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P. Lipovsky - Landslide Monitoring
Distribution, Nature and Impacts of Landslides and Permafrost-related Terrain Hazards,
central and southern Yukon
Terrain destabilization, by landslides and permafrost degradation, has the potential to compromise both infrastructure and public safety. This has become a major concern in Yukon in recent years, driven by uncertainty surrounding the distribution and nature of permafrost and the effects of climate change. In particular, the influence of climate change on the occurrence of forest fires, glacial retreat, and permafrost degradation is of prime importance to terrain stability. Continued efforts to characterize these relationships are required to support terrain hazard risk management for impending development, infrastructure maintenance, and land-use planning within communities and along infrastructure corridors.
A variety of studies have been undertaken at the Yukon Geological Survey in recent years to expand the current state of knowledge concerning the distribution, geomorphological setting and potential impacts of various terrain hazards in southern and central Yukon. Many of these projects will continue in 2008, including: long-term monitoring of active permafrost-related landslides near Carmacks, Little Salmon Lake and Kusawa Lake; further development of the Alaska Highway geotechnical borehole database; and further research to better determine the nature and volume of materials involved in the 2007 Mt. Steele rock and ice avalanche. The Permafrost Health Outreach Program will also be continued, whereby ground temperature data loggers installed at six schools around the territory in 2007 will be maintained and interpreted with students. Finally, a new project will commence to complete a detailed landslide inventory, characterize debris flow processes and frequencies, and produce landslide susceptibility maps along the entire Alaska Highway corridor in Yukon.