As in many arctic regions, impacts of increasing environmental stressors such as climate change and industrialization (particularly mineral exploration and mine development) have led local Inuit in northern Labrador to notice changes in their environment. In addition, they have expressed concerns that research and monitoring programs aimed at understanding and tracking these changes are lacking in many areas and do not accurately reflect their knowledge and concerns. Many communities feel powerless in the face of these changes as they lack the resources needed to respond. In consideration of this, an integrated regional approach has been initiated in Nunatsiavut to ensure concerns from all stakeholders, including Inuit as well as major industrial and governmental organizations, are adequately addressed. The purpose of this study was to further the understanding of environmental changes in Anaktalâk Bay (the shipping route to the Voisey’s Bay Nickel mine) and the effects of these changes on local Inuit in order to inform the development of a multi-partner monitoring (MPM) program for the area. The research was conducted using a participatory approach that included documenting Inuit knowledge (IK) obtained during a workshop involving 14 long-term residents of Nain (>25 years; both genders) in December 2006. Trends identified during the transcript analysis highlight that often the most severe perceived effects on Inuit occur when environmental stressors work synergistically. Key linkages between environmental changes and effects were also identified. The workshop findings document the local desire for a monitoring program to track ecosystem-based changes, as well as the social, economic and environmental effects of these changes, to ensure that Inuit are able to mitigate these changes, and adapt when mitigation is not possible or sufficient. Workshop participants voiced an interest in participating in future monitoring activities and it is anticipated that program development will give both researchers and community members an opportunity to continue to work together and learn from each other, in order to develop and implement relevant and appropriate local solutions. Ultimately, this program should begin to address the Inuit desire in this region to strengthen and protect their relationship with the environment. / Thesis (Master, Environmental Studies) -- Queen's University, 2007-11-20 12:02:32.619 / Queen's University Environmental Sciences Group Nunatsiavut Government ArcticNet

One of the most visible impacts of climate change in Arctic environments is declining sea ice. Due to an absence of spatially coarse quantitative data, there is a lack of understanding on declining sea ice on a community scale. This study seeks to document historical trends in air temperature, sea ice thickness (SIT), break-up dates (BUDs) and freeze-up dates (FUDs), correlate sea ice behaviour to air temperatures, and document the socio-economic impacts of sea ice change in Resolute Bay Nunavut, using traditional Inuit knowledge (TIK) and scientific methods. During the scientific portion of this study linear regression, statistical significance, anomaly analysis, and change point detection were used on time series of sea ice concentration (SIC), SIT, and air temperature. Two SIC datasets were accessed to characterize BUDs and FUDs, Canadian Ice Services archived sea ice charts from 1982-2022 and Copernicus Climate Change Services (C3S) gridded satellite derived SIC from 1979-2015. The BUD was defined when SIC fell and stayed below 20%, and the FUD was when SIC returned and stayed above 50%. By applying a statistically significant linear regression to both datasets, the BUD was shown to occur 37.5 days earlier and the FUD occurred 23.4 days later in 2022 than in 1979. This study accessed two SIT datasets, Environment and Climate Change Canada fast ice measurements from 1947-2022 and C3S satellite derived sea ice freeboard measurements from 2002-2020 at four locations in the Barrow Strait. After applying change point detection algorithms, this study found annual maximum fast ice thicknesses increased 32.5 cm from 1948-1981 and decreased 33.2 cm from 1981-2021. Fast ice decreased most substantially in the months of April and May. Sea ice freeboard decreased by 260.8 cm on average from 2002-2020 in the Barrow Strait. Freezing degree days (FDDs) were used to correlate sea ice behaviour to air temperature. As FDDs decrease, sea ice freeboard was the most rapidly changing sea ice parameter and fast ice thickness was most strongly correlated to FDDs. Both these results indicate that air temperature has a greater effect on SIT than the BUD and FUD. During the TIK investigation of this study, seventeen community members from Resolute Bay, Nunavut, ranging from age 19-81 were interviewed about their perception of changes in SIT, BUD, FUD, and seasonal weather patterns. Participants were interviewed about the socio-economic impacts of sea ice change, traditional Inuit methods of determining thickness, and asked to indicate typical areas of thin and thick ice, areas that break-up and freeze-up first, and hunting and travel routes on printed maps. The interviewees described a decline in sea ice thickness, areas of thin ice in the Barrow Strait, north of Cornwallis Island, and between Bathurst and Devon Island, less frequent use of the sea ice, less traditional food available in the community, increased vessel traffic, a decrease in seal population, new species and birds in the area, and detailed traditional methods of determining ice thickness through observation of color and use of the harpoon. Agreement between traditional knowledge and the scientific data was present in typical break-up and freeze-up patterns, and annual maximum thickness decreasing over time. While most respondents indicated FUD was later and BUD earlier, more participants responded there have been changes to the FUD than the BUD, whereas the scientific data showed more severe changes to the BUD than FUD. During interviews, there was consensus that summer temperatures are getting warmer but there was variability in responses when asked about winter temperatures. The scientific results showed less warming in the summer (Jun-Aug) than winter months (Jan-Mar) with the most warming in the fall (Sept-Nov). The lack of agreement between these results could be attributed to local perceived changes to winter weather referring to storminess rather than strictly temperature. TIK provided small scale information about the sea ice that the current state of scientific observation can not. In conclusion, a more holistic understanding of sea ice behaviour can be achieved by including Inuit traditional knowledge in partnership with scientific methods.

This thesis examines the role of remote sensing technology in providing information to northern residents of Kugluktuk and Cambridge Bay, Kitikmeot region of Nunavut, Western Canadian Arctic, for the purpose of improving sea ice trafficability and safety. The main objectives of this thesis include 1) the identification of northern community sea ice information needs that can be addressed using remote sensing, and 2) the creation of remote sensing-based products showing sea ice surface roughness information useful to community sea ice trafficability and safety. Thesis outcomes include the refinement and dissemination of information and products with these communities. Research methods involved interviews with northern community members that were analysed using thematic analysis, as well as quantitative assessments of sea ice roughness using satellite datasets. Maps of sea ice surface roughness were created using Sentinel-1 synthetic aperture radar and the Multi-angle Imaging Spectroradiometer, and were evaluated against fine-scale airborne LiDAR data. / Graduate / 2020-07-31

Le feu est la principale perturbation naturelle dynamisant les écosystèmes du biome boréal. En ce sens, il affecte toutes les composantes de ces écosystèmes, incluant le couvert végétal, les conditions du sol, la faune et les populations humaines. Des effets complexes des changements climatiques sur les feux sont à prévoir, et la compréhension de ces effets est cruciale pour prédire le futur des écosystèmes et leur impact sur les populations locales. Ceci est d’autant plus vrai que les études portant sur l’écologie des feux sont rares pour les zones plus nordiques, comme au Nunatsiavut, la région Inuite du nord du Labrador. De plus, bien que la science occidentale puisse aider à développer cette compréhension, le savoir écologique des populations autochtones qui ont toujours cohabité avec les feux est aussi fondamental. Dans ce contexte, des entrevues semi-dirigées ont été menées dans deux communautés inuites (Nain et Postville, Nunatsiavut) pour documenter le savoir inuit local au sujet de cette perturbation et de ses impacts. Des inventaires écologiques traditionnels ont aussi été menés, complémentant les savoirs inuits. Les populations végétales au sol ont aussi été caractérisées sur le site de trois feux de forêt en régénération pour clarifier comment ces communautés végétales se rétablissent après feu dans la région, et comment certaines variables environnementales et biotiques affectent cette réponse. Comme résultats clefs, cette étude a démontré que les utilisations des sites de feux par les Inuit sont dominées par la récolte de bois brûlés, suivi d’activités généralement réalisées en parallèle comme la chasse. La relation avec le feu varie entre les deux communautés, cette relation étant plus proche à Postville qu’à Nain en lien avec des différences dans la taille et la distance des feux par rapport aux communautés, de même que différents niveaux d’hétérogénéité dans le paysage avant le passage des feux. Cette étude a démontré que le rétablissement des communautés végétales après feux en milieux côtiers au Nunatsiavut suit les patrons généraux observés ailleurs, notamment dans le sud-est et l’ouest du Labrador, tels qu’une transition des communautés muscinales de lichens, avec quelques exceptions notables, telle que des effets négatifs inattendus du feu sur Vaccinium angustifolium, qui devraient faire l’objet de recherches plus approfondies. / Forest fires are the predominant natural disturbance driving ecosystem dynamics in the boreal forest. As such, fire affects all components of these ecosystems, including vegetation cover, soil condition, wildlife and human populations. As ongoing climate change is expected to have complex impacts on forest fires, notably increasing their frequency, intensity and magnitude, understanding these effects is crucial to predicting the future of ecosystems and their impacts on local human communities. This is especially true in areas where studies on forest and fire ecology have been scarce, as in Nunatsiavut, the Inuit region of northern Labrador, Canada, encompassing coastal mountainous zones. Furthermore, while Western science can help develop this understanding, the Indigenous Knowledge of populations that have always coexisted with fire, is also key to understand fire and its impacts. In this context, semi-structured interviews were conducted in two Inuit communities (Nain and Postville, Nunatsiavut) to document local Inuit Knowledge of fire and its impacts. To complement Inuit Knowledge, ecological field studies were also conducted. As part of this thesis three regenerating forest fire sites were studied to clarify how ground vegetation communities regenerate after fire in the region, and how environmental and biotic variables affect the responses. As key outcomes, this study showed that wood harvesting, followed by concomitant activities such as hunting and berry harvesting, dominated Inuit use of previously burnt sites. Inuit use and relationship with forest fires differed in the two studied communities, the more southern community of Postville had a closer relationship with fires than Nain, notably due to differences in the size of fires and their distance from the communities, as well as different levels of pre-fire landscape heterogeneity. This study also showed that the re-establishment patterns of ground vegetation communities after fire in coastal Nunatsiavut mostly follows those observed in southeast and western Labrador, which included community switches in moss species and lichens; however there were unexpected negative impacts of fire on Vaccinium angustifolium, which requires further investigation.