Nunavut Research Compendium, 2002 Nunavut Research Institute Compendium of Research Undertaken in Nunavut 2002 Nunavut Research Institute 1 Nunavut Research Compendium, 2002 Nunavut Research Institute Foreword The Nunavut Research Institute was created in 1995 when the Science Institute of the NWT was divided into eastern and western operations. In the Eastern Arctic, the re-named institute was amalgamated with Nunavut Arctic College. The Nunavut Research Institute focuses on supporting scientific research and technology development across a broad spectrum of issues and concerns. The Institute’s interpretation of research is broad – incorporating Inuit Qaujimanituqangit, social sciences, and natural sciences. The following mission statement guides the activities and services provided by the Institute: The mission of the Nunavut Research Institute is to provide leadership in developing, facilitating and promoting Inuit Qaujimanituqangit, science, research and technology as a resource for the well being of people in Nunavut. Institute services are guided by the core values of Nunavut Arctic College - strong communities, cultural appropriateness, partnerships, quality, access, responsiveness and life-long learning. The Nunavut Research Institute places emphasis on brokering northern-based research, which is linked to community needs, and making greater use of Inuit Qaujimanituqanit in research projects. This Compendium of Research has been produced as part of the Institute's effort to communicate information about research projects, which have recently taken place in Nunavut under the authority of the Nunavut Scientists Act. FOR MORE INFORMATION For more information about the research projects listed in this Compendium, please contact: Nunavut Research Institute P.O. Box 1720 Iqaluit, Nunavut X0A 0H0 Phone: (867) 979-7202/7279 Fax: (867) 979-4681 E-mail: [email protected] [email protected] Internet: www.nunanet.com/~research 2 Nunavut Research Compendium, 2002 Nunavut Research Institute CONTENTS PAGE -2002 Health Related Research Projects- Simkania negevensis and respiratory viruses in Inuit Children on Baffin Island 6 Canadian First Nations and Inuit Sprinkles Study..............................................................................................6 Environmental Determinants of Osteoporosis in the Arctic ................................................................................7 A Feasbility Study for Investigating the Relationship Between Indoor Air Quality and Severe Lower Respiratory Tract Infections in Inuit Infants in Baffin Region, Nunavut..............................................................8 Nature of Nursing Practice in Rural and Remote Canada ..................................................................................9 The Prevalence of Type 2 Diabetes in a Canadian Inuit Poplution.....................................................................9 -2002 Physical Science Research Projects- Flora of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago .......................................................................................................10 Hope Bay Aquatic Investigations......................................................................................................................10 A Sea Ice -- Climate System Project in the Canadian Arctic Archipelago.........................................................11 Microbial diversity and decomposition processes in Arctic environments.........................................................12 Study of Lake Sediments and Climate Change in the High Arctic .....................................................................12 Laurentide Ice Sheet dynamics and Chronology in the Clyde River Region, Nunavut .......................................13 Mercury Determination in Arctic Charr (Salvelinus Alpinus) 'Ikalu' from Kasegalik Lake, Belcher Islands .....13 Radar Signatures of Evaporite Exposures and Hyperspectral Imaging for Mineral Exploration.......................14 Examination of Marine Invertebrate Communities in the Igloolik Island Area..................................................14 Mass Balance Measurements of White and Baby Glaciers, Axel Heiberg Island, NU .......................................15 Quaternary glacial geology and sea level history of Melville Island, Western High Arctic ...............................16 Relative sea level changes and associated climate impacts on northern coasts and waterways.........................17 Holocene Paleoecology and Paleoclimatology of the Central Canadian Arctic Islands....................................18 Insect Biodiversity and Biogeography in the Canadian Central Barrens, The Thelon River Valley..................19 Detection and spatial analysis of mass movemnent events in Northern Canada using remote sensing and digital elevation models ...................................................................................................................................19 Morphological and Genetic Variation among Arctic Plants .............................................................................20 Meadowbank Baker Lake Baseline Environmental Study .................................................................................21 Paleomagnetic, U-Pb geochronology and geochemical studies of Proterozoic dykes in Greenland and Nunavut, Canada and their bearing on the Nares Strait Controversy ...............................................................22 Arctic Ocean Climate Change Project .............................................................................................................23 Causes and Consequences of Biodiversity Change in Arctic Tundra ................................................................24 Izok Project Feasibility and Environmental Baseline Studies ...........................................................................25 Field Measurements of First Year Ice and Multi-Year During the Melt Period.................................................26 Reef Evolution and Basin Development, Dismal Lakes and Parry Bay Groups.................................................27 Ice Core Analysis, Glacier Mass Blance & Atmospheric Pollution...................................................................27 Arctic Feedback to Global Change: A Circumpolar Perspective ......................................................................28 Sanagak and Murchison Lakes, Bootia Peninsula ............................................................................................29 Methyl Mercury Formation in the High Arctic .................................................................................................30 Houghton-Mars Project: Mars Analog Studies at the Houghton Impact Crater, Devon Island, Nunavut ..........31 Planktic Organism (graptolites, radiolarians, acritarchs) biostatigraphy, taxonomy and paleoecology............32 Vegetation change monitoring near Baker Lake...............................................................................................33 Causses of long-Term Changes in the Geometry of Devon Ice Cap and Prince of Wales Icefield......................33 The Study of Glacial and Permafrost Systems on Bylot Island..........................................................................34 Bathurst Inlet Port and Road Project ...............................................................................................................34 Biogeography and Origins of Arctic Macroalgal Lineages...............................................................................35 High Arctic Cryptoendoliths: Ecological Constraints and Survival Strategies in a Polar Desert Environment .36 Relocation of Barge Landing/Docking Facility, Kugluktuk, Fish Habitat Study................................................37 3 Nunavut Research Compendium, 2002 Nunavut Research Institute Parasites of Biting Flies in Nunavut.................................................................................................................37 Chemical Sampling and Analysis .....................................................................................................................38 Permafrost hydrology and environmental significance of perennial springs, Expedition Fiord, Axel Heiberg Island...............................................................................................................................................................39 Impacts of global change on permafrost in Eureka...........................................................................................40 Impacts of global change on permafrost in high Arctic polar desert ecosystems...............................................40 Study of Climate in the High Arctic Archipelago..............................................................................................41 Committee Bay Project ....................................................................................................................................41 Atmospheric Mercury Measurements in Alert...................................................................................................42 Central Baffin Project......................................................................................................................................42 The Hydrology and Dynamics of John Evans Glacier, Ellesmere Island...........................................................43 Water Quality and Environmental Change in Arctic Lakes and Ponds .............................................................43