Trail Valley Creek Research Station

The Trail Valley Creek (TVC) Research Station is located 50 km north of Inuvik, Northwest Territories. Environment Canada began streamflow measurements here in 1979, and hydrological research in 1991. Laurier has carried out research here since 2013 and currently operates a 15 person research camp. This camp is available for use year round.

The Trail Valley Creek watershed is 58 km2 area, and is characterized by tundra, with patches of shrubs and forest, and ice-rich continuous permafrost. This area is one of the most rapidly warming regions on Earth, with decreasing precipitation, thawing of permafrost, expansion of shrubs, thinner snow covers that are melting earlier in the spring, but few changes in runoff.

Currently research at TVC is focused on integrating our understanding of the links between climate, vegetation, snow, and permafrost, and the controls on streamflow and lakes. This research, and the datasets being developed, contribute to a deeper understanding of the effects of warming in this geographic region, and the development of a new generation of predictive models.

Take a Tour

Take a virtual tour of the Trail Valley Creek Research Station.

Research and Projects

• Assessing the hydrological variability of thermokarst lakes
  Researcher: Evan Wilcox; Supervisors: Philip Marsh and Brent Wolfe
• Hydrothermal regime of stream channels on Tuktoyaktuk coastlands and Anderson plain
  Researcher: Timothy Ensom; Supervisors: Philip Marsh and Steve Kokelj
• Changes in lakes along the Inuvik-Tuktoyaktuk Highway (1950-2011)
  Researcher: Dilshan Kariyawasam; Supervisor: Philip Marsh