Abstract ID: 3.11693 | Not reviewed | Requested as: Talk | TBA | TBA

The Tongait KakKasuangita SilakKijapvinga (Torngat Mountains National Park) is a remote Arctic cordilleran landscape in Nunatsiavut, Labrador, and the historic homelands of the Avanimiut who were forcibly removed in the mid 1900s. The Park is cooperatively managed by the Inuit of Nunatsiavut (Labrador), the Inuit of Nunavik (Québec), and Parks Canada. The Park contains 105 small glaciers (simmik or aujuituk in Inuttitut) that remain locally significant for their meltwater contributions to watersheds, hosting cultural keystone species like tuttuk (Caribou), ikKaluk (Arctic char), and aKiggik (Ptarmigan).

Regional climate warming has likely impacted Torngat glaciers, but their current state remains uncertain due to a lack of recent observations. Glaciological mass balance records from the 1980s suggest a net balance; however, geodetic mass balance surveys in the late-2000s showed ice thinning. Climate-driven changes to snow and ice may shift these glacio-hydrological systems from meltwater-driven to precipitation-driven, with effects on ecosystem services, connected habitats, and community resource use. Further, warmer streamflow could impact cold-water fish species, like ikKaluk, while changes to snow may alter riparian and upland habitat. This work contributes to building an integrated monitoring framework that will evaluate climate change impacts on upstream systems and support Inuit-led efforts to maintain ecological integrity in the Torngat Mountains, a goal recently identified in the Park’s 2023 Management Plan.

We report on a new participatory glacio-hydrological monitoring program which aims to establish mass balance, meteorological, and watershed monitoring for a small cirque glacier in the southern end of the Torngat Mountains. Our approach focuses on piloting participatory and community-based research methods to support capacity building, and empower Inuit Youth Research Technicians to contribute, direct, and maintain robust glacio-hydrological monitoring programs well beyond this project. Preliminary results will include uncrewed aerial vehicle-derived changes in glacier surface elevation from 2023, 2024, and 2025, a ground penetrating radar survey, and downstream LiDAR-based water level monitoring. This collaborative research enables University researchers, Government staff, and Inuit youth to develop a unique and interdisciplinary monitoring program in one of the most understudied glacierized regions in Canada.