MONITORING PERMAFROST CONDITIONS ALONG THE DEMPSTER HIGHWAY

Muhammad Idrees, Chris Burn, Jeff Moore, Fabrice Calmels

In the proceedings of: GeoQuébec 2015: 68th Canadian Geotechnical Conference & 7th Canadian Permafrost Conference

Session: Infrastructure Performance in Cold Regions / Performance des infrastructures en régions nordiques

ABSTRACT: The Dempster Highway, which connects the western Arctic to the national highway network, is built almost entirely on permafrost. Four long-term permafrost monitoring sites were established on the highway in 2013-14 to determine baseline thermal conditions and to follow changes in ground temperatures driven by climate change. The sites are at km 124 and 421 in Yukon and km 8.5 and 51.5 in NWT. Boreholes, up to 10 m in depth, were drilled at each site in the highway centerline, at the embankment toe, and in undisturbed ground. Data have been retrieved from thermistor cables at these sites since February 2014. The embankment toe is the warmest location at each site. In undisturbed ground, annual mean temperatures range from -3.6 to -1.1 °C. The centerline is relatively cold, with annual mean temperatures ranging from -3.9 to -2.4 °C. The permafrost at km 124 is unexpectedly thin due to groundwater movement.

RÉSUMÉ: construite sur le pergélisol. Quatre sites ont été instrumentés le long de la route en 2013-2014 afin de fournir un suivi thermique des conditions du pergélisol dans le contexte des changements climatiques. Les sites sont localisés aux km 124 et 521 au Yukon et aux km 8.5 et 51.5 au TNO. Des trous ont été forés à chaque site au milieu de la route, au pied du talus et dans le terrain non-annuelles du terrain non-3.6 à 1.1 °C. Le centre de la route est relativement froid avec des -3.9 à -2.4°C. Le pergélisol au km 124 est étonnamment mince à cause des mouvements

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Cite this article:
Muhammad Idrees; Chris Burn; Jeff Moore; Fabrice Calmels (2015) MONITORING PERMAFROST CONDITIONS ALONG THE DEMPSTER HIGHWAY in GEO2015. Ottawa, Ontario: Canadian Geotechnical Society.

@article{703,author = Muhammad Idrees; Chris Burn; Jeff Moore; Fabrice Calmels,title = MONITORING PERMAFROST CONDITIONS ALONG THE DEMPSTER HIGHWAY,year = 2015}