Ground ice and biogeochemistry of permafrost: environmental consequences of permafrost degradation to a warmer-wetter climate.

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Permafrost occupies 40-50% of Canada's landmass and plays a crucial role in cold-climate environments. Ice-rich permafrost environments are destabilizing and may undergo substantial modification as landscapes adjust to changing climate. These changing permafrost conditions are expected to have a significant effect on both terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems, and are also directly impacting human activities in the Canadian Arctic. Finally, changes to permafrost enhance global warming due to the release of trapped greenhouse gases and mineralization of soil organic carbon in the thawing permafrost. The long-term goal of my research program is to understand and explain the physical and (bio)geochemical processes that shape(d) and define(d) permafrost environments during the past, present and future. Specifically, the objectives of this proposal are to: 1) investigate the distribution, origin and age of ice-rich permafrost in Arctic Canada and the response of these landscapes to warmer-wetter climate; and 2) investigate the biogeochemistry between the various layers of permafrost and for various landforms and their relation to thermal and moisture conditions. The research will be conducted at sites ranging from the low Arctic to the high Arctic. The research activities will involve the training of 13 students in field-based multi-disciplinary permafrost studies and the result will contribute to an in-depth understanding of the dynamics of ground ice and biogeochemistry permafrost under a range of climate, landforms and ecosystems. The proposed project is creative and original because it addresses fundamental data and knowledge gaps that are highly relevant to understanding how climate change and associated shifts in climate and ecological zones may impact processes occurring in permafrost systems. The research results will be directly relevant to northern communities, decision-makers and global climate modelers as we adapt to a changing world.