IMAGINE
IMpacts of Cryosphere-Hydrosphere ChAnGe on Ecosystem and LIvelihoods in NorthErn Nunatsiavut, Canada
IMAGINE is a new research project supported by the CINUK program that explores environmental change in Tongait KakKasuangita SilakKijapvinga (Torngat Mountains National Park).
↓Project Overview↓
The Torngat Mountains are a culturally important homeland for Inuit in northern Nunatsiavut and eastern Nunavik. Inuit land use in the region continues today in the form of hunting, fishing and foraging, emphasizing the strong cultural connections to the Torngats.
Connections between climate change, water resources, ecosystem health, and risks to Nunatsiavummiut and Nunavimmiut are complex and poorly understood.
The field-focused portion of the IMAGINE project seeks to understand how changes in alpine environments are linked to downstream ecosystems in the Torngat Mountains that are important to Inuit.
Some questions include how do changes in glaciers, snow and ice impact water resources and wildlife downstream? And what will potential changes in these environments mean for the future of the Torngat Mountains?
To help find answers, we hope to train and learn from Inuit youth research technicians and Parks Canada staff to co-develop a monitoring program in the Torngat Mountains.
Scientific goals
1. Establish a watershed monitoring program from 'glacier to ocean' at Nachvak Fiord
Collect information on glaciers, melt water flows, ecosystems and wildlife habitats.
2. Assess changes to glaciers and snow cover throughout the Torngat Mountains
Combine short field visits with satellite and aerial photographs to understand glacier change and water storage.
3. Evaluate ecosystem health and vegetation change
With regional partners, we will work towards mapping habitat for critical species (e.g. caribou and ptarmigan) and try to understand how changes to plants could impact these species.
4. Inuit knowledge of ecosystems and landscapes in the Torngat Mountains
With partner institutions, we will launch a program to help document Inuit knowledge of at-risk species and habitats in the Torngat Mountains.
Glaciers in the Torngat Mountains are particularly at-risk due to climate change as they are the southernmost glaciers found in Arctic Canada. However, there is very little information about how glacial ice melt impacts habitats downstream.
Click around to explore glaciers throughout the Torngat Mountains.
Arctic char, caribou, and ptarmigans are just some examples of wildlife that may depend on meltwater from snow and glaciers.
Declines in glacier extent may have unknown consequences for both land and ocean ecosystems.
In the first year of the IMAGINE project, we established a remote field monitoring site downstream of the largest glacier in the Torngat Mountains. We are offering three paid positions this summer for Inuit youth interested in this program.
Long-term monitoring is critical to understanding glacier and ecosystem change. As such, our goal is to spend the next three years training and working with as many people as possible to build a program that works for Nunavimmiut and Nunatsiavummiut.
To learn more about other programs studying permafrost and environmental change in the Torngat Mountains, click the collections below.
