After completing a master’s degree on the fundamental physics of superconductors, I felt the need to work on problems more closely related to society individuals and to the pressing environmental realities of our time. This is how I came to northern research. Two years and a half later, I’m amazed at what I’ve learned about Nunavik and the challenges that community members can face when going out on the land. I’ve had the privilege of meeting Inuit land users, as well as a KRG environmental specialist, who’ve all generousely taught me a great deal.

My work focuses on the sea ice that covers up the numerous bays of Nunavik every winter. Inuit land users use this ice for transportation and to gain access to their territory. The impacts of climate change on the environement make the ice cover more unpredictable and thus less safe. In Deception Bay, one of the sites I study, marine transportation associated with the operations of mining companies in the area may have an impact on the ice cover. In this context, I document the ice in Deception Bay and in its geographical neighbors, Salluit fjord and Kangiqsujuaq, using fieldwork and radar satellite images. My goal is to improve our understanding of how ice processes interact with a changing climate and with navigation.

Please visit the Ice Monitoring Project Facebook Page for pictures and videos of the work we do on the ice.