Free and open source geographic information systems (GIS) and spatial data are readily available to use in spatial-archaeological problem solving. Greater accessibility allows more frequent experimentation with archaeological GIS methodologies. The least cost path (LCP) analysis has been a frequently used method in archaeological GIS. Showing potential mobility patterns between archaeological sites or between sites and resources has been the LCP’s primary objective. The LCP’s major flaw is that is must be calculated between two designated points. A recent terrain analysis of southern Baffin Island has been unable to overcome this flaw, because of the size of the study area and the inability to assume any two points are directly related. Thus, a new GIS method using a ‘watershed’ function has been manipulated to incorporate the cost-surface element of the LCP into a mobility model by generating pathway networks instead of narrow A to B paths. The product is a multitude of potential pathways linking archaeologically dense coastal and interior areas. Portions of these pathways correlate with historic geographic descriptions of Inuit travel routes and with areas where chert toolstone is accessible. Generated with no material cost, this analysis has produced a predictive model to help in future research.

Thesis (M.Sc.)--Memorial University of Newfoundland, 1999. / Bibliography: leaves 152-164. Also available online.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--McMaster University, 2003. / Advisor: A. Cannon. Includes bibliographical references (p. 324-353). Also available via World Wide Web.

La classification d'une image ETM+ de Landsat a été réalisée pour la cartographie des types de couverture du sol dans la moitié sud du parc national du Canada Auyuittuq. Le projet fait appel à l'analyse d'image par objets spatiaux (object-based image analysis ). Le logiciel eCognition 4.0 permet une segmentation hiérarchique de l'image qui est analogue au concept de l'inventaire écologique des parcs nationaux. Un territoire d'environ 8 300 km 2 a été cartographié à trois niveaux de perception différents à partir d'une image acquise le 13 août 2000. Un modèle numérique d'altitude fut incorporé au projet et de nombreux indices spectraux ont été calculés à partir des données ETM + . Le niveau de segmentation brute comporte 375 312 objets regroupés en 36 classes. À ce niveau, la structure de classification repose sur 118 règles référant aux paramètres spectraux, spatiaux et topographiques des segments. Ces règles combinent des systèmes de seuillages chiffrés et des opérations de tri au plus proche voisin. L'attribution des segments aux classes du projet est tributaire de ces règles et répond à une logique floue. À la suite d'une fusion de segments et d'un premier regroupement de classes, on obtient le second niveau du projet, qui compte 102 239 objets et 28 classes thématiques. Ce niveau s'apparente aux"écotypes" au sens de l'inventaire écologique des parcs nationaux. Un second regroupement réduit à 9 le nombre de classes et à 36 887 le nombre d'objets, ce qui se rapproche d'une cartographie des «écosystèmes » de l'inventaire écologique. Sur le terrain, 315 relevés photographiques de la végétation ont été réalisés dans les vallées Akshayuk et Naqsaq. Pour chaque relevé, les pourcentages de couverture de 5 strates végétales ont été estimés, de manière à ranger les relevés dans 8 classes de végétation connues a priori. Dans l'image, ce sont 135 segments qui ont pu être retenus comme échantillons. De ce nombre, 71 et 64 échantillons furent retenus respectivement pour l'entraînement et la validation de la classification au plus proche voisin qui fut réalisée pour la végétation. L'exactitude générale de la classification de la végétation a été estimée à 54,7 %. Contrairement à la végétation, le couvert non-végétal est classifié suivant principalement un système de règles, lesquelles décrivent le comportement spectral de 34 types de surfaces selon une structure de classification hiérarchique.La classification des 20 écotypes non-végétaux a été validée par photo-interprétation à l'aide de 992 segments-non-végétale est évaluée à 83,2 %. Une fois synthétisée au niveau des écosystèmes, la classification atteint un taux de succès global de 92,7 %. Pour la classification de la végétation, l'analyse d'image par objets spatiaux livre une cartographie dont l'exactitude est équivalente à celle d'une classification basée sur le pixel réalisée par Parcs Canada pour la même image (54,7 % vs 53,4 %). Notre stratification comporte cependant un plus grand nombre de catégories non-végétales et leur classification atteint un niveau d'exactitude supérieur. L'analyse par objet spatiaux nous a permis d'aller au-delà de l'analyse pûrement spectrale pour incorporer des paramètres texturaux, géométriques et contextuels à la procédure de classification. Elle résulte en une représentation plus synthétique de l'information cartographique que la classification basée sur le pixel, mais les patrons spatiaux les plus fins des milieux les plus hétérogènes sont alors perdus.La structure de classification développée pour notre image peut être transposée avec succès vers une nouvelle image, mais ceci exige que soient apportés des ajustements aux règles de classification, voire l'ajout ou la suppréssion de certaines règles.La segmentation hiérarchique s'avère utile comme analogue au concept de l'inventaire écologique des parcs nationaux. Les informations véhiculées par chacun des niveaux de notre classification sont des intrants importants pour l'inventaire écologique du parc national du Canada Auyuittuq. Une typologie définitive reste à définir tant pour la classification de la végétation que pour le couvert non-végétal des parcs nationaux de l'Arctique. Des clés de classification seraient requises pour traduire ces typologies en paramètres reconnaissables sur le terrain. En mettant en commun les diverses données de terrain existantes pour le parc national du Canada Auyuittuq et en les structurant selon ces typologies, on obtiendrait une banque d'échantillons augmentée et plus cohérente. De telles données de références s'avéreraient une base solide pour la validation des classifications présentement disponibles ainsi que pour la mise en oeuvre de travaux futurs en matière d'inventaire écologique pour le parc national du Canada Auyuittuq.

This paper examines the impact of a government food subsidy program in different communities on Baffin Island, Nunavut, in order to understand their inefficiencies. It also reviews the concerns that are being expressed by community members via Facebook, the Aboriginal Peoples Television Network (APTN), and the blog website FeedingNunavut.com. The content and thematic analyses applied to this project derive information from established data sources, examined through the theoretical lens of political economy. These issues are framed by historical colonial influences of early European trading dynamics, and demonstrate the ongoing paternal influences of the Federal Government. The thesis argues that, in part because Inuit opinions were disregarded in the implementation of Federal subsidy programs, household food insecurity rates in Northern Canada remain at nearly 70%. With governmental restrictions put on hunting and fishing, Inuit are limited in the maintenance of traditional practices and are turning to store-bought food for sustenance. However, food prices are high and food quality is sometimes low. This study of Inuit food security within Baffin thus contributes to an understanding of power and inequalities in the North.

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It is important to study subglacial environments in northern Canada for many reasons, such as to develop a more comprehensive understanding of glacial landscape development and to aid in mineral exploration. The purpose of this research is improve understanding of the Quaternary Geology of north central Hall Peninsula, Baffin Island, the subglacial dynamics record in particular, in order to provide industry with new knowledge, maps and interpretations to aid in mineral exploration. The glacial history of north-central Hall Peninsula, Baffin Island is very complex. By studying the subglacial landscape using both remote- and field- based techniques it was possible to develop a subglacial landscape map and a flowset map which highlighted areas with different glacial histories and basal thermal regimes. The subglacial dynamics and how they changed spatially and temporally shaped the landscape to what it is today with a mixture of cold, intermediate, and warm-based ice. Through mapping using remote sensing and field methods, seven glacial landform and striation directions were found and grouped into four ice flow events. The identified ice flows include regional flows, northern and eastern fjord influenced areas, central deglacial flows, and modern icecap flows. Subglacial erosion was investigated using several proxies including streamlined hill elongation ratios, streamlined hill density, and bedrock controlled lake density studies. These proxies together with the subglacial landscape map were overlaid to select discrete zones, termed glacial terrain zones (GTZs), in an attempt to analyze the subglacial dynamics and how different basal thermal regimes interacted with the landscape. Five glacial terrain zones (GTZs) were identified, with different spatio-temporal basal ice regimes and landform assemblages. The first zone (GTZ 1) is characterized by an expansive flowset of parallel paleo-flow indicators trending northeast. This zone has the highest degree of areal scour with thin, discontinuous and relatively unweathered till. The second zone, GTZ 2, is an area where the broad northeast flowset is crosscut locally by ice flow indicators that converge into troughs that now form a series of north trending fjords in the north of the study area. This overprinted landscape is found to propagate inland forming a channelized system, leading way to linear erosion. The modern icecap resides in GTZ 3, which inherited the broad northeast flowset, but is overprinted in valleys by eastern flows funneling into the fjords to the east, as well as western flows flowing from the modern icecap. In the central area, there is a rolling terrain of thicker till (GTZ 4) that is distinguished by its lack of subglacial features. The final contrasting landscape (GTZ 5) is characterized by southeast trending bedrock features (most likely enhanced by southeast flowing ice) and associated perpendicular moraines. GTZ 5 is also characterized by highly weathered bedrock, and locally by landform assemblages recording late deglacial readvances of thin lobes including moraines and striated outcrops. Geochemical studies for each of these landscapes lead to additional insights, characterizing the five zones further. The geochemical studies took advantage of two till sample databases taken over the study area for exploration purposes by Peregrine Diamonds LTD. The chemical index of alteration (CIA) was applied to compare erosion in the different zones. High CIA values indicate high weathering, where low CIA values low weathering. GTZ 1 is characterized by low CIA values (low weathering footprint), and GTZ 5 is characterized by high CIA value (highly weathered). To study if the GTZs had a distinct geochemical signature, as well as a signature landscape, multivariate geochemical statistics (Principal Component Analysis and Linear Discriminant Analysis) were done over the study area. Interestingly, it was found that the GTZs have geochemical signatures, which reflect the role of underlying bedrock, weathering patterns, glacial dispersal, and the complex relationships between subglacial dynamics and landscape evolution. To determine if the GTZs could be predicted by the till geochemistry, linear discriminant analysis was subsequently applied. The results indicate that the till geochemical data has a predictive capacity with an accuracy of 83.78%, which brings insight into the relationship between glacial landscapes and till composition. With this multi-proxy approach and building from previous studies, a conceptual model was developed for the study area. During the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM), the study area was inundated by the Laurentide Ice Sheet (LIS), with the Hall Ice Divide parallel to the axis of the peninsula with ice flowing from the divide to the northeast and southwest. As ice thinned, GTZ 1, an area once inundated with warm-based ice, as shown by evidence of areal scour and low CIA values, switched to being cold-based ice preserving an older landscape. Though GTZ 1 was under cold-based ice, warm-based conditions still prevailed within the channelized flow zones, which characterize GTZ 2. Evidence of this is found in the striation record, as well as the low CIA value indicative of low weathering (or high erosion). This may reflect a transition from LGM (thick-based ice) to thinner, topographically controlled ice, with cold-based ice in interfluves and hilltops, during early deglaciation. The catchment zones of the channelized system locally extend near the central area (GTZ 4) which is reflected in dispersal patterns and the striation record. As the LIS retreated, it went through a series of southeastward readvances and surges (GTZ 5). Though the ice was warm-based near the moraines in GTZ 5, prevailing cold-based conditions prevailed during most of the last glacial cycle, and the late deglacial readvances had limited erosion capacity and did not overprint the cold-based landscape significantly. This is shown by the CIA values indicative of high weathering, and lack of subglacial landforms. Series of pro-glacial lakes also formed in front of the retreating lobe. Ice is needed over GTZ 1 to prevent these lakes from draining northward. This thin ice was most likely cold-based, preserving the older GTZ 1 landscape of areal scouring. The glacial landscape of Hall Peninsula appears to record a switch from uniform warm-based LGM ice, which was laterally extensive, to localized channel flows in the fjords during deglaciation and intervening cold-based ice. The change in the geometry and basal thermo-mechanical conditions may be the prologue to the separation of the modern day ice cap from the LIS.

Alors que l'océan Arctique subit d'importants changements, plusieurs incertitudes demeurent quant à la provenance de l'azote assimilé par le phytoplancton. Cette information est pourtant cruciale puisque c'est l'azote qui limite principalement la production primaire au cours de la saison de croissance dans l'Arctique. Conséquemment, cet élément limite aussi la productivité de l'écosystème entier. Aucune étude ne s'est encore intéressée à la présence du processus de fixation d'azote gazeux (N2) dans cette région bien que certains indices semblent montrer qu'il y soutienne une partie de la production primaire. C'est afin de vérifier une telle possibilité que cette étude a pris place. Les expériences ont permis de déceler la présence de fixation du N2 dans plusieurs secteurs de l'ouest de l'océan Arctique et d'observer que les bactéries hétérotrophes (diazotrophes) en seraient les principales responsables. Le manuscrit fait état de l'importance locale et globale du processus de fixation du N2 en considérant sa distribution et la communauté diazotrophe retrouvée.