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Climate change is already being experienced in Ontario’s Far North with implications for First Nations communities that are reliant on winter road systems. The first study of this thesis examined how winter road seasons have been affected historically by particular climate conditions by focusing on the timing of opening dates of the James Bay Winte...
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... The Albany River is also experiencing earlier breakup dates (Ho et al., 2005;Gagnon & Gough, 2005). weather, which has also delayed the road construction, particularly in muskeg areas (Hori, Gough, Butler, & Tsuji, 2017;Hori, 2016;Ford & Smit, 2004). In the past, the span was three months (January-March) because of long winter and would open a few weeks earlier and last longer (Hori et al., 2017). ...
Kashechewan First Nation, located in the southwestern James Bay (Subarctic) region of northern Ontario, is frequently affected by the flooding risk and recurring evacuations. Residents have been evacuated 14 times since 2004 (consecutively from 2004-2008 and 2012-2019) to at least 22 different host communities across Ontario. This dissertation provides valuable insights into the nature of spring flooding and its impacts from the perspectives of Kashechewan residents. The aim of this research is to examine how Kashechewan First Nation is affected by and responds to floods. Specific objectives are to explore First Nation’s flood-related observations on changes in frequency and intensity of floods, to examine residents’ experiences of impacts of frequent flooding risk and recurring evacuations, and to determine the community’s perceived adaptive capacity to spring flooding.
Through a collaboration with Kashechewan First Nation, data were collected from 155 participants using mixed methods research. The qualitative methods included semi-structured interview and participatory flood mapping, including on-site walk and photography. Qualitative data were collected to understand the increased flooding risk, flooding impacts, and evacuation experiences of residents. Quantitative data were collected through survey research to assess perceived adaptive capacity. This research included all subgroups of the community, such as socioeconomic, sociocultural, and demographic. Qualitative data were analysed using NVivo, ArcMap, GIS, and Google Earth. The semi-structured interview data were coded and analysed using a mix of descriptive and analytical coding schemes. Categories were made using the words of participants, which were commonly used. Analytical codes were also derived from the research literature, previous studies, and the researcher’s understanding of the rich qualitative data collected. The data collected using flood mapping workshops and on-site walks were analysed in ArcMap, GIS and Google Earth to produce scaled maps. The survey data was analysed in SPSS and used descriptive and inferential statistics. The nonparametric statistics of one-sample Chi-square, Spearman’s (rho) correlation coefficient, Friedman’s χ2 two-way analysis of variance (ANOVA), and principal component analysis were employed.
The findings contribute to the literature on natural hazards, DRR, and climate change adaptation. This research is especially unique because it has brought new methodological and theoretical insights into the research, combining qualitative and quantitative methods to facilitate an in-depth investigation of spring flooding by employing a mixed case study approach. The first contribution is the documentation of community-specific traditional knowledge concerning spring flooding characteristics and river morphology to identify the major drivers of increased flooding risk and recurring evacuations. These findings complement the existing spring flooding data collated by natural scientists and contribute to the literature on the spring breakup ice jamming phenomenon to better understand ecological and human-induced changes to mitigate flooding risk. The contribution is involving traditional and scientific knowledge systems about warming temperatures, and the spring breakup ice jamming contributes to bridging the gap between the two diverse knowledge systems. Second, this research has explored the experiences of the short-term evacuations of residents that happened 14 times since 2004. The findings are unique because there is a lack of research about how people and a community are affected by recurring evacuations. This research also revealed the consequential negative effects due to repeated evacuations on the community's sociocultural, emotional, and spiritual well-being. The finding of enhanced resilience and coping capacity is a significant contribution to the literature.
Third, this research contributes to the literature on adaptive capacity by focusing on the perceived capacity of the First Nation. The adaptive capacity literature mainly focuses on objective capacity. This research shows that perceived capacity is as important as the objective capacity to determine total adaptive capacity. The fourth contribution is the use of survey research and the integrated socio-ecological system approach to assessing perceived capacity involving a First Nation. This is the first application of the method and the approach in northern Canada to assess perceived adaptive capacity. The use of structured interviews contributes to the literature by showing that survey research involving northern Indigenous communities can be culturally appropriate.
... The participants' observations about the impact of warming temperatures on winter ice road are consistent with those found in the literature. For example, the span of ice road shortened in northern Ontario during 1997-98 because of warmer weather, which has also delayed the road construction, particularly in muskeg areas [95][96][97]. In the past, the span was three months (January-March) because of long winter and would open a few weeks earlier and last longer [97]. ...
Traditional Knowledge has the potential to increase our understanding of many kinds of ecological phenomenon including floods. This article offers insights into the nature of spring flooding and its impacts in the southwestern James Bay region of northern Ontario, Canada from the perspectives of residents of Kashechewan First Nation. This article highlights the important contribution of Kashechewan First Nation's traditional knowledge to understanding and reducing disaster risks in this flood-prone region. Through a collaboration with Kashechewan First Nation, traditional knowledge was documented in 2016 during 17 in-depth interviews, participatory flood mapping workshops, on-site walks, and photography. The results of this study show that spring flooding has occurred seasonally over many generations in the region and has not increased significantly over time. However, the timing and extent of spring flooding has changed in recent years with warming temperatures in the region (i.e., earlier spring, snowmelt, and rapid runoff) and impacts are exacerbated by landscape and resource developments (e.g., inadequate infrastructure, substandard ring-shaped dyke wall, and downriver winter ice road) which have increased the frequency and scale of spring ice breakup and ice jams. These ecological changes have created the increased risk of flooding for the community of Kashechewan. The methodological approach which used participatory techniques may be useful for ongoing flood monitoring and disaster risk reduction activities in southwestern James Bay and elsewhere among the Canadian Indigenous communities.
Freeze-thaw cycles (FTC) are known to have an effect on railway track stability, safety, and performance. FTC are expected to become more frequent in the future due to climate change. This paper presents the results of a field investigation in which the mechanism of FTC development within the track embankment and its effect on the performance of railway tracks including track surface deformation and track geometry degradation are studied. Field observations suggested that the frost depth within the track embankment is influenced by the freezing index and winter snow cover. They also showed that a warmer and drier winter leads to more intermittent FTC and even though the average frost heave is lower than for a colder winter, the frost heaves occurring at culvert locations creates a larger differential deformation and thus may lead to a worse operating condition. The comparison of geometry measurements before freezing and after thawing indicated that the track geometry is in poorer and rougher condition during springs that were preceded by increased FTC. It was also concluded that track in proximity to culverts suffered the highest geometry degradation. Overall, the limited field observations of this study suggest that future winters, mild with less precipitation and higher occurrence of FTC, may increase the rate of track deterioration and more maintenance will be required to keep track within safe limits.
