Thawing permafrost increases risk for ecosystems and people. Permafrost underlies more than a third of Canada and a warming world will drastically change the environment. Thawing permafrost directly impacts the lives of northerners, threatening the safety, reliability and costs of infrastructure while decreasing the quality of life in northern regions.
The NSERC Permafrost Partnership Network for Canada (NSERC PermafrostNet) unites researchers from 11 universities, with partners in government agencies, industry and Indigenous communities, who share the common goal of boosting Canada’s ability to monitor, predict and adapt to large-scale permafrost thaw and its consequences.
The network aims to understand the interactions between climate, permafrost and infrastructure by involving knowledge holders across complementary domains, while also connecting small-scale findings from field sites with national-scale prediction. The network will share and apply research findings by producing knowledge products and practices for stakeholders.