News Item
2009-06-08
Circumpolar News. Canadian tundra still damaged from past seismic exploration, study finds
CBC News – June 8, 2009 Mineral exploration starting decades ago in Canada's Arctic has had a long-term impact on the tundra, according to a study recently published in an Arctic scientific journal. The study, published in the May edition of the journal Arctic, Antarctic and Alpine Research, found damage from seismic exploration dating back to the 1940s can still be seen in some areas of the Mackenzie Delta in the Northwest Territories. The heavy seismic equipment, which explores for minerals by sending vibrations deep underground, has left visible tracks, damaging and destroying plants in the tundra. While seismic exploration techniques have improved since the 1960s, the scars from past exploration are still visible on the northern landscape, said researcher Todd Kemper of the University of Alberta. "In terms of the sort of seismic operations that were conducted in the '70s and '80s, I don't think there really is a way to remove any of those lasting effects," Kemper, who co-authored the study as part of his graduate degree work, said in an interview. "Anything that we would try to do would perturb the system even more. So it's probably best just to leave them be." As part of their research, Kemper and co-author Ellen Macdonald studied an area that includes the Kendall Island Bird Sanctuary between 2002 and 2004. The 623-square-kilometre bird sanctuary also sits above two large natural gas deposits that contain about two-thirds of the gas needed to fill the proposed Mackenzie Valley pipeline, the study's authors said. The area has been explored by resource companies extensively since 1965, with that work continuing today, the study said. Kemper said the individual tracks through the tundra are not the major concern, but he is more worried about the cumulative effects of many decades of exploration. The tundra is very fragile, and Kemper said it's not known what the long-term effects on Arctic plant life will be.
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