The development of Kangiqsualujjuaq and the threat of snow avalanches in a permafrost degradation context, Nunavik, Canada
International audience Slope processes are active in the rolling plateau landscapes of Nunavik, Northern Québec,Canada. There are a few short but very steep escarpments in this region. On January 1st, 1999 apowerful snow avalanche struck Kangiqsualujjuaq, one of the 14 Inuit villages in Nunavik. Nin...
Published in: | Espace populations sociétés |
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Main Authors: | , , , |
Other Authors: | , , , , , , , |
Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
Language: | English |
Published: |
HAL CCSD
2021
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Subjects: | |
Online Access: | https://hal.science/hal-03164690 https://hal.science/hal-03164690/document https://hal.science/hal-03164690/file/EPS_2021-Decaulne_HAL.pdf https://doi.org/10.4000/eps.10497 |
Summary: | International audience Slope processes are active in the rolling plateau landscapes of Nunavik, Northern Québec,Canada. There are a few short but very steep escarpments in this region. On January 1st, 1999 apowerful snow avalanche struck Kangiqsualujjuaq, one of the 14 Inuit villages in Nunavik. Ninepeople died and 25 were injured. This village and its surrounding are located within a glacialvalley, in a periglacial environment. There is significant population growth, as well as in theother villages in Nunavik. As early as 1999-2000, there was a significant spatial reorganization ofthe village's infrastructures to avoid the impact of other snow-avalanche events. The mainobjective of this paper is to examine the village expansion in response to snow-avalanche processand population growth, within an area constrained with permafrost thawing and steep slopes.From naturalist geomorphologic methods, written sources such as archive documents and aerialphotographs, the results show that slopes above Kangiqsualujjuaq are prone to release snowavalanches during blizzards from uncommon directions, and that the newly built housing may beat risk in some places, due to the conjunction of snow avalanches and permafrost thawing. Dans les paysages de plateaux ondulés du Nunavik, au nord du Québec, au Canada, les processusde versant sont actifs. Les escarpements sont rares et courts, mais sont significativement pentus.Le 1er janvier 1999, une avalanche mortelle a touché le village de Kangiqsualujjuaq, l’un des 14villages du Nunavik neuf personnes ont perdu la vie, et 25 ont été blessées. Les expertisesdéclenchées par cet événement ont mis en lumière au moins quatre avalanches antérieuresdurant les années 1980-1990. Le village et ses environs sont localisés dans une vallée glaciaire, enenvironnement périglaciaire, et connaissent une forte pression démographique, comparable àcelle des autres villages du Nunavik. Dès 1999-2000, la réorganisation spatiale des infrastructuresdu village est visible afin d’éviter l’impact d’autres ... |
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