Dehcho Ełehéh Ndéh zhı́eh Tę k’eh Eghálagenda
Climate warming and human disturbance in the Dehcho region of the Northwest Territories (NWT), Canada, has led to widespread permafrost thaw and land cover change that has disrupted the hydrological cycle and the ecosystems and human activities that depend on it.
There is a growing awareness in the Dehcho that permafrost thaw is negatively affecting the region's economy, and the health, well-being and livelihoods of its residents.
There is lack of information on permafrost distribution, evolution, and resultant landscape change trajectory in this region.
There is an urgent need to develop and mobilise knowledge on permafrost thaw in the Dehcho and elsewhere in the subarctic, develop new, practical and customised predictive tools and strategies to adapt to permafrost thaw, and to provide interactive training to decision makers and other users.
In direct response to this need, the Scotty Creek Research Station (SCRS) and the Dehcho First Nations (DFN), co-propose the Dehcho Collaborative on Permafrost (DCoP), a Dehcho-wide initiative whose overall objective is to generate a fusion of leading-edge scientific and Indigenous knowledge on permafrost, and to use it as a basis to co-develop new predictive decision support tools and innovative risk management strategies to inventory and manage permafrost and adapt to permafrost thaw.
Close consultations with Indigenous communities throughout the Dehcho, identified the urgent need for sustained community engagement based on two-way knowledge exchange to guide specific needs for improved permafrost thaw monitoring, adaptation, process understanding, and prediction. These needs collectively form DCoP's “five themes”, each with specific objectives.
The ~150,000 km2 Dehcho region in the southern NWT is one of the most rapidly warming on Earth. It is also experiencing an increase in direct human disturbance due to expanding industrial activity. Permafrost thaw in the Dehcho is widespread and occurring at unprecedented rates, evidence that this region is particularly sensitive to climate warming and disturbance due to thaw.
Permafrost thaw is disrupting the Dehcho’s land, water and therefore human activities, the patterns, rates, controls and mechanisms of permafrost thaw, and associated feedbacks and land cover transformations across the region remain poorly understood. As a result, there is an urgent need to investigate thaw-induced changes to the Dehcho’s land and water, develop and mobilise knowledge on these changes, develop predictive modelling tools, and provide interactive training to decision makers and other stakeholders.
Although there is a growing awareness throughout the Dehcho that permafrost thaw is negatively affecting the region, regulatory authorities, resource management boards, and communities are ill-equipped to respond effectively to this new and growing challenge because there exists little or no permafrost thaw monitoring, adaptation or predictive capacity in the region, and therefore no appropriate basis for decision support.
In direct response, the Dehcho First Nations (DFN) and the Scotty Creek Research Station (SCRS) co-propose the Dehcho Collaborative on Permafrost (DCoP) to improve the understanding of and ability to predict and adapt to permafrost thaw. Because livelihoods in the Dehcho are so tightly connected to “the land”, DCoP’s close collaborative approach that places Indigenous communities in leadership positions, is required to generate the new knowledge, predictive capacity and decision-support tools needed to manage the land and water resources that support Dene ways of life.
Close consultation with Indigenous communities throughout the Dehcho identified six broad research questions:
Q1: Where is permafrost located within the Dehcho and where is it thawing?
Q2: What is the rate and pattern of permafrost thaw?
Q3: How is permafrost thaw changing land?
Q4: What adaptation and mitigation measures can or should be taken?
Q5: How is permafrost thaw changing the flow and storage of water on the land?
Q6: What is the long-term trajectory of thaw-induced change to the land and water?
It is clear from these consultations that the concerns over permafrost thaw and its effect on the land, water and livelihoods are shared throughout the Dehcho.
Co-develop with Indigenous communities, new initiatives for improving the monitoring (Theme 2), adaptation (Theme 3), understanding (Theme 4), and prediction (Theme 5) of permafrost thaw and its impacts in the Dehcho.
Gather and synthesise the Indigenous Knowledge pertaining to permafrost and permafrost thaw in the Dehcho, and compile this information into the Permafrost Resources.
Gather and synthesise all new knowledge arising from Themes 2-5, and add it to the Permafrost Resources.
Mobilise throughout the Dehcho the Permafrost Resources assembled in O1 and O2 through community engagement in support of themes 2-5.
Improved Monitoring.
DCoP will produce permafrost probability maps as a first step toward defining the current distribution of permafrost in the Dehcho, and establish an Indigenous community-led network to monitor changes to permafrost using both conventional temperature-based and new (DCoP-developed) ice-content monitoring probes.
DCoP will use 2018 imagery to map the current spatial distribution of permafrost, and archived photos (1970) to assess the change in permafrost distribution over the intervening 48 year period.
Improved Adaptation.
DCoP will develop and test new knowledge-based permafrost thaw adaptation strategies designed to lessen the impacts of such thaw, improve safety on the land and in communities, and safeguard infrastructure.
Improved Process Understanding.
Develop new knowledge on the permafrost thaw processes, rates and patterns causing the changes observed in Theme 2 with a focus on critical lateral thaw of discontinuous permafrost.
Improved Prediction.
Share, apply and interpret new methods for predicting the rate, pattern and impact of permafrost thaw customised for specific conditions within the Dehcho.
DCoP researchers and students in collaboration with Liidlii Kue First Nation and the NWT Department of Environment and Climate Change led Guardian training workshops at the LKFN office and at selected field sites near Fort Simpson. DCoP hosts researchers from the Canadian Nuclear Laboratories at the Scotty Creek Research Station. DCoP researchers conduct field studies at Bone Lake, B.C., and in the Sambaa K’e, NWT region. Monthly virtual “Scotty Gatherings” resume.
DCoP hosts a research team from the University of Helsinki. The Scotty Creek Research Station re-opened with the “Re-opening Ceremony” led by the Liidlii Kue First Nation on 22 August. DCoP carries out initial LiDar flights using a new UAV platform at Scotty Creek and at other key DCoP study sites. Annual NASA/ABoVE flights conducted over Scotty Creek for collection of remote sensing data products.
DCoP intern students hosted by research partners at the NWT Department of Environment and Climate Change office in Yellowknife and at the NWT Geological Survey office in Yellowknife. DCoP researchers in collaboration with LKFN, Nogha Enterprises and Twist Enterprises install prototype ground freezing systems near Fort Simpson. These instruments are being monitored by Guardians. DCoP student Maude Auclair successfully defends her M.Sc. thesis research.
DCoP installed stream gauging infrastructure near mouth of Island River near Sambaa K’e in collaboration with the Sambaa K’e First Nation, York University, and the NWT Department of Environment and Climate Change. DCoP researchers present results at International Conference on Permafrost. DCoP students and LKFN Guardians set up community gardens and greenhouses as part of an LKFN initiative to augment food supplies of cabin owners/users. Sediment cores collected from lakes within the Scotty Creek catchment and elsewhere for environmental reconstruction studies led by York University researchers. New fire protection system installed at tested at Scotty Creek Research Station by LKFN Guardians.
Liidlii Kue First Nation and Sambaa K’e First Nation meet to discuss shared management of the Scotty creek Research Station. DCoP researcher invited to serve as expert witness for the House of Commons’ Standing Committee on Science and Research (21 May): https://www.ourcommons.ca/Committees/en/SRSR/. Government of Canada adds DCoP to it’s Map of Adaptation Actions: https://changingclimate.ca/map/indigenous-led-permafrost-research-in-the-dehcho-region/.
Final monthly “Scotty Gathering” (5 April) until September. DCoP M.Sc. student M. McPhee defends thesis (18 April). M. McPhee then hired by Sambaa K’e First Nation as their Resources Coordinator. Climate Risk Institute releases case study “Indigenous-Led Permafrost Research in the Dehcho Region”. University of Victoria Indigenous law students update the Scotty Creek Research Licence, with oversight from the U. Victoria Faculty of Law. Third wave of students deploy to Scotty Creek Research Station (27 April).
Annual Snow surveys conducted at Scotty Creek (1-10 March) with LKFN Guardians and DCoP staff. Completion of flow through reactor experiments at U. Waterloo on peat samples from burned sites. Plans developed for lake water sampling during freshet and summer periods at Scotty Creek. Second wave of students deployed to Scotty Creek Research Station (18 March). Community meetings with DCoP, Liidlii Kue First Nation, Industry, Tourism & Investment (ITI/GNWT) to plan testing of ground freezing systems developed by DCoP within the municipality of Fort Simpson. University of Victoria Indigenous law student cohort visit Scotty Creek Research Station. DCoP participates in first annual LKFN Strategic Resources Planning Meeting, 18-22 March, Fort Simpson. DCoP M.Sc. student M. Dominico defends thesis (25 March).
DCoP students, researchers and Indigenous community members present their findings at the annual Dehcho K’ehodi Gathering in Hay River, NWT. DCoP researcher presents new book “Groundwater in Peat and Peatlands” (http://gw-project.org/books/groundwater-in-peat-and-peatlands) at the Inspired Reads event, Wilfrid Laurier University. This new books presents data and new knowledge arising from DCoP. Winter (snowmobile) trails installed by community members so that students, researchers and Guardians can access DCoP study sites.
Scotty Creek video documentary project begins. The documentary will focus on the development of Canada’s first Indigenous-led research station, and it’s recovery from the wildfire of October, 2022.
DCoP researchers and students present their results at ArcticNet’s Annual Science Meeting in Iqaluit, NU. DCoP develops plans to extend research to include limnology/lakes to gain insights into long-term (centuries to millennia) environmental changes from lake sediment cores.
Completion of first maps showing variations in burn severity in relation to the wildfire of October, 2022 at Scotty Creek. Meetings with Researchers from Canadian Forest Service on fire-related research needs at Scotty Creek.
Final meeting of NASA/ABoVE and LKFN/DCoP student interns. Interns presented and discussed the results of their summer projects. Twist Developments in collaboration with DCoP and Nogha Enterprises (LKFN) began developing a prototype ground-freezing system to be incorporated into construction projects. The prototype is based on research and development on such systems at Scotty Creek over the last decade in collaboration with GHD Engineering.
LKFN meets goal of rebuilding Scotty Creek Research Station by end of the 2023 summer field season. Optical imagery collected from aerial (drone) surveys over burned areas at Scotty Creek for high resolution mapping led by researchers at the University of Montreal. LKFN Guardians and interns at Scotty Creek collaborate with the Woodwell Climate Research Center on servicing their flux tower instrumentation so that LKFN can expand their research role at Scotty Creek. Geophysical mapping and groundwater measurements and sampling at Scotty Creek and Whati was led by researchers at Queen’s University.
Second meeting of NASA/ABoVE and LKFN/DCoP interns. DCoP and ECC/GNWT meet in Yellowknife to plan activities for the Permafrost Open Data System (PODS) project. Water and sediment samples taken from major headwater lakes in the Scotty Creek catchment in support of research at York University. Thermal imagery collected from aerial (drone) surveys over burned areas at Scotty Creek for comparison with pre-fire surveys. Ground-based surveying of burned surfaces in support of aerial remote sensing research at the University of Lethbridge. Scotty Creek reopening event was cancelled due to uncertain wildfire forecasts and evacuations of many communities in the Dehcho and elsewhere.
Continuation of rebuilding at Scotty Creek, led by interns and Guardians. Research teams from Natural Resources Canada and Environment and Climate Change (GNWT) visit Scotty Creek to collect data and provide training to Guardians and interns on Burn severity measurement and mapping.
DCoP student interns and LKFN leaders and staff meet with NASA/ABoVE and their US-based student interns to share their projects, knowledge and experiences. Extensive rebuilding campaign at Scotty Creek involving student interns, Guardians, Nogha Enterprises, and other community members. Located and re-marked all the survey lines and grids burned by the 2022 wildfire so that the long-term monitoring of active layer thickness, depth to permafrost, and soil moisture can continue.
DCoP places 5 student interns into the Łı́ı́dlı̨ı̨ Kų́ę́ First Nation office in Fort Simpson for 4-month collaborative work term. Other interns placed into the NWT GeoScience office in Yellowknife to facilitate collaboration between LKFN and NWT GeoScience and to advance the NWT Thermokarst Collective in the Dehcho region.
Preliminary draft of the graphic novel “Burning Forests, Thawing Grounds” released by author Dominik Heilig. Shaghayegh Akbarpour successfully defends her Ph.D. thesis on modelling the evolution of discontinuous permafrost landscapes and hydrology. Mahkameh Taheri successfully defends her Ph.D. thesis on upscaling hydrological processes in the Dehcho. DCoP meetings with GNWT/ECC on historical trend analyses for streams and rivers in the Dehcho.
Annual snow surveys conducted. Data downloaded from all stations that survived the fire. Station clean-up from fire continues. New georunner transported to areas where fire destroyed walking paths. In week of 13 March, researchers from Woodwell Climate Research Centre and the Université de Montréal, along with LKFN community members re-instrument the eddy covariance / greenhouse gas measurement tower so that it is fully functioning again.
Snowmobile trails to Scotty Creek were made. Reconstruction of research equipment lost by fire of October, 2022 commenced with the eddy flux tower. Materials for rebuilding the Scotty Creek Research Station transported to the station by LKFN, and piles of burned refuse transported from the station. DCoP researchers and community members meet with U. of Alberta research team to discuss post-fire bio-geochemical research at Scotty Creek and elsewhere in the Dehcho.
DCoP community members from the Sambaa K’e First Nation and Łı́ı́dlı̨ı̨ Kų́ę́ First Nation along with researchers and students present updates to DCoP at the Annual Dehcho K’ehodi Gathering in Fort Providence. DCoP researchers work at LKFN office in Fort Simpson for week of 30 January. LKFN leadership meet with NASA/ABoVE leaders to discuss post-fire research on greenhouse gas flows at Scotty Creek. Three-year NSERC Alliance grant awarded to DCoP for continued collaborative research in the Dehcho.
LKFN members, researchers and students participate at the annual ArcticNet Scientific Meeting in Toronto. ArcticNet IRIS 5 meeting with LKFN representatives and other members of DCoP. DCoP student Mikhail Mack successfully defended his PhD thesis.
First meeting of new LKFN Research Advisory Group, composed of researchers from Queen’s University and York University. Clean-up of research station following fire began. Assessment of damage to infrastructure conducted.
Out-of-season wildfire destroys most of the Scotty Creek Research Station and most of the research infrastructure over the surrounding landscape. LKFN announced its intention to raise funds to rebuild the station with a target re-opening date of early in 2024.
Collaborators at Université de Montréal upgraded instrumentation for eddy covariance and greenhouse gas flow measurement in the Dehcho at Scotty Creek and Smith Creek. LKFN members and researchers download all data recovered from all stations at Scotty Creek and elsewhere in the Dehcho.
A delegation of 15 members of LKFN, including the Chief and Executive Director travelled to the Scotty Creek Research Station on 15 August to participate in the transfer of the station to LKFN leadership. The ceremony included a presentation of a commemorative plaque to the Chief, a fire feeding ceremony, and drumming. This made Scotty Creek one of the first Indigenous-led research stations in the world, and a flagship for Indigenous-science collaboration in Canada’s north. A crew led by director/producer Roberto Verdecchia visited the Scotty Creek Research Station to film a science documentary entitled “Peat the Magnificent”. Université de Montréal researchers conducted high-resolution elevation mapping surveys throughout all instrumented areas of the Scotty Creek basin.
Field studies continue at Scotty Creek and elsewhere in the Dehcho as well as at the control sites near Whati. Wildfire FS012 started on 7 July about 30 km to the SW of Goose Lake. ENR monitored this fire.
After six months of planning, DCoP hosted the Nahegha ndéh gondıé (Land Stories for Us) event in Fort Simpson and at the Scotty Creek Research Station, 1 to 3 June, 2022. This involved over 50 participants, including staff from ENR (Fort Simpson and Hay River offices) and Parks Canada, students and teachers from the three Dehcho high schools, Dehcho Guardians, community members from Deh Gáh Got'îê, Łı́ı́dlı̨ı̨ Kų́ę́, Tthets'éhk'edélî (Jean Marie River), and Sambaa K’e first nations, and staff from the Dehcho First Nations office, university researchers, other members of the public. The focus of this event was to move beyond discussion of climate warming induced changes to the land to discussions of how best to respond to such changes. This event included Dene language training so that Dene words and phrases were included into each module of the event.
DCoP expands to include the Fort Nelson First Nation. FNFN will lead ground-based measurements and monitoring of permafrost in northeastern British Columbia in support of DCoP permafrost probability mapping. Field studies continue at Scotty Creek. New field sites were established near Whati for comparison with study sites in the Dehcho.
The Government of NWT announced support (through CIMP funding) for a new DCoP-led project examining permafrost thaw induced changes to groundwater resources in the Dehcho. DCoP initiated the “Permafrost Open Data System” (PODS) with Indigenous community and Government of NWT partners. PODS aims to maximise the quality, quantity, availability and utility of permafrost-relevant data by co-developing standardised data templates and formats, and tools to query, visualise, analyse and share critical, readily-usable datasets. DCoP also hosted planning meetings for a community engagement event scheduled for 1-3 June, 2022.
The Scotty Creek Research Station was opened for the year by Guardians, researchers and students. The annual snow surveys were conducted, all data was recovered from the automated stations. Data was also recovered from all other road-accessible stations elsewhere in the Dehcho. New field studies were initiated to examine how climate warming and wildfire are changing surface water and groundwater resources by causing permafrost thaw.
Scotty Afternoon Gathering with community members, students and researchers. A new project was proposed that will examine how permafrost thaw is changing the interaction between groundwater and surface water in the Dehcho. DCoP members collaborate with the Future Skills Centre to develop on-line resources to assist the Dehcho Guardians with their research/monitoring activities.
Scotty Afternoon Gathering with community members, students and researchers. A new LKFN Science License application was developed and approved by Chief and Council. The new licence complements the existing licence system of the Aurora Research institute. DCoP contributed to the planning of NASA/ABoVE airborne missions over the Dehcho for 2022.
DCoP researchers, students, community members, and other research partners participate in the Annual Scientific Meeting of ArcticNet (ASM2021). In the Dehcho, DCoP researchers worked with high school principals and teachers to create “Dehcho Pods” so that high school students, band office staff and other community members could participate in the meeting. DCoP also worked with ArcticNet in the following week on a pilot project that brought the ASM2021 to high schools. This focussed on dialogue between high school students and researchers and on bringing high school classes across Canada (including in the Dehcho) together for discussions on research in the North and research careers.
Scotty Afternoon Gathering with community members, students and researchers. New DCoP “Coder” appointed and based in Yellowknife.
DCoP produced a new short film on the research and community engagement initiatives of the collaborative: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Niy7R0sXeZg. The DCoP team completed a report for the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (GNWT) on the state of permafrost in the southern NWT border region. New project initiated at Sambaa K’e on mapping permafrost thaw-induced changes to the land which will involve DCoP students based in the community and working closely with community members and the band office.
Scotty Creek hosts the training of technicians for the new “Future Skills” programme for community members. Ground thermal measurements conducted across the Dehcho in support of permafrost probability mapping for the region. DCoP students initiate new study in Samba K’e region on climate warming-induced changes to the land based on traditional place names and Dene Zhatie. Harvesters and community mappers share information needed for local permafrost mapping. Virtual meetings with “Community Mappers”, and with researchers, students, community members at the “Scotty Afternoon”.
DCoP participates in meetings of the Łı́ı́dlı̨́ı̨́ Kų́ę́ First Nation Climate Change Adaption Planning & Database Management Project (Climate Change Preparedness in the North Program). DCoP Mapper, Seamus Daly, presents his work to Ecology North. Scotty Creek tour and picnic hosted by DCoP researchers and students. DCoP post-doctoral fellow (Stephanie Wright) initiates a new groundwater study at selected sites throughout the Dehcho. Three part series on Scotty Creek and DCoP published by L'Aquilon .
DCoP students deploy to Scotty Creek from U. Alberta. One-week visit to Scotty Creek by Journalist from La Presse (Montreal). Team from U. Montreal deploy to Scotty Creek to upgrade the greenhouse gas flux station infrastructure. DCoP students present their results at the annual meeting of the Canadian Geophysical Union meeting. Virtual meetings with “Community Mappers”, and with researchers, students, community members at the “Scotty Afternoon” gathering.
DCoP researchers, students, community members lead intensive maintenance and upgrade campaign for all infrastructure at the Scotty Creek Research Station. DCoP students deploy to Scotty Creek. Communications Co-ordinator of Dehcho First Nations travels to Scotty Creek for planning meetings with other DCoP team members. LKFN hosts DCoP researchers for team meetings in Fort Simpson.
DCoP researchers present results at annual NASA/ABoVE meeting. New DCoP Mapper (Seamus Daly) appointed. New DCoP Coder (Nick Wilson) appointed.
Winter data downloaded from all DCoP automated stations (Thanks Guardians!). DCoP field studies commence throughout Dehcho.
Presentation on Dehcho Collaborative on Permafrost by Dr. Miguel Sioui for World Water Day. Tristan Gingrass-Hill and Steve Kojkelj present combined work of DCoP and Thermokarst Collective to researchers/students of the Laurier-GNWT Partnership. Annual snow surveys conducted at Scotty Creek by Dehcho Guardians and Mason Dominico.
DCoP Research Associate Kristine Haynes presents an invited talk to the 9th Annual World Wetlands Day Research Symposium on how peatlands in the Dehcho is changing as a result of permafrost thaw. DCoP-affiliated project “Building local capacity for community-based micrometeorological monitoring” funded by Future Skills Centre: https://fsc-ccf.ca/projects/climate-change-nwt/.
Kick-off meeting with the Climate Change Adaptation Planning Committee for the new CIRNAC-funded project. DCoP graduate student Élise Devoie successfully defends her PhD dissertation. DCoP forms new collaboration with University of Laval so that DCoP contributes to understanding permafrost thaw over a greater geographical region including Nunavik and northern Ontario, with close linkages to Indigenous communities in both regions.
Arctic Change 2020 (ArcticNet) participation “Bubbles” set up at Dehcho hich schools for student participation. Future Skills Centre grant awarded for employment of Indigenous community members to run carbon flux towers in Dehcho. Application to CIRNAC’s Climate Change Preparedness in the North Program / Climate Change and Health Adaptation Program entitled “LKFN Climate Change Adaptation and Implementation Planning” also funded.
New postcast launched focussed on climate change adaptation in the Dehcho. DCoP researchers make virtual (Zoom) visits including presentations and discussions to Deh Gah (Fort Providence) and Dene Echo (Fort Liard) high school classes on climate warming and permafrost thaw in the Dehcho.
Guardians and LKFN community members provide an interpretive tour of the Scotty Creek Research Station for Radio Canada Crew. Scotty Creek Research Station closes for the season.
Dehcho Guardians deploy to Scotty Creek Research Station to collect end of season data and to winterise scientific sensors and winterise the station. NSERC Alliance grant application funded.
Dehcho Guardian teams deploy to Scotty Creek Research Station throughout August for data collection, assessment of maintenance needs for station and research infrastructure, maintenance and repairs. Film Crew from Aboriginal Peoples Television Network (APTN) deploys to the Scotty Creek Research Station guided by Dehcho Guardians for documentary on northern community response to COVID-19 pandemic.
Dehcho Guardians take lead in DCoP data collection at sites throughout Dehcho with emphasis on ground temperature monitoring sites in support of permafrost mapping. DCoP researchers and collaborators apply for supplementary funding from the NSERC Alliance programme to expand DCoP’s research and community engagement activities.
Guardians deploy to Scotty Creek to conduct safety checks and provide maintenance. DCoP researchers and students begin collaboration with DFN on Dene-language based regional climate change adaptation strategy.
Dehcho Guardians take lead in DCoP data collection at sites throughout Dehcho. Planning meetings for application to Climate Change Preparedness in the North Program / Climate Change and Health Adaptation Program (CIRNAC). Partnership includes Łı́ı́dlı̨́ı̨́ Kų́ę́ First Nation, Prairie Climate Centre, Dehcho First Nations, Fort Simpson Métis, Village of Fort Simpson, Scotty Creek Research Station, Dehcho Collaborative on Permafrost. Meeting of GNWT researchers with DCoP on transboundary (CC-NWT) water studies in the Dehcho.
Dehcho Guardians take lead in DCoP data collection at sites throughout Dehcho.
Field season begins (15 March) starting with annual late-winter snow surveys.
DCoP researchers participate in the annual Dehcho K’ehodi Gathering (18-19 Feb.). DCoP collaborated with the NWT Geological Survey to host the Permafrost Mapping Workshop in Fort Simpson (20 Feb.). DCoP organised and facilitated media coverage (CBC North) of on-the-land activities of Dehcho Guardians participating in DCoP (21 Feb.). DCoP hosts annual Scotty Creek field course on winter hydrology (23-29 Feb.) for Dehcho high school students.
DCoP meeting in Yellowknife (21 Jan.) with researchers and members of the Dehcho First Nations. DCoP members take part in meetings in Yellowknife (22 Jan.) to plan the annual conference of the Canadian Society for Remote Sensing to be held in Yellowknife in July, 2020. DCoP team members collaborate with NASA/ABoVE to secure remote sensing missions over Dehcho in 2020.
DCoP members provide update on DCoP initiatives at the annual meeting of ArcticNet in Halifax, 2-5 Dec., 2019. DCoP and the Office of Indigenous Initiatives, co-host the Indigenous Research Symposium (5 December). DCoP also hosts researcher from National Research Council (I. Egorov), who gave a presentation on recent advances to ground freezing systems.
DCoP members host Cold Regions Research Centre Days (21-22 November), and co-host with Office of Indigenous Initiatives the Indigenous Day of Learning (29 November).
Scotty Creek field course and on-the-land camp announced for 23-29 February, 2020.
Extensive field investigation conducted across the Dehcho in support of DCoP’s permafrost mapping initiative. NASA/ABoVE airborne remote sensing mission over Scotty Creek and over the transect north-to-south DCoP transect extending from Scotty Creek to the BC border. DCoP researchers provide ground-based measurement surveys in support of the NASA/ABoVE mission. Collaboration initiated with NWT GeoScience on permafrost mapping in the Dehcho.
Airborne Lidar missions and supporting ground-based surveys were conducted over selected areas of the Dehcho, led by DCoP collaborators (U. Lethbridge) with support of Dehcho Guardians and in collaboration with local Dehcho communities. DCoP hosts international Northern Research Basins Symposium and Workshop (https://conferences.wlu.ca/22ndnrb/) in Yellowknife, NWT. DCoP hosts a meeting and social event at the Scotty Creek Research Station that brought together scientists from across the circumpolar region and Indigenous community members from the Dehcho.
DCoP researchers go to Fort Providence (DGGFN), Wrigley (PKFN), Sambaa K’e (SKFN), Jean-Marie River (JMRFN) and Fort Simpson (LKFN) to visit local areas of permafrost thaw with community members.
DCoP researcher James Craig hosts training course on the Raven hydrological model. DCoP researchers take part in climate discussions at Annual Dehcho Assembly.
DCoP researchers take part in Dehcho Annual Assembly (Fort Simpson) to discuss climate change in the Dehcho.
DCoP researchers and DGGFN community members visit extensive flooded areas north of Fort Providence, discuss monitoring and research plans.
Meetings in Fort Simpson with DFN and Dehcho Divisional Education Council to plan the inclusion of Scotty Creek field courses into high school environmental science curriculum. DCoP site visit with Dehcho Guardians to the flooded forest north of Fort Providence.
DCoP researchers partner with Natural Resources Canada, Canadian Forest Service, University of Waterloo and Laurentian University on new NSERC-ACCS study entitled "Modeling of the winter carbon losses in cold region wetland ecosystems under current and future climates"
DCoP links up with new project exploring winter carbon losses in wetlands, funded by NSERC’s Advancing Climate Change Science in Canada. Infrastructure upgrades to the Scotty Creek Research Station.
DCoP researchers host field course and on-the-land camp at the Scotty Creek Research Station for Dehcho-based senior high school students and undergraduate university students from southern Canada. Field research season begins at the Scotty Creek Research Station.
ArcticNet
Deh Gáh Got'îê First Nation
Dehcho AAROM
Dehcho Divisional Education Council
Dehcho First Nations
Environmental Stewardship & Climate Change, Government of NWT
Forest Resources Division, Government of NWT
Fort Nelson First Nation
Łı́ı́dlı̨ı̨ Kų́ę́ First Nation
NWT Centre for Geomatics
NWT Geological Survey
Pehdzeh Ki First Nation
Sambaa K’e First Nation
Tthets’éhk’edélî First Nation
University of Alberta
University of Lethbridge
University of Waterloo
Water Management & Monitoring Division, Government of NWT
West Point First Nation
York University
Benjamin Adams Líídlįį Kúę Regional High School
Jonathan Antoine Líídlįį Kúę First Nation
Nimisha Bastedo Dehcho Divisional Education Council
Joachim Bonnetrouge Deh Gáh Got’îê First Nation
Philippe Brulot Dehcho Divisional Education Council
Dieter Cazon Líídlįį Kúę First Nation
Gilbert Cazon Líídlįį Kúę First Nation
Shannon Cazon Líídlįį Kúę First Nation
Edward Cholo Líídlįį Kúę First Nation
Lauren Corneille-Lafferty Líídlįį Kúę First Nation
Angela Griffin Dehcho Divisional Education Council
Kim Hardisty Dehcho Divisional Education Council
Yvette Jean-Jacques Dehcho Divisional Education Council
Deanna Jumbo Sambaa K’e First Nation
Jessica Jumbo Sambaa K’e First Nation
Margaret Jumbo Sambaa K’e First Nation
Ruby Jumbo Sambaa K’e First Nation
Victor Jumbo Sambaa K’e First Nation
Mike Low Aboriginal Aquatic Resources & Ocean Management
Lynn McKay Checkpoint
Wayne McKay Checkpoint
Liza McPherson Líídlįį Kúę First Nation
Steve Meek Líídlįį Kúę First Nation
Ashley Menicoche Líídlįį Kúę First Nation
Gladys Norwegian Tthets’éhk’edélî (Jean Marie River) First Nation
Ramona Pearson Líídlįį Kúę First Nation
Arial Sanguez Tthets’éhk’edélî (Jean Marie River) First Nation
Stanley Sanguez Tthets’éhk’edélî (Jean Marie River) First Nation
William Alger Líídlįį Kúę First Nation
Allan Bonnetrouge Líídlįį Kúę First Nation
Nicholas de Pelham Líídlįį Kúę First Nation
Garret Isiah Líídlįį Kúę First Nation
Rashaad Bhamjee Yellowknife
Ryan Connon Environment and Natural Resources - Project video
Seamus Daly NWT Geoscience - Project video
Isabelle de-Grandpre Environment and Natural Resources
Mason Dominico Yellowknife - Project video
Nanar Hakobyan NWT Centre for Geomatics
Bruce Hanna Environment and Natural Resources
Steve Kokelj NWT Geoscience
Tom Lakusta Environment and Natural Resources
David Livingstone Yellowknife
Lauren Nolan Yellowknife
Jakub Olesinski Environment and Natural Resources
Patrick Scott Yellowknife
Jurjen Van der Sluijs NWT Centre for Geomatics
Michael Braverman GHD Engineering
Laura Chasmer University of Lethbridge - Project video
Sorina Ciucurita Wilfrid Laurier University
James Craig University of Waterloo
Élise Devoie McGill University - Project video
Mason Dominico Yellowknife
Igor Egorov National Research Council - Project video
Tristan Gingras-Hill Laval University
Chris Hopkinson University of Lethbridge
Jennifer Korosi York University - Project video
David Olefeldt University of Alberta - Project video
William Quinton Wilfrid Laurier University - Project video
Miguel Sioui Wilfrid Laurier University - Project video
Oliver Sonnentag University of Montreal
Josh Thienpont York University
Lorna Harris University of Alberta
Kristine Haynes Wilfrid Laurier University - Project video
Stephanie Wright Wilfrid Laurier University - Project video
Rachael Abulu York University
Maude Auclair Wilfrid Laurier University - Project video
Mackenzie Bell Wilfrid Laurier University
Dustin Brooks University of Lethbridge
Olivia Carpino Wilfrid Laurier University - Project video
Kristen Coleman York University - Project video
Linda Flade University of Lethbridge
Ian Frederick Wilfrid Laurier University
Larry Liu University of Waterloo
Mikhail Mack Wilfrid Laurier University
Michael McPhee Wilfrid Laurier University - Project video
Ryan Planche Wilfrid Laurier University
Shaghayegh Safsari University of Waterloo - Project video
Mahkameh Taheri University of Waterloo - Project video
Iain Thomson Wilfrid Laurier University - Project video
Lauren Thompson University of Alberta - Project video
William Quinton, Wilfrid Laurier University, Waterloo, ON, N2L 3C5, 519-884-0710, wquinton@wlu.ca
Ramona Pearson, Dehcho First Nations, Fort Simpson, NT, X0E 0N0, 867-695-2610, ramona_pearson@dehcho.org
Dieter Cazon, Líídlįį Kúę First Nation, Fort Simpson, NT, X0E 0N0, 867-695-3131, resources@liidliikue.com