1 INTRODUCTION TO THE GUIDELINE 1.1 Need for this Guideline Engineering projects in the North often encounter permafrost in their foundation
environment. The ability of frozen ground to support these structures depends mostly on
local climatic conditions, ground temperatures, soil/rock material properties, and ground
ice conditions. Since significant climate warming is anticipated in northern Canada, community
infrastructure in permafrost terrain should also be sited and foundations designed
considering the potential for significantly different foundation environments in the future as
permafrost warms and thaws. The analyses required to address permafrost and climate
change-related factors will vary between projects, depending upon the type of
infrastructure in question, its design, location, design life, and purpose. This Guideline supports the appropriate consideration of climate-change-related factors
during the planning, design, and management of a range of community infrastructure in
permafrost regions. In particular, it sets out to: 1. Provide an understanding of permafrost as an environmental variable, with a focus
on how permafrost responds to climate and other environmental change; 2. Provide a general assessment of trends in climatic and permafrost conditions across
northern Canada; 3. Describe the most common foundation types used for community infrastructure in
permafrost environments; and 4. Outline a process for ensuring that the effects of climate change are incorporated, as
appropriate, into the siting of community infrastructure projects and the design of
their foundations. 1.2 Target audience This Guideline is for decision-makers with a role in planning, purchasing, developing, or
operating community infrastructure in permafrost regions. It is meant to assist people
who are generally not experts in either permafrost or climate change, by providing them
with: 1. A better understanding of critical permafrost- and climate change-related issues; 2. A means for locating key information sources on these topics; and 3. An ability to ask “the right questions” of those they hire in order to carry out the
planning, assessment, design, and construction of projects. 1.3 Limitations of this Guideline This Guideline relates to those structures that require foundations. As such, it will not be
of direct relevance to all types of infrastructure in permafrost terrain.
This Guideline is not meant to be a designer’s text book for foundations in permafrost,
and it should not replace the expertise provided by geotechnical and other civil
engineers, architects, planners, climatologists, and other environmental scientists who
need to be engaged in all aspects of infrastructure planning, design, construction, and
operation. While this Guideline focuses mainly on foundations and permafrost, it is critical to note
that any infrastructure is best designed and operated as an integrated system comprising
the infrastructure and the social and natural environment within which it operates. The
guidance in this document should be used together with requirements and advice on
structural design, heating systems, insulation, health and safety, and other aspects of
infrastructure systems, so as to deliver assets that efficiently and effectively meet their
intended purpose in the future. The National Building Code of Canada (IRC 2005) and the
Good Building Practices Guide, published by the Government of the Northwest Territories
(2009), are two important resources in this regard. The knowledge base concerning permafrost, community infrastructure and climate
change, and mechanisms for minimizing risks stemming from the interaction of these
factors, will undoubtedly improve in the future. Since this Guideline itself cannot be
updated frequently enough to remain abreast of the latest developments in these rapidly
evolving areas of knowledge, it instead makes reference to the websites of various “goto”
organizations. There are a number of existing guides that address the issue of climate
change adaptation. Users of the present Guideline might wish to consult, for example,
“Adapting to Climate Change: A Risk-based Guide for Northern Communities” (Black
et al., in press), and the “Infrastructure Climate Risk Protocol” (Engineers Canada, 2010).
PLUS 4011-10:2010 history
2010PLUS 4011-10:2010 TECHNICAL GUIDE - Infrastructure in permafrost: A guideline for climate change adaptation