Controls on high-latitude mountain permafrost distribution and sensitivity to climate change

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The goal of my research program is to examine dissimilar high-latitude mountains across a latitudinal transect to assess how changes to surface inversion (the atypical pattern of warming with elevation) frequency and magnitude may impact permafrost distribution in the warming climate of northwestern Canada. Additionally, my program aims to examine the hypothesis of elevation dependent warming (EDW), a conceptual model suggesting that the rate of future warming is expected to be amplified at high elevation relative to adjacent low elevation environments. This program will involve the training of five HQP focused on a framework to test the concept that thawing of high-latitude mountain permafrost will not follow a typical elevation or latitudinal gradient, but will rather be linked to local climate, geomorphology and vegetation, resulting in a heterogeneous pattern of thaw. My program looks to adjust the EDW hypothesis in order to be more inclusive of variable mountainous environments across Canada. Methods aim to utilize a combination of field, geomatic modelling and data analysis techniques within two broad mountainous regions including the highly continental Mackenzie Mountains and the high-latitude Ogilvie Mountains. My program focuses on the independent gathering of data in these sites using weather stations and data loggers arranged along elevational and latitudinal transects examining the impact of tree presence, valley structure relating to solar radiation, and continentality. Amalgamating these data with both reanalysis climate data and climate projections, the overall objective will be to assess the reshaping of the topo-temperature field and gauge how this reshaping will impact the spatial distribution of thaw and the potential for permafrost-related hazards.***The objectives of this research program aim to significantly advance our knowledge of the relationship between climate and geomorphology in mountain environments. The potential effects of climate change in mountainous environments remain one of the lesser-studied frontiers of cold regions with warming impacts and potential feedbacks largely unexplored. As a result, the research set to be carried out in my program is critical to understanding the links between warming climate and terrestrial cryospheric interaction with broader-linked systems in an environment particularly prone to change. This research aims to support planning for the resource industry, transportation and other infrastructure while providing better estimates of permafrost changed for climate and ecosystem models. My goals aim to generate new mapping and visual aids providing strategies for land managers, local First Nations and others in communication and policy development.