The Aurora Research Institute has been given $410,000 by the federal government to examine the effects of permafrost thaw on the shores of the Beaufort Sea SA国际影视传媒� and potentially find ways to stabilize the ground.

While the funding, spread over five years, was announced late last month, the institute was given a heads up and started work on the project last year, meeting with hunters and community members in Tuktoyaktuk to identify five sites worth examining in the area.

SA国际影视传媒淪A国际影视传媒橳haw slumpingSA国际影视传媒� occurs when the ice-rich permafrost is exposed and when it's exposed, it starts to melt,SA国际影视传媒� says Erika Hille, manager of the Western Arctic Research Centre in Inuvik, which is part of Aurora CollegeSA国际影视传媒檚 Aurora Research Institute.

SA国际影视传媒淚t's mostly during the spring and summer months, and as it starts to melt the terrain becomes unstable and the shore essentially begins to slowly collapse into the ocean.SA国际影视传媒�

Hille says her team of researchers is working on a simple plan that might be able to provide structure for that slumping earth once the permafrost gives way: planting local vegetation.

Hille says they havenSA国际影视传媒檛 settled on which plants will work best to root into the ground and hold it together.

SA国际影视传媒淲e have to choose plants that will have a good chance of colonizing the thaw slumps, plants that are salt tolerant because it's going to be on the coast and the soil's going to be much more saline than you would find further inland, and plants that would be able to stabilize the soil,SA国际影视传媒� says Hille.

She says there is some research suggesting thaw slumps provide environment well-suited to plant growthSA国际影视传媒搒heltered from the wind in a way that most coastal environments arenSA国际影视传媒檛SA国际影视传媒揵ut there hasnSA国际影视传媒檛 been a lot of research done around revegetating slaw thumps in general.

SA国际影视传媒淲e're hoping that at the end of the project we'll be able to create a revegetation guide that would help people who do want to do these type of restoration activities in the Beaufort Sea coastal areas, and have lessons learned. What worked best, what didn't work and whatSA国际影视传媒檚 the best route forward.SA国际影视传媒�

The team will also be meeting regularly with local hunters and trappers organizations and community members.

This year, the team is looking to actually visit the sites they identified last year, collecting general imagery and data and thermal imagery with drones, as well as taking soil and water samples and collecting seeds from local vegetation.

The funding was announced as part of the federal governmentSA国际影视传媒檚 $1.5-billion Oceans Protection Plan.

In announcing the funding, NWT MP Michael McLeod said, SA国际影视传媒淚tSA国际影视传媒檚 important to focus on the health of the Arctic environment now, so that Canada can assess changes and risks, and put plans in place to protect its long-term future.SA国际影视传媒�