Wapusk National Park of Canada

Wapusk National Park
of Canada
Science and Technology Day
Parliament Hill – October 19, 2009
Wapusk National Park - Overview
• Established on April 24, 1996.
• To protect a representative area
of the Hudson-James Lowlands
Natural Region of Canada.
• Located on the shores of
Hudson Bay and covers 11,475
km2.
• The park protects one of the
largest polar bear denning areas
in the world and is also
important habitat for migratory
birds.
Permafrost in Wapusk NP
• Wapusk NP is located along
the Continuous /
Discontinuous Permafrost
boundary.
• There was little information on
the distribution and
characteristics of permafrost
in Wapusk NP prior to this
study.
• Climate change may impact
permafrost distribution in this
region of Canada.
Source: www.nrcan.gc.ca
Permafrost Research in Wapusk NP
• The Geological Survey of
Canada installed a total of 10
permafrost monitoring wells
between 2007 and 2009.
• The wells were established
across two transects stretching
from the coast to inland areas.
• Transects exist in both
northern and southern areas of
the park.
Photo Credit: Wendy Sladen
Photo Credit: Larry Dyke
Permafrost Research in Wapusk NP
• Thermistor cables were
installed to a maximum depth
of 10 metres.
• Temperature sensors are
located at 0.5 metre intervals.
• Temperature is recorded
three times daily for every
sensor.
• Dataloggers can store data for
up to two years before they
must be downloaded.
Photo Credit: Wendy Sladen
Photo Credit: Wendy Sladen
Data from Permafrost Monitoring Well
Daily mean ground temperature vs time for each sensor
Temperature (degC)
25
0m
20
0.5m
15
1.0m
10
1.5m
2.0m
5
2.5m
0
3.5m
-5
4.5m
29
/J
ul
/0
7
14
/J
ul
/0
7
29
/J
un
/0
7
14
/J
un
/0
7
ay
/0
7
30
/M
ay
/0
7
15
/M
pr
/0
7
30
/A
15
/A
pr
/0
7
-10
Importance, Impact and Benefit to
Canadians
• Wapusk National Park is located in
a unique geographic area of
Canada.
• This is the southern extent of
continuous permafrost.
• The Western Hudson Bay polar
bear population is one of the most
southerly polar bear populations in
the world and changes in
permafrost may impact one of the
world’s largest polar bear maternity
denning areas.
Photo Credit: Thorsten Milse
Importance, Impact and Benefit to
Canadians
• Permafrost shapes this
environment and changes
in distribution and
temperature will likely
have impacts on the land
and the species that
inhabit the park.
• Monitoring permafrost in
Wapusk NP may help
predict future changes in
permafrost distribution
and associated impacts in
other areas of Canada.
Special thanks to Larry Dyke and
Wendy Sladen from the Geological
Survey of Canada
Photo Credit: Jill Larkin
Research Collaboration with Partners
• This is just one example of
cooperation between Parks
Canada and external researchers.
• There is a long history of research
partnerships in Wapusk National
Park.
• Some researchers have been
working for 30+ years in this area
of Canada.
• Partnerships greatly enhance
Parks Canada’s ability to
understand and manage issues in
the park.
Photo Credit:
Photo Credit: Vicki Trim
Research Partners of Wapusk NP
- Environment Canada
- Natural Resources Canada
(Geological Survey of Canada,
Canadian Centre for Remote
Sensing)
- Parks Canada (Northern
Bioregion, WNSC and NO)
- Churchill Northern Studies
Centre
- Manitoba Conservation
- Hudson Bay Project
- University of Alberta
- University of Toronto
- American Museum of Natural
History
- City University of New York
- University of Manitoba
- University of Calgary
- Queen’s University
- University of Guelph
- York University
- Minnesota Cooperative Fish
and Wildlife Research Unit
- Polar Bears International
- University of Central Florida
- Utah State University