{"id":97277,"date":"2026-07-28T21:16:35","date_gmt":"2026-07-29T00:16:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/service.codeus.ca\/index.php\/2026\/07\/28\/for-residents-of-nain-permafrost-thaw-is-shifting-the-ground-beneath-their-feet\/"},"modified":"2026-07-28T21:16:35","modified_gmt":"2026-07-29T00:16:35","slug":"for-residents-of-nain-permafrost-thaw-is-shifting-the-ground-beneath-their-feet","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/service.codeus.ca\/index.php\/2026\/07\/28\/for-residents-of-nain-permafrost-thaw-is-shifting-the-ground-beneath-their-feet\/","title":{"rendered":"For residents of Nain, permafrost thaw is shifting the ground beneath their feet"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<p>                                                                                Summary     As climate change causes the Arctic to warm, the region\u2019s permafrost \u2014 a layer of soil that stays frozen throughout the year \u2014is beginning to thaw.    In the Inuit community of Nain in Labrador, residents are witnessing the impacts of permafrost thaw. Ground that used to be solid is becoming unsteady, putting buildings at risk.    Permafrost thaw also threatens to accelerate climate change, because permafrost releases carbon dioxide and methane into the atmosphere as it melts.        In central Nain, the largest community in northern Labrador, Joey Angnatok used shipping containers to build his warehouse.    He placed the two sea cans on hefty steel H-beams, leaving some room beneath them, should he need to jack up one end or the other against the sloping, ever-changing ground.    The land under them, he says, is \u201calive, like it\u2019s always moving.\u201d    Some of the Nunatsiavut region, the Labrador Inuit Land Claims Agreement area in northern Labrador where Nain is located, is underlaid with permafrost. It\u2019s a layer of soil and sediment, rock and ice \u2014 sometimes all of them together \u2014 that remains frozen for more than two years. Permafrost is ubiquitous across the Arctic and much of the subarctic, with some of the oldest layers believed to have remained frozen for hundreds of thousands of years.    But despite its longevity in some places, as the climate warms, permafrost thaw is becoming an increasingly inescapable problem.    \u201cI hate it because I own a few properties around town, and unfortunately the melting of the permafrost is playing havoc with the foundations and movements of the buildings and all that kind of stuff,\u201d Angnatok says.    That\u2019s why he built his warehouse to mitigate the undulating effects of permafrost thaw. \u201cBecause the land was so bad there, I figured we\u2019d try something different instead of your normal \u2018pour the concrete down and then build your wood structure on that,\u2019 \u201d he explains.    The residents of Nain, the northernmost community in the Inuit-governed Nunatsiavut region, are seeing the ground beneath their feet shift as the region\u2019s permafrost thaws due to climate change and human activity.    Three years after building, he says he\u2019s still holding his breath.    Nain is a community at the forefront of change. What\u2019s happening here is being seen elsewhere in the North, and will continue to as the climate warms, thawing and reshaping the foundations on which communities are built.    As Canada eyes expansion and development in the Arctic, thawing permafrost could have a big impact. So what is it \u2014 and how fast is it changing?    Climate change and human activity are driving permafrost thaw    In another part of the community, there used to be a convenience store called Puffin Snacks, where everything \u2014 including the building \u2014 was tilted to one side. \u201cIf you walked into the building, you just started running in because it was just so sloped,\u201d Michelle Saunders, a Nain resident and research manager for the Nunatsiavut Government, recalls.    Puffin Snacks, too, was built on permafrost \u2014 a study on permafrost in Nain, published in 2021, shows that much of the infrastructure across the community has been impacted in some way as the ground shifts and sinks beneath it.    As the climate changes \u2014 far faster in the Arctic than elsewhere around the world \u2014 permafrost is thawing as temperatures rise.    Nain was established in 1771 by Moravian missionaries. Today, the Moravian church is one of many buildings in town affected by permafrost thaw and shifting ground.    Robert Way, an associate professor at Queen\u2019s University in the Department of Geography and Planning, is from Labrador and is one of the authors of the study on permafrost in Nain. Spending three to four months each year in Happy Valley-Goose Bay, Labrador, and the rest of his time in Kingston, Ont., he studies the impacts of climate change in the subarctic region.    In addition to climate change, Way says human activities such as construction of buildings and roads can also impact permafrost. \u201cBuilding a house over top of permafrost, especially in areas where the permafrost is relatively warmer, often will contribute more heat into the system and will result in permafrost starting to thaw,\u201d he says. Building roads also leads to stripping vegetation and piling up snow, which he says can also impact the permafrost underneath.    These changes are on the minds of Saunders and her colleagues, as they manage and facilitate research programs in and with Nunatsiavut communities. And it affects their personal lives too.          Michelle Saunders, a Nain resident and research manager for the Nunatsiavut Government, worries about building a cabin on shifting ground. Many structures in town, such as this playground gazebo, are tilting as the permafrost beneath them thaws unevenly.     Saunders, who moved to Nain five years ago, is thinking of building a cabin. Permafrost thaw, she says, is a risk she considers with possible locations. \u201cIs this actually a good spot? Will this cause my cabin to shift over time? And I am not totally sure how to figure that out.\u201d Because permafrost thaw is a recent phenomenon, she cannot use knowledge from Elders or other knowledge holders to help figure out where to build on lands with no permafrost.    For her and other residents of Nain, the ground shifting under their feet is a reality that can\u2019t be ignored. \u201cI think it\u2019s something you have to think about now, for sure,\u201d she says.    Permafrost thaw can damage not only infrastructure but also vegetation and wildlife found on top of it.    Across the North, Way says, the permafrost layer can range from a single metre to thousands of metres thick.    If the average year-round temperature in a region is zero degrees or below, Way says, you generally start to encounter permafrost. \u201cYou really start to have a lot of permafrost once you get in the vicinity of Nain, and moving north from there,\u201d Way says.    The Illusuak Cultural Centre in the heart of Nain is one of the community\u2019s newer buildings. A 2021 report cautioned future community expansion and site-selection initiatives need to factor in permafrost.    Way says that with permafrost thaw, change is gradual at first \u2014 and then sudden. \u201cIt actually takes a lot of energy to melt that ground ice,\u201d he says, adding, \u201cWhat you\u2019ll see happen is it\u2019ll take sort of a while before it thaws, maybe numbers of years. But, then once it starts to thaw, you start to see the surface usually sinking down.\u201d    Permafrost thaw impacts everything in the natural environment    Nain sits at the edge of the Labrador Sea, at 57 degrees north \u2014roughly on parallel with Fort McMurray, Alta.    It\u2019s surrounded by rocky mountains covered in lichen, capped in snow well into May.    The gravel airstrip hugs the community\u2019s shore, suitable only for a twin otter plane or smaller, with the smell of sea salt wafting up from the Labrador Sea.    The houses are colourful, standing out against the red, green and white of shrubs and trees, some standing unevenly on sloping ground.    As permafrost melts, it releases carbon dioxide and methane, contributing to global warming. As it thaws, it may transition from being a global carbon sink \u2014 storing as much as 1.7 gigatons of carbon dioxide \u2014 to a global emitter.    As well as being the largest, Nain is the northernmost community in Nunatsiavut, a 72,520-square-kilometre, Inuit-governed area that includes five communities in total. The permafrost found here is discontinuous, which means it\u2019s interspersed with patches of unfrozen ground, Way says.    Permafrost is also found in the southern regions of Labrador, in high mountains and hills that have blowing wind patterns in winter, and along the south coast in peatland areas. Way says that in Labrador, snow thickness is one of the most important controls on the distribution of permafrost. He says thicker snow insulates the ground, leading to more peatland permafrost in the most wind-exposed sites where snow is less likely to accumulate.    And it can be found beneath the ocean in shallow waters in the High Arctic, Way says. There\u2019s a rare patch of more southerly subsea permafrost in Webb Bay, north of Nain.    As permafrost thaws, it releases carbon dioxide and methane, which both contribute to global warming. Around the world, permafrost stores as much as 1.7 gigatons of carbon dioxide \u2014 about three times more than what\u2019s currently found in the atmosphere. And while permafrost has historically acted as a \u201ccarbon sink\u201d \u2014 storing massive amounts of carbon from dead plants and decaying organic matter underground \u2014 that thaw may turn it into a carbon emitter.    Subsea permafrost thaw beneath coastal waters also releases greenhouse gases, and the warming Arctic Ocean could release up to 250 gigatons of carbon dioxide by the year 2100, according to 2021 estimates from the International Cryosphere Climate Initiative. Another estimate, from the European Space Agency Climate Office, predicts that by the end of this century, thawing permafrost will emit more greenhouse gases each year than all of the European Union countries combined, amplifying climate change more than what it is now.    Beyond greenhouse gases, permafrost thawing contains other risks \u2014 including the carcinogen radon, and the remains of humans and animals, which may contain still-active pathogens. The Canadian Wildlife Association says infectious diseases such as smallpox, anthrax and the 1918 influenza are among the potential risks, as well as unknown pathogens from generations ago.   Thawing permafrost has impacts on daily life in Nain    Angnatok is a fisherman in Nain, and turns his fishing boat into a research vessel at the end of the fishing season. He has been a part of various research teams, including one studying permafrost thaw around Nain, and he\u2019s seen how it plays into everyday life in Labrador \u2014 for the better and the worse.    He recalls collecting Arctic char from fishermen along the north coast of Labrador, where they would use snow to keep the fish frozen and then when the snow melted, \u201cthey would start digging away the ground,\u201d he says, to reach the permafrost. \u201cThey would start chopping that ice down and using that to keep their char cold.\u201d    He\u2019s also seen it shift, like near Nain\u2019s airport building. \u201cIf you dig down, even just three or four inches, you\u2019ll hit solid permafrost.\u201d The airstrip is one of many sites around town listed in the 2021 report as having permafrost underneath. That report recommends long-term temperature monitoring at depth to study permafrost, and cautions that future community expansion and site-selection initiatives need to factor in permafrost.    Though climate change is primarily driving permafrost thaw, human activity is also a factor, as development can warm the ground below.     As well as climate change thawing permafrost, it can also thaw due to human activities, such as building roads or houses, which makes the ground underneath warmer and changes the way the environment is managed.    In much of the Arctic, homes and other buildings are constructed on stilts and piles to keep them from warming the permafrost below.    Chaim Andersen is the infrastructure planning coordinator for the Nunatsiavut Government, and sees the impacts of permafrost thaw in the community. \u201cIt\u2019s a huge problem, especially for housing, because obviously we get really cold winters.\u201d If the ground thaws and shifts, it can damage the housing above it. \u201cThen there\u2019s opportunities for cracks to be in the wall and for drafts to come through during the winter, which makes it really difficult to heat the home,\u201d Andersen says, adding that the costs of heating are already high in the region.    Chaim Andersen, the infrastructure planning coordinator for the Nunatsiavut Government, says the damage to homes from permafrost thaw can make it harder to keep houses warm in winter, and raise heating costs for residents.    Andersen\u2019s role includes planning and implementing infrastructure projects, navigating what housing needs in the community exist and also what infrastructure needs there are. She says in the remote community, accessing materials for repairs can be challenging.    \u201cIf there are any kind of identified areas in community that have permafrost, there\u2019s kind of two things that happen. One is either it makes the land difficult to develop on, or you can\u2019t develop it all because the buildings need to be up to standard and having that foundational instability makes it really difficult,\u201d Andersen says.    Permafrost, land and water: it\u2019s all connected    Yifeng Wang, a research scientist for the federal government on permafrost research, sa ys that permafrost can impact other parts of the ecosystem, and vice versa.    \u201cIf you have shrubs, they tend to trap the snow in the winter, and that creates a thick, insulating blanket almost over the ground.\u201d This can cause permafrost to thaw.    Vegetation found on mounds of permafrost in northern Labrador includes lichen, and berries such as bakeapples, redberries or blueberries, Wang says. Animals like caribou rely on these plants as a food source, and are impacted by permafrost thaw.           A peat plateau near Rigolet, Labrador. The permafrost, which is slightly raised, is covered in small shrubs and lichen, while the surrounding peatland is wetter. Lichens, crowberry and bakeapple all grow over permafrost, supplying wildlife with important foods. When the permafrost thaws, it impacts the animals that depend on its vegetation. Photos: Supplied by Yifeng Wang    Angnatok wonders if the Arctic char habitat around Nain is being affected by subsea permafrost thawing, \u201cbecause the permafrost below the ocean appears to be melting also, so therefore the waters are warming during the summer season in the areas. What effects is that having on, like, say char or anything else in that area?\u201d Species that were never found near Nain, like salmon, are now being observed in the surrounding rivers; he and other community members wonder if this shift is linked to the permafrost thaw.    Permafrost thaw in the Arctic and subarctic is impacting everything in the ecosystem, including the people who have built their lives on top of it. As shifting ground becomes more common beneath northern communities, damaging infrastructure and altering the landscape, the growing challenge of thawing permafrost is a reality that can\u2019t be ignored.                             <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Summary As climate change causes the Arctic to warm, the region\u2019s permafrost \u2014 a layer of soil that stays frozen throughout the year \u2014is beginning to thaw. In the Inuit community of Nain in Labrador, residents are witnessing the impacts of permafrost thaw. Ground that used to be solid is becoming unsteady, putting buildings at [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":585,"featured_media":97278,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[118,2338,1],"tags":[116,2337],"class_list":["post-97277","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-indigenous","category-northwest-territories","category-uncategorized","tag-indigenous","tag-northwest-territories"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/service.codeus.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/97277","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/service.codeus.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/service.codeus.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/service.codeus.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/585"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/service.codeus.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=97277"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/service.codeus.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/97277\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/service.codeus.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/97278"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/service.codeus.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=97277"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/service.codeus.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=97277"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/service.codeus.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=97277"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}