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