Cryostratigraphie du pergélisol sensible au dégel : outil d’aide à l’élaboration et à l’adaptation de l’environnement bâti de la communauté de Puvirnituq (Nunavik)
In Nunavik, a sustained increase of surface temperatures linked to climate change, affects the bearing capacity of the permafrost by modifying its thermal regime. Depending on the nature of the soil as well as its cryostructures, creep and differential thaw-settlement processes can be significant. The rapid demographic growth in Nunavik requires the construction of several new housing units. In order to estimate the behaviour of permafrost to thaw, this study has contributed to a sustainable land-use planning by the geomorphological interpretation of the landscape and the study of geotechnical properties of the different cryofacies that compose the geomorphological units of Puvirnituq.  Three main geomorphological units were distinguished within the territory. The bedrock is thaw-stable as well as the veneer of surficial deposits since they are contained within the active layer (P1 unit). The reworked till is dominated by ice-poor sand, providing a certain stability, but the De Geer moraines could incorporate ice-rich till and ice-rich thaw sensitive marine deposits (P2 unit). The depressions, filled with marine and littoral deposits, probably contain stable reworked till at the bottom but the presence of an ice-rich transition zone between ~0,9 and 1,7 m depth, makes this geomorphological unit improper for construction (P3 unit).  The principal contribution to landuse planning of this study is the production of two maps. The first presents the distribution of the geomorphological units over the entire territory, allowing for a quick identification of potential areas to support the development of Puvirnituq; the second map shows the location of De Geer moraines beyond the study area to extrapolate the result of this study to the landscape scale.
Nunavik Puvirnituq Geomorphology Periglacial geomorphology Permafrost Geotechnical properties De Geer moraines Geocryology Climate change